LGN March 2019

Volume 41. No1

Local Government News www.LocalGov.co.uk

March 2019

Lighting trends How councils can use lighting to embark on a smart city journey

Reshaping councils What final hurdles do merging authorities have to overcome?

The PWLB alternatives Other funding available beyond the Public Works Loan Board

PREVENTS SQUATTING ASSET STRIPPING ARSON BURGLARY ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY FLY TIPPING WATER INGRES LITIGATION ADVERSE PUBLICITY LEGAL COSTS

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Contents

Editor Laura Sharman T: 020 7973 4644 l.sharman@hgluk.com Commercial Manager Jason Pidgeon T: 020 7973 4645 Head of Local Government Sales Kasia Brzeska: T: 020 7973 4769 Sales Co-ordinator Adrian Bradnam T: 020 7973 4646 a.bradnam@hgluk.com Production Editor Trent Nicholson Marketing Mustak Kothia m.kothia@hgluk.com Subscriptions Maggie Spillane m.spillane@hgluk.com Editorial Director Michael Burton m.burton@hgluk.com Managing Director Bill Butler b.butler@hgluk.com

finance

What the introduction of tourism tax in the UK could mean for councils across the country P17 What initiatives Leeds City Council is embracing to unlock low-carbon finance P18 It & technology

Changing the discourse surrounding the use of chatbots in local government P20 How local government is coping with the introduction of GDPR a year after it came into effect P22 Local Government News (ISSN: 02615185) is published by Hemming Media, a division of Hemming Group Ltd, 32 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SS. Local Government News is published on a quarterly strictly controlled circulation basis and sent free of charge to readers who meet the publisher’s registered terms of control. To register, readers should call 020 7973 6694. Maximum life of registration is three years. Other readers can take out an annual subscription of £55.00 in the UK or £69.00 overseas (including Eire).

Every effort is made to ensure that the contents of this publication are accurate but the publisher accepts no responsibility for effects arising there from. We do not accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from unsolicited contributions.

Opinions expressed by the contributors and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher. This publication is protected by copyright and no part may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher.

built environment

With housing stock in short supply and councils’ budgets under pressure, why is the Government sitting on hundreds of empty dwellings while leaving local councils with the bill of maintenance? P25 How four different pilot projects have helped improve the quality of life for people living with dementia P26 highways & street lighting

How councils can use IoT technology to weather the storm P31 A look at ‘3D’ road markings that are helping to improve road safety on Westminster’s streets, as part of a project with Westminster City Council and WSP P32 public realm

The value of play and green spaces in preserving the nation’s health P36 recruitment

The latest jobs in the local government sector P47

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March 2019

News in brief this month Laura Sharman rounds up the most popular news stories from our website www.LocalGov.co.uk

Council tax bills to increase by an average of 4.5%

Scottish councils ‘delighted’ at pay deal with unions

Council to take legal action over Storm Doris death

Council tax bills are set to rise by 4.5% in England from April, the second highest increase in the last decade.

Local government workers have welcomed a new pay deal that is set to deliver cost of living increases over the next few years after a decade of stagnating wages.

A West Midlands council has confirmed that it will pursue legal action against the building management company of the Mander Centre for the death of Tahnie Martin.

Business rates appeals will cost councils over £1bn

Poor, urban areas see majority of homeless deaths

Greenwich moves to in-source services

Councils in England predict that business rates appeal will cost them £1.1bn in 2019/20, new figures have revealed.

Welfare cuts and a lack of social housing are driving the homelessness crisis which has resulted in hundreds of deaths, particularly in poor, urban areas..

Greenwich council has decided to take some services back in-house after warnings that the companies it set up are facing financial problems.

March 2019

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Web news

Amey facing £200m Birmingham divorce bill

Lord warns ‘deadly’ street design is increasing vehicle speeds

Birmingham to axe over 1,000 jobs due to ‘brutal’ Whitehall cuts

Amey could be set to pay more than £200m to extricate itself from its troubled 25-year PFI contract with Birmingham, according to reports.

The average speed of vehicles using a shared space in London has increased by 5mph over the past six years, new figures have revealed.

Britain’s biggest council says it is facing ‘the most challenging period its history’ after announcing a further round of huge cuts in its workforce.

Council chiefs insist waste reforms must be ‘fully funded’

Council officer fined nearly £700 for data breach

Councils forced to sell off thousands of public spaces

Local authority leaders have welcomed plans to ‘overhaul’ the waste system, but cautioned Whitehall that any reforms need to be fully funded.

A former council officer has been fined hundreds of pounds after he emailed confidential information to his partner to help her in a job interview.

Councils have been forced to sell off more than 12,000 public spaces since 2014, a new investigation has revealed.

Council tax rises will not fix ‘underfunded’ care system

Glasgow council to reform asylum process

Brokenshire announces £13m of ‘much-needed’ park funding

Council tax increases will fail to fix the ‘chronically underfunded’ social care system, local authority leaders have warned.

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A Scottish council could become the first local authority to pilot proposed changes to the asylum process that aim to make life easier for both councils and those seeking asylum.

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Councils across the country are to benefit from a multimillion pound funding boost to ‘breathe new life’ into green spaces.

March 2019

News feature

In competition with the PWLB

Christian Wall considers what alternative funding channels are available to local authorities beyond the Public Works Loan Board.

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orrowing from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) for 45 years is easy. A quick phone call, answer a couple of very basic questions and 48 hours later the money appears in the council’s bank account. What is there not to like?

Cost and inflexibility.

For most borrowers, the PWLB charges a margin of 0.8% over the Gilt rate. With 45-year Gilt rates at 1.6%, it is not insignificant and doubles the cost of a 1-year loan. Moreover, too many financial institutions see the PWLB rate as a target and set their interest rates accordingly.

US local authorities rated ‘AA’ currently borrow in the capital markets at a 0.15% spread to US treasuries which is determined by the market.

Most UK local authorities would be similarly rated and it should not be forgotten that the PWLB’s margin was previously 0.1%. It is obvious that the current margin is arbitrary.

Furthermore, the PWLB’s early repayment regime introduced in November 2007, retrospectively for outstanding loans, is punitive. As at 31 March 2018, the £50.4bn of maturity loans taken out by English authorities would have cost an additional £24.4bn to repay that day. Typically a lender would receive a reduced interest rate in return for being given

March 2019

such protection by a borrower, not a higher rate. That phone call is starting to look very expensive.

There are alternatives, but whether or not a PWLB loan is the best option, financing decisions should be driven by a coherent strategy and often, the cashflow requirements of the specific project being financed.

Many authorities base their borrowing decisions around a ‘feel’ for interest rates and the level of cash available, often with an eye on the maturity of their existing debt. For some, now that austerity has persisted for nearly 10 years and reserves have been exhausted, the folly of not taking a strategic view is becoming all too clear. Many regeneration and housing projects are being aborted as the interest payments cannot be funded before income is generated.

All assets have life cycles, all projects have cashflow requirements and all authorities are forced to make minimum revenue provision to fully fund their capital assets. Coupled with a well-reasoned view of interest rates, the source, type and maturity of their debt should be driven by these considerations.

Something is clearly not right when many authorities now take out 45-year fixed rate maturity PWLB loans rather than the 25-year maturity loans taken out when interest rates were higher.

Although public bond issues currently only make sense for larger authorities that can borrow significant sums, if more authorities accessed the markets, over time the required volume and pricing would improve such that bonds would be a feasible option for most authorities, as they are in the US. Even now though, they can be cheaper.

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Some products, notably forward starting loans, offer interest rate certainty without the need to make immediate interest; perfect for funding regeneration and housing projects even if the initial interest rate is often higher than current rates. Inter-authority loans and short term, variable rate debt offer considerable interest savings to authorities and given that it is unlikely that interest rates will rise significantly in the immediate future, do not present undue interest rate risk and provide flexibility for early repayment or refinancing.

No financial product is risk free. LOBOs have been controversial because many of the loans were complex and not properly understood.

It is therefore paramount that councils understand the terms and risks a debt product presents. However, no authority can predict a Black Swan: even the PWLB changed its terms and condition on existing loans. n Christian Wall is director of local government at PFM

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With the new authorities of East Suffolk and West Suffolk launching from next month, what final hurdles do the councils face in coming together? Neil Merrick reports.

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ithin a few weeks, there will be fewer district councils in Suffolk. Mergers to create the new authorities of East Suffolk and West Suffolk from four existing districts were approved by the Government last year.

Both will start operating from April 1, with voters electing councillors to the newly created authorities one month later. The councils involved have spent months, and to some extent years, preparing for merger by sharing services and senior officers.

But how can they be certain that residents know what is happening and accept the case for change before they step into the polling booth on May 2?

To some extent, the biggest change is in East Suffolk, formed from the merger of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney. A reduction in councillors from 90 to 55 led to major changes in some wards. In future, councillors will represent an average of 3,670 electors, compared to about 2,000 at present.

Stephen Baker, who has been joint chief executive of the existing councils for more than 10 years, says the cut will mean fewer backbench councillors have limited roles and feel disengaged from the running of the council.

‘It will make for a modern and streamlined authority,’ he adds.

Within the community, explains Baker, residents are generally aware that the two councils have been working closely together for the past decade. ‘That’s a strong bedrock from which we can work,’ he says. But that does not mean some people won’t need further reminding of the merger.

The councils have shared a website and social media for the past two years. An explanatory note is being included in council tax bills going out this month. ‘We’ve ramped up communications about us working together in partnership,’ says Baker. ‘People are aware that East Suffolk is coming as a local authority.’

The road to merger for Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury, soon to become West Suffolk, started soon after Ian Gallin became joint chief executive in 2012. But it was not until 2017, long after the councils had brought together service

March 2019

Redefining the shape o departments, that the authorities agreed to go for full merger.

Residents, says Gallin, are already used to seeing the West Suffolk logo on refuge lorries, council tax bills and elsewhere. The two authorities have shared a website and corporate brand for seven years, so the merger should not come as much of a shock. ‘The hospital is West Suffolk Hospital. The college is West Suffolk College,’ he says. ‘A majority of people thought we’d already done it.’

During consultations, some residents in all four districts thought the merged councils were already in place. But that did not stop one in five people in soon-to-become West Suffolk saying they were against formal merger, with concerns over political accountability and centralisation of power.

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The reduction of councillors in West Suffolk is less severe, from 72 to 64, with fewer ward changes. Fears that everything will be focussed on Bury St Edmunds, part of St Edmundsbury, are also misplaced, says Gallin.

Council offices will remain open in three other locations, with a possibility that council meetings may switch between Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall, part of Forest Heath, once a new building (part of a school) is opened in Mildenhall.

‘People will receive the same services wherever they walk in,’ he adds.

Suffolk is not the only part of England facing local government reorganisation this spring.

In Dorset, two unitary authorities are being created from nine existing councils, including six districts that will subsequently disappear.

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News feature

e of local government “A study last year by the Local Government Association found councils were saving about £971m per year through shared services and other partnership arrangements.”

In Somerset, Taunton Deane and West Somerset are joining forces to become a new district council. The creation of Somerset West and Taunton is more of a shotgun marriage, brought about by the acute financial problems facing West Somerset. James Hassett, who was appointed chief executive of the new authority last November, declined to be interviewed.

Elsewhere, there is also little doubt money, along with capacity, plays a key part in persuading authorities to share services and

consider merger. Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, says earlier predictions of a major reduction in district councils proved unfounded, with higher tier authorities generally facing more severe budget issues.

In some cases, districts have more opportunity to raise money through housing and other property-related schemes, says CarrWest. ‘District councils as a sector are looking more financially robust,’ he adds.

A study last year by the Local Government Association found councils were saving about £971m per year through shared services and other partnership arrangements. By becoming West Suffolk, Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury expect to save a further £800,000 per year on top of the £4m saved annually by sharing services. Suffolk Coastal and Waveney forecast that merger will save £1.3m on top of savings of £16m from sharing services. But Stephen Baker stresses the advantages go much further, including recruitment of more specialist and experienced staff.

Council tax for the two local authorities was harmonised prior to merger and is reflected in new bills. ‘For a minority, it may be the first time they’ve heard of East Suffolk, admits Baker. Most signs and vehicles currently display the names of Suffolk Coastal or Waveney and will need to be changed after April 1.

In West Suffolk it will take seven years, based on current projections, for council tax in Forest Heath to reach the same level as St Edmundsbury’s. However, Ian Gallin says this issue was largely neutralised by the fact council tax in Forest Heath would have risen anyway, regardless of merger.

Shadow authorities involving all existing councillors were set up in both East and West Suffolk to agree next year’s budget and council tax, plus other priorities. This means councillors from the different authorities have experience of working together.

Nationally, there is no indication that most councils currently sharing services, and in some cases chief executives, have any wish to merge, but Gallin sees it as a natural step forward.

