Purpose

Transformative initiative to modernise our
gully cleansing programme and create a comprehensive and
sustainable cleansing regime.

Two-year contract to survey, validate, and asses the entire gully
asset register. Gully's with a condition above an agreed threshold
will be cleansed in year one (~40%). Re-baseline of gully's in year
two to establish multiple data points for individual gully's from
which a risk based cyclical cleansing programme can be developed.
This will align with the purchase of two new gully vehicles which
have a 12-18 month lead in time.

Decision

DECISION
 
The Director for Neighbourhood Services has
approved the procurement of an external drainage cleansing and
validation contractor secured on a 2-year contract at a value of
approximately £600,000.
 
REASONS FOR THE
DECISION
 
The Council’s current approach to gully
cleansing is operationally constrained and reactive. With one
cleansing crew and a gully tanker beyond serviceable life
(necessitating costly hire vehicles), there is insufficient
capacity to undertake or complete planned cyclical programmes. This
has created inconsistency across the network, leading to
duplication, inefficient use of resources and increasing localised
customer requests (complaints). Establishing a borough-wide
baseline through an external support will create parity across the
asset register and enable evidence led decisions around how we
better deploy limited resources. This includes cleansing
frequencies, prioritisation and long-term resourcing. An external
provider can bring immediate capacity, the technical skills to
collect robust and consistent data points and allows the Council to
build a risk-based model.