An apology of absence was received from Cllr Alan Ridgers (Cllr Helen Ashenden substituted).

The minutes of the Operational Services Cabinet Committee held on Thursday, 12 September 2024 were signed by the Chair.

No declarations of interests were made.

The Committee were presented with a report that set out how the council would transition to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel as part of reducing the fleet’s carbon emissions.

The Assistant Director (Operations) advised that all of Gravesham’s vehicle fleet ran on euro 6 diesel which was the latest standard of fuel, especially for HGVs and heavy vans however the fleet accounted for 22% of the Council total carbon emissions

In recent months, a number of different alternatives to diesel fuel had been explored including transitioning to an electric fleet, the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and hydrogen based fuel.

The Assistant Director (Operations) advised that electric vehicles were considered but there were a number of reasons as to why they weren’t a suitable option:

• Although the council has invested in some EV vehicles and the charging infrastructure, the move to a fully electric powered fleet would require huge infrastructure and vehicle purchasing investment
• The costs of electrifying the fleet were estimated at £12m for vehicles (that figure did not include any infrastructure costs)
• There was a place for electric vehicles within the council operations, however they would be procured only when the vehicles they are  cost effective and did not have a detrimental effect on the operation of the services provided.

Following a review of the alternatives, it had been decided to pursue HVO renewable diesel as:

• It was a direct replacement for red and white diesel, made for use in on and off-road vehicles and machinery
• It was derived from certified sustainable raw materials and could cut up to 90% of net CO2 emissions with immediate effect
• The HVO could be stored in the same tanks that were currently used to store diesel which meant there were no infrastructure changes needed 

• In recent months the cost of HVO fuel had fallen to comparable levels to diesel so the transition would be within the current fuel budget.

As part of next steps, it was proposed that a phased roll-out of HVO implemented with a 20% HVO / 80% Diesel mix, rising in increments before April 2025. That would allow the service to understand whether there were any unforeseen challenges, impacts on vehicles and to ensure appropriate resilience was retained as part of undertaking the council’s resilience as part of emergency planning protocols.

The Assistant Director (Operations) added that he would monitor the fuel industry to see how hydrogen fuel moved forward and purchase EV vehicles at a time when costs came down to support the implementation of HVO fuel. 

The Assistant Director (Operations) fielded questions from Members and explained that:

• No modifications would be needed to be made to the current vehicle fleet in order for them to switch from diesel to HVO as it was a direct replacement; if there was ever a shortage of HVO, the fleet could be reverted to diesel without issue
• The Council would look at acquiring more EV vehicles once prices came down and it was operationally appropriate for the Council to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

The Committee was updated on the Council’s responsibility in respect of the Review and Assessment of Air Quality in the Borough and the results of the stakeholder and public consultation on the draft Air Quality Action Plan for the three remaining Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs).

The Environmental Protection Team Leader outlined key points from the report:

• This Air Quality Action Plan 2024-2029 replaced the previous plans adopted in 2004 and 2006 and the Air Quality Strategy 2006.
• The aim of the action plan is to reduce the levels of air pollution in the Borough. Discussions on the draft Action Plan were held with officers of Kent County Council Highways Unit, National Highways and the members of the Climate Change Officer Working Group
• The draft plan was submitted to Defra who approved the draft and the feedback provided was incorporated into the draft, prior to it going out to public consultation. 
• The draft plan was then put out for public consultation for two months; positive comments were received, especially from KCC and National Highways which were also incorporate into the draft.
• The final draft of the plan was attached at appendix one to the report along with a detailed modelling study reviewing air quality across the Borough
• Four of the seven Air Quality Management Areas had already been revoked which showed tremendous improvement in air quality in the Borough and the new plan looks to implement a number of measures to improve the air quality in the remaining three areas and across the borough
• The three remaining AQMAs were identified as being slightly in exceedance of the air quality objective whereas on declaration in 2002 and 2004 the levels of Nitoegen dioxide were significantly above the objective.
• The predications in the modelling study, approved by Defra, stated that by the end of 2029 all three of the AQMAs should be able to be revoked and the air quality levels in the Borough would be under the national air quality objectives. An example of the air quality becoming better in recent years,  was the station at Lawn Road School being closed due to the levels of Particulate matter (PM10)  in Northfleet reducing to  approx. half the national objective.
• The implementation of the new plan would not incur any additional costs, and a number of measures outlined in the report were already in place

The Environmental Protection Team Leader fielded questions from Members and explained that:

• Gravesham Council were doing well at improving air quality in the Borough and that neighbouring local authorities such as Maidstone and Dartford probably had higher levels of pollution than Gravesham.
• Gravesham had the largest air quality monitoring network in Kent with monitoring locations around the Borough including the villages and rural areas; those locations gave the Council an excellent view of current air quality levels and the impact of proposed developments could more easily be predicted
• By law, the Council had to declare an area as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) if it was in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The Committee was providing with a mid-year update on recent Waste Management and Street Cleansing projects and initiatives, to support the annual report which was brought to

Operational Services Cabinet Committee earlier this year.