Years of following virtually identical policies gave the councils the momentum and confidence needed, so that merger was only logical. ‘From very early days, we had a [single] corporate plan,’ he says. ‘There were different projects, but with a single approach and a single agenda.’ n

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March 2019

Finance

Basic income pilots Gail Irvine finds out how local government in Scotland is leading the way on basic income.

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here is a growing interest in basic income – the concept of regular, unconditional payments for citizens, whether in work or unemployed - in the UK and around the globe.

In Scotland, four local authorities are at the forefront of examining how basic income could be implemented in practice. Fife Council, North Ayrshire Council, City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council are scoping out the feasibility of a coordinated basic income pilot across their localities.

A carefully designed pilot would go a long way towards appreciating the potential positive and negatives effects of basic income on individuals, communities, social services and the labour market. Supporters of basic income believe it could deliver a raft of benefits – from removing poverty traps, to cutting down bureaucracy, to providing a greater sense of freedom to citizens to choose to work, volunteer or care.

However, basic income is a radical and largely

March 2019

untested policy. It hasn’t been rolled out in any developed country which could serve as a comparator for Scotland. Therefore, as part of the ongoing feasibility work in Scotland, the Carnegie UK Trust has funded the production of a new report which critically analyses basic income pilots which have taken place around the globe. Our report asks - what practical lessons can Scotland learn from the experience of international pilots?

Here are some of the key findings: There is no ‘one size fits all,’ to piloting basic income. Decisions about payment levels, test sites and recipients are fuelled by the local context, challenges and political priorities.

Different choices have been pursued in the Netherlands and Finland (where the focus has mainly been on relaxing conditionality to achieve better social security claimant outcomes); and Ontario, Canada, where basic income (through the model of a negative income tax) was piloted as a means of tackling poverty. The challenge for the local authorities in Scotland is to design a pilot which will test the policy outcomes they want to see. Their overriding aim is that basic income contributes to reducing poverty.

Another challenge is coordinating the support necessary to run a pilot across the relevant levels of government, including social security and tax

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agencies. In the Netherlands, pilots were driven forward at municipal level, but compromises were made in the pilot design (refocusing on relaxing conditionality rather than testing a ‘pure’ or ‘full’ basic income) due to national legislation and priorities. This is a pertinent challenge in Scotland, where a critical success factor will be the extent to which both the UK and Scottish Governments can coordinate and support local authority-level pilots.

Finally, as in the old Harold Macmillan aphorism, political events can blow even a well-planned basic income pilot off course. This has been seen in Ontario, where a change of government has brought a premature halt to the pilot. A practical mitigation measure may be to opt for a pilot length which does not run into (planned) elections. There is also a clear place for ongoing communication and advocacy around the pilot aims to build cross-party support.

While focused on the lessons for Scotland and the feasibility work underway here, we hope the practical emphasis of our report will be of interest to organisations around the UK seeking to learn more about how basic income could be piloted. n Gail Irvine is senior policy and development officer at Carnegie UK Trust

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LGN finds out why local community organisations and councils must work together to save public spaces.

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ast year a Freedom of Information Request by Locality, the national network supporting community organisations to be strong and successful, discovered that more than 4,000 publicly owned buildings and spaces are being sold off each year. These are our parks, libraries, town halls and swimming pools.

Locality’s CEO Tony Armstrong makes it clear the devastation this causes. ‘This loss has huge consequences. These are the crucial community sites where people come together, meet their neighbours, take their kids and access local services.

‘The country feels more polarised than ever and we are living increasingly separate lives.

With the government currently bamboozled by Brexit, the broader political agenda has ground to a standstill. This needs to change. By showing a lead and supporting community ownership, the government has a huge opportunity to address the economic and social divides that led to Brexit in the first place.

‘Instead of being lost to the private sector, we want to see our public buildings and spaces protected through community ownership. For all of us. Forever.’

Locality recognises that local authorities have borne the brunt of austerity since 2010 and councils have often found themselves struggling to keep these vital spaces open, or have sold them for a short term cash boost to the private sector. It highlights that there are other ways. It’s not all about selling off and boarding up. Local community organisations can be key to economic boost.

Community organisations provide spaces for business start ups and social enterprises, creating hubs of local enterprises. Locality worked with NEF Consulting to measure the contribution this makes to the local economy: the economic value community organisations create not just through their own activities, but by hosting tenants. The findings were startling.

Ten Locality members had collectively enabled approximately 1,400 jobs and contributed £120m of gross value added to the local economy through their tenant organisations.

This economic contribution is particularly important because Locality members tend to work in the most deprived neighbourhoods – places the public sector finds ‘hard to reach’ and the private sector tends to forget.

So community organisations are a critical way of boosting the economy in so-called ‘left

March 2019

Protecting public spaces

“Instead of being lost to the private sector, we want to see our public buildings and spaces protected through community ownership. For all of us. Forever.” behind’ areas and creating genuinely inclusive growth.

But in order to harness the power of community, councils need to work with them.

Locality Trustee and CEO of Windmill Hill City Farm, Steve Sayers, working with the Victoria

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Park Action Group, (VPAG) was key to saving the historic Victoria Park Lodge in Bristol. Here, Sayers, who recognised the potential of this historic but increasingly run down building, the only one in the 60 acre Victoria Park, talks about the vital need for collaboration.

He says: ‘In 2017, there was a lot of conversation driven and coordinated by Locality about community asset transfer. I knew it could help save the Lodge. VPAG were keen about my suggestion for Windmill City Farm to take on the lease and the community asset transfer for the Lodge.

‘I put in to register it as an asset of community value. Then an expression of interest for a community asset transfer.

‘I am fortunate to have a good relationship with the community building lead at the council

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which helped with engagement. But other departments internally were coming up with plans to sell the Lodge as a four bedroom house.

Local people, myself included, knew nothing about this idea.

‘Working with VPAG we came up with business plan using it a community centre.

This would keep the Lodge in local authority hands, improve it as a financial asset and make it a valuable community resource. We knew we could generate income. Businesses wanted to

have office space in the Lodge. We would start a café and opening a meeting room.

‘None of this had been thought of by the council. We had to show there were other options apart from its sale.

‘I urge councils to open up discussion, meet local residents and come along to groups that support the asset they want to discuss.

The rhetoric councils like about working together doesn’t always translate into action.

Recognising local community organisations as

a valid, safe and enterprising means of keeping assets in public ownership would be so helpful for councils. We could help them by exchanging ideas, posing challenges and getting input.

‘Crucially in these tough financial times, we have access to funds they don’t such as Power to Change. We can bring in capital to improve council assets as well as having access to this ourselves. It doesn’t have to be councils doing all the work but we need the council to help us to save a space, then we can run with it ourselves.

Encourage people, allow them to be involved.

Use us as way to connect you to those you serve, your electorate. Our resources are flexible, get to know us, we are here already in the community you need to reach.

‘VPAG, for example has already achieved so much for Victoria Park including winning a European grant worth over £100,000 to provide more facilities for young people, setting up a ground breaking park watch scheme to improve security and reduce antisocial behaviour as well organising popular annual events.

‘There are further day to day ways councils could make engagement better. Due to my work I am used to navigating my way around the council structure. But for people without this, looking to save their space or even just finding out who you need to speak to is hugely challenging.

Councils need to be more sympathetic to this.

There needs to be a structured route for people to connect and share their ideas – otherwise it can feel like you are outside just shouting at the ramparts.

‘With Victoria Park Lodge, the future looks promising. There is a large site, Bedminster Green, next to the park but their charity tenants meant development could not go ahead. The Development department at the council now plan to move the charity into Victoria Park Lodge and the developer of Bedminster Green will refurbish it along with creating a Park café and public toilets.

‘It may not be our business plan but by getting involved and working together a much loved publicly owned building will be saved, re invigorated and the council will maintain an increasingly valuable asset.

‘We want to see our places that bring us together and that can transform lives protected community organisations can do this, now and for future generations, let’s work together to make it happen.’

For information about the Save Our Spaces campaign visit www.locality.org.uk n

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March 2019

Essential guide to managing your lifts and escalators LIFTEX

LIFTEX 2019 brings together the best innovations and latest developments from the lift & escalator industry. Find hundreds of products & services from an international cast of over 100 exhibitors. 15 – 16 May 2019, ExCeL, London.

Free registration at: www.liftex2019.com

Matt Ryan and Dave Cooper will address these issues in free seminars at the upcoming LIFTEX 2019 event.

Evacuation

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f we are aspiring to make buildings accessible to all, the question arises: what about evacuation?

This question began to be addressed formally in British Standards 30 year’s ago with BS 5588-8:1988 “Code of practice for means of escape for disabled people” which described an evacuation lift.

The safety of an evacuation lift depends on it being incorporated into a building design which protects the evacuation lift spaces, lobbies and refuges with adequate passive fire protection, and providing protection and resilience for electrical supplies including a secondary power supply.

With recent events initiating widespread reviews of current fire safety guidance, and an ageing population, evacuation methods and procedures for those with mobility impairment

March 2019

is one of the key issues and challenges that building designers and those managing/ operating buildings face. While new buildings are being fitted with evacuation lifts where required, there are large numbers of older buildings pre-dating modern standards expectations where there are seemingly no effective or practical evacuation lift provisions.

The improvement of the evacuation lift provision for these existing buildings is a serious challenge.

Fire safety design expert, Matt Ryan of the Fire Surgery, agrees: “Over the last 20 years lift technology and fire safety design approaches have advanced and evolved significantly, improving overall standards and consistency.

But this progress has led to there being a large (and sometimes confusing) variation in the standard and functionality of lifts that are intended to be used in the event of fire provided in the UK’s diverse existing building stock. For example, the level of protection and resilience afforded to an old-type “fireman’s” lift installed in a typical 1960’s residential tower block could be viewed as being minimal compared to a modern standard firefighter’s lift installed in a new-build residential block to BS EN 81-72: 2015 and BS9999: 2008.”

This in itself presents a challenge to building operators, as Ryan explains “This variation in standards can be challenging from a building fire strategy and fire risk assessment perspective, as well as for the fire service who will in a lot of cases be expected to use these lifts at the time of an emergency incident”. n

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Focus on…

Escalators Dave Cooper, MD of lift and escalator engineering consultancy, LECS (UK), gives a whistle stop overview of maintenance and standards required of escalator owners.

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here are thousands of accidents on escalators every year. Many result in criminal or, more often, civil claims against the owner of the escalator.

There is, of course, an onus of duty of care on escalator owners to ensure that their equipment is appropriately specified, properly maintained and adequately examined.

However, owners often fall foul of this because of insufficient documentary evidence clearly demonstrating that it has fulfilled its duty.

The primary criminal legislation that applies is the Health & Safety at Work Act. This legislation places an onus “as far as reasonably practicable” to comply with general duties under the Act. As there is no specific mention of escalators in this Act, duty holders may be required to explain and/or demonstrate how they have met their obligations.

There are a number of good guidance documents that can assist in achieving this. The former Health & Safety Executive documents, PM34 (Safety in the use of escalators) and PM45 (Escalators: Periodic Through Examination) were replaced some time ago by the SAFed Escalator & Moving Walks Guidance Document. This gives a useful overview of escalator ownership requirements including periodic checks that can be undertaken by non-technical personnel. In this guidance document the requirements for periodic thorough examination of escalators is also well documented (this is very helpful given that escalators do not come under The Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) regulation 9 requirements for periodic thorough examinations).

Periodic thorough examinations can be

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Advertorial Our modern built environment is inconceivable without lifts, escalators, lifting platforms and stairlifts.

At the “top end” of high-speed lifts, there’s continual research into solutions to move more people faster using less building space. This innovation heavily influences the world of standards where the primary focus is safety. The development of British and European standards has been central to lowering accident rates – both to those using lifts, escalators and lifting platforms, and to those working on them. In this guide we look at everything from standards to maintenance.

How to negotiate a maintenance agreement

I compared to a car’s MOT. Similar to a car, owners have to maintain an escalator and it is expected to be maintained to the standard to which it was manufactured standard e.g. BS EN 115-1.

Nevertheless, an owner must be aware that since the original escalator standards (BS 5656 etc) were published there have been significant improvements in standards in a bid to raise safety levels, with devices such as under step lighting, anti-access guards and missing or dropped step detectors being introduced.

The basic requirement for procuring an escalator also starts with an adequate risk assessment being undertaken for the environment in which it is to be installed (BS 5656 Part 2). It is amazing how many designers fail to undertake this despite requirements under the Construction Design & Management Regulations for a designer’s risk assessment. For owners of existing escalators there is a standard (BS EN 115-2) entitled “improvement of safety of existing escalators”.

This will assist in identifying risks and give the ability to mitigate them.

Owners should also be aware of BS 7801 - a standard for the safe working on escalators.

This provides guidance on safety procedures to help avoid accidents when operatives are working on escalators as well as when the general public that may come into contact with these operatives.

In my 27 years’ experience of giving expert witness evidence in cases involving escalators the major failing of owners is the lack of documentation required to prove that regular maintenance and examination is taking place.

