Councils unite to form joint environmental services company

On Thursday 13 October, the cabinets of both Cheltenham Borough Council and Cotswold District Council voted formally to establish a joint local authority company controlled by both authorities, delivering collective savings of at least £700,000 in a full financial year for both councils.

This paves the way for a local authority controlled joint environmental services company to come into being on 1 April 2012.  The company will deliver a range of environmental services including waste, street cleaning and recycling across both the Cotswolds and Cheltenham borough.  

Cheltenham Borough Council will go live with the new arrangements, including the transfer of existing operational services employees to the new company, on 1 April. Cotswold District Council’s ‘go live’ date will be in August 2012 when the employees currently working for Cotswold District Council’s waste contractor SITA will transfer to the new company.

Both cabinets agreed a range of details, including the appointment of Cotswold District Council’s strategic director, Ralph Young, and Cheltenham Borough Council’s strategic director, Grahame Lewis, as directors of the new company.

Commenting on the vote, councillor Roger Whyborn, Cheltenham Borough Council’s cabinet member for sustainability said: "This is a good day for taxpayers in Cheltenham. The governance and financial management arrangements envisaged for the company will ensure greater efficiency and tighter financial control with both councils paying for the service ‘at cost’ instead of funding profit margins of privately-owned waste contractors. This will contribute to achieving overall cost reduction targets. This partnership has also attracted a lot of attention across the country, especially because it will deliver good value for the tax-payers of Cheltenham and Cotswolds."

For media enquiries, contact: Richard Gibson, telephone: 01242 235354, email richard.gibson@cheltenham.gov.uk

Notes

Under the new arrangements, the following services will fall within the remit of the joint environmental services company:

Cheltenham

• waste collection
• kerbside recycling collections
• organic waste collections
• servicing of neighbourhood recycling sites
• operation of the Swindon Road recycling centre
• street cleaning
• public toilet cleaning
• grounds maintenance
• grounds maintenance of Cheltenham Borough Homes
• fleet management and maintenance

Cotswold

• waste collection
• kerbside recycling collections
• organic waste collections
• servicing of neighbourhood recycling sites
• street cleaning