Cost of installing dropped kerbs
Questions and Answers from Transportation and Street Services – 27th June 2006 – part 2
As new Scrutiny Chair for Transportation and Street Services I am holding weekly meetings with Neil Dancer, Chief Highway Engineer, and Ian Coghill, Assistant Director of Fleet and Waste Management. The meetings are organized around answering the questions set out at the bottom of this e-mail.
Answers to previous questions can be found at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/
The two departments are presently pulling together information to answer these questions. However I am satisfied that one of the questions has now been answered.
The question is:
What is happening with reducing the cost of installing dropped kerbs to allow parking in front gardens?
The answer is:
There is no simple answer to this, however a comparison of neighbouring authorities is useful.
All authorities charge on a square metre of dropped kerb required, plus administration charges. Aditional charges may be made for moving street lights or trimming trees, etc.
To make some sense of the comparison, we will calculate how much it would cost to install a dropped kerb for my house. My drive is 2.5metres wide and the pavement is 2.5metres deep. You have to calculate for the entire depth of the pavement since the paving slabs have to lifted and re-laid with a firmer foundation to take the weight of a car driving over it. So the square metre of dropped kerb in front of my house is 2.5 x 2.5metre = 6.25squaremetres.
The cost in each authority is:
Birmingham: £70 per square metre + £140 administration. So the cost of a dropped kerb at my house would be £577.50Solihull: £105 per square metre. No administration charge. So the cost of a dropped kerb at my house would be £656.25. Until recently the cost in Solihull was a lot cheaper at £69 per square metre.Sandwell: Sandwell subsidized their dropped kerbs. The cost is £350 for any sized dropped kerb. So the cost of a dropped kerb at my house would be £350Wolverhampton: £55 per square metre (it is expected to increase to approx £70 soon). There is no administration charge. So the cost of a dropped kerb at my house would be £343.75 (this will probably go up to £437.50 soon)
Walsall: £63 per square metre + £60 administration. So the cost of a dropped kerb at my house would be £453.75Dudley: £62 per square metre + £30 administration if above £300 or 10% of the cost if below £300. So the cost of a dropped kerb at my house would be £417.50 Coventry: £107 per square metre + £10 per square metre administration. So the cost of a dropped kerb at my house would be £731.25
Warwickshire County Council: Householders get their own accredit contractors and supervise the work themselves. Birmingham have taken legal advice on this method and it considered to be unlawful.
So in the neighbouring authorities, the cost of installing a dropped kerb for my house would be as follows:
Coventry: £731.25
Solihull: £656.25.
Birmingham: £577.50Walsall: £453.75Dudley: £417.50Sandwell: £350Wolverhampton: £343.75 (this will probably go up to £437.50 soon)
Warwickshire County Council: cost unknown, but make sure no one trips over your dropped kerb since you will most likely be liable.
Efforts are being made to investigate reducing the cost of installing dropped kerbs by increasing the number of accredited contractors who can install these. At the moment the Council has four accredited contractors.
If a significant reduction in cost of dropped kerbs is needed, then we would have to go the Sandwell route and subsidize installation of dropped kerbs
The remaining questions I awaiting answers for are as follows:
Street Services
Could we have a scheme where graffiti is removed off brickwork without the need for prior permission from the owner? This is a particular nuisance with empty shops or abandoned houses where the Council insists the non-existent owner must sign a form to allow the graffiti to be removed.
Transportation
What is happening with providing funds to allow one residents parking scheme per Ward per Year? At the moment it is only one residents parking scheme per District per year.
Why can’t Councillors be provided with a Ward map showing where road accidents have happened over the last 5 years? This would allow Councillors to prioritize traffic calming measures, if any.
What are we doing to make it easier to install mobile CCTV cameras on lampposts? At the moment the Highways Department insist that any lamp post that is to have a rapid response mobile CCTV has to be first individually tested to ensure the lamp post will not topple over. They then charge an exorbitant rate to put the camera on and off the lamppost.
What are we doing to make it easier and quicker to change Traffic Regulation Orders?