The Waste & Compliance Officer guided Members through the report and highlighted key points concerning the below waste Management and Street Cleansing projects and initiatives:

Completed Projects

• Kerbside Glass Recycling
• Recycle Your Electricals” Project
• HVO Fuel
• Chewing Gum Task Force Grant Funding
• Street Washing
• Cleaner, Safer Streets Campaign
• The Street Champions

Ongoing Projects

• Changes to the Refuse & Recycling Service
• Collection Round Re-Routing
• Development & Promotion of the Commercial Waste Service
• Community Payback Projects
• Keep Britain Tidy Project

Upcoming Projects

• Development of a Commercial Clinical Waste Service

The Waste & Compliance  Officer fielded questions from Members and explained that:

• Glass recycling – There were no plans to remove the banks since the introduction of kerbside glass recycling, but the banks would be kept under review to see how well each of them was being used and the tonnage they produced. In areas with low usage, they could be reviewed to see if they were required; the bottle banks counted towards the recycling tonnage figures. There were still a number of flats and other areas where a recycling collection service wasn’t feasible to date and a review on the service was underway; a full household recycling service for every property was due to come into force on 31st March 2026
• Electrical recycling – The urban electrical recycling areas outside supermarkets were busier than other recycling points; the team attended every two to three weeks (depending on use) to empty the bins, record the number of items and the fill level. If a bank was filled quickly then collection rates could be modified to reflect that increased recycling. There was an issue with people leaving oversized electrical goods next to bins which was classed as flytipping; the problem was especially seen in Higham. Other operatives checked the locations every week and took away any large items left, for recycling. Amnesty events had been held in the past at the Civic Centre where residents could drop of large electrical goods for recycling; similar events could look to be held in the future at different locations
• Repairs - The team have engaged with the Repair Café and provided them with a sign with a QR code on it advising people to recycle their electrical goods if they couldn’t be fixed. The different locations for the repair’s cafe had been advertised in the Your Borough magazine as well as various places on the website such as on the bulky waste collection page and notices had been placed on banks to remind people about the possibility of repairing their goods. Notices had been placed at eye level in Higham advising residents to depose of small items only and anything larger to scan the QR code for information on what to do with it. More notices for other banks could be looked into for the future.   
• Litter  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

The Committee was presented with an update against the Performance Management Framework, as introduced within the council’s Corporate Plan, for Quarter Two 2024-25 (July to September 2024).

The Assistant Director (Operations) directed Members to appendix 1 to the report which provided an overview of the council’s performance against the Corporate Plan for Quarter Two 2024-25, covering the period July to September 2024.

The Assistant Director (Operations) and Head of Community Protection provided the Committee with an overview of each of the performance measures:

• PI 3 % of compliant food establishments – 96% was a positive outcome

• PI 4 % of valid taxi and private hire licence applications issued within 10 working days – Met the target of 100% three quarters in a row

• PI 5 Total Environmental Protection cases completed – The team saw a spike in quarter two with 436 cases completed; it was likely due to seasonality and the team being fully staffed

• PI 6 % of household waste recycled – Gravesham was the only authority in Kent with an electrical recycling scheme; only Medway Council had something similar with their recycling bins in the libraries, although the containers are much smaller.

• PI 7 Volume of residual waste per household (kg) – The volume of waste collected had decreased in quarter two.

• PI 8 % of cleanliness reports completed within 5 working days – There was a blip during quarter two due to staffing issues; there wasn’t capacity across the service over the summer period. The issue had been rectified and as in September 2024 the percentage had increased to 95% and October 2024 it was 93% . In November so far, 99% of cleanliness reports were completed within five working days. In addition, the probation service are in the Borough four days a week carrying out various community cleaning work 

• PI 44 % of time council play parks available for use – Met the target of 100% consistently 

Members noted the information contained within the report.