Progress Report 02.04.2015

Thanks to everyone who attended the peaceful protest rally on March 25th! Action Group spokesperson Charles Shearer was representative at a meeting with Thurrock Council on Friday 27th March, with Mike Heath (interim Head of Environment) and Cllr Fish (Environment portfolio holder) attending.

Charles asked the Council to retract or at least correct some of the misinformation they had given before – the result is the grammatically incorrect (see line 1) and incomplete statement from Cllr Fish attached below. Due to the incomplete nature of this statement, it is necessary to outline the concessions that we have won from the Council as well as the losses that will still take place for the Country Park as part of the Council’s amended plans.

The outcome of last Friday’s meeting was very good news for the Action Group inasmuch as both One Tree Hill and Westley Heights will now have resident Rangers and each will be full-time Rangers for the Park – a major concession.

We now have been given specific detail of how the Parks will be managed, the duties each Ranger will perform and the availability of access to the mobile teams the Council will operate.   In essence we have the Council’s commitment that the maintenance of the Parks and the SSSIs will continue to the same level as current, the Natural Play Area will be maintained and play equipment will be inspected and repaired until such times as they reach the end of any serviceable life-span.

Access paths will be maintained, although no Council resources will be used to install or maintain benches in future. Dog waste bins will be left until they reach the end of their lifetime and are then to be replaced with dual purpose bins. The tools, equipment, balers, tractors etc etc will remain at Westley Heights for the Rangers to use. The Friends of Langdon Hills can continue with their tools and equipment as at present.
We are advised that the Apprentice Ranger will be leaving end January 2016 – but the Council commits now to replacing such apprentices at the end of each of their terms.

It is thanks to all of your support that we have managed to achieve these concessions, so thanks to everyone who has taken the time to participate in letter writing, attending the protest rally on 25th March, and help to raise awareness. Together we have achieved a great success for the the Langdon Hills Country Parks. It is worth noting however that further budget cuts are anticipated next year – so the commitments made by Thurrock Council are only for the next 12 months.

The peaceful protest on 25th March really helped to gain concessions
from Thurrock Council. Thanks for your support! 

Moving on to detail the cuts that will still occur as part of the Council’s plans, the Council still plan to make two full-time Ranger positions redundant. With regard to the Park Management Plan, the Council is to review the current plan and advise what is considered feasible in the future – an emphasis will be placed on finding volunteers to discharge work such as coppicing – but the Council will provide training and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for an already allocated budget.

The Green Flag award for the park is irretrievably lost. This prestigious award (which has been held by the Country Park for the past 4 years) recognises the best green spaces in the country.

With regard to the park events and education we have lost this battle but we, the Action Group, will seek other opportunities to restore this benefit outside Thurrock Council. The Council has indicated that they will allow others to hold events on the park but no Council resources can be deployed in running or managing them. This means that unfortunately events such as Santa in the Woods will cease until such time as other bodies such as the Friends of Langdon Hills group can investigate running the events themselves and consider what is feasible.

It is unfortunate that so much will still be lost under the Council’s proposals, and there is the strong risk of further cuts next year. We would urge you to please keep involved with the Action Group if you feel strongly about the Langdon Hills Country Parks. You could also consider joining the Friends of Langdon Hills group if you are able to help out in any way to support the running of the Park.

Kind regards,

Save Langdon Hills Action Group
Email: langdonhillsactiongroup@gmail.com
Web: http://langdonhillsactiongroup.blogspot.com/

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Statement released by Cllr Fish:

“Council set record straight over Langdon Hills” - posted on YourThurrock.com March 28, 2015.

FOLLOWING a meeting with representatives a group protesting changes to Langdon Hills Country Park on Friday (27 March), environment portfolio holder Cllr Tony Fish has issued the following statement.
“Thurrock Council has listened carefully to the many views and expressions of interest from residents and visitors to the country park at Langdon Hills.

“In response to the views that have been expressed and some of the inaccurate information that has been circulated the council has confirmed that in the coming year it will have resident Rangers on duty every day across the park.

“The council has also confirmed the children’s play area will continue to be maintained and the three sites of special scientific interest will receive the same management regime as in previous years.