When is the Highways Department going to start removing Advertising A-boards that clutter our High Streets? Other Councils do this, but Birmingham Highways Department refuses to do so.
Questions and Answers from Transportation and Street Services – 27th June 2006
As new Scrutiny Chair for Transportation and Street Services I am holding weekly meetings with Neil Dancer, Chief Highway Engineer, and Ian Coghill, Assistant Director of Fleet and Waste Management. The meetings are organized around answering the questions set out at the bottom of this e-mail.
The two departments are presently pulling together information to answer these questions. However I am satisfied that one of the questions has now been answered.
The question is:
What is the timetable for the roll out of doorstep recycling in south Birmingham?
The answer is:
Extension of the door step composting collection scheme to cover 100,000 households began in early June. It will be complete by September 2006
The extension of the doorstep plastic, metal and glass collection service will expand in two stages. First stage will be an expansion in mid-July to Northfield. The next expansion will be in October to include all the households covered by the composting collection service.
A number of problems with the composting collection have already been identified:
1) it is taking longer than expected to collect the compost. This is due to two reasons (a) an unexpected huge amount of compost being left out. (b) residents keep tying the sacks, which means the refuse collectors have to cut open the sacks to empty them into the truck.
2) Residents are getting confused as to which week is compost collecting week. As result bags of compost are being left out for a full week. A leaflet will be distributed in the next few weeks to re-inform residents of the collection dates
3) Residents are using the green waste bags to put domestic waste into them. The compost collecting crews have stickers to put onto these bags, but the level of domestic waste in green bags is so high, they have already run out of stickers
4) The compost crews are getting exhausted due to huge amount of compost they are having to lift and tip into the trucks.
The collected compost is being sent to one of five companies:
i) Simpro – most compost from south Birmingham goes here. They are based near Droitwich where they have long lines of compost heaps which they keep regularly turning. The compost takes about six weeks to rot and is sold onto the farm industry
ii) Moodys – most compost from north Birmingham goes here. The rotted composted is bagged and sold at two outlets in Birmingham – Dennings DIY store in Northfield and Gravelly Hill Garden Centre in Gravelly Hill
iii) Rymans – rotted compost goes the farm industry
iv) Neutramulch – I don’t have any information on this company
v) The Council’s own Cofton Park compost heaps. These will take some compost as an experiment to see how they do. This facility has bagging facilities, so could easily sell the compost back to the public.
The remaining questions I awaiting answers for are as follows:
Street Services
Could we have a scheme where graffiti is removed off brickwork without the need for prior permission from the owner? This is a particular nuisance with empty shops or abandoned houses where the Council insists the non-existent owner must sign a form to allow the graffiti to be removed.
Transportation
What is happening with reducing the cost of installing dropped kerbs to allow parking in front gardens?
What is happening with providing funds to allow one residents parking scheme per Ward per Year? At the moment it is only one residents parking scheme per District per year.
Why can’t Councillors be provided with a Ward map showing where road accidents have happened over the last 5 years? This would allow Councillors to prioritize traffic calming measures, if any.
What are we doing to make it easier to install mobile CCTV cameras on lampposts? At the moment the Highways Department insist that any lamp post that is to have a rapid response mobile CCTV has to be first individually tested to ensure the lamp post will not topple over. They then charge an exorbitant rate to put the camera on and off the lamppost.
What are we doing to make it easier and quicker to change Traffic Regulation Orders?
When is the Highways Department going to start removing Advertising A-boards that clutter our High Streets? Other Councils do this, but Birmingham Highways Department refuses to do so.
The pavements of Moseley shopping centre are to be jet blasted clean starting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6pm.
The paved pavements will be jet blasted back to their original colours and all chewing gum removed. The whole process will be done each evening after 6pm and take about a week.
This is the initiative of local Ward Councillors to improve the environment of Moseley shopping centre and to assist in the Britain in Bloom competition.
This is the first time pavements have been jet blasted clean in the suburbs of Birmingham.
There will be an opportunity to meet the company doing the jet blasting and a demonstration of the processes involved on the Village Green, late Wednesday afternoon.
