Environmental Services are responsible for waste and recycling, parks, street cleansing, grounds maintenance, tree maintenance, cemeteries and crematoriums, landscaping, pest control, environmental crime and public protection.

How well we are performing

Environmental Services receive a large number of enquiries every year about maintaining the city environment. Challenging targets are set to ensure that our teams respond in a timely way to issues reported by the public.  Environmental Services monitors its performance to ensure that it exceeds the targets set and then compares the performance to previous years.

You can view the Environmental Maintenance Report from the 'Downloads' section to see the number of enquiries we receive and how well we have done in responding to them. We also use this data to compile the top issues that affect people and the hot spot areas where they occur. Environmental Services can then use this information to prioritise resources and put resources to where they are needed. 

The Environmental maintenance report shows how well we respond to customer enquiries. It details the number of issues received and enquiries resolved and our performance.

Customer satisfaction results

Satisfaction with...

Confidence interval/Margin of error

2023

+/- 6%

2021

+/- 4.5%

2019

+/- 9.5%

Environmental Services overall80%57%57%
Do you believe you were treated fairly?86%73%71%
Street cleansing56%49%52%
Litter bin emptying65%67%72%
Graffiti removal48%57%62%
Fly tip removalnot asked*38%43%
Grass cutting69%72%61%
Hedge maintenance63%63%58%
Green open space/Play areasnot asked*64%66%
Cemeteriesnot asked*82%85%
Pest control67%54%67%
Tree maintenancenot asked*57%49%
General household waste collection90%84%79%
Household recycling collection89%85%80%
Garden waste collection83%76%67%
Bulky household collection94%54%60%
HWRC's90%73%70%
Litter/dog fouling enforcementnot asked*31%not asked
Fly tipping enforcementnot asked*23%not asked
Removal of abandoned vehiclesnot asked*45%not asked
Dealing with statutory nuisance (Noise/odour/light/smoke/filthy premises/accumulations)46%30%not asked

*Questions about fly tipping, tree maintenance, enforcement and public protection were revised as the previous survey had returned a high percentage of ‘don’t know’ replies or satisfaction based on preconceived ideas about the service provided from residents who had not used it. This set of questions was redesigned to both inform residents about these services and to get feedback on what they knew about the service provided. For example, this time we asked, ‘Are you aware that the council inspects all council trees on our roads, footpaths, parks & open spaces as a priority every 2 years?’ Questions about our cemeteries and our parks were also revised to provide a more detailed understanding of user experience.

Fly tipping

With satisfaction levels historically low, due to the amount of fly tipping rather than the speed of removal, we asked for feedback on how to reduce fly tipping. Respondents were asked whether they agreed with the following:

 

Yes

No

CCTV is a deterrent

67%

33%

Displaying images is a deterrent

61%

39%

Would be willing to report a fly tipper

92%

8%

You said, We did

Four new Smart CCTV cameras will be purchased to help us identify and enforce against fly tippers and  a drone were purchased. 

Tree maintenance

New questions were asked to determine residents understanding of the service; what it does and when to get in touch. 66% of respondents were not aware that the council inspect trees along the highway and in our parks as a priority every 2 years and 62% did not how to report a dead/damaged /diseased/unhealthy tree to the council. Furthermore, only 58% of respondents believed that the council protected its trees. 

You said, We did

Customer Services Business Rules and the trees web page reviewed to ensure easier navigation to ensure residents understand what the scope of the service is and what we do to manage the tree stock.

A digital tree map has also been developed, where residents can click on a tree and see its inspection history and information about the tree.

Public Nuisance
  • 18% of those completing the survey had contacted the council about a public nuisance and of those 46% were satisfied with the response from the council to help resolve the situation (up from 30% in 2021).
  • The top 5 reasons for contacting the council were noise: pests, smoke and hoarding.
  • When asked if they had tried to resolve the issue with the person direct 54% said yes.
  • 19% of respondents recall having received information from the council about fraud prevention.

You said, We did

A ‘Help at the Hub’ initiative which takes place in community settings with a range of partner agencies. It provides support and assistance on issues including the cost-of-living crisis, dementia support, scams and rogue trading.  Scams advice and awareness is also provided via social media and in person to a wide range of community groups.  Work in this area is ongoing, and officers continually network to reach vulnerable and minority groups. 

Parks & Green Open Spaces
  • 87% of respondents had visited a park, green open space or nature reserve in the last 12 months.
  • The length of the visit is 31% up to an hour, 42% 1-2 hours and just 2% more than this. With 37% visiting weekly, 23% monthly, 19% daily and 21% just once in the last year.
  • 83% of those visiting said the experience was enjoyable with just 4% saying that it was unpleasant. When asked what made their visit less unpleasant the most common feedback was lack of toilet provision, antisocial behaviour, litter and graffiti.
  • 74% of those visiting felt safe, however 26 % didn’t due to suspicious behaviour including drinking, youths and motorcycles.

You said, We did

Where there are reports of ASB additional patrols are undertaken by the ranger service and collaboration with other internal and external stakeholders to tackle the issues.

Bereavements Services/Cemeteries

47% respondents had visited a cemetery with:

  • 94% satisfied with opening times.
  • 92% satisfied with the facilities.
  • 88% satisfied with the condition of the graves/burial area.
  • 87% satisfied with the standard of grounds maintenance.
  • 73% believing it to be value for money.
  • 93% satisfied with the helpfulness of staff.
  • 93% satisfied with communication.
  • 80% satisfied with memorial options available.
  • 92% satisfied with the standard of service received.
Customer feedback on how to reduce litter
  1. More litter bins/smart bins.
  2. More emptying of litter bins.
  3. More cleansing.
  4. More enforcement.
  5. Prioritise/target hot spots.
  6. More education.
  7. More community involvement.
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