The Wandsworth Transport Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss a draft document on waste management, a walking and cycling strategy update, a highway maintenance programme, budget monitoring and proposed changes to transport fees and charges.

Draft Reuse, Recycle and Waste Management Supplementary Planning Document

The committee will be given a report on the Draft Wandsworth Reuse, Recycling & Waste Management Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The SPD is intended to provide guidance on the requirements for waste space, storage and management for new developments, in line with the adopted Local Plan (July 2023). If adopted, it will replace the existing Refuse and Recyclables SPD (2014).

The report pack states that the updated SPD reflects changes in national, regional and local policy, including the Environment Act 2021, the London Plan (2021) and the Wandsworth Local Plan (adopted 2023). The SPD aims to prevent and reduce waste and maximise recycling, and will support the objectives and targets of the Wandsworth Environment and Sustainability Strategy (WESS) and Climate Action Plan 2024.

The report pack includes a recommendation to approve the Draft Wandsworth Reuse, Recycling & Waste Management SPD for a statutory public consultation lasting no less than four weeks. It also recommends delegating authority to the Head of Spatial Planning to make non-material changes to the SPD ahead of the public consultation, and to approve the final version of the SPD for adoption if no substantive issues are raised during the consultation.

The report pack notes that the council spends £27m per year on waste collection and disposal. It also mentions previous investments in waste services, including the Cleaner Borough Plan for Wandsworth waste collection, which extended the existing waste collection contract for four years (from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2028) and included increased recycling rounds and borough-wide food waste collections.

The report pack states that the Draft SPD takes into account changing circumstances within the borough since 2015, including:

• Increased incidence of flatted developments.
• Increased incidence of mixed use developments, combining residential and commercial premises.
• Improvements to the Council's waste collection services, including the introduction of food recycling services for households with enough space at the front of their property for a food waste caddy, in June 2024.

The Draft SPD also reflects the new and updated requirements of the Environment Act 2021, including:

• Recyclable household waste must be collected separately from other household waste.
• Recyclable waste must be collected separately for recycling or composting.
• To define a number of recyclable waste streams ((i) glass; metal; plastic; (ii) paper and card; (iii) food waste; and (iv) garden waste) which must be collected.
• Food waste to be collected for recycling at least once a week.

The report pack notes that the Wandsworth Local Plan (2023) includes policies relating to the circular economy, recycling and waste management, including:

• LP13 Circular Economy, Recycling and Waste Management part B, which requires that Circular Economy Statements will be required for all referable applications which set out how the proposed development promotes circular economy outcomes and the aim for net zero waste.
• LP12 General Development Principles Part D, which requires that development must be adequately serviced with utility infrastructure related and appropriate to the development (including in relation to water supply, sewerage, drainage, waste management, telecommunications, broadband, heat, power and cooling) in accordance with policy LP22.

The report pack states that the Draft SPD supports the ambitions of the Wandsworth Reduction and Recycling Plan 2023-2025 by including new guidance on reuse in addition to maximising recycling and minimising waste, in line with the waste hierarchy¹.

Walking and Cycling Strategy Update

The committee will receive an update on the Wandsworth Walking and Cycling Strategy, which was approved in November 2022 and covers the years 2022-2030. The strategy aims to make walking and cycling in Wandsworth safer and more convenient, increase walking and cycling levels, increase sustainable travel and support sustainable growth and wider corporate environmental and health policies.

The report pack states that the strategy is divided into 16 action areas, including:

1. Community Engagement
2. School Streets and safe routes to school
3. Improving accessibility
4. Improving pavements
5. Making it easier to cross heavily-trafficked roads
6. Improving crossing of side roads
7. Improving the public realm
8. Providing a top quality cycle network
9. Providing a quiet network for cycling and walking
10. Improving off-road walking and cycling
11. Promoting access to cycling
12. Providing cycle parking
13. Enabling contraflow cycling
14. Improving links to public transport
15. Collecting and publishing data on walking and cycling
16. Promoting access to car clubs

The report pack highlights a number of achievements in 2024, including:

• The introduction of five new school streets, bringing the total to 11 since the strategy was adopted in 2022.
• The increase in the number of bike hangars on Wandsworth’s streets from 65 to 229, providing a further 984 secure cycle parking spaces for residents.
• The introduction of 110 dedicated parking bays for hire e-bikes.
• The increase of the highway maintenance budget to £8m in 2024/25, with a further increase to £10.25m planned for 2025/26.
• The delivery of 18 new zebra crossings since the Strategy was adopted in 2022.
• The delivery of complex safety/cycle schemes at Mitcham Lane, Wandsworth Bridge and Putney High Street/Bridge junction.
• The start of works on the refurbishment of Old York Road to improve it for pedestrians.

