THE council is failing to get the basics right to such an extent that a senior councillor has called for a dedicated working group to sort out the mess.

Labour councillor Gary Wilkinson criticised shortcomings in rubbish and recycling collection – pre-dating the bin lorry drivers strike – as well as problems with parking permits and keeping the streets clean.

He noted “the high volume of complaints that councillors receive from residents rightly angry about basic council services failing to deliver”.

He also had overgrown weeds in his sights, as well as “graffiti and litter on our streets, beaches and in our parks … and the general maintenance, upkeep and cleanliness of our city”.

Brighton and Hove City Council’s own performance indicators “reflect the complaints from residents”, Cllr Wilkinson said.

They “show the council is performing below target on the delivery of some essential services and that some of these failures are systemic and long-running”.

He recognised the challenges the pandemic presented and the “hard work council staff have undertaken over the past year”.

But he said: “Lockdown is over and we need to urgently put our council services back to work and start meeting the expectations of our residents.”

The Argus: Rubbish was seen piling up on the streets of Brighton and Hove during the bin strikeRubbish was seen piling up on the streets of Brighton and Hove during the bin strike

At a meeting of the full council at Brighton Town Hall tomorrow he plans to ask for a cross-party working group to be set up, made up of two councillors from each of the three political parties.

He said: “It would have the remit to investigate, review and discuss solutions to the systemic management failures behind the delivery of basic council services, namely waste and refuse collection, parking permits and street cleanliness.”

An opposition councillor would chair the working group which would “provide recommendations on ways to improve these services”.

Performance indicators suggest the rate of missed refuse and recycling collections soared during the pandemic – and before the latest strike.

Social distancing measures and staff having to self-isolate after being “pinged” were among the factors affecting performance.

The council has installed cameras to spot flytippers but contaminated recycling bins were said to have contributed to the high number of missed collections

In the past year, 169 complaints were made to parking services, with permits failing to arrive despite money having been taken from drivers’ bank accounts. Staff working from home didn’t help.

Some permits took more than a month to be sent out and people waiting for permits complained about unanswered calls, with the phone ringing off the hook, and emails also going unanswered.

The Argus: Labour councillor Gary Wilkinson slammed the Green councilLabour councillor Gary Wilkinson slammed the Green council

A report into parking said: “Demand for contacting parking services has increased dramatically but there is also a delay in processing.

“The service has reduced the backlog since its peak in December and we are seeing reduced complaint volumes as a result.”

It said further expansion of the “digital offer” would improve things for people applying for or renewing permits and a “softphone solution” allowing staff to take calls from home would also help.

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