The Environment Select Committee was scheduled to meet to discuss a streetscene maintenance contract, electric vehicle infrastructure, and updates from task groups. The meeting was also scheduled to include a verbal update from a Cabinet Member, and a review of the committee's forward work programme.

Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Project

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on projects to deliver public residential electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVI) across Wiltshire, and to provide feedback on the report contents. The report pack included a proposal to support project activities and the approach to the delivery of EVI.

The report noted that Wiltshire Council had declared a climate emergency and set a goal to assist Wiltshire to achieve net zero by 2030¹. It stated that transport was the greatest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Wiltshire, and that the transition to electric vehicles was being enforced by the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, which would stop the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030.

The report pack stated that the Department for Transport (DfT) had provided Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding to address the market failure of public EVI provision for residents without off-street parking. Wiltshire Council was allocated £3.889m capital and £480k capability funds.

The report pack noted that a previous contract with BP Pulse to provide public charging in Wiltshire had ended badly. As of October 2025, Wiltshire had 95 charging devices per 100,000 population, compared to a South West average of 106 and a national average of 130.

The report pack stated that the LEVI project was assessed to best deliver public on-street residential EVI through a concession contract. Commercial charge point operators (CPOs) would be able to tender to design, build, operate and maintain public EV charging in Wiltshire. The LEVI concession contract would run over 15 years and be split into two lots: Urban and Rural.

The Urban lot would cover primary and larger settlements, identifying priority target areas for standard AC chargers suitable for overnight charging. The Rural lot would locate EVI in large villages, creating a mix of off-street locations offering DC rapid chargers and on-street locations offering standard AC chargers.

EVI site selection had been led by the concentration of residents parking on street. For the Urban lot, Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) identify target areas. Urban lot target areas had been identified using two separate approaches: Commercial target areas focused on commercial interest, and Social target areas focused on the delivery of social equity interest. For the Rural lot, large villages form the basis for target areas.

The report pack stated that the deployment of EVI at Urban target sites would prioritise charger technology types in the following order: lamppost based > bollard type > flat & flush type.

The report pack included an estimate that the concession contract could result in over 2000 public chargers being built.

The report pack stated that formal market engagement was undertaken over August-September 2025, and that feedback from EVI sector representatives had been helpful. Following the formal market engagement feedback, some of the contract elements had been modified to encourage a wider range of CPO bidders.

The report pack stated that community engagement would now focus on urban and rural lot target areas, to create charging sites informed by local knowledge and generate early community buy in and support.

The report pack stated that the EVI concession was anticipated to generate match funding of at least 62% against council capital, providing a total of £10m capital project. Council revenue from the LEVI contract would be set to cover contract management costs, until CPO project profitability allows a revenue share to be provided to the council.

The report pack stated that contract performance would be monitored and managed by employing 30 KPIs.

The report pack stated that the main risk to the LEVI project was the market response to the concession contract and if suitable tenders are received.

The report pack stated that the LEVI contract invitation to tender (ITT) package would be submitted to the LEVI support body for review late January 2026. It was anticipated that this would see the contract open for bids mid February 2026. The first EV chargers could start to be installed from Autumn 2026, with the majority of installs being complete by Autumn 2029.

The report pack also included an update on a cable channel trial:

Cable channels have emerged over the last three years as an option for residents to access on-street home charging. However, as they are deployed on the adopted highway their use has been controlled by the local highway authority/council.

ESC Report Public Residential EVI Nov25

The report pack stated that soft market testing had identified the Kerbo Charge cable channel as the preferred market option.

The report pack stated that a trial deployment of a limited number of cable channels was necessary to assess cable channel utility, develop effective operational procedures and identify appropriate deployment criteria to assess when a cable channel is an appropriate solution.

The report pack stated that Highways officers supported cable channel deployment only if it was fully in the control of the council. To facilitate this approach cable channels units would be purchased from M Group on behalf of the Council.

The report pack stated that an application was submitted against the DfT Pavement Channel Grant on 30th October 2025, for the full Wiltshire allocation of £163k funding.