Questions and Answers from Transportation and Street Services – 25th June 2006
As new Scrutiny Chair for Transportation and Street Services I am holding weekly meetings with Neil Dancer, Chief Highway Engineer, and Ian Coghill, Assistant Director of Fleet and Waste Management. The meetings are organized around answering the questions set out at the bottom of this e-mail.
The two departments are presently pulling together information to answer these questions. However I am satisfied that one of the questions has now been answered.
The question is:
Do we actually collect statistics on refuse on a Ward-by-Ward basis? Could we start doing that?
The answer is:
Yes, this begun in early May.
Please note that my original question said ‘statistics on refuse’. What I really wanted was statistics on how clean or dirty the city was, so that we could focus in on where the grime spots are.
Since early May the Council has employed two full time Environmental Quality Surveyors to survey all the Wards in Birmingham over a six month period for cleanliness. The surveyors assess approximately 70 spots in each Ward, producing marks on cleanliness based on the ENCAMS system of surveying.
The timetable for surveying is as follows:
April 2006 - Set-up, training, etc.
May 2006 -Sutton Trinity, Washwood Heath, Shard End, Quinton, Weoley, Moseley and Kings Heath, Brandwood, Stockland Green plus 6 Neighbourhood Element areas
June 2006 Soho, Harborne, Perry Barr, Longbridge, South Yardley, Sparkbrook, Sutton Four Oaks, Bournville.
July 2006 Erdington, Stechford and Yardley North, Aston, Sutton New Hall, Oscott, Kings Norton, Springfield, Lozells and East Handsworth, Sutton Vesey, Northfield.
August 2006 Billesley, Tyburn, Nechells
September 2006 Selly Oak, Handsworth Wood, Hall Green, Sheldon, Bartley Green, Kingstanding, Bordesley Green, Hodge Hill
October 2006 Acocks Green, Ladywood, Edgbaston, Moseley and Kings Heath, Brandwood, Stockland Green, Soho, Harborne plus 6 Neighbourhood Element areas
November 2006 Perry Barr, Longbridge, South Yardley, Sparkbrook, Sutton Four Oaks, Bournville, Erdington, Stechford and Yardley North
December 2006 Aston, Sutton New Hall, Oscott, Kings Norton, Springfield, Lozells and East Handsworth
January 2007 Sutton Vesey, Northfield, Billesley, Tyburn, Nechells, Sutton Trinity, Quinton, Selly Oak, Handsworth Wood, Hodge Hill
February 2007 Acocks Green, Ladywood, Weoley, Shard End, Washwood Heath
March 2007 Hall Green, Sheldon, Bartley Green, Bordesley Green, Kingstanding
The results of the surveys so far are to follow:
The remaining questions I awaiting answers for are as follows:
Street Services
What is the timetable for the roll out of doorstep recycling in south Birmingham?
Could we have a scheme where graffiti is removed off brickwork without the need for prior permission from the owner? This is a particular nuisance with empty shops or abandoned houses where the Council insists the non-existent owner must sign a form to allow the graffiti to be removed.
Transportation
What is happening with reducing the cost of installing dropped kerbs to allow parking in front gardens?
What is happening with providing funds to allow one residents parking scheme per Ward per Year? At the moment it is only one residents parking scheme per District per year.
Why can’t Councillors be provided with a Ward map showing where road accidents have happened over the last 5 years? This would allow Councillors to prioritize traffic calming measures, if any.
What are we doing to make it easier to install mobile CCTV cameras on lampposts? At the moment the Highways Department insist that any lamp post that is to have a rapid response mobile CCTV has to be first individually tested to ensure the lamp post will not topple over. They then charge an exorbitant rate to put the camera on and off the lamppost.
What are we doing to make it easier and quicker to change Traffic Regulation Orders?
When is the Highways Department going to start removing Advertising A-boards that clutter our High Streets? Other Councils do this, but Birmingham Highways Department refuses to do so.
City Councillor arrests man caught flyposting in Moseley
A Birmingham city Councillor last night pursued a person he caught flyposting through the streets of Moseley and performed a citizens arrest.
