An opposition politician described the council’s approach to missed rubbish collections as “like whack-a-mole” with Conservatives and Greens planning to quiz cabinet members later this week.
Councillors spoke out as a report to Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet was published and said that missed collections had more than doubled from 573 late last year to 1,369 in the past three months.
The report also catalogued some of the continuing problems at Cityclean, the council’s rubbish and recycling services, including reports of a death threat to a manager and sabotage.
Labour council leader Bella Sankey vowed to get a grip on the problems besetting the bin depot after an independent external report by barrister Aileen McColgan which highlighted bullying, intimidation and violence.
And last year, GMB Sussex tweeted a threat to bring chaos in response to attempts by the council to change the culture at Cityclean.
Green councillor Ollie Sykes said that the latest report appeared to show “memory loss” after reviews by the Local Government Association in 2017 and former trade union leader Gerry Doherty in 2019 resulted in no action.
Making reference to the GMB tweets about chaos – since taken down – Councillor Sykes said: “Those tweets preceded, in a short timeframe, major issues at the depot in terms of vandalism, sabotage of a vehicle.
“Did the council leader, Bella Sankey, take advice from police, legal counsel or others about approaching the GMB? About potential criminality? And if not, why not?”
Councillor Sykes plans to ask why missed collections have increased and whether the Labour administration is in control of the situation.
Conservative deputy leader Anne Meadows said that she had received several complaints about missed rubbish collections and said that the council should be more open about the problems at Cityclean.
Councillor Meadows, who represents Patcham and Hollingbury, said: “I would suggest if the council actually admitted that poor conduct and behaviour at the depot was what was behind it, they might have more sympathy from residents.
“Unfortunately, the line they’ve been giving us is that the problems are the change from paper to digital – and most residents do not understand why that should impact on service delivery because that’s more like a back-office function.
“I did suggest if they want to have residents’ support to highlight the fact that there has been this poor behaviour which does impact on service delivery.”
Conservative leader Alistair McNair has also received many complaints from residents, particularly in Rustington Road, Hollingbury, where he said that collections had been missed for weeks.
Councillor McNair, who also represents Patcham and Hollingbury, said that nothing seems to happen until he gets involved, adding: “It’s inconsistent. It’ll be Rustington Road for a couple of weeks then another place.
“It’s like whack-a-mole. You never know where it’ll pop up next. Residents do report it but we (councillors) don’t often find out from them until it’s really bad.”
Residents have been advised to leave their bins on the kerbside for 48 hours. Councillor McNair is concerned whether collections made within the longer timeframe were counted as late.
Councillor Sankey reminded residents and colleagues that she had promised a zero-tolerance approach to bullying at Cityclean.
She said: “Our staff deserve a safe working environment free from intimidation and our residents deserve an excellent service and we will do everything necessary to deliver both.
“Because of the culture and systemic under-investment, long-standing service development issues have not been prioritised. I’m really pleased to see we’re now in a place where they can be addressed.
“Ensuring we have a waste and recycling service that keeps our city clean, tidy and accessible is an absolute priority.”
The council’s cabinet is due to consider the latest report on Cityclean on Thursday (15 May) at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to start at 2pm and to be webcast.