The report pack included the following appendices:

• LEVI Urban Site Selection Methodology
• LEVI Rural Site Selection Methodology
• LEVI Target Areas Map
• Key LEVI Financial Decisions
• Briefing Note Cable Channels
• Wiltshire PCG Application

The LEVI Urban Site Selection Methodology document stated that the UK Government had recognised the nationwide problem of a lack of home charging for drivers without off-street parking. It identified the need for a rapid roll out of on-street residential public charging, with the Government then choosing to stimulate this through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) project.

The LEVI Urban Site Selection Methodology document stated that the council needed to ensure that public EV charging was built in strategically appropriate locations, and that site selection would be both data led and community informed.

The LEVI Rural Site Selection Methodology document stated that the council having undertaken analysis utilising data to investigate areas that would benefit social deprivation and commercial attractiveness, had concluded that rural areas within the county have not been sufficiently included. Therefore, the council had decided to include a 'Rural Lot' that specifically identifies and promotes infrastructure in these areas.

The Key LEVI Financial Decisions document set out the different options for a number of contractual and financial elements of the LEVI contract which need to be finalised. In particular this paper provided detail on: contract management client team structure, concession fees, tariff administration, and additional fees.

The Briefing Note Cable Channels document stated that cable channels are a product innovation which promise to enable on-street home charging by capturing the charging cable securely below the surface of the footway while charging takes place, thus minimising associated risks.

The Wiltshire PCG Application document was an application form for the EV Pavement Channels Fund.

Streetscene and Grounds Maintenance Contract Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Streetscene and Grounds Maintenance contract performance for 2024/25.

The report pack stated that the scope of the council's Streetscene and Grounds Maintenance contract covers a wide range of services including grounds maintenance, grass cutting, street cleansing, election material deliveries and play area provision.

The contract, which was awarded to idVerde², is mainly an outcome requirement, meaning the council states the standards to be achieved and the contractor delivers the outcomes in the most effective way.

The report pack stated that in 2024/25 savings of £1.137m were delivered.

The report pack stated that idverde achieved a score for their contract undertakings of 7.8 out of 10, which is classified as good performance.

The report pack stated that the performance outcome for 2024/25 resulted in a 9-month extension to the contract. The contract period is currently 6 years and 6 months from November 2022.

The report pack stated that idverde's Carbon Commitment was achieved by using Hydronated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to meet their contract carbon requirements.

The report pack stated that 183 community events were funded by idverde, under the Social Value element of the contract.

The report pack stated that during 2024/ 25 the council received a grant to allow the transfer of play areas to the parish councils. Of the 25 play areas, the council has an agreement to transfer 19 play areas with the parish councils.

The report pack stated that monthly Service Delivery Team meetings and an annual review have been established to manage the contract, with an escalation process in place for contract failures or challenges.

The report pack included the following appendices:

• Contract Scoring
• Performance Outcome Group Scoring
• Contract Savings
• Additional Funding
• Service Commitments
• Streetscene Outcome Quantities

The report pack stated that extensions to the initial contract term (5 Years) may be awarded each year, conditional on the acceptable performance of the Contractor during remaining part of the contract term.

The report pack stated that the Place Performance and Outcome Board/ Group measures are recording high performance:

• The annual biodiversity target for increasing environmentally managed land is 289,375 m2 with the actual area converted was 397,384m2
• Community Support Events 12 month average was 183.
• Litter reports down 42% from 1,115 in 2023/24 to 645 in 2024/25
• With circa 92.9% of litter reports cleared within 7 days.

The report pack stated that recurring service amendment savings of £0.737m had been achieved, including the Service Delegation to Trowbridge Town Council and Westbury Town Council.

The report pack stated that the Streetscene contract received an additional £0.535m EMR funding for litter collection, cleansing and highway weed treatment funding to address local priorities and these were all delivered, with performance recorded through the Place Performance Outcome Board.

Updates from task groups and representatives on programme boards

The committee was scheduled to receive updates on recent activity for active task groups and from members of the Environment Select Committee who have been appointed as overview and scrutiny representatives on programme boards.