Councillor Martin Mullaney (Moseley and Kings Heath) caught the promoter of the Bedrock night at the Epic Skateboard Park, Moseley, flyposting in Moseley shopping centre. The promoter has been flyposting on all street furniture in Moseley in recent weeks and last night covered almost every square inch of street furniture in the Village Green. Last week Martin even contacted the owner of the skateboard park to complain about the promoters flyposting in Moseley and Kings Heath.
Martin confronted the promoter he caught flyposting and then pursued him as he tried to get away. Martin then marched the promoter to the local police station where the police took details of the promoter.
Martin will be asking the council’s Environmental Crime Unit to start legal proceedings against the promoter on Monday morning.
This is not the first time Martin has pursued people through the streets of Moseley. In August 2002, he hit the headlines after discovering two burglars in a house in Moseley. He disabled their get-away car before chasing them up Billesley Lane and cornering them in a front garden in Dyott Road. When the police arrived they were arrested and pleaded guilty to a series of burglaries.
Councillor update on Planning Applications of importance in Moseley & KingsHeath Ward – Sunday 11th June 2006
S/05119/05/FUL,St.Mary's Row / Alcester Road, Moseley - Erection of 6.5metre high metal 'Ent' sculpture- Withdrawn - 21/03/2006
S/06764/05/FUL, 25 Billesley Lane, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9QT, Erection of a two storey side , single storey rear and installation of two dormer windows to the rear – Refused - 21/12/2005
S/06858/05/FUL, 72 Park Hill, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8DS, Increase of fence from height of 2 metres to 3 metres. Refused - 02/02/2006
S/07195/05/FUL, 9 Boundary Drive, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8NY - Proposal
Retention of single storey side extension with alterations to roof - Awaiting Report
S/07600/05/FUL, 16-18 St Marys Row, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8JG -
Reconstruction of front facade, reinstatement of ground, first & second floors. A1 (Retail) shop to 16 St Marys Row extended. No. 18 to be A3 (Restaurants/Cafes) on ground floor & first floor to extend over no. 16 at first floor, ancillary offices to second floor. - Approve – Conditions Decision date - 11/05/2006
S/00263/06/ FUL, 141 Sandford Road, Moseley - Erection of single storey forward extension, front porch, construction of new bay and bow windows to front with canopy over.- Awaiting Report
S/00447/06/LBC, 1 St. Marys Row, The Fighting Cocks Public House, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8HW - Part ground floor casement windows and doors green, installation to two floodlights to clock tower, replace lanterns and remove existing swing signs and replace with new pictorial swing sign - Approve – Conditions.
Decision date - 22/03/2006
S/01332/06/FUL, 7 Park Hill, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8DU - Retention of boundary walls to front and side. - Awaiting Report
S/01333/06/FUL, 7a Park Hill, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8DU - Retention of boundary walls to front and side - Awaiting Report
S/01468/06/FUL, 2 & 4-6a Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8BE - Demolition of flats and erection of 22 apartments - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/01697/06/FUL, St Mary's Row, Moseley Village Green, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 - Erection of Tolkien landmark sculpture to include 6.5m high metal "Ent" sculpture, life size statues of children, laying of resin bonded crushed glass tiles, removal of three trees and planting of four new trees - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/01723/06/FUL, 18 Belle Walk, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9DE - Erection of 1.8 metres high front boundary wall and 2 no. 2 metres high front gates - Report In Draft
S/01755/06/FUL, 348-352 Moor Green Lane, Moseley, Birmingham, - New housing development; erection of 3 no. dwellings with new vehicular access – Refused Decision date - 07/06/2006
S/01541/06/OUT, 7 Park Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8AB - Proposed 3-bed detached bungalow on land to the rear of 7 Park Road – Refused. Decision date - 19/05/2006
S/02108/06/FUL, 25-29 Alcester Road South, The Pear Tree Public House, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7JQ - Variation of condition C2 of permission S/02762/01/FUL to extend opening hours to 0900-2300hrs Sundays, 0900-2330hrs Mondays to Thursdays and 0900-0000hrs Fridays and Saturdays. In addition extended opening hours of 0900-0100 hours on the following days every year: Christmas Eve; Boxing Day; and New Years Eve. - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/02118/06/FUL -12a St. Marys Row, Elizabeth of York PH, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8JG - Variation of Condition C4 on application S/02037/97/FUL to extend opening hours to 0700-2330 hrs Mon-Thurs, 07:00-00:00 hrs Fri-Sat and 12:00-23:30 hrs on Sunday - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/02127/06/FUL - 31-33 Park Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8AH - Erection of one block of 19 flats - Approve – Conditions. Decision date - 08/06/2006