That in itself is an easy problem to solve. n

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t goes without saying that a good maintenance agreement is essential for the longevity and upkeep of your building’s lifts. But what does a ‘good’ agreement look like and can you expect to make savings if you negotiate well from the outset?

Sources of guidance For any building manager there are obvious challenges in understanding the world of lifts and few impartial sources of guidance out there. Two useful sources are LEIA’s Lift Owner News items and LEIA’s Code of practice for maintenance.

The latter was created to form a mutual agreement between FMs and maintenance providers, with the aim of forming a valuable basis for the overall maintenance agreement.

It sets out the separate requirements for the maintenance contractor and the building manager.

Maintenance fundamentals A good maintenance agreement should reflect the needs of the lift manager and the type and usage of the lifts; so, it should have flexibility in the type of maintenance required and the periodicity. A good programme of maintenance will protect the value of the lift assets and maximise their lifespan – reducing future health and safety problems.

In the LEIA Code of practice, there are three generic types of maintenance: 1. Basic 2. Comprehensive 3. Premium These work alongside other elements which need to be included as part of the overall agreement, including the number of maintenance visits required. These will be dependent on the needs of the FM and the type of equipment onsite.

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Timescales A good agreement should align the interests of both the FM and the maintenance provider.

For example, a comprehensive maintenance agreement should be long enough to allow the contractor and FM to both benefit from early work to improve the reliability of the lift.

Typically, this should be at least three to five years. Conversely, short agreement periods can result in reactive maintenance which is not ideal for the longevity of the lift.

What it should cover The essential elements of a traditional maintenance agreement are: • Planned maintenance visits • Attendance at call-outs and breakdowns • Parts included and any exclusions • Handling of alarm calls.

Each of these should be agreed with the maintenance provider along with any other requirements and in order to do this, the lift may well need to be surveyed in the first instance. n

March 2019

PUBLIC SPEND

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13/07/2018 16:24

Finance

Impact of tourism tax Rory Alexander explores what the introduction of tourism tax in the UK could mean for local councils.

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dinburgh is about to become the first city in the UK to introduce a tourism tax, but there are still considerations to be made as the council determines exactly what implementation of the tax will look like.

The tax, which is estimated to raise about £11.6m to £14.6m per annum for the Scottish capital, will be used to manage some of the impacts of the booming tourism sector in Edinburgh.

The introduction of the tax remains a controversial topic. An Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce survey showed that 70% of businesses would support the introduction of a tax. However, on the other side, the Scottish Tourism Alliance said further conversation and debate on the issue was needed before any decision was made.

While tourism taxes are common across the EU, the UK hospitality industry remains strongly opposed to introducing such a tax on the basis that it’s not competitive, and that the UK already levies one of the highest rates of VAT on tourism services in the EU.

www.LocalGov.co.uk

It’s not just the City of Edinburgh Council that has been involved in the debate. The Highland Council has also announced that a tourism tax is up for consultation after seeing an influx in tourism to the region, with almost 6.5 million visitors to the area last year. The tourism tax proposed by the Highland Council could raise between £5m to £10m per year.

These real examples are forcing local councils across the UK to consider the impact of what a tourism tax could mean for their local area as the sector continues to grow, and what key factors they would need to contemplate if it was to be introduced.

As a starting point, local councils need to provide clarity on how the funds raised from the tax will be used as well as consider how the funding will complement the support that is already provided through central Government.

For example, the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund by the Scottish Government will see £6m invested over the next two years to support tourist facilities and communities in rural Scotland. The fund was developed in part to support increased tourism in the Highlands as a result of the North Coast 500 route. The Highland Council should therefore consider if the additional tourist tax is a necessity, or if it will deter tourists to other parts of Scotland that are not taxed.

Tourism taxes have become common in many parts of the EU and can be seen as a way for cities

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to raise funds that support their growing tourism industry. But it will be important for councils to ensure the taxes they propose maintain their competitiveness in the market, and they will need to provide clarity to stakeholders on how the funds will be used in order to gather support and ensure an open debate ahead of any sort of successful implementation. n Rory Alexander is planning and local government partner at Morton Fraser and a legal associate of the RTPI.

The Transient Visitor Levy (TVL) scheme in Edinburgh would include a flat £2 per night per room charge.

The tax in Edinburgh could raise up to £14.6m per year.

A public consultation revealed 85% of people strongly support the new levy.

March 2019

Finance

Unlocking low carbon finance Cllr Judith Blake explains what initiatives Leeds City Council is embracing to unlock low-carbon finance.

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reen Finance offers the UK a fantastic opportunity to transform our towns and cities through smarter, cleaner ways of using energy - but it will take local and regional leaders like myself to work together to make it happen.

In January, I opened a conference in my home city of Leeds where representatives of banks, private investment funds, developers, climate change organisations, local and central government and the wider business community were all committed to playing their part.

It was clear to all that a huge gap exists between the projects authorities have on the table and the money needed - both public and private - to bring them to life.

Post-Brexit there is also the need to replace the European funding previously ploughed into many projects of this type, for example from Horizon 2020 and £1bn between 2014 and 2020 from the ERDF. Many local authorities across the country are already developing innovative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help residents living in fuel poverty. Leeds, along with Cambridgeshire, Glenrothes in Fife, Manchester, Nottingham and Swindon were all

March 2019

held up as leading examples at our conference.

They are doing this while budgets are tight – not just because we must, but also because it makes good long-term economic sense.

But given these local, clean energy projects have the potential to reduce our reliance on dirty fossil fuels, cut the costs of heating our homes and ensure our residents have clean air to breathe, too many are stuck in the conceptualisation or feasibility stages and need a hefty push towards full commercialisation.

Science tells us we have to act immediately if we are to avoid climate breakdown so why aren’t we? I co-chair the 92-strong UK100 network of local government leaders and to achieve our collective commitment to 100% clean energy by 2050 much more needs doing.

The same applies to local leaders across the country, who will all need to make this same transition for the millions of people we represent, saving our authorities money that could go back into public services and into people’s pockets, while also bringing health and well-being benefits.

The conference was a great opportunity to come together and learn more about identifying these opportunities. However, it will take a combined effort between local and national government to show the private sector just how investable these projects are.

In Leeds we are pleased to be at the forefront of initiatives to unlock low-carbon finance in collaboration with UK100, local authorities and financial partners. This model could and should be replicated elsewhere.

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Our energy system is changing from a centralised system, to one where local technologies are becoming more important.

Our own PIPES District Heating Network uses heat generated by processing waste at the council’s recycling and energy recovery facility.

It is projected to reduce energy bills by at least 10% each year for every household connected to it.

Accessing finance to deliver integrated local clean energy at scale though remains a challenge for many. UK100’s research shows authorities would value a single gateway to apply to for support, citing too many government departments to go to for different pots of money and a system that confuses the authorities as much as it does the investors.

Energy and clean growth minister, Claire Perry, gave the keynote speech at the conference, reaffirming that the Government takes this issue and opportunity seriously.

Working together we can deliver innovation in low-carbon energy infrastructure that will stimulate our local economies, provide growth and boost jobs and training opportunities for the next-generation in our communities. But we can’t waste any time.

I believe the conference kickstarted important conversations, connections and co-operation and maybe now after reading this, you too will want to join us in moving our local areas one step closer to a cleaner, greener UK. n Cllr Judith Blake is leader of Leeds City Council and co-chair of UK100

www.LocalGov.co.uk

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IT & technology

Understanding chatbots Julian Mead calls for an open and informed discussion around the use of chatbots in local government.

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ver the last three months, I’ve been working closely with a number of local authorities to plan, organise, and implement channel shift and to advise on the digital transformation process.

Like any business or organisation, each local authority has developed its own, unique working culture. Each is a distinct community with its own way of doing things and its own approach to the country-wide challenges that most local government bodies battle with on a daily basis.

Despite this, I discovered a fascinating commonality was shared by all those local authorities I worked with. In every case, chatbots and other AI technologies were viewed with equal parts excitement, interest, and suspicion.

This made me think about the way that AI applications like chatbots are being introduced into a cultural climate that doesn’t necessarily understand what the technology is and what it can do.

It made me consider the way we need to challenge misconceptions and change the discourse surrounding chatbots if we’re to begin implementing the technology effectively.

How are chatbots perceived?

When working with the various local authorities, the subject of chatbots was always met with enthusiastic curiosity. While some had a clear understanding of what they could do, most employees were unaware of the role they already play in our everyday lives.

In large part, this is why many local authorities have reservations about chatbot implementation. In the absence of AI specialists and experts, inaccuracies and baseless preconceptions are rife.

In other words, there are a number of assumptions made – particularly when it comes to cost, the implications of AI, customer demand, and the readiness of the technology – that do not reflect reality.

Chatbots, time, and money Within local government, there is often some confusion as to how chatbots can be integrated

March 2019

into existing systems, how long this process takes, and the outlay required to do so.

This hesitation and fear are understandable – local government bodies are working under increasingly tight budgets and have been burned by large-scale tech projects in the past.

However, chatbots can help alleviate both of these pressures.

Under experienced guidance, chatbots can be introduced and capable of supporting key service areas within 6-8 weeks. Intelligent implementation involves developing a small but scalable chatbot that targets high-contact areas that are defined by high-repetition enquiry types.

This allows the local authority to cost control against usage and benefits and ensures it has the justification required to further invest in the growth of the technology, when ready. It’s exactly the kind of small-scale, incremental IT project that’s the future of public sector tech contracts.

Understanding chatbots Developing the expertise required to successfully implement chatbot solutions is a daunting task. It’s what ends up holding back a lot of local authorities.

As part of our daily work with local authorities, we’re able to identify those areas in which most benefit can be drawn from chatbot technologies. Whether it’s deploying them via Facebook Messenger to support the local authorities’ social media pages or integrating them into their website to deal with FAQs, we’re

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able to get local authorities the biggest bang for their buck.

This type of guidance and information makes it easier for local authorities to make a strong argument for chatbot implementation and assuages any doubts they may harbour.

Chatbots are the here and now With chatbots, we’re not talking about a theoretical technology that we’ll have to wait years to introduce – they’re already being successfully applied in customer service contexts across all industries. What we need now, is an open and informed discussion about the role chatbots can and will play in a local government environment.

That means dispelling myths surrounding chatbots and AI, recognising their benefits, and talking about what they can do for local authorities and those employees who provide important public services. n Julian Mead is client services director at Inform Communications

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Jon Fielding explores how local government is coping with GDPR since its introduction last year.

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or many organisations, the 25th May 2018 was a date that evoked fear, confusion and panic – marking the day by which all those dealing with EU citizens’ data had to be able to demonstrate General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance.

Many organisations felt under pressure and ill prepared as the deadline loomed. In fact, less than a third of respondents to a survey from Apricorn last year felt confident they would comply. When questioned further and asked whether there were any areas where they might be likely to fail, 81% could think of some area of the new requirements in which they might be non-compliant.

Now, just four months shy of the first anniversary of GDPR, we take a look at the impact of the regulation to date, in particular on local government.

The public sector was not exempt from the general air of panic surrounding GDPR compliance; in fact, the National Association of Local Councils predicted that the burden of compliance would cost the UK’s 10,000 parish and town councils £3.5m, in appointing data protection officers to fulfil all the necessary requirements.

As Sam Humphries, senior product marketing manager, global markets and compliance, at Rapid7 says: ‘With vast swathes of personal data in play, including the higher risk category of sensitive personal data, local government organisations had much to do in the run up to the GDPR. Implementing processes, procedures, and controls, aligning to the GDPR has been tough for many organisations, in both private and public sectors.’

Matt Lock, director of sales engineers at Varonis, also comments that: ‘GDPR presented a challenge to even large companies with the funding and expertise to set up enterprise-wide compliance programmes. Public organisations, including local governments, often lack these resources. They may be short staffed or using older, disparate operating systems.

‘In many cases, they know they need help in becoming GDPR compliant – it’s a matter of securing the resources to do so. Fortunately, it’s not too late to catch up on GDPR compliance.

Rather than an end goal, it can be helpful to view GDPR compliance as an ongoing process.’

March 2019

How has GDPR impacted local government?

Keeping on the right side of the ICO Humphries continues: ‘In this brave new world of EU-wide data compliance, we face tightened rules, new requirements, and the concern of significantly heavier penalties. It is definitely still early days. A few organisations have received enforcement notices or fines under the terms of the GDPR, and local government has not yet been impacted.

That said, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued penalties to local government organisations since GDPR came into effect, albeit under the previous rules of the DPA (Data Protection Act).

‘It is also fair to say that even now, eight months in, there are still areas of GDPR lacking absolute clarity, putting additional strain on organisations beyond the time, effort, and money spent in preparing.’

Despite being eight months in to GDPR, compliance within local government still

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appears to be an issue, as evidenced by the recent Chelmsford Council data breach in which more than 6,500 people found their data leaked online. While in that case the ICO did not issue a fine, the fact that breaches like this are still happening means that a fine is imminent, it’s simply a matter of time.