The report pack included updates from the Waste Transformation Task Group and the Climate Emergency Task Group.

The report pack stated that the Waste Transformation Programme (WTP) commenced in 2023 covering over 30 discrete projects. It aims to deliver transformational change making waste services efficient and effective, whilst complying with legislative changes including the Environment Act 2021 and Simpler Recycling.

The report pack stated that on 9 September 2025 the Environment Select Committee agreed to set up a task group to scrutinise the decision-making process and progress with the Waste Transformation Programme.

The report pack stated that the task group's terms of reference were to support the Waste Transformation Programme (WTP) that is running until end of 2027 when changes in service provision due to new contract introduction and implementation of new services under Simpler Recycling and statutory introduction of food waste collections, have been completed.

The report pack stated that the task group had its first meeting on 26 September 2025 where it elected Councillor Dominic Muns as Chairman of the group.

The report pack stated that with the restrictions currently in place around member access to information following a recent leak of confidential material, the Chairman has asked that further meetings of the task group be cancelled.

The report pack stated that the Climate Emergency Task Group (CETG) is a standing task group reporting to the Environment Select Committee.

The report pack stated that at its meeting on 10 June 2025 the Select Committee approved the continuation of the task group 2025/26.

The report pack stated that the task group had its first meeting on 3 October 2025 where it elected Councillor Graham Wright as Chairman of the group.

The report pack stated that the task group discussed the update report which went to Cabinet (7 October 2025) and Full Council (21 October 2025).

The report pack stated that the council is on track to be carbon neutral by 2030, and that for county-wide greenhouse gas emissions, the council has mapped out a pathway to 2030, but the county is not on that trajectory.

Public Participation

The agenda supplement included a question from Councillor Nigel White to Councillor Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, Streetscene and Flooding, regarding the Speed Limit Assessment Task Group Report.

Councillor Nigel White asked for clarification on the current status of the Speed Limit Assessment Task Group's recommendations, and stated that Parish Councillors who are currently preparing requests for changes to local speed limits are keen to understand when, or if, the revised proposals will be formally adopted as policy.

Councillor Nigel White also stated that the new Council Plan rightly emphasises a more community-centred approach, and that for many rural communities in Wiltshire, improving road safety remains a top priority, and that residents are calling for a revised speed assessment policy that is more accessible, and which places greater weight on local knowledge and specific circumstances.

Councillor Martin Smith responded that following comment and discussion of the earlier draft speed limit policy with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, officers are currently preparing a revised speed limit policy for formal approval, and that it is hoped that the formal approval process will commence within the next 6 weeks at which time all elected members will have the opportunity to review and comment.

Forward Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to note and receive updates on the progress of items on the forward work programme.

The report pack stated that under the revised Overview and Scrutiny (OS) arrangements there is now a single OS work programme controlled by the OS Management Committee, linked to priorities in the Business Plan.

The report pack included a table of Task Groups and Rapid Scrutiny Exercises:

• Climate Emergency Task Group
• Local Highways Footway Improvement Groups (LHFIG)
• Road Safety
• Waste Transformation

The report pack included a table of Committee agenda items:

• Parking Plan 2026-2030
• Highways winter resilience update
• Wiltshire Council Housing Board Annual Report 2024/2025
• Climate Strategy delivery plans
• Local transport update
• Electric refuse vehicle pilot
• Leisure Services update
• Library Services Update
• Update on the Maintenance and Management of Public Rights of Way
• Highways Annual Review of Service
• Air Quality Action Plan 2024-2029
• Cultural Strategy 2025- 2030 update

The report pack also included a list of other topics recommended for OS input by the previous council:

• Swindon & Wiltshire Economic Strategy
• Government Economic Development Funding
• Wiltshire Town Programme
• Homelessness Prevention Strategy
• Wiltshire Council Housing Board Annual Report
• Housing Allocations Policy
• Speed Limit Assessments
• Local Transport Plan (LTP4) incl. Freight Strategy
• Household waste transformation programme
• Gypsy & Traveller Plan
• Flooding