S/02255/06/FUL - 582 Moseley Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B12 9AA - Use for assembly and leisure (D2) including skate boarding, BMX, climbing - internal alterations, external refurbishment, provision of parking spaces - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/02295/06/FUL -126 Springfield Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7DX - Conversion of bungalow to 2-storey house with dormers to front and rear, and erection of double garage – Refused. Decision date - 08/06/2006
S/02489/06/FUL, 168 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8HJ - Continued use of ground floor internet cafe lounge to include new retail area at first floor - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/02463/06/FUL, 1 Oxford Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9EJ - Retention of two storey rear extension and single storey rear extensions - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/02506/06/FUL, 91 Addison Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7EP - Change of use to hot food take-away (class A5) - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/02967/06/FUL, Wheelers Lane, Wheelers Lane Technology College & Primary School, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B13 0SF - Erection of rear energy centre building - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/03058/06/FUL - 2 & 2a Addison Road, Kings Heath, B14 7EW - Demolition and proposed replacement of existing retail/warehouse premises - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
S/03068/06/CAC - 45 Alcester Road, Moseley Service Station, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8AA - Demolition of existing structures, replacement of underground tanks, new forecourt, pump islands, sales building (class A1), car parking and associated works - Awaiting PP/Cons Exp
Birmingham City Council have issued a temporary Stop Notice on building work at 16-18 St.Mary's Row, Moseley. The building in the centre of Moseley Conservation Area was demolished without permission earlier this year. The developer has been told to rebuild the building using the original bricks and to a standard of workmanship that matches the original building.
The Council are not happy with the standard of work to rebuild the building and have issued this Stop Notice to stop any further work.
The owner of the building is being interviewed under caution in Alpha Tower this afternoon
Questions and Answers from Transportation and Street Services – 4th June 2006
As new Scrutiny Chair for Transportation and Street Services I am holding weekly meetings with Neil Dancer, Chief Highway Engineer, and Ian Coghill, Assistant Director of Fleet and Waste Management. The meetings are organized around answering the questions set out at the bottom of this e-mail.
The two departments are presently pulling together information to answer these questions. However I am satisfied that one of the questions has now been answered.
The question is:
What are we doing to monitor the performance of the Birmingham Call Centre? I get regular complaints from residents saying that they keep telephoning the call centre about non-delivery of bin bags and still don’t get them
Answer:
The Birmingham Call Centre is located in the Waterlinks building in Nechells. All telephone calls are recorded, so if there is any subsequent complaint about a call-centre operator then these can be traced. Calls are regularly monitored to check that the operator is keeping to the prepared scripts.
The private company that operates the call centre provides regular statistics to the Council on its operation.
All enquires are typed into a database system, so that the response of the council departments contacted can also be traced.
Using the database system, I was able to trace the telephone calls of one of my local residents who had complained to me that they had contacted the Call Centre five times in October and November 2005 complaining about no bin bags. Each time the call centre operator promised a roll of bin bags the next day, but none arrived. In the end the resident gave up and complained to me.
By using the database system, we were able to find the reason the resident did not get their bin bags was as follows:
1) the call centre operator was quoting correctly from a script that the bin bags would be delivered the next day. The problem was the depot had a policy to do no such thing.
2) The depot was operating on a policy inherited from the previous Labour administration, which meant the resident was wasting their time complaining about no bin bags.