The road to compliance

What has become apparent since May 2018 is that many organisations should have already had much of the infrastructure and processes in place to support compliance, and these data protection practices should have been formalised and implemented consistently across the board.

Data or personally identifiable information (PII) can be found in abundance within public sector organisations, which means that identifying, mapping and securing it should be every organisation’s number one priority.

www.LocalGov.co.uk

It & technology

Back to basics is the best approach.

Organisations should review their existing security processes and technology to better understand their current security posture against compliance guidelines and best practices, identifying the gaps and putting a plan in place to address these areas.

They must ensure all employees have an understanding of the importance of GDPR and the role they play in keeping data safe. Training and education is essential, otherwise most other processes will be rendered futile.

The best form of defence is to make sure all data you have is as locked down as possible and all PII is encrypted on all devices. Organisations should research, identify and mandate corporate-standard encrypted storage devices and educate employees on their use to avoid the risk of a breach and being fined for noncompliance. The encryption of data should be a key element of any security strategy.

www.LocalGov.co.uk

SHOUT OUT www.localgov.co.uk

According to Humphries, it’s important that organisations keep an eye on developments to the GDPR framework. ‘The ICO’s website is an excellent resource for both recommendations and information on its activities working with organisations. Ultimately, May 25th 2018 was purely a point in time, and like a puppy, the GDPR is definitely not just for Christmas – it is a way of life now, we all need to be thinking GDPR every time we handle and process all forms of personal data.’

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Lock adds: ‘The hardest part is getting started, however there’s certainly been an increase in GDPR awareness in local government over the past six months, which is encouraging.’

It can be easy for public sector organisations to panic at the cost and complexity of compliance, but focussing on basic security measures and best practice makes this a much more manageable task. Audit your security infrastructure and make sure your processes, software and hardware have security and encryption built into them. Exercise your internal processes against the EU citizen’s rights under GDPR (such as providing all data you hold on them in portable format) and create and test a data breach plan. Once these basics have been addressed the road to compliance will seem far smoother. n Jon Fielding is managing director EMEA at Apricorn

March 2019

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11/06/2018 16:27

Built environment

Bankrolling empty properties With housing stock in short supply and councils’ budgets under pressure, Danny Curran says the Government is sitting on hundreds of empty dwellings while leaving local councils with the bill of maintenance.

I

n my line of business as a professional probate genealogist, I am often asked: What happens to ‘ownerless properties’ i.e. when there is no next of kin to inherit them? In these situations the property reverts to the Crown, or in reality to the Bona Vacantia division of the Government Legal department.

According to the Government Legal department website; ‘If an asset becomes bona vacantia it belongs to the Crown. The Crown does not have to deal with it in any particular way, but normally an asset will either be disclaimed or sold for full market value.’

The issue that my team at Finders International has uncovered in recent years is that some local councils seem to be lumbered with the on-going maintenance costs of these empty ownerless properties despite alerting the Government Legal Department’s Bona Vacantia division that the property has reverted to the Crown. This period of ‘inaction’ by the Government Legal Department appears to be expanding with some councils left to maintain ‘empty, ownerless properties’ for up to two years.

In November 2016 Harrow Council notified the Bona Vacantia division that the ‘ownerless’ property of the late Pamela Smith* has reverted to the Crown. However two years later, Harrow Council is still bank rolling the maintenance of the empty £600,000 property including paying the insurance for the property.

Ms Y Subotic, client finance COP/POP officer at Harrow Council, says: ‘These empty ownerless properties create an inevitable cost on the council’s already stretched resources.

Although we are legally bound to monitor and maintain the upkeep until the Crown’s Bona Vacantia division takes steps and deals with administering the deceased’s estate, it comes with unavoidable costs for service provision and staffing that are levied at the council.

www.LocalGov.co.uk

‘In this particular case, Bona Vacantia’s administration of the deceased’s estate has lasted over two years. We now find ourselves in a unique uncertain state that is highly improper and unsuitable.

The current wait time for Bona Vacantia’s administration of a deceased’s estate is unreasonable and ambiguous at best, costing our local authority in excess of £3,000 a year.’

Norwich City Council reports a similar situation. It is currently tasked with maintaining a property of the late Mr. Good*, who died intestate (no Will) and has no eligible next for kin to inherit it. Almost two years on, the Bona Vacantia division has still not dealt with this property, valued at around £160,000.

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Despite in excess of 200,000 long-term empty dwellings in England recognised as a scandal by local government minister, Rishi Sunak, the government’s own legal department appears to sit on empty properties around the country that could in fact be sold or used as housing stock.

Every year, on behalf of local councils, we identify around 100 cases of estates that have no next of kin. At an absolute minimum we estimate that at least a third of councils in England have at least one ‘ownerless’ property that it is currently shedding out money to maintain and insure.

We all know that empty properties can have a negative impact on communities through squatting, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Surely these properties should be put back into circulation or sold to release finances in a more expedient manner. Come on Bona Vacantia division - you can do better!

For the latest list of unclaimed estates in England and Wales visit: www.bonavacantialist.co.uk n Danny Curran is founder of Finders International *Names changed to protect identities/property

March 2019

Paul Smith and Francis Philippa explain how four different pilot projects have helped improve the quality of life for people living with dementia.

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here are an estimated 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK today and this is predicted to rise to more than one million in the next five years.

We tend to think of dementia as a devastating and incurable range of diseases.

By the time someone with dementia is hospitalised or admitted to residential care, this experience can be disorientating. The noise, light and surroundings of acute care settings tend to worsen confusion. People experience difficulties eating, drinking and keeping clean and require assistance for many daily activities which can cause anxiety and agitation, increasing dependence rather than promoting independence.

Personal experiences are reflected in statistics. People with dementia are twice as likely to be readmitted to hospital, according to Dementia Action Alliance, and the Alzheimer’s Society estimates a quarter of all hospital beds in England are occupied by people living with dementia.

Moreover, people with dementia are likely to stay twice as long. They also account for 80% of people in care. It demonstrates how a change in surroundings can militate against a much more positive engagement and response to the needs and wants of people experiencing dementia. After all, two-thirds of people experiencing dementia live in ordinary houses and 85% of them say they should like to stay there for as long as possible.

Home improvement agency (HIA) services have 30 years of experience in addressing the challenges people have when making choices about their home. They provide a wealth of information and advice so people can live well in their later years, be aware of the changes that can be made to their home and, to an extent, contribute to designing their own solutions.

In Scotland, investment by the Life Changes Trust has enabled local care and repair services to provide personalised support for people experiencing cognitive decline. In Worcestershire, district councils have collectively top-sliced their Disabled

March 2019

Supporting people with dementia

Facilities Grant funding to enable people on the dementia diagnosis pathway to make some early changes in their home.

Foundations Independent Living Trust, the charitable arm of Foundations – the organisation we work for, has broadened and deepened this learning through its Dementia Grant Pilot scheme, made possible with a £10,000 donation from Taylor Wimpey. We chose to work with four different HIAs from across the country: West of England Care and Repair, Age UK Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire Home Independence Agency and Preston Care and Repair.

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Four different agencies with four different approaches, but all with the shared goal to enhance the quality of life for people living with dementia.

West of England Care and Repair opted for larger scale interventions. It used the funds to radically change four traditional bathrooms to dementia friendly wet rooms. Colour contrasting equipment is important for helping people with dementia to distinguish common household objects. In one example, the funding went towards the cost of red grab rails, a red toilet seat and a red bathroom door.

The home owner, who was struggling to use

www.LocalGov.co.uk

Built environment

“People with dementia are twice as likely to be readmitted to hospital, according to Dementia Action Alliance, and the Alzheimer’s Society estimates a quarter of all hospital beds in England are occupied by people living with dementia.”

the bathroom without his wife’s assistance, is now able to get to the toilet himself during the night and identify the equipment he needs. The intervention has helped him to maintain his independence and allows his wife to get a better night’s sleep.

Preston Care & Repair took a different approach with the money it was granted, deciding to fund minor adaptions and aids: small changes with a big impact. It provided and installed 177 adaptations or aids – helping improve the lives of almost 150 people – and all the work was completed within two weeks of the person being assessed. Perhaps not

www.LocalGov.co.uk

surprisingly, all clients thought the work had enhanced the quality of life for the person living with dementia.

Because HIAs offer a wide range of support measures, they can take a holistic approach to each assessment. Taylor Wimpey’s funding was utilised by Lincolnshire Home Independence Agency to build partnerships for the future. The HIA invested in the development of another local organisation, Alzheimer’s Society in Lincolnshire, by providing it with equipment and sharing expertise to develop a good working relationship for future joint projects.

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Within this project, the partnership focused on improving time and memory. People with dementia often cannot distinguish between night and day, which causes problems when the person needs to get up or take medication. The daughter of one client said the purchase of a digital clock enabled her mother to take her own medication and this had made ‘a great improvement to [her] mother’s wellbeing’.

Age UK in the Isle of Wight also focused on equipment, installing toilet seats, grab rails, signs and lighting. So far 44 people have had assessments resulting in the installation of more than 200 pieces of equipment. A series of presentations were provided to make people aware of the assistive equipment available. By working closely with a local respite centre they were able to reach new clients.

Pilots like this confirm that introducing small changes over time and incrementally – and involving families and carers – leads to better outcomes for people living with dementia.

Home modifications and adaptations should be considered as part of a suite of health and care. One client noted: ‘Having access to free equipment to help make our home dementia friendly has made my husband’s life, and by extension mine, so much better. Simple things that we take for granted, like going to the bathroom alone without help, gives him back his independence.’

We will continue to encourage projects which support people who experience symptoms of dementia in order to continue to build momentum on this valuable work.

If you are interested in working with Foundations Independent Living Trust please visit www.foundations.uk.com/about-us/filt/ n Paul Smith is director of Foundations. Francis Philippa is strategy lead at Foundations and sits on the housing and dementia working group chaired by Housing 21.

March 2019

Built environment

The UK’s greenest Victorian homes Europe’s first Passivhaus EnerPHit Plus homes have opened in Manchester. Laura Sharman finds out how councils can refurbish their own heritage properties to this demanding standard.

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hile the Government could be accused of putting green buildings on the back burner – who can forget the scrapping of the zero carbon homes policy in 2015 – councils certainly haven’t sat on their laurels when it comes to improving the energy efficiency of their housing stock.

Councils across the country have already embraced Passive House with Norwich and Exeter both launching large scale social housing schemes.

However, will the same be said about Passivhaus EnerPHit Plus, the world’s toughest performance set by the renowned German Passivhaus Institute?

While no-one is arguing that achieving this demanding standard will be easy for local authorities, a new scheme in Manchester has shown what is possible. The buildings will outperform 99.9% of new builds through their use of Nobel-prize winning super material graphene and other world first technologies.

Renovated by eco consultants Ecospheric, the buildings require no central heating and will generate more power than they use so occupants can sell excess electricity back to the national grid.

‘Period semi-detached properties such as those found on Zetland Road represent a

March 2019

significant portion of the UK’s housing stock, yet they are one of the trickiest formats to upgrade,’ said Kit Knowles, managing director of Ecospheric.

‘Whilst many case studies can be found on high performance new builds and there are a number of well-known solutions for mid/late twentieth century properties, there is very little guidance or help to be found out there for the eight million pre 1930’s properties.

‘We wanted to show how a Victorian property could be upgraded to remain comfortable and warm year round without a central heating system and without compromising its heritage.’

Photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof will power the homes’ lighting and appliances, as well as heating the hot water tank which is the first in the world to have a thermocline control. A vapour control membrane is also hidden in the roof build up to provide an airtight barrier. The wooden external cladding is ‘pre-fossilised’ so it’s resistant to rot and UV degradation, while the copper guttering and downpipes are expected to last over 100 years.

Over the next ten years, the properties are expected to save £50,000 through zero energy bills and minimal maintenance requirements.

Although Knowles admits that the cost of refurbishing properties to this standard is more than typical retrofits, this doesn’t need to be a barrier to local government.

‘The additional cost of achieving Passive House certification for new builds has been

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demonstrated to be 15% on average,’ he explains. ‘There have been two large scale new build social housing schemes - one in Essex and one in Norwich - that have produced Passive House certified solutions at the same cost they would normally spend per unit.’

He adds: ‘In the coming years, Ecospheric will be trying to answer big questions about cost and quality associated with a phased project.

We hope to even develop solutions that enable the householder to reside in the building during the process, in order to break down the barriers to widespread retrofit.’

Knowles also offers the following advice to councils looking to bring their properties up to Passivhaus Enerphit Plus: ‘Passive House new build is absolutely doable on budget for councils and RSL’s. Blocks of flats can also be refurbished to passive house standard with attractive lifetime costings. EnerPHit for individual houses is a bit more challenging. A realistic approach would be to piggyback onto VOID programs.

