The Environment and Community Services Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 17 June 2026 was scheduled to review performance reports, discuss draft plans for the upcoming year, and consider contract performance and risk management. The committee was also scheduled to scrutinise reports going to the Executive, including a project for Keston Ponds.

Updates from Portfolio Holders

The meeting agenda included scheduled updates from Councillor Josh Coldspring-White, the Portfolio Holder for Environment, and Councillor Simon Fawthrop, the Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety. These updates were intended to provide an overview of their respective areas of responsibility.

ECS Performance Overview Quarter 4

A key item on the agenda was the Environment & Community Services (ECS) Performance Overview for Quarter 4 of the 2025/26 financial year. This report, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, was intended to provide a review of performance against the ECS Portfolio Plan's Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the period January to March 2026. The report was expected to highlight indicators with a Red RAG status, including a net loss of street trees, underperformance in completing highway maintenance tasks within required timescales, and a projected increase in people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions.

Pre-Decision Scrutiny of Reports to Portfolio Holders

The committee was scheduled to undertake pre-decision scrutiny of several reports intended for the Environment and Community Services Portfolio Holders. These included:

• Draft Air Quality Action Plan 2026-2031: Consultation and Implementation: This item, marked as to follow, was expected to involve a discussion on proposed actions to improve air quality in the borough over the next five years.
• Environment & Community Services Draft Portfolio Plan 2026/27: This comprehensive plan, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, outlines the ambitions and planned activities for the Environment and Community Services portfolio for the upcoming financial year. It covers six key ambitions across the Environment and Transport, Highways & Road Safety portfolios, including maintaining clean streets, minimising waste, enhancing parks, maintaining highways, improving travel, and reducing Council emissions.
• Annual Contract Performance Report: Arboricultural Services: This report, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, was scheduled to review the performance of the arboricultural services supply chain during its first year of operation (September 2024 – August 2025). It was expected to detail the performance of four area-based contracts and highlight varying levels of success and challenges faced by the contractors, including issues with reporting and staffing.
• Appointments to the Leisure Gardens and Allotments Panel and the Countryside Consultative Panel: This item, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, concerned the confirmation of councillor appointments to these two consultative panels for the 2026/27 period.
• ECS Final Outturn Report 2025-26: This report, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, was to present the final revenue budget monitoring position for the Environment & Community Services Portfolio for the 2025/26 financial year, indicating an overall portfolio overspend of £1,299k.

Pre-Decision Scrutiny of Reports Going to the Executive

The committee was also scheduled to scrutinise a report intended for the Executive:

• Keston Ponds Project: This report, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, concerned the Keston Ponds Restoration Project. It was to seek Executive approval to increase the Capital Programme budget to reflect secured grant funding and request authorisation for the delegation of the award of a works contract.

Data Reports

The meeting agenda also included two data reports:

• Risk Register: Quarter 4: This report, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, was to present the Environment & Community Services Risk Register for the fourth quarter. It was to note the addition of a new risk concerning the condition of infrastructure in parks and open spaces.
• Contracts Register - Part 1 Report: This report, detailed in the Public reports pack Wednesday 17-Jun-2026 19.00 Environment and Community Services Policy Developm.pdf, was to provide an extract from the Corporate Contracts Register as of 1st May 2026, focusing on contracts within the Environment and Community Services portfolio with a total contract value of £50,000 or higher. It was to highlight that there were no contracts flagged as a concern at that time.