“The plans for the park ensure the public will continue to have access to one of Thurrock’s environmental gems.”

Peaceful protest to protect Parks!

Wednesday 25th March at 10.30am 
Grays Town Centre, heading to the Thurrock Council Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, RM17 6SL.

Let's show Thurrock Council public opinion regarding their decision to leave Country Parks "unmanaged". We need as many people to be present at this peaceful rally, can you make it? Contact us if you can attend, or to find out about transport from the Country Park (on the edge of Basildon and Corringham) to Grays.

langdonhillsactiongroup@gmail.com

Please, please RSVP by email if you can attend!

Letter from Dr. Cole to Thurrock Council

(This letter was included in the Action Group Report that was submitted to Thurrock Council to outline the implications of their proposals to leave the Country Park "unmanaged". Thurrock Council acknowledged this Letter and the full Report but advised they would continue with their decision. Click to view the full Report)  

Dr Rodney Cole receiving an award on behalf of the Langdon Living Landscape from
wildlife television presenter and cameraman Simon King in June 2014.

Letter to Thurrock Council from Dr Rodney L. Cole, Chairman of Langdon Living Landscape Committee:

28^th January 2015.

Dear Sir,

Staffing cuts on the Langdon Hills Country Park (One Tree Hill and Westley Heights)

In my capacity as Chairman of the Langdon Living Landscape Committee I have lately been informed by various users of the Langdon Hills Country Park that some profound staffing changes are currently being mooted, as part of the financial restructuring which, I could well believe, is necessarily being considered, given the huge pressures upon local authority spending.  What I hear is short on details, but it is sufficient to cause me to write to you, drawing attention to some very real concerns.

1.       The Country Park has within it a remarkable variety of natural and semi-natural habitats, which between them sustain a correspondingly rich biodiversity.  Indeed, the whole Langdon ridge, of which the country park forms a major part, is of regional and indeed, for some groups of organisms, of national significance.  For example, it is the richest location in the entire county for butterflies, with species which have died out everywhere else in Essex.  That richness is in substantial degree the result of the sustained and skilful management of crucial parts of the country park by your staff, who, between them, hold a valuable body of knowledge acquired over many years.  The same applies to their management of other wildlife features, of course, including nationally rare bumble bee species, rare wildflowers, orchids, birds, and such like.  They are the custodians of a rich legacy, all the richer because so much of such richness has long since disappeared elsewhere in the borough.  Their skill in managing these sensitive features and locations, amid the overall business of running a country park vital for so many usages by the visiting public, is a valuable asset to the borough and region.  So too is their skill in promoting education concerning these very features.

2.      The park includes within it a series of fine – and varied – ancient woodlands, the sensitive management of which is crucial.  After past decades when these things were inadequately appreciated, more recent decades have seen the reintroduction of the coppicing regimes vital for the long-term vitality of these beautiful and scientifically important legacies.  Such management is, however, somewhat labour-intensive, and an appropriate team needs to oversee the cycle of coppice management involved: continuity of supervision is crucial. 

3.      By the same criterion, some of the meadows have SSSI status (Site of Special Scientific Interest), requiring timed management inputs as per arrangements overseen by Natural England and reviewed periodically in the light of scientific observation.  Once again, continuity is crucial – as are seasonal inputs of practical hands-on management.  Furthermore, there is a whole series of scheduled Local Wildlife Sites within the country park, all of which need sensitive and considered management.

4.      It is our very good fortune that we have a first-rate team of staff managing what is an extensive country park, and its loss or serious diminution would have a profound effect on the above-mentioned issues.

5.      Furthermore, the public pressures upon, and expectations of, the park are now greater than ever, courtesy of the inexorable growth of population within Thurrock and surrounding local authorities, coupled with far greater mobility than people had, half a century ago.  In, say, 1960, the public pressure was far less; there was not the proliferation of paths, and cycle-riding, and horse-riding, and jogging, and dog-walking, that is now current.  Perfectly legitimately, people crave fresh air, exercise and beauty – but between us all we are in serious danger of depleting, diminishing and destroying what we seek to enjoy.  The need for constant management of the stretched resource of the country park is now greater than ever – and is set to get even greater, given the continued population growth.  The very last thing that ought to happen is a major reduction in staffing resource.