Anyone managing large numbers of low value housing have typically well-funded and rigorous programs of work that take place between tenants: a general refresh of the building that may include new kitchen, bathroom, boiler and many general repairs.

‘There are so many quick wins and no brainers that can be slotted into this program of works.

The average 15 day program can see new ventilation solutions and other M&E reforms transform building performance.’ n

www.LocalGov.co.uk

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Keeping road networks running This street lantern has both a contactless temperature sensor and a microclimate sensor installed in it.

Manish Jethwa explains how councils can use IoT technology to mitigate the impact of climate change on highways.

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cross the UK, Infrastructure assets are under growing strain. Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in mid-2017, the population of the UK was an estimated 66 million – its largest ever. And, the ONS projects that it will continue growing, reaching almost 73 million by 2041. We are also seeing road usage increasing. Recent estimates from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that motor vehicle traffic on Great Britain’s roads increased by 1.3% between 2016 and 2017 to 327.1 billion vehicle miles.

At the same time environmental conditions are getting more challenging. As climate change accelerates, soaring temperatures and dry parched conditions, but also flooding, are likely to become more common and storms likely to get ever-more severe.

Such conditions put greater strain on infrastructure assets. In response, councils need to implement maintenance strategies that protect them. Given ongoing budget cuts, effective asset management will be needed to better identify and target the most critical and vulnerable assets with available funds.

The latest sensor technology can be helpful in this context but if local authorities want to deliver an environmentally-friendly, operationally-efficient approach, they must use it sparingly. Councils should be aware that sensor manufacture, and energy usage comes with an environmental cost, and ensure they balance that impact against the advantages they gain from the devices.

That said, there are a wide range of applications where benefits can be achieved.

Selective use of sensors can, for instance, help councils develop a maintenance strategy that protects against flooding. The increased surface water from storms or thawing snow, for example, can put a strain on infrastructure that only regular maintenance can ease. Water and silt level sensors mounted in drains can help

www.LocalGov.co.uk

identify those assets likeliest to get blocked, or that might be expected to have the biggest impact if they are, enabling these drains to be maintained at more regular intervals. If these drains are kept clear, the impact of storms would be lessened and the potential for flooding reduced.

Another key area where judicious use of IoT can improve public safety is in the development of smart tree technology. Sensors are now coming on stream that can measure the movement of trees to evaluate both their stability and their overall condition.

These sensors need to be distributed carefully though to ensure the environmental benefit trees can provide is not offset by the cost and energy use of monitoring them. Councils need to find the most vulnerable trees, typically by making use of data about condition and age, while also tapping into the expertise of internal arboreal teams, and only mount sensors where needed.

Using sensors to find areas of vulnerability within these two different asset classes could provide councils with the potential to start building an intelligent combined asset management approach. By pinpointing where trees and vulnerable drains are located, they can establish connections between the two asset classes. That might help them recognise, for instance, that they have large quantity of deciduous trees located next to a large number of drains in a low spot. Leaf fall is therefore likely to be high - and falling leaves may end up blocking drains. That insight in itself could enable councils to better understand the way in which different asset classes link up and and how maintaining one can positively impact another.

Given the financial and environmental cost of implementing sensor-based technology, these devices should be deployed sparingly by councils as part of a strategic asset maintenance plan. There are, however, also, opportunities

LGN 31

to use them prudently to minimise the risk to people, property and infrastructure when serious weather events are imminent.

To minimise the impact of impending floods, for example, councils could implement sensors in upstream catchment areas to alert them to pending flood conditions, allowing them to put relevant signage and/or sand barriers in place before the flood arrives.

Another approach that could be taken, in certain specific circumstances, is to place connected devices in areas of greatest risk. This would provide the authorities with real-time data that a flood is happening or a structure failing, enabling them to take immediate action to rectify the situation.

This approach could take the form of sensors monitoring the flow of drain gulleys and river levels, or stress gauges on concrete structures like bridges that will pinpoint cracking. Another option that again makes use of connected technology is the use of cameras to detect an obstruction on the carriageway or a section of road covered in water, for example. The approach can then automatically flag up a trigger that instantly shuts down the relevant lane of the highway affected, reducing the threat to traffic and people, while eliminating the need for time-consuming manual intervention.

Looking to the future, councils should be carefully monitoring the latest advances in IoT technology. The use of sensors can bring significant benefits. However, there are costs to using them. Their deployment should therefore always be part of a carefully-planned and coordinated connected asset management strategy. If used in that way, they can be a boon for councils looking to mitigate the impact of ‘wear and tear’, and climatic events like storms and flooding, on infrastructure assets. n Manish Jethwa is chief product & technology officer at Yotta

March 2019

Highways & street lighting

Double vision Oliver Scutts explains how new ‘3D’ road markings are helping to improve road safety on Westminster’s streets, as part of a project with Westminster City Council and WSP

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he first Zebra crossings began appearing on Britain’s roads 70 years ago as part of a trial by the Ministry of Transport and Transport Research Laboratory before they were officially rolled out in 1951. Now a familiar sight on our nation’s streets, it is easy to forget the important role they play in road safety, ensuring vehicles and more vulnerable road users can co-exist.

While we can laud past achievements, we should never become complacent on road safety. According to statistics published by the Department for Transport, nearly 3,700 people were injured or killed on road crossings in 2017.

Working with Westminster City Council and WSP, we recently set out to explore how the design of highway crossings could be developed to encourage traffic calming, as part of regular maintenance works delivered in the borough. The result has been the introduction of the UK’s first ‘3D’ road markings – an optical

March 2019

illusion but one with the power to help improve safety for drivers and pedestrians.

With WSP, we are responsible for delivering highway maintenance and improvement projects for Westminster City Council. The idea to try something different for road markings came as part of routine resurfacing works for St John’s Wood high street, in the north west of the borough. Having assessed the area’s needs and resident feedback, it became clear to the team that this popular thoroughfare required a new Zebra crossing, not least to support the growth of schools in the local area.

It was an opportunity to consider something different and WSP highlighted examples of new 3D-style crossings that have been introduced in other parts of Europe. By appearing to be obstacles in the road, the designs encourage drivers to lower their speeds when coming up to crossings, ensuring they can stop in time if a pedestrian is about to cross.

After consultation with Westminster City Council, we decided to trial the new approach on Sutherland Avenue, just off the high street. For the illusion to work, we needed to experiment with the laying technique and the colour of the markings’ ‘shadow’ so that they would appear realistic. After a successful trial, designs were confirmed with the manufacturer of the thermoplastic markings that would be installed on the high street.

These pre-fabricated products were laid by FM Conway and then heated to permanently fix them to the road surface. Westminster City

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Council will be monitoring the new crossing over the coming months to assess its impact.

With some clever use of perspective, this project could help to reduce traffic incidents on Westminster’s streets, making it a safer place for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. It’s a reminder to us all to always keep asking how we can do things better. Sometimes the most effective innovations are the simplest. n Oliver Scutts is contracts manager – specialist surfacing at FM Conway

www.LocalGov.co.uk

Stronger

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18/02/2019 14:59

Highways & street lighting

Getting smart about lighting

Andy Gowen explores how councils can use lighting to embark on their smart city journey.

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ore than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas today. By 2050, we are on track for more than two-thirds of the population to live in cities. To maintain such rapid growth, cities need to act now to develop sustainably and manage the challenges that growing populations bring across housing, transportation, energy systems and other key infrastructure.

To address these challenges, cities are increasingly turning to smart city solutions that promise to improve efficiency, make cities more liveable and drive economic growth. 2019 will see this trend further accelerate, with cashstrapped and resource-limited cities turning to technology to meet targets and unlock new revenue streams to support growth.

The two main considerations for a city embarking on the smart city journey are cost (both in terms of savings through efficiency and new revenue) and interoperability. The wisest investments are those that pay for themselves and create a platform for unifying smart city

March 2019

operations. Smart city deployments or pilots in isolation lead to silos as operations become increasingly digitised and costs can easily avalanche out of control.

There is one oft-overlooked asset ubiquitous to every city that fits this requirement perfectly – lighting.

Street lighting in the UK accounts for up to 40% of a city’s overall electricity costs, and with costs increasingly rising, many councils are turning out the lights to save costs. Simply converting street lights to LED creates compelling savings, but energy usage can be reduced by up to 50% if these LED lamps are connected to the cloud. Remote management also enables lower maintenance cost and reduced operating expenses.

The cost savings alone should be enough to persuade most councils, but connected LED lighting can also support and connect the sensors, radios and IoT technologies that power our cities, buildings, stores and homes. Every connected light point – from a streetlight to an office ceiling light – can send and receive data from the internet of things and generate the insights needed to run a smarter world.

A city of five million citizens has approximately 200,000 streetlights. If their bulbs are switched to LED lighting, that city can create a fabric of connectivity to optimise transport systems, manage air quality, track assets, monitor safety and improve lighting use.

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With connected street lighting acting as a city-wide ‘sensor ready’ (SR) interface – a fabric of radio communication that supports all kinds of different sensors, interpreting their data on a unified dashboard – it becomes the ideal integration point for all future smart city technologies. This is increasingly valuable as 5G starts to become a reality in cities in 2019, shifting the focus of wireless networks from humans and smartphones to ‘things’.

Through the operational data connected street lighting collects, it can offer end users a simple and cost-effective way to step into the connected world, building the foundation required to create the truly smart cities of the future – all without the need for new infrastructure or disruption.

The money saved through more energy efficient lighting can then be reinvested into smart city initiatives and improving city services for the growing population.

It’s a deceptively simple step local government can take today to create a futureproof platform for the technologies that 5G and the Internet of Things will drive. The focus today may be keeping the lights on, but the sensor ready interface created today will enable the smart services that allow cities to grow and develop, sustainably. n Andy Gowen is director, public and sports lighting, UK & Ireland, at Signify

www.LocalGov.co.uk

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15.01.2019 14:44:06

Public realm

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oth national and local governments are recognising the importance of open spaces, parks and the natural landscape in promoting and enabling a healthy lifestyle in combatting obesity. A mental health crisis is also on the horizon and several indicators identify greater access to green spaces and nature as key in managing this.

The convenience of a modern lifestyle has enabled a sedentary lifestyle, with few tasks requiring us to even leave our seats, never mind venture outdoors. However, somewhere along the way we have lost sight of the personal enrichment outdoor space offers. It is not just about burning calories and building muscle tone, it is about making us happier, healthier, less stressed human beings. The onus is with us all to ensure the children of today go on to recognise the value of the great outdoors in their own future health and wellbeing.

The connection between play and wellbeing is increasingly being championed by practitioners. A prime example is Northstowe, one of NHS England Healthy New Town demonstrator sites. Its Phase 2 Healthy Living and Youth Play Strategy was created by New Homes with Chris Blandford Associates to support the creation of Northstowe, a new town on the outskirts of Cambridge. This framework document reiterates the positive correlation between play and increased physical activity.

The document also identifies the relationship with mental health and well-being: ‘There are strong arguments for the mental health benefits of outdoor play.’

The Mental Health Foundation states on its website that: ‘Having time and the freedom to play, indoors and outdoors helps to promote good mental health. Play has a significant role in fostering resilience through giving children managed opportunities to take risks.’

The creation of the play area also has an indirect effect which potentially impacts on happier adults, helping create informal community hubs and building links within the community, nurturing relationships and developing effective support networks.

A dedicated play area should provide opportunities for both formal and informal play, but equally important is the provision of free spaces; playing fields, meadows, woodlands etc, which can deliver incidental play, one of the

March 2019

Play as a powerful motivator

most inclusive elements of play, appealing to toddlers through to teenagers. The result of the Northstowe planning strategy will see a variety of doorstep and destination play spaces, as well as opportunities for play interventions to add interest to common walking routes.

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) are a national charity that seeks to provide the knowledge and support to developers to create better, more sustainable communities. They have long recognised the value of dedicated play spaces in creating more cohesive and happy communities. Their research identifies that: ‘People who have good access to green space are 24% more likely to be

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active and 58% of children aged 4-16 years said “playing outside near home” was their preferred activity, with 62% stating they would like to do it more.’

In order to help developers and planners in creating open spaces that work effectively, the TCPA has included play as one of the key elements within their framework of healthy planning and developments.

Michael Chang, project and policy manager at TCPA, says: ‘When creating new communities developers will often be required to provide areas of green open spaces. But it will not often be about quantity but about how best to put them to good use. When we support planning

www.LocalGov.co.uk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

Beth Cooper explores the value of play and green spaces in preserving the nation’s health

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Public realm

officers in recognising what makes good play, we often need to engage with the local public health, parks and environment teams to better provide for spaces that local people want while making the best use of the natural landscape.

‘We do support adopting industry standards such as those from Play England and Sport England, and encourage planners and developers to adopt a natural approach to play by working with the natural topography.’

In order to help them developers and planners recognise the value of green provision, they have identified some very compelling figures from research. For example green spaces effectively saves the NHS £111m annually and a play area in close proximity increases the land value by 16%.

