Agenda item

To receive the report of the Highways Maintenance Manager, providing the Outer North East Community Committee with an update on the work the Gullies Service provides in the servicing the drainage in the three wards.

Note: Report to follow

The Community Committee were provided with an update on the work the Gullies Service provides in servicing the drainage across the three wards.

The Operational Supervisor and Highway Service Area Officer (Drainage) attended the meeting and provided Committee Members with information relating to processes within the Gullies Team and challenges faced by the service as an engagement opportunity for Members to outline issues noted in their wards and establish pathways for additional support or information that will help the Team with their daily operations, for both gullies and drainage.

The Community Committee were provided with the following points:

• The service consists of 20 people who primarily work outdoors in the community and, in line with Human Recourses guidance, are still required to remain at home if they contract Covid-19. There was one vacancy noted with a driver on long term sick, with the position to likely remaining open for their return, so the service operates at 90% capacity.
• In 2016 the service was given a target of inspecting and cleaning all gullies in Leeds. The 4^th stage of this process began in May 2022 and was about halfway through this cycle with the three Outer North East wards yet to have their 4^th clean at the time of the Committee meeting. The figures referenced at the meeting was from data gathered during the 3^rd cycle of the clean.
• The service had been using electronic records since 2016, an ongoing IT project was underway to locate one software system to streamline data management, replacing four separate softwares that had been deemed non-compatible. The Asset Management eXpert (AMX) was expected to be adopted by Highways and Transportation by May 2023.
• The schedule for servicing gullies, as part of the 4^th cycle, in the Outer North East was outlined as May 2023 for Harewood and July or August 2023 for Alwoodley and Wetherby. During this period, it will be helpful for Ward Members to assist with contacting residents to limit obstructions to the tankers and cleaners conducting works.
• There are 4,737 gullies in Alwoodley of which 97.41% were operational, 53 gullies are non-runners and 1.5% were inaccessible. There are 4,382 gullies in Harewood of which 95.14% were operational, 173 were non-runners and 1.1% were inaccessible. There are 4,857 gullies in Wetherby, of which 96.54% were operational, 88 were non-runners and 1.21% were inaccessible.
• The difference between blinded and blocked gullies was outlined as, blinded will show water blockage over the grate with litter, leaves and silt deposits common; blocked will be from silt underneath the grate. For blinded grates, Environmental Services should be notified as a sweeping issue, for blocked, this is an issue for Highways Maintenance. The majority of surcharging gullies or manholes will be the responsibility of Yorkshire Water.
• Making requests to the correct department will allow processes for maintenance work to be more efficient. It was noted the Council holds no jurisdiction for combined or foul sewers, these are maintained by Yorkshire Water who hold a statuary right to place and maintain apparatus.
• The Gullies Team do not hold necessary licences to carry sewage or deal with the waste. They also do not have a named contact within Yorkshire Water and will have to go through the call centre, the same procedure as the public.
• The severity and occurrence of under road drainage issues was noted to be increasing due to more extreme weather, drains being of the Victorian era which are no longer fit for purpose or population capacity and non-biodegradable items causing blockages.
• Updates on resolving ongoing drainage issues for each ward were outlined as:

o  The golf course development at King Lane, Alwoodley, with Planning and Mineral enforcement keeping pressure on developers to use wheel washing facilities for their heavy goods vehicles. The filter drain, installed in 2020, is to be restored in due course.

o  Further site survey requirements to resolve water surfacing issues at A58 Bardsey in Harewood.

o  A principal inspection to be conducted at Wetherby Bridge and resurfacing proposed for 2024/25. It was noted this is the responsibility of the Bridges Team.

o  Boston Road swale in Wetherby is a Council flood risk structure and required discussions between Flood Risk Management and Drainage officers before any remedial works.

o  A non-running gully identified by the York Road junction near Wetherby Morrison’s is set to be replaced in the next financial year. There was discussion regarding the responsible department for resolving overarching flooding issues.

o  Deighton Road in Wetherby required further survey of gullies and connections.

o  The bottom of Spofforth Hill, Wetherby, required a site visit, preferably during rain, to develop a clearer understanding of drainage issues as a previous study noted no non-running gullies.

The Committee discussed the following:

• It was confirmed to Members that the intention to use a single software across the Highways and Transportation department was to eliminate time spent navigating between softwares and to reduce costs for the various licenses. Assurance was given that AMX will be tailored to be effective.
• Committee Members offered support in accessing a dedicated contact for Yorkshire Water, which was welcomed. Officers believed Yorkshire Water required an audit trail to record all enquiries, however, an area manager covering East Leeds had been a point of contact recently.
• To conduct a connection excavation, generally between sewers and grates or ditches and soakaways in rural areas, requires a relevant permit and cross department involvement.
• Further to issues noted at A58 Bardsey, an interconnected drainage issue was noted at Keswick Lane/Rigton Bank with a request to hold a site meeting with relevant Parish Councillors to discuss and resolve issues.
• Although specifics for the schedule for the 4^th cycle cleaning work is difficult to determine due to the vast nature of the works, Ward Members can provide information to residents of general timings to limit obstructions to the tankers.
• Planning and Mineral enforcement had perceived the developers to be appropriately cleaning the wheels of vehicles for the golf course development at King Lane, Alwoodley. However, the experience of residents was contrary to this with mud on roads and undesignated routes noted, further monitoring will be required.
• It was confirmed to Committee Members that gullies highlighted by the Environment Agency to be a flood risk, are serviced on average, every 6 months. This is data based on a historic map which is supplemented by more recent Council data, which helps identify gullies which may need attention sooner.
• As many gullies and drains were built at a time of lower population levels and new housing developments are expected in the area, consultation from planning to the drainage department will assist with installation of appropriate infrastructure in flood risk areas.
• As best practise to limit disruption to residents and maximise efficiency, strong collaboration between branches of the Highways department was noted to be generally positive during traffic management road closures to conduct maintenance work and should be encouraged. The Committee agreed to write to the Chief Officer, Highways and Transportation to advocate for this collaborative work in all cases for planned road closures.
• Officers were thanked for their diligence and commitment to providing a high-quality service level.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report, along with Members comments, noted.

(Councillors Cohen, Firth and Robinson joined the meeting during consideration of this item, as such, it was noted that the meeting had become quorate in line with the Council Procedure Rules 28.3, and therefore the Committee was able to take formal decisions from that point in the meeting)