Derby City Council under review due to ‘levels of low satisfaction’

Picture: Dean Martin (DO NOT CREDIT) Description: 2022 Derby Local Elections, held at Derby Arena, Pride Park on May 05. Pictured is Matthew Eyre - Conservatives

An urgent review of Derby City Council is to take place amid serious concerns that residents have “levels of low satisfaction” with the authority.

Opposition councillors backed a motion which sought immediate action from the Labour-led council to improve frontline services on people’s doorsteps.

It comes after recent fall outs over grass cutting and missed bin collections which were deemed “not good enough” and “unacceptable”.

Council leaders have said staffing issues have been behind delays in grass cutting across the city. Contractors have been brought in to tackle the problems.

But unhappy councillors claimed they were unable to get answers from council chiefs on behalf of residents.

There was also anger over the state of two Derby cemeteries where it was claimed uncut grass was hiding loved ones’ graves.

However, both cemeteries in Chaddesden and Chellaston were tidied soon after news reports about their condition.

The motion, proposed by Conservative councillor Matthew Eyre, called for “significant” improvements to grass cutting in the city and to “reassess the current budgetary situation” within 20 working days.

It also called to “ensure that residents’ household waste is collected on the scheduled collection day for black, blue, brown and green bins”.

Cllr Eyre praised the efforts of council staff but believed changes were needed from the top to improve essential services.

The Oakwood councillor told a full council meeting on Wednesday (July 15th) he believed the council “can do better than it is doing at the moment”.

He said: “Week after week after week me and my colleagues’ inbox is full of the same issues.

“Grass has not been cut, trees have not been maintained, hedges have not been cut back and bins not collected. These are our basic services that our residents expect.

“Residents do not feel the performance at the minute is good enough.”

But council leaders hit back saying it was providing investment into Derby and delivering “responsible leadership”.

However, council leader Nadine Peatfield said the level of improvements her administration wanted to see was “not yet there”.

She said: “Workforce shortages, recruitment difficulties, low overtime take up, operational pressures, warmer and wetter weather have all affected delivery.

“Councils across the country are facing the same challenges.”

Cllr Peatfield said she believed things were improving but felt a review in 20 working days was not enough time for officers to properly assess performance.

Cllr Ndukwe Onuoha, cabinet member for Streetpride, added: “I have seen the complaints from residents. I understand the frustration of councillors.

“This year, however, the significant issue that we have witnessed in this service has been staffing shortages within our grounds maintenance team, with recruitment proving difficult despite active campaigns to attract new staff.

“But rather than standing still, we have acted. Even though it was not our first – or preferred – option, contractors have now been brought in to support grass-cutting operations, beginning with our cemeteries, and residents are seeing improvements over the coming weeks.”

The motion calling for a review was carried with a report on findings and changes expected in September.