The Land Trust is an innovative charity, committed to the long term sustainable management of open space for community benefit. They are passionate about encouraging people of all ages to spend time outdoors and their recent Health For Life project, carried out at Countess of Chester Country Park, highlighted the hugely positive impact of spending time in well managed green space.

With reports highlighting that young people are spending less time outdoors than prison inmates, their director of portfolio management, Alan Carter, explains why getting young people outdoors at an early age is so important: ‘The physical and mental health benefits of spending time outdoors are clear and it is vital that young people are developing these positive habits from a very early age. Play is a great way of doing this and is very important as it encourages people to interact with the green space. This interaction is key to what we do; to create successful green spaces you need to instil a sense of ownership, this is developed through active engagement.

‘We like to run our spaces very much in partnership with the community, we take care of the legal ownership so that the communities themselves are free to create the space that their stakeholders need.’

“The connection between play and wellbeing is increasingly being championed by practitioners. A prime example is Northstowe, one of NHS England Healthy New Town demonstrator sites.” www.LocalGov.co.uk

Play is a powerful motivator for encouraging children and young people to engage with green spaces, but it is important that the right approach to play is embedded in order to make the appeal of a play space last beyond the shiny opening ceremony. As opposed to sport, play is freely chosen and without fixed rules and regulations. Some children will choose not to engage in sporting activities, but cues to play are more difficult to resist and for this reason play can be a more inclusive approach to physical provision which can work well alongside more sporting facilities.

‘The ongoing issue with play is supporting communities in recognising what constitutes good play,’ continues Carter. ‘Equipment is only one element; natural play, the landscaping, big stones, fallen trees, logs and timber rounds are

LGN 39

all very good for delivering open ended play opportunities. These are excellent in helping children understand risk, an element which is sadly lacking in many designated play areas.

‘We also need to take steps to ensure that play areas are accessible to all, and do not become too commercialised – as this effectively serves as a barrier for large sections of the community.’

There is no doubt that specialist organisations are up to speed on the value of green spaces for the nation’s physical and mental health. We now need to ensure the conversation continues with councils, planners and developers to preserve doorstep access to successful green spaces for generations to come. n Beth Cooper is creative play consultant at Timberplay

March 2019

Company announcement showcase Hunter Douglas Architectural

Hunter Douglas Architectural has expanded its range of Baffle ceilings to meet the increasing demand for these versatile systems.

The international architectural products company has introduced the Tavola Baffle Series to its portfolio, a range that provides architects and interior designers with the ultimate freedom to create a stunning ceiling in any large or small space.

Tavola is a robust and bold system that comes in three designs: Straight, Levels and Divergent. The three designs are all available in widths of 20, 30, 40 and 50mm, heights between 50mm-300mm and profiles of up to 5000mm.

Tel: 01604 648229 or visit www.hunterdouglas.co.uk

Langley Waterproofing Systems Ltd

Langley Waterproofing Systems Ltd has added ten roofing systems to the NBS National BIM Library.

Langley has worked closely with NBS to create comprehensive layered objects, system data sheets and technical details that, crucially, also directly link to NBS’ specification software and the NBS BIM Toolkit.

Langley Waterproofing Systems chose to work with NBS, as the company’s integrated suite of tools work seamlessly to create comprehensive specifications in an informed and efficient way. It is the only library of BIM Objects certified to meet the NBS BIM Object Standard.

Tel: 01327 704778 or visit www.langley.co.uk

March 2019

Marley

The Property Care Association (PCA)

Marley has launched a new dry verge specifically designed to complement its popular Ashmore double interlocking plain tile.

Developed to meet housebuilder demand for a slimmer aesthetic, the Ashmore Dry Verge has a sleek and stylish design and comes in sections, so it can easily create a maintenance-free, traditional stepped verge appearance.

The new Ashmore Dry Verge is much narrower in comparison to other existing products on the market, yet still has the in-built features that make it easier to fix to British Standards. Its outstanding weather performance also protects against water run-off, preventing staining on the verge and gable end walls.

Tel: 01283 722588 or visit www.marley.co.uk/ ashmoredryverge

A collaboration between a national trade body and academia has developed a working formula which could transform the way damp is managed in homes.

The Property Care Association (PCA) and the University College London Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering (UCL IEDE) are carrying out a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to look into the issue of moisture in buildings.

Following a two-year research project the partners have made a break-through which is now ready to enter market development, to create a tangible diagnostic tool to tackle excess moisture levels.

The research project has involved detailed studies into the condition of almost 60 properties across the UK. Tel: 0844 375 4301 or visit www.property-care.org

Rigby Taylor’s 2019 Professional Products range brochure - the ‘musthave’ reference document for every turf manager - is now available for free.

The most comprehensive yet, the fully-illustrated 176-page brochure is packed with essential information in an attractive and easy-to-read format.

Each of the company’s products is described in detail indicating what they do, where, when and how they should be used - including spray and spreader rates and, where appropriate, water volumes and pack coverage.

Many pages are devoted to technical information on turf diseases - their recognition and details of high-risk periods.

Tel: 0800 424 919 or visit www.rigbytaylor.com

Leafield Environmental

Marley Alutec

Norseal Limited

Marley Alutec, the UK’s leading aluminium rainwater system manufacturer, has launched Elite, an innovative multi-purpose flat roof and balcony drainage system that is compatible with all waterproofing membranes and roof build-ups.

The launch is supported by the introduction of a unique online roof drainage design tool.

The Elite outlets have been engineered to deliver an unrivalled flow performance of up to 19l/s, thereby reducing a project’s rainwater pipe and underground drainage requirements to achieve significant cost savings.

The unique membrane compression clamp design on Elite outlets securely locks the waterproof membrane to the outlet body.

Tel: 01234 359438 or visit www.marleyalutec.co.uk/elite

Door seal specialist Norseal is launching RainStop, a seal which delivers total protection against rain and weather combined with completely zero-threshold, barrierfree access.

RainStop eliminates wind and rain penetration around doors, improving thermal efficiency, increasing comfort, and reducing energy bills. This is achieved while maintaining a completely flush threshold since the seal self-adjusts, coping automatically with frame gaps.

Norseal RainStop reliably delivers tightness against wind, and driving rain while its zero-barrier design helps specifiers to meet the accessible threshold requirements of Approved Document M. Norseal’s RainStop can be fitted to timber, PVC, composite or metal doors that open inwards and outwards.

It is simple to fit and can be easily adapted to any door size or hardware configuration.

Tel: 01661 830088 or visit www.norseal.co.uk

Leafield Environmental is extending its Envirobin range with the launch of the Mini Classic, a new, compact sized, external litter bin that is both stylish and economical.

Standing 950mm high, with a small diameter of 456mm, the Mini Classic has a respectable capacity of 70 litres when used with a plastic liner although a galvanised steel liner is also available with a 60 lire capacity.

Rotationally moulded from resilient, corrosion resistant, UV stabilised MDPE, the Mini Classic has smooth edges and large radii to minimise dirt traps and a dimpled surface to discourage fly posting.

Tel: 01225 816541 or visit www.leafieldrecycle.com

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Rigby Taylor Limited

www.LocalGov.co.uk

Company announcement showcase British Pest Control Association

Intratone

Isover

Langley Structures Limited

BPCA sets out flight path to effective bird management for local authorities Introducing effective bird management procedures can present challenges for local authorities, but the public health issues mean it is a matter that cannot be ignored.

Of particular concern for local authorities is the feral pigeon, which is very common and found in all areas of the UK. Feral pigeons can harbour a large variety of diseases and insects on the body and in their nests, and fouling presents public health concerns.

BPCA membership includes pest management professionals with expertise in bird control to help address the problem.

Tel: 01332 294288 or visit www.bpca.org.uk

Intratone, one of Europe’s largest access control specialists, has installed 25 of its digital noticeboards in the communal areas of a number of tower blocks in Stockport Housing Group’s property portfolio supporting the group’s aim of enhancing digital communications.

Stockport Homes wanted to be able to communicate important messages to residents in a quick and simple way via a cloud-based system that can be accessed remotely, 24/7.

The noticeboards use GSM technology so wireless networks are not required, and they are quick and easy to install.

Tel: 0208 849 7497 or visit www.intratone.uk.com

Isover has launched a new stone wool insulation, Polterm Max Plus, for rainscreen cladding and overcladding applications.

Polterm Max Plus is a noncombustible 1200 x 600mm stone mineral wool slab, which delivers excellent thermal and acoustic performance, while achieving the best attainable A1 Euroclass fire classification according to EN 13501-1. With a thermal conductivity of 0.035W/mK, Isover’s new range will help reduce heat loss within a building; the slabs can be tightly butted together, while the inner face accommodates substrate irregularities, to maximise the thermal performance.

Polterm Max Plus will also improve the acoustic performance of the external envelope.

Tel: 0115 945 1143 or visit www.isover.co.uk

Leading roofscape specialist Langley Structures Limited has been awarded Best Flat to Pitch Roof System at the Pitched Roofing Awards 2018 for its pioneering roof development scheme in Lytchet Way, Enfield. Despite strong competition from fellow nominees, Langley Structures’ Flat to Pitch (FTP) system used on the London project was recognised as the best in the category at the ceremony.

Entrants to the category were judged on aesthetics, project build and the degree of difficulty involved.

Langley Structures Limited worked alongside Mulalley and Art Contracts Limited.

Tel: 01327 704778 or visit www.langleystructures.co.uk

Nortech Control Systems Ltd

Oxford Direct Services

Timberplay

YPO

Oxford Direct Services (ODS) has been approved as an authorised service dealer for the world’s first purpose built electric taxi - the TX. Under a three-year agreement, ODS will join a network of LEVC dealers outside London servicing TX black cabs, carrying out warranty work, supplying parts, responding to any breakdowns and undertaking body repairs in its insurance approved body repair centre.

Four ODS technicians will be trained and LEVC certified, with ODS investing in the appropriate diagnostic and specialist insulated tools required to keep electric taxis on the road.

Tel: 01865 684988 or visit www.oxforddirectservices.co.uk

Timberplay were delighted to win the prestigious Best Supplier award at the 2019 NFAN Conference, held in Edinburgh last week. They fought off competition from many other suppliers to win the award, and were doubly thrilled as this was the second win in as many years.

The award was presented to Timberplay as a result of the ambitious waterplay facility, H2Odds, installed at Odds Farm Park in Spring 2018. This jawdropping installation also came within a whisker of winning the Innovation Award, instead receiving the runner up, Highly Commended award.

Working in collaboration with Odds Farm, Timberplay created designs for a water play facility unlike any other, incorporating 500m² of water play, 80m of channels streams and pools and 28 distinct play features.

Tel: 0114 282 3474 or visit www.timberplay.com

Apprenticeship providers from different sectors across the country are being encouraged to join the YPO apprenticeship framework – the first and only one of its kind in the UK. YPO’s apprenticeship framework acts as a compliant list of training providers for organisations across the public sector. The framework currently has 117 registered providers covering a range of different roles, from accounting to teachers. YPO’s service identifies clear routes of procurement for organisations, streamlining the process to help the public sector utilise apprenticeship levy funds.

Providers interested in becoming a supplier on the framework can register their interest here: https:// procontract.due-north.com/Register Tel: 01924 834 834 or visit: www.ypo.co.uk/apprenticeships

People and vehicle access control specialist Nortech is now offering long-range vehicle and driver identification tags to grant seamless access to approaching vehicles.

Designed to accompany the popular TRANSIT reader range from Nedap, the tags are ideal for use in staff car parks, for priority vehicle control, industrial site access control, fleet and parking management.

Key features include simultaneous driver and vehicle identification, a reading distance of up to 10m, easy windshield mounting with suction pads and maximum perimeter security.

The TRANSIT Prox Booster, SMARTCARD Booster and SMARTCARD Booster Ultimate enable long range driver based identification.

Tel: 01633 485533 or visit www.nortechcontrol.com

www.LocalGov.co.uk

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March 2019

Company announcement showcase Aggregate Industries

ASSA ABLOY Project Specification Group

FibreGrid Limited

Gerflor

Continuing to demonstrate its pioneering credentials, Aggregate Industries’ new SuperCurve asphalt solution has proved phenomenal at withstanding high-levels of HGV traffic during the recent resurfacing of carriageways at the Port of Liverpool.

For Dowhigh Council it was important to find an alternative to hot-rolled asphalt (HRA) that would prove both durable and longlasting, capable of withstanding the high levels of HGV traffic on this busy route.

As such, Aggregate Industries’ suggested the use of its new SuperCurve product, a high performance 10mm polymer modified asphalt designed and engineered to provide an enhanced surface course for higher stressed areas.

Tel: 01530 510066 or visit www.aggregate.com

When creating a room designed to enthuse, invoke and impress – every detail matters. Project Specification Group, a unit of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland understands the importance of quality and attention to detail and has therefore launched new ranges of design-led ironmongery to complement any project.