6.      It is worth bearing in mind that in 1960 the park – then under the County Council – had two full-time workers (one based at Westley Heights, one at One Tree Hill).   That was at a time when, as indicated above, the public pressures and expectations were far less, yet even then the demands upon two excellent workers were considerable, to the degree that it became necessary to augment their ranks as Basildon New Town, and Corringham and Stanford, and so many other locations, grew.  To go back to staffing figures akin to those would be to undo a huge amount of collective and cumulative achievement, and expose the park to public abuse by those elements which sadly are forever with us.

7.      Insofar as Thurrock Council, like all local authorities, has an obligation under the terms of the 2006 NERC Act to maintain and maximise the natural biodiversity of the region it presides over, that responsibility is directly relevant to the adequate protection and management of the country park.

I appreciate the ghastliness of the economies and cuts which your authority is now obliged to consider and implement, and I can see that it requires the wisdom of Solomon when it comes to making final decisions on where the axes must fall.  Nevertheless, such is the nature of my position, with so many people looking to the Living Landscape Committee to uphold and lobby for their vital interests in enjoying the local landscape, that it behoves me to draw these issues to your attention.  A huge amount is being achieved through voluntary endeavour on Langdon (see our various publications for corroboration, also accessible through the Living Landscape page on www.bnhs.net/living-landscape) – but we do need the constant back-up from your professional staff.  After all, through a tremendous number of hours of voluntary effort, the Council gets huge value for money from its very modest expenditure on country park staffing. 

I beseech you, therefore, to do all that you can to prevent devastating staff cuts being imposed upon the country park.

Yours faithfully,

(Dr.) Rodney L. Cole

Chairman, Langdon Living Landscape Committee.   

25th March: Will you be there?

The Langdon Hills Action Group have planned a peaceful protest rally to show public opinion regarding Thurrock Council's plans to abandon the Country Park.

Wednesday 25th March 2015 (morning) at Thurrock Civic Offices, New Road, Grays RM17 6SL.
Transport will be provided if required from Langdon Hills Country Park.

Please contact langdonhillsactiongroup@gmail.com if you can attend, and we will contact you with further details. Will you be there?

Save your Country Park!

Council's Proposal

The press have started to pick up the story of the Council's plans, which has helped to bring the issue of the Country Park's future to a wider audience. However, Council spokespersons have downplayed the proposed cuts to the Ranger Service and the effects upon the Country Park and its users (see recent Enquirer article). The Council told the Enquirer "what is now planned for 15/16 will have comparatively little effect on services". As you'll see below, the Council themselves have described the impacts including "inevitably... a significant deterioration in the appearance of the Borough and the usability of parks and open spaces."

The Ranger Service is taking a much larger staffing cut than the average, and the effect will certainly be felt. In an earlier article in the Thurrock Gazette, a council spokesperson said "the proposal is to reduce the number of rangers to one at Langdon Hills", dropping from the four rangers plus apprentice presently covering the 400 acres of Country Park at One Tree Hill and Westley Heights. The Council might be downplaying to the press, but we have based our investigations and conclusions upon meetings with the Council, plus the Council's own documents including "Shaping the Council 2015-16 and beyond Savings Business Case - Restructure and review of all grounds maintenance operations". This named document is included in the appendices of the Action Group's report, but we have also included it below as well, because this is important evidence that will help you to make up your own minds. If, in the light of press coverage and public concern, the Council are rethinking some of these proposals then all to the good, but this is the document that they are working with. As further details of their plans have not yet been forthcoming there is certainly cause for concern. These proposals affect not just Country Parks but all sport pitches, play areas and other green spaces in Council management. This document is publicly available and was downloaded from Thurrock Council's website at this link. Are you concerned? If so, we urge you to write to the Council to ask for details regarding their plans and how they will affect you.

