To review the implementation of Operation Brighter Bay and Operation Town Centres projects.

The Board considered the submitted papers which provided an update on the performance of the Operation Brighter Bay and Operation Town Centre projects from 1 April 2024 to 31 October 2024.  These projects had been created to improve the attractiveness of Torbay’s public spaces, make improvements to highways across Torbay and to address anti-social behaviour and increase feelings of safety.  The Cabinet Member for Pride in Place, Transport and Parking – Councillor Billings, Cabinet Member for Housing and Finance – Councillor Tyerman, Interim Director of Pride in Place – Anthony Payne, Divisional Director of Economy, Environment and Infrastructure – Lisa Tuck, Manging Director of SWISCo – Matt Reeks, Director of Adult and Community Services – Jo Williams and Divisional Director Community and Customer Services – Tara Harris attended the meeting for this item and responded to questions.

In respect of Operation Brighter Bay, Members asked questions in relation to, if anything had been done to the grass cutting machinery to enable grass to be cut in the Spring when it was wet; would there be planting around The Strand and had sponsorship of flower beds been explored; there were 7 grass cuts a year, was the Council still doing ‘No Mo May’; what progress had been made to the proposed timetable for grass cutting and sweeping for residents; the target for street cleaning in Brixham was ambitious, would it reach 2008 hours by the end of the year; did the additional cleaning include the inner Harbour Brixham and Berry Head; what happens to the grass cuttings at the end of the season; work was concentrated around prestige routes and tourism areas, was the Council trying to bring the whole area up to a standard, including residential areas; what progress had been made to catch up on weed spraying; what was the reason for only 5m of line marking in the Clifton with Maidenway Ward compared to other wards, was there comparison figures for last years line marking; what action was taken for grass cutting in community areas; and was the SWISCo reporting system being used by residents and Councillors and what was the average time to a response.

In response to questions around grass cutting, Members were informed that two large machines and four walk-behind grass cutting machines had been fitted with balloon floatation tyres which were bigger and don’t dig in so much which would help with the grass cutting when it was wet.  It was noted that ‘No Mo May’ was not necessarily the best way to improve biodiversity and SWISCo was looking to move to more formal conservation areas e.g. central reservation on Dartmouth Road had a protected species of orchid and edge strips were cut with areas left long and cut and collected at the end of the season.  Branding was being developed around conservation and biodiversity and information would also be put out on social media to explain what was being done and why areas were not being cut.  A trial was due in early 2025 using the data inputted into the system for an officer and Member portal to provide details of schedules for grass cutting etc against a post code.  The Team work on a 4 to 5 week schedule for grass cutting but this can change as a result of poor weather conditions, changes to the schedule were currently not able to be pushed out to the officer and Member portal.  Grass cuttings were taken to the green waste recycling farm and were then used as compost.  It was noted that the concept of delivering fortnightly grass cutting across the whole of Torbay would be too resource heavy and financially unavailable within the budget.  The aim was to make it pleasant for everyone travelling between towns and expanding this where possible e.g. Brownsbridge Road conservation verging, planted wildflowers, central reservation on Riviera Way and roundabouts at the Willows.  The final mile prestige covers less than 10% of the total area but required more than 10% of the resources.  With 7 cuts a year now proposed, residents should notice an improvement on all verges.

The Board noted that staff had now been employed on a permanent basis, located within Harbour Teams for street cleaning, with the Brixham Team working with the Lengthsmen from Brixham Town Council.  They were now working to a settled pattern and would hope to meet their target hours moving forward.  The street cleaning was primarily around Brixham Harbour and Brixham Town Centre, with Berry Head being the responsibility of the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust.

It was noted that 900 out of 1900 roads across Torbay had been weed sprayed.  Work did not start until early August due to lack of equipment, therefore foot spraying had been utilised.  It was more difficult to spray weeds during the Winter due to wind and rain.

Members were advised that the bedding plants for the floral displays at The Strand were starting to be planted today and in the Summer season 12 pyramid planters would also be installed as part of the Capital Project.  Sponshorship of floral displays was being explored and developed to ensure a consistent and professional approach across the whole of Torbay to help generate income.  This involved developing capacity across the Council working with the Events Team and Commercial Team on highways sponsorship, learning from the success of securing sponsorship for the English Riviera Airshow.  There were some legacy sponsorships and some planting had been provided in Paignton and Torquay using social value from some of the Council’s suppliers.

It was noted that there was no data on line marking for last year as there had been limited line marking over the past seven years, with the Team starting from scratch prioritising markings for safety.  Line marking was carried out in geographical areas to prevent the need to move large rigs from place to place.  Now that most of the safety work had been done, the Team could take a more proactive approach.  The markings in the Clifton with Maidenway Ward related to a grid which was likely to have been done by a third party as part of their highways works rather than by SWISCo.  The locations for line markings were an officer decision based on safety and staying within a geographical area.

Members were advised that the SWISCo reporting system was regularly used.  The timescale for action depended on what was being reported.  Fly tipping was usually within 24 hours, graffiti immediately, grass cutting rolled into the next schedule usually 4 to 5 weeks.

In respect of Operation Town Centres, Members raised concern that people feel the anti-social behaviour was from residents of Leonard Stocks and that not being the case and questioned what was being done to get the right messages out; they were also concerned about the impact of vulnerable people being criminalised and dispersal onto neighbouring residential streets; and questioned what was being done to support people leaving prison secure accommodation and working with the Probation Service.

The Board was informed that the impact on early release from prison had not been as significant as expected in Torbay and a dedicated Housing Options prison link officer was working with the Probation Service and Prisons to prevent homelessness.

Members highlighted the need to have suitable permanent accommodation and supported living and enhanced support to help people move out of the Leonard Stocks and the challenges in providing this.

The Council was looking at options for the future of the Leonard Stocks area and would continue to provide positive communications on the impact of the changes since the Council took over ownership with more people staying there for shorter periods of time.  There was an opportunity for the Council to work with trusted voices in the community to help facilitate joint working to make improvements around the Castle Circus area.

Members acknowledged the improvements that had been made to the street scene and to help tackle anti-social behaviour, particularly around the Town Centres as a result of the two projects and welcomed the additional funding being put into the budget for 2025/2026 but that more work was needed to address anti-social behaviour and the impact on the community.

Resolved (unanimously):

1.         that the Managing Director of SWISCo and Director of Adult and Community Services be requested to advise their Teams of the appreciation of the Overview and Scrutiny Board for their work to deliver Operation Brighter Bay and Operation Town Centres projects;

2.         that the Director of Adult and Community Services be requested to improve the communication and engagement around Factory Row to help provide a clear and factual picture of what was being done to support users of Leonard Stocks and address the issues around anti-social behaviour around Castle Circus; and

3.         that the Director of Adult and Community Services be requested to include work on Safer Streets and the wider departmental and organisational work as part of the future reports on Operation Town Centres.