Architects, specifiers and designers across the UK can now opt for unique and inspiring ironmongery from a range of premium brands including Elmes, Fusital and Valli&Valli, as well as benefit from industry expertise from Project Specification Group’s nationwide team of consultants.

Tel: 0845 071 0882 or visit www.assaabloy.co.uk/specification

FibreGrid is pleased to announce that its Fibreglass GRP Palisade Fencing Panels are now available to buy online FibreGrid’s fibreglass GRP Palisade Fencing Panels are a nonconductive, non-rust alternative to traditional steel fencing. They are extremely heavy duty and impact resistant, yet lightweight enough to install without any heavy machinery - a two-person team can easily complete the job.

They are now available to buy online in 3 different heights, and can be purchased in metre lengths.

Standard stock colour is grey, but they can be manufactured in any BS or RAL colour.

Tel: 01440 712722 or visit www.fibregrid.com

A sustainable approach to manufacturing floorings is not an option it’s a necessity says Nick Egan, Technical Manager, Gerflor.

Floorings that are environmentally responsible are therefore also enhanced, as manufacturers remain dedicated to designing floorings that improve hygiene, indoor air quality, safety, comfort, acoustics and decorative surroundings.

All vinyl is 100% recyclable, which is a great starting point, and some vinyl floorings are now made with a 100% bio-based that is derived from naturally inherent materials like waste from wheat and corn and which give off less Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Tel: 01926 622600 or visit www.gerflor.co.uk

IKO

Lanes Group plc

Samuel Heath

Vimpex Limited

Drain lining technology from Lanes Group plc is being used to rehabilitate highway drains while helping hard-pressed maintenance budgets stretch further.

Working with one highway authority in South West England, Lanes Group’s sewer rehabilitation and lining division has, to date, completed schemes to line defective drains at four different locations.

Lanes has combined lining with the use of advanced remote access cutting technology to remove tree roots which had infested the drains, preventing the free-flow of water.

The longest liner installed so far has been 160 metres.

Tel: 0800 526488 or visit www.lanesfordrains.co.uk

Samuel Heath’s commitment to ensuring that its Powermatic controlled, concealed door closers provide the ultimate assurance in quality and performance has been further underlined with the successful completion of additional full-sized fire testing on both timber and steel fire doors at renowned testing laboratory, Exova Warrington Fire.

30-minute testing in accordance with BS EN 1634-1 was undertaken on a timber fire door constructed with a Halspan core to replace Powermatic’s current small-scale indicative testing for the BS476 assessment.

The door set easily achieved the 30-minute test requirements, continuing until final failure occurred at 42 minutes.

Tel: 0121 766 4200 or visit www.concealeddoorclosers.com

A fire safety system upgrade at Harwich and Dovercourt High School, a mixed secondary school and sixth form with academy status serving more than 1,200 students aged 11 to 18 years, has 110 Vimpex Fire-Cryer Voice Sounders at its heart to help protect students and staff.

This extensive fire safety system upgrade, installed by life safety systems specialists Anglia Fire Protection Ltd. comprises 24 Vimpex wall mounted Fire-Cryer and 86 high output Midi Fire-Cryer Voice Sounders, with custom built voice message controllers built to the customer’s specification.

Vimpex’s Fire-Cryer Voice Sounders can be programmed to produce bespoke messages and tones specifically designed for the educational environment.

Tel: 01702 216999 or visit www.vimpex.co.uk

Local Stockton-on-Tees contractor Barclay Roofing Ltd chose an IKO pitched roofing solution of IKOslate to replace a 4000m2 roof at Abbey Hill Academy which was badly in need of repair.

IKO was approached to carry out a roof condition survey on the Stephenson Building at the school.

After careful inspection, it was discovered that the roof was nearing the end of its life expectancy and was failing in many areas.

IKO Rubershield Pro Breather Membrane was installed to make the school’s roof watertight again. The entire roof was then replaced using IKOslate, a polymer composite material made from 99% recycled material (including car parts) with greater robustness and durability than the fibre cement which had previously been used.

Tel: 01257 255 771 or visit www.ikogroup.co.uk

March 2019

LGN 42

www.LocalGov.co.uk

Company announcement showcase BigChange

ECHO

EnviroVent

Sika Sarnafil

BigChange, Leeds-based mobile workforce technology company, has become an Approved Partner of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE).

The BigChange 5 in 1 system combines CRM, Job Scheduling, a Mobile App, Vehicle Tracking, and an On-Demand Booking App. that eliminates 100 per cent of the paper to automate all of the manual processes undertaken by back office and mobile workers. JobWatch can be used to simultaneously manage both in-house and sub contracted operations through their brand new BigChange Network Platform; a single system that provides full management and financial reporting enabling digital transformation.

Tel: 0113 457 1000 or visit www.bigchange.com

ECHO has introduced an all-new 58V battery chainsaw to their growing range of lithium ion outdoor power equipment.

The CS-58V4AH has the cutting performance of its petrol counterparts, with the additional benefits of battery power. Low noise and low vibration are immediately evident in this effortless yet powerful product. It makes little noise when running, while the lack of vibration compared to a petrol model greatly reduces stress and fatigue for the user. With battery power you have no emissions, no fuel filling with two-stroke and there is no need to store petrol. The chainsaw uses a 4Ah battery which gives you plenty of run time for logging and felling small trees, and the quick charger will have it rapidly charged to reduce downtime..

Tel: 0800 597 7777 or visit www.echo-tools.co.uk

Residents of the Treseifion estate in Holyhead who live in properties owned by the Isle of Anglesey County Council will be the first to benefit from the new ATMOS® PIV (Positive Input Ventilation) systems from EnviroVent.

Isle of Anglesey County Council has committed to 60 EnviroVent units on this scheme, including 35 ATMOS® loft mounted units and 25 wall mounted ventilation units, as part of the refurbishment of a number of its properties.

The units will also be installed on responsive maintenance works and integrated also into the Council’s void properties.

Tel: 0845 27 27 810 or visit www.envirovent.com

The Dunes, a stunning new beachfront development in Perranporth, Cornwall, has seen a combination of Sika products used in order to create a durable solution for the roof and balconies, able to resist the difficult coastal weather conditions.

Sika Sarnafil and Sika Liquid Plastics systems were specified for the job, working together seamlessly to create the desired result for the project.

With a combination of Sarnafil’s S327 18 EL Lead Grey single ply membrane, plus Sarnavap vapour control and SarnarTherm insulation, the outcome was a robust roof that met the requirements of the project.

Tel: 01707 394444 or visit www.sika.co.uk

thinkWhere

Videalert Limited

thinkWhere is developing an online mapping portal to improve access to official European geospatial open data. Working with EuroGeographics, as part of the Open European Location Services (Open ELS) project, thinkWhere will create, maintain and support a user interface giving registered users access to open data from public authorities. thinkWhere will use metadata (data about data) provided by Europe’s national mapping agencies, survey organisations and government land registries to enable users to search, discover, acquire and licence open data and services. The Open ELS project follows the commonly used web services architecture ‘publish-find-bind’ with the work by thinkWhere forming the ‘find and bind’ element.

Tel: 01786 476060 or visit www.thinkwhere.com

Blackburn with Darwen Council has installed high-tech CCTV cameras from Videalert to tackle dangerous parking at a key route into the town. Cameras have been installed on the A678 at Copy Nook on the Furthergate Link Road, a route that has been widened under the Pennine Reach Scheme to improve the flow of traffic buses between Hyndburn, Blackburn and Darwen.

The cameras have been sited on the red route which was introduced in September 2017, to enforce ‘no stopping or loading’ in the designated area.

The Videalert platform will deliver this enforcement at a significantly lower infrastructure and communications cost than other solutions as it uses a single lamp post-mounted processor equipped with a single 4G SIM to support up to four cameras simultaneously.

Tel: 020 3931 6556 or visit www.videalert.com

Remeha

Medway Council has installed five Remeha Gas 220 Ace floor-standing condensing boilers on an off-site fabricated cascade system at Gun Wharf, its main council offices, to achieve more reliable heating with minimum disruption.

When the existing boilers came to the end of their serviceable life, the Council were quick to appoint contractors TSS Facilities to replace the dated boiler plant. TSS Facilities recommended installing five Remeha Gas 220 Ace boilers with a plate heat exchanger (PHE) on an off-site fabricated cascade system to meet the project requirements. The Gas 220 Ace boilers were selected partly due to their small footprint and width, and also because of the Remeha off-site fabricated cascade options that facilitate faster, smoother installation.

Tel: 0118 978 3434 or visit www.remeha.co.uk

www.LocalGov.co.uk

The Window Company (Contracts) Ltd

Award winning commercial window installer, The Window Company (Contracts) has joined forces with Basildon Borough Council in an innovative scheme aimed at giving private homeowners the chance to upgrade their homes to match council owned properties being refurbished around them.

Together, they are offering homeowners access to the same windows and doors being installed as part of the council’s ongoing replacement programme, at the same low unit price and with low interest finance available if required.

The Window Company (Contracts) has already installed new windows and doors in six homeowner properties in Basildon.

Tel: 01245 268120 or visit www.thewinco.co.uk

LGN 43

March 2019

Company & Product Focus JSP Limited

PayByPhone

Securiscape

With over 50 years of experience in manufacturing Traffic Management products, JSP have launched the new Ridgeback™ Speed Ramp – a highly durable new speed ramp which will keep visitors and employees safe by reducing vehicle speed on site improving safety conditions in residential and commercial areas.

This innovative new ramp has been designed with all the vital features facilities management companies require and incorporates both colours per section with a universal end cap so ordering is simple and there are less parts to stock.

The thermoplastic retro-reflective elements of the yellow reflective area of the ramp have been angled to optimise interaction with vehicle headlamps ensuring better visibility using the latest glass bead technology. The area of reflectivity has been increased compared to traditional styles of speed ramps.

The Ridgeback™ Speed Ramp is very easy to assemble using a clever interlocking system for easy connectivity and to maintain stability. The channel on the underside of the endcap allows safe passage of wires or hoses, protecting them from heavy duty vehicles. It is manufactured from a high performance polymer technology.

Tel: 01993 826050 or visit www.jsp.co.uk

Mobile parking payment provider PayByPhone is rapidly expanding in the UK. The global leader in mobility services processed 28.3 million transactions last year and is seeing a huge uptake in app usage across the country.

The advantages of using a mobile payment system for local authorities are significant. Jonny Combe, PayByPhone’s UK CEO, explains: “Cashless parking saves tax payers’ money because there are no pay-and-display machines to maintain, vandalism is reduced and with no vans driving around to collect the cash, it is a more environmentally-friendly option.”

Mobility solutions also offer councils insight into drivers’ behaviour through data collection, which can be used to influence parking policies and high street behaviours.

And for the drivers who use mobile parking payments, they do not have to worry about carrying cash or debit cards. They can extend their parking sessions remotely, via a smartphone or smartwatch, and only pay for the exact amount of time parked.

For more information, please visit paybyphone.co.uk or contact Anthony Cashel on Tel: (+44) 7384 259955 or email: acashel@paybyphone.com

UK security products firm Securiscape has launched an ingenious safety system capable of protecting people from hostile vehicle attacks by strengthening guardrails currently used to prevent pedestrians from crossing the road.

The Derbyshire-based company says its innovation, the HVM Guardrail system, is a convenient and cost-effective way to turn thousands of miles’ worth of pedestrian barriers into life-saving street defences. Pedestrian guardrails are commonly found outside schools and close to junctions and roundabouts and are meant only to ensure that people can only cross the road at designated areas. As such, they are not designed to be strong enough to withstand the impact from a vehicle and so would not be able to protect people from a deliberate attack or road traffic accident.

Securiscape’s new HVM Guardrail product makes this possible by using standard guardrail panels in combination with its own Smartpost security system and a host of other innovations – which it is keeping secret - to create a defence system capable of bringing a vehicle to a controlled stop.

It means that communities which want to protect pedestrians can now install existing and familiar street defences rather than using ugly concrete blocks and barriers. Tel: 01335 370979 or visit www.securiscape.co.uk

Rigby Taylor Limited

Glasdon UK Limited

Leafield Environmental

The prospect of at least 30% time savings by using a robot line marker compared to manual line marking – plus the resulting additional benefits in costs and labour resources – proved irresistible to Medway Norse, as the Kent-based grounds and facilities management specialist has become one of the first users of Rigby Taylor’s TinyLineMarker (TLM).

TLM can mark a full-size football pitch in just 20 minutes, compared to around 1.5 hours manually.

And for Medway Norse, which has a grounds service remit that includes the maintenance of all of Medway Council’s grass playing surfaces, including 68 football pitches, “that will mean we’ll be freeing up our grounds team from line marking these pitches for at least two days a week”, says Colinda Le Gall, Operations Manager – Grounds.

“Also, as a result of needing just one person to mark the pitches using TLM – instead of two by conventional transfer wheel methods – the available resource will be able to be redeployed on other pitch maintenance tasks.”

