South Hams waste: Contractor in talks to improve service

A waste contractor said it was talking to council officers about how to improve services after years of problems in south Devon.

FCC Environment faced a number of questions at a special meeting held by South Hams District Council.

Councillors complained about more than two years of missed and cancelled collections.

FCC said it intended to improve the service but insisted it was not in a position to give details. 

Waste services in the district were outsourced to FCC in April 2019 but have faced problems ever since, including vehicles that were too large for the area's country lanes, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Council leader, Conservative Judy Pearce, asked when FCC operations director Steve Longdon was going to resign.

Mr Longdon replied: "I will not be handing in my resignation, Councillor Pearce."

He said: "We are engaged at the moment, and indeed today, with the senior officers of the council in a resolution.

"Because of the nature of those conversations, I am unable to expand on them at the moment."

And he apologised for the "failure to deliver the service you expect and deserve".

Opposition Liberal Democrat leader, Councillor Julian Brazil, said: "Members of the public are rightly angry and frustrated out there. 

"They want answers. And what we've had here feels a bit like Groundhog Day."

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