The policy that the depot was operating to since the previous Labour administration was as follows:
a) Residents would only receive a replacement roll of bin bags if they complained within two weeks of when the bins bags were supposed to be delivered- how the resident was supposed to know when the bins bags were delivered is unknown.
b) If it was decided that the resident may have a legitimate complaint, or complained through a Councillor, then an inspector would be sent to the address on bin collection day to see if the resident was telling the truth. If it is was found that the resident was not using Council bin bags, another council employee would be sent out with a roll of replacement bin bags.
Since the start of April 2006, the whole way bin bags are supplied has been revamped to stop the ridiculous situation above happening again. The following has changed.
i) all bin bags are now supplied from one depot, so as to prevent different depots having completely different policies and methods of delivering bin bags
j) if any resident complains about no bin bags, they are supplied the next day. Questions will asked if the requests are excessive.
k) All rolls of bins are supplied using a private contractor and they have to place the bin bags next to the front door AND put a leaflet is put through the letterbox to inform the resident that bin bags have been delivered.
l) The call centre is tasked with cold calling 100 residents check they received their bin bags that week. This is to double check the effectiveness of the private company. At the moment they have a 95% accuracy rate on delivering bin bags.
The remaining questions I awaiting answers for are as follows:
Street Services
What is the timetable for the roll out of doorstep recycling in south Birmingham?
Do we actually collect statistics on refuse on a Ward-by-Ward basis? Could we start doing that?
Could we have a scheme where graffiti is removed off brickwork without the need for prior permission from the owner? This is a particular nuisance with empty shops or abandoned houses where the Council insists the non-existent owner must sign a form to allow the graffiti to be removed.
Transportation
What is happening with reducing the cost of installing dropped kerbs to allow parking in front gardens?
What is happening with providing funds to allow one residents parking scheme per Ward per Year? At the moment it is only one residents parking scheme per District per year.
Why can’t Councillors be provided with a Ward map showing where road accidents have happened over the last 5 years? This would allow Councillors to prioritize traffic calming measures, if any.
What are we doing to make it easier to install mobile CCTV cameras on lampposts? At the moment the Highways Department insist that any lamp post that is to have a rapid response mobile CCTV has to be first individually tested to ensure the lamp post will not topple over. They then charge an exorbitant rate to put the camera on and off the lamppost.
What are we doing to make it easier and quicker to change Traffic Regulation Orders?
When is the Highways Department going to start removing Advertising A-boards that clutter our High Streets? Other Councils do this, but Birmingham Highways Department refuses to do so.
Jet blasting of the pavements of Moseley centre – update – 1st June 2006
I have just come back from a site meeting with the company who intend to jet blast the pavements of Moseley shopping centre. The objective of this meeting was to identify exactly what they would do and firm up on a quote.
The cost will now end up between £5000 and £6000. This is down from the £10,000 initially quoted.
The area they will do covers the following:
· The blocked paved section between Chantry Road and Salisbury Road
· The blocked paved section between Woodbridge Road and King Edward Road
· The blocked paved section of St.Marys Row and the Village Green· The tarmaced section of Alcester Road (both sides) from Salisbury Road to the Post Office (or the car park entrance on the other side)
The company will do the following:
· Leaflet all the shops explaining what is about to happen and give them a mobile telephone number to contact with any concerns
· The operation will take place at night so as not to affect any shop trade
· Drive over the sections of pavements with their jet washing machine – this will bring the pavements up like new……unfortunately, it bring us polish up the bubble gums like new
· Walk over the pavements with a steam cleaner and remove all the bubble gum.
· Drive over the pavement again to clean up the removed bubble gum patches
· Re-fill all the gaps between the blocks with sand and weedkiller
· Make a note of any wobbly blocks, so that Highways can repair them
· The steam cleaner will create clouds of debri which will land on street furniture and shop windows. All street furniture and shop windows will be wiped down after steam cleaning has taken place. Masking tape will be used to prevent debri getting into door locks or through gaps in shop doors. Where, the shops has a perforated shutters, the local window cleaner will be contacted.
I have asked the company to put in a bid for Community Chest funds on this basis.
If the bid is approved by the Ward Committee, the company would be able to clean the pavements in mid-June.