Tel: 01245 222750 or visit www.rigbytaylor.com

Glasdon® Nexus® Evolution is a step forward for recycling.

Entirely customisable; from aperture colour to waste type; Nexus Evolution is a stylish, robust and versatile recycling unit. Choose from a multitude of colours, sizes, configurations and over 50 apertures, including cup recycling and confidential waste. A narrow footprint makes Nexus Evolution the perfect fit for a wide variety of environments; such as educational campuses and offices; where floor space is at a premium. Its contemporary, symmetrical design also allows it to be approached from both sides in more open spaces.

Further flexibility is added with an extensive list of optional extra features; from wheels and lock kits to sign kits and personalised graphics.

Nexus Evolution is set to become one of the most versatile recycling solutions on the market!

With 60 years of Waste Management experience, Glasdon is renowned for quality, design and cost effectiveness.

View Nexus Evolution at www.glasdon.com or call 01253 600410.

Eco bollards from Leafield Environmental are environmentally friendly bollards, manufactured from a combination of 50% chipped recycled plastic bottles and 50% regular polymer that itself is usually recycled material.

All types of mixed plastic material can be accommodated in the process, removing the need for complete segregation into polymer type.

These bollards come in an attractive stone finish, due to the makeup of the material used. There are no drawbacks to choosing these environmentally friendly bollards, as they are also maintenance free, require no painting and will not rust or corrode.

As with all Leafield bollards they provide security and protection for parking areas, roads, streets and all types of public and private spaces.

Leafield Eco bollards are available with a variety of fixing types including permanent, bayonet socket and surface mount, and can be personalised to suit local authority or council specific requirements.

Tel: 01225 816500 or visit www.leafield-environmental.com

March 2019

LGN 44

www.LocalGov.co.uk

Company & Product Focus BMI UK & Ireland

Safeguard Europe

SDS Limited

Safe, robust and theft-proof, Romilly Primary School is now set for many maintenance-free years thanks to the work and market-leading guarantee from BMI UK & Ireland and its BMI Redland and BMI Icopal products.

The school roof posed a tough challenge to Vale of Glamorgan Council as it was not only old, it was also immensely complex and susceptible to burglary.

Paul Hynam, the council’s construction consultant, set out a specification for the new roof: it should be secure, look like the existing roof, be low maintenance, resistant to theft and address environmental issues.

“I chose BMI UK & Ireland because, by using their BMI Redland and BMI Icopal products, they offered a solution that met the design brief, and provided support throughout the project,” explains Paul.

“Using their SpecMaster service gives you a 15-year guarantee complete with the design and on-site supervision – so you know that the roof has gone on correctly. In effect you can forget about the roof and maintenance for 15 years. BMI Redland’s Cambrian Slate also meets our environmental criteria – it’s recycled – and it’s Welsh”.

Tel: 01908 015760 or visit www.bmigroup.com/uk

Homes throughout the UK may be at risk from rising damp despite being equipped with chemical dampproof courses (DPCs), according to research from Safeguard Europe – the UK’s leading specialist in damp-proofing and waterproofing technology.

Laboratory tests at its research and development laboratory have proven that DPC creams with low concentrations of silicone will ultimately prove ineffective.

DPC creams work because they contain silicone that penetrates the pores of the mortar in masonry and brickwork to form a waterproof seal. Some DPC creams on the market contain as little as 10% silicone. Yet UK testing and certification takes no account of the silicone content of these creams and their consequent performance.

Only comparative testing on a range of products will demonstrate these differences, so Safeguard pitted its own high-silicone content products, Dryzone Damp-Proofing Cream and Dryzone Damp-Proofing Rods, against two DPC creams that contained 20% and less than 15% silicone respectively. All four products are certified by a leading UK test house.

The low strength creams do not create a waterproof zone as large as that produced by high-strength products such as Dryzone Damp-Proofing Cream or Dryrod Damp-Proofing Rods.

Tel: 01403 602149 or visit www.safeguardeurope.com

A groundbreaking new sustainable drainage material is offering a simple and versatile solution to removing toxic heavy metals pollution from highways. Developed by the leading water infrastructure systems provider SDS Limited, SDS Aqua-XchangeTM is a flexible and highly-efficient granular material that captures copper and zinc in surface water runoff from motorways, trunk roads and other high-traffic areas.

SDS Aqua-XchangeTM is an engineered treatment media that can be used in regulatory-compliant Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). It has been proven in independent testing to achieve 99% removal of dissolved copper and zinc, toxic metals identified by Highways England as ‘priority pollutants’ and subject to strict regulatory controls.

Delivered to site in lightweight, one cubic metre bags, SDS Aqua-XchangeTM is now available for consulting engineers and infrastructure contractors to deploy as stormwater treatment in highways drainage, as well as on other higher risk locations such as retail car parks, freight and logistics hubs.

SDS worked with scientists at the University of Chester to perfect SDS Aqua-XchangeTM. In a typical application, a layer of SDS AquaXchangeTM can be added as an additional component to a linear filter drain.

Tel: 01934 751303 or visit www.sdslimited.com

Spirotech

Vent-Axia

WPS UK Limited

Leading the sector in social housing ventilation, Vent-Axia is celebrating winning the Innovative Product category at the prestigious EEM Building Communities Awards 2019. Scooping the award for the pioneering Lo-Carbon Revive, an intelligent filter-less fan designed specifically for the social housing sector, the Sussex-based company received the accolade at a glittering awards ceremony on Friday, 15th February 2019 at the Athena in Leicester.

Vent-Axia beat stiff competition this year to win the Innovative Product category at the EEM Building Communities Awards with the standard of entries said to be exceptionally high. In this category judges were looking for a product that stood out in its field for originality, innovation and technical abilities, as well as receiving a positive reaction from social housing providers. “We are absolutely thrilled the Lo-Carbon Revive has been recognised at the prestigious Building Communities Awards,” said Tom Wodcke, Product Marketing Manager at VentAxia. “Our new and improved Revive offers even greater flexibility for installers and residents and is the ideal ventilation solution for social housing.”

Tel: 0844 856 0590 or visit www.vent-axia.com/social-housing

WPS, one of the UK’s leading Parking Equipment Manufacturers, is to launch two major technologies that will further its ability to offer the best solution for all parking environments.

Its new ticketless parking solution uses stateof-the-art ANPR technology that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver extremely reliable and highly-accurate reading rates. The AI ‘learns’ the more it reads, therefore becoming even more reliable once installed.

As a part of WPS’ proven ParkID™ software and utilising ParkAdvance™ hardware, the ticketless solution provides all of the features that users have come to expect. These include: a fully IP-based operating architecture ensuring the system is future proof and able to integrate with all technologies both now and in the future; renowned system reliability; and comprehensive reporting capabilities informing on revenue and parking usage data. The equipment also benefits from the support and expertise of WPS’ professional and highly-skilled engineering and installation team.

WPS will also announce details of a new validation platform, ValID™ that meets the need for an intelligent and genuinely flexible largescale parking validation solution to satisfy the needs of both the retail community and local authorities alike.

Tel: 01793 541080 or visit www.wpsparking.com

Spirotech’s combined deaerator and dirt separator Spirocross was the water conditioning system of choice for a landmark centre opened by a Midlands charity on the regenerated site of a former public swimming baths.

St Clair Gardens is a purpose-built multi-million pounds residential recovery centre developed for Coventry & Warwickshire Mind on land previously home to Livingstone Road baths.

To provide flexibility the centre’s heating system was divided into four separate zones, each fitted with a Vaillant ecoTEC plus 45kw boiler.

The system was installed by D & B Heating and Plumbing Services, which specified the SpiroCross low loss header.

D & B (Project Manager) Michael Hurney said: “We like the SpiroCross because it’s brass, of superior build quality and reliable. We use it on all of our bigger sites and have never had a problem.”

The SpiroCross is a three-functions-in-one component with four connections instead of eight.

Providing active deaeration and dirt separation, it also delivers optimum hydraulic balance between primary and secondary pumps.

Tel: 0208 451 3344 or visit www.spirotech.co.uk

www.LocalGov.co.uk

LGN 45

March 2019

INFORMING LOCAL GOVERNMENT SINCE 1897

The UK’s market-leading source for local government intelligence Municipal Year Book is the easiest way to find UK local government contacts and data – our online database is accurate and continuously updated.

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18/01/2019 11:43

Local Government News Appointments In association with

Go to jobs.localgov.co.uk for these roles and more 5 Senior Director roles

Strategic Director Resident Services (up to £158,000 per annum)

◊ Lambeth, London (Greater) ◊ £105k+ ◊ Lambeth Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 29 Mar

Strategic Director Finance and Investment (up to £158,000 per annum) Director of Children’s Commissioning and Community Safety (up to £120,000 per annum)

We’re recruiting for the below roles: Strategic Director Sustainable Growth & Opportunity (up to £158,000 per annum)

Director of Strategy and Communications (up to £105,000 per annum)

Principal Policy & Project Officer ◊ London (Greater) ◊ £35,078 ◊ London Councils ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 22 Mar 2019 “You will be helping London boroughs respond to the challenges of improving health and wellbeing at a time when demographic pressures, behaviour and expectations, a changing policy landscape and public spending pressures are combining to make this increasingly difficult.”

Head of Finance & Resources

Alliance Director

Assistant Director, Highways Operations

◊ Oadby, Leicester ◊ Competitive salary ◊ Oadby & Wigston Borough Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 29 Mar 2019

◊ Harrogate, North Yorkshire ◊ Circa £68k ◊ North Yorkshire County Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 17 Mar 2019

◊ Hertford, Hertfordshire ◊ Competitive Salary ◊ Hertfordshire County Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 25 Mar 2019

“We are looking for a Head of Finance & Resources that not only fills the statutory Section 151 Officer role but work with elected members to take our organisation to the next level. You will be part of a team that works especially hard to deliver the council’s objectives.”

“The rewards are high: this is a career-defining opportunity for an ambitious health or social care leader.”

“You will provide strategic and professional leadership to the service and develop strong relationships with stakeholders and government departments. To be successful, you will thrive in an ambitious and collaborative management team that can point to consistently high standards.”

Assistant Director Strategic Finance

Head of Planning & Economic Development

Engineer Maintenance

◊ Surrey ◊ Up to £77k ◊ Waverley Borough Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 18 Mar 2019

◊ Liverpool, Merseyside ◊ £32,233 - £37,107 ◊ Liverpool City Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 18 Mar 2019

“Waverley is tasked with building 500 new homes each year.

By bringing Economic Development and Planning closer together, our aim is to inspire greater cohesion between major development projects and long-term growth. So there are plenty of opportunities to shape your legacy here.”

“Liverpool City Council are looking to recruit an Engineer Maintenance to assist with the development and management of Liverpool’s highway maintenance programme and to manage the implementation of a programme of specified highways maintenance works.”

Business Manager - Planning Development

Senior Bridge Engineer & Team Leader

◊ Newark, Nottinghamshire ◊ £52,004 to £55,188 per annum ◊ Newark & Sherwood District Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 18 Mar 2019 “You will be a forward thinking, inspiring and qualified planning professional with excellent technical knowledge and display the credibility to work in a political environment. The service is critical to delivering the Councils ambitious programme of housing and economic growth.”

◊ Somerset ◊ £33,136 – £37,107 ◊ Somerset County Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 21 Mar 2019 “A key member of the Service, you will be responsible for managing a small team.”

CREATE YOUR PROFILE

◊ Lincolnshire ◊ £82,624 - £107,878 plus relocation ◊ Lincolnshire County Council ◊ Full time ◊ Closes: 18 Mar 2019 “You will play a key part in influencing agendas.”

Sign up today so our recruiters can match your details to the best jobs available ◊ Upload your CV and let recruiters match you to their jobs ◊ One click apply ◊ Manage your job alerts ◊ Save jobs and manage your applications

For up to the minute job vacancies visit

jobs.localgov.co.uk

www.LocalGov.co.uk

LGN 47

March 2019

SOX lamps

Get your SOX lamps while you can!

It’s a common misunderstanding across the industry that Philips SOX Lamps are no longer manufactured or available - this is NOT true‌ Philips SOX lamps are still currently being manufactured and will continue to be until all orders have been satisfied. The LED revolution has reduced demand for these which means that Philips has set a final order date of 1st July 2019. Here at Marwood we are able to supply and support you - however we need your orders to be placed before 1st July 2019 to guarantee stock and keep your assets lit!

1st July 2019 will be the last day to place new orders of SOX and once all orders are delivered globally the factory will no longer manufacture.

If your Local Authority is still lit by SOX and you are not able to currently fund a new investment of Luminaires and/or columns, then SOX could still be the most economical way forward.

So please let us know your SOX demand now before it is to late!

Stock up on SOX Contact Marwood Electrical to order yours Tel - + 44 (0) 1892 835211 sales@marwoodelectrical.co.uk

Philips Sox Ad_AW.indd 1

08/02/2019 09:26