The report pack also includes a table detailing the strategy's 11 targets and latest data.

The report pack notes that the next 12 months will focus on the construction of major highway schemes to improve pedestrian and cycling safety on Queenstown Road, Old York Road, Burntwood Lane and Wandsworth Bridge.

Highways Maintenance Programme

The committee will receive a report on the proposed Highway Maintenance Programme for footways and carriageways in the borough for 2025/26.

The report pack states that the council has a statutory duty to maintain and manage its highway asset in a safe and reliable condition under Section 41 of the Highway Act 1980.

The report pack notes that the council has committed a total investment of £100m in footways and carriageways renewals over the 10-year period from 2024/25, and that the £10.25m Highway Maintenance work programme in 2025/26 is the biggest ever highway maintenance programme to be designed and delivered in a single year in the borough.

The report pack states that the programme will be financed from a combination of developer contributions and council resources, with the use of developer contributions prioritised for financing expenditure first, subject to their availability and the eligibility of scheme proposals.

The report pack includes a list of proposed footway surfacing and carriageway resurfacing, as well as proposed footways and carriageways on housing land maintenance programme for 2025/26.

The report pack notes that a Detailed Visual Inspection (DVI) survey of road and pavements on housing land was carried out for the first time in the borough earlier in 2024, and that Housing Officers have now inspected the areas identified as in most need of attention and a forward maintenance plan is being created to ensure all housing estate roads and footpaths are brought up to a good standard.

Budget Monitoring: Quarter 3

The committee will receive a joint report on the 2024/25 Quarter 3 Budget Monitoring and Revenue Budget 2024-28.

The report pack states that the committee's remit is currently projecting an underspend of £30,000 compared to a revised budget of -£1.588 million.

The report pack notes that the 2025/26 and future year revenue budgets have been adjusted for known changes across all years, and this includes an updated position for the 2024/25 budget compared to Q3 forecast reported.

The report pack identifies key risks to the budget, including parking services within Traffic and Engineering, and notes that changes in behaviour and attitudes towards car usage, the continued rise in the use of sustainable travel and volatility of petrol prices have impacted on the volumes of activity for the service.

The report pack states that the impact of the continuation of the current reduced income within Development Management has been reflected in the proposed budget for future years, and that a number of investment priorities approved throughout the year have been included, as well as £200,000 to maintain gullies across the borough.

The report pack notes that the Chief Executive's Group forecast overspend of £295,000 is largely due to Development Management services, which is expected to overspend for the year by £255,000, constituted from a combination of a shortfall of planning application income, combined with additional staffing costs caused by recruitment and retention pressures, as well as the project costs associated with the implementation of the combined planning software system.

The report pack includes a table showing the planning applications received up to Quarter 3 2024-25 and in the two prior years split into broad categories of types of application.

Transport: Fees and Charges

The committee will receive a joint report on the revision of charges.

The report pack states that fees are typically reviewed and set on an annual basis to account for cost increases experienced in the provision of services and any other relevant legislative or other factors, and that the proposed approach is to increase by 2.2% in line with CPI inflation for all resident-facing services, in order to mitigate the impact of fee increases to service users where possible, whilst also seeking to cover the Council's increased costs.

The report pack estimates that -£25,000 net additional net income will accrue to the General Fund in 2025/26 and a full year as a result of these proposals.

The report pack notes that the Building Control service has undergone significant change with the introduction of the Building Safety Regulator and the Building Safety Act 2022 following the Grenfell disaster², and that as a consequence of the additional demands and pressures placed upon the service there is a national shortage of qualified and experienced staff. The report pack states that as a consequence of the additional demands and pressures placed upon the service there is a national shortage of qualified and experienced staff, and that the proposed charges for 2025/26 incorporate an average increase of 17% to the existing charges, and the introduction of ancillary fees.

The report pack notes that as part of the review of fees for 2025/26, the fees for pre-application advice were considered to not be fully reflective of the level of Council involvement in supporting and advising on community engagement, and that the impact of this review is that pre-application advice fees for major applications are proposed to increase by between 8-12%, with all other charges, including advice for minor and homeowner advice, to increase by the rate of inflation.

The report pack states that the Council is proposing to freeze all parking charges for 2025/26, and that traffic and engineering fees related to implementation of crossovers³ and damage to street furniture are proposed to increase by up to 3.2% to reflect the change in specific sector indexation costs.