Shaping the Council 2015-16 and beyond: Savings Business Case

Business Case Title	Restructure and review of all grounds maintenance operations
Revision No:		Date:	01 July 2014
Lead Director	Mike Heath
Lead HOS
Critical friend/Exec Bd
Business Case Author	(if different to HOS) Daren Spring

Section 1: Summary   

Savings Proposal
Major reduction in the current levels of grass cutting frequencies and other grounds maintenance activities across the borough on all non-housing land.
Strategic rationale
Saving will be achieved through the reduction of frequencies and withdrawal of services. The table below provides details of proposed levels of service reductions required to achieve savings targets.
Area of activity	Current outputs/frequencies		Proposed outputs/frequencies
Play Areas	74 sites		10 sites
Grass cutting in parks, open spaces, verges, cemeteries and all other nonhousing land	Monthly cuts between April and September		Two cuts in 2015/2016. Reducing to one cut per annum thereafter.
Coalhouse Fort and Langdon Hills	Managed country parks with SSSI sites Educational and community events		Unmanaged open spaces No events
Outdoor sports	52 pitches provided for a range of summer and winter sports		Sports provision stopped.
Winter shrub maintenance	Annual programme of shrub and tree management in parks and open spaces and along cycle paths		Emergency response only to health and safety risks
Floral plantings	Seasonal displays in town centres		No floral planting
Approximate Cost Savings
15/16 - £330k 16/17 - £991k total £1.321m
Timescales
Activity		Timescale
Introduce area based working; reduce the frequency of grass cutting, shrub pruning and hedge cutting on non-housing land. Further reduce frequencies in all areas, stop all outdoor sports.		Dec 2015 March 2017
Risks /Consequences
Increased grass heights in parks and open spaces may render the areas less usable and less attractive to residents. Numerous studies have shown the importance of green spaces to both physical and mental health. The positive impacts of the parks etc may be lost as they become targets for vandalism and potentially fly tipping. The programme of introducing gym equipment to parks will be reversed. As these items are heavily used, there may be an impact on overall health and being for residents. The height of the grass may cause litter to collect, dog fouling will be difficult to remove and it may attract adders to these sites. There will be different heights of grass cutting within parks, highways land, private housing estates and housing land. Shrub areas will become over grown and tired looking. Play provision will be reduced. Children in parts of the Borough may no longer have a site readily accessible to them. The successes achieved in creation and maintenance of SSSI sites and habitats for rare bees, bats, butterflies and orchids will cease entirely.
Mitigation
Moving to a delivery model incorporating areas-based teams and increasing the amount of maintenance carried out on a reactive (rather than scheduled) basis should provide a degree of mitigation of the impact, but a reduction in front-line capacity of circa 50% will inevitably result in a significant deterioration in the appearance of the Borough and the usability of parks and open spaces. A strong programme of community involvement could assist in the maintenance of some areas. Self managed sports provision may enable residents to still play sports in certain areas.

Section 2: Finance, savings and costs  

Financial summary

			General Fund budget 2014-15
	Staff £000s	Premises / Transport £000s	Supplies/ Services £000s	Direct Payments £000s	Third Party Payments £000s	Total Expenditure Gross £000s	Income £000s	Net Expenditu re £000s
2014/15	2,145.7	1,797.2	288.8	1,557.2	46.5	5,835.4	-2,577.4	3,258.0

Staff R	elated savings
Current number of posts (FTE and headcount)	94.3 FTE
Number of posts to be deleted (FTE and headcount)	42.3 FTE and headcount
Amount of salary saving (inc on-costs)	/ 16   / 17	£      284K £1,138.9K

Non- Staff Related savings
Premises and buildings (inc utilities)
Transport	22 vehicles 15 / 16	£  45.6K
	16 / 17	£182.5K
Supplies and services
Other (please specify)

Third Party Related savings/income
Commissioning/contracts
Charges to the HRA/DSG/PHG   (NB can be negative)
Increase fees & charges
Grants/additional funding streams
Other (please specify)

Benefits – non  financial

Costs & Resources to deliver the savings
Direct costs
Redundancy costs	Not quantified
Accommodation costs
Procurement and/or Legal costs
Other HR costs
Other (please specify)	Losses on vehicle and plant disposals – Not quantified Removal and disposal of play equipment – Not quantified.   Removal and disposal of parks litter bins and other furniture no longer being emptied/maintained – Not quantified

Section 3: Impact/Consequences of proposal – not covered in financial section

Impact on Corporate Priorities/objectives/ performance targets/standards

Priority 1. Create a great place for learning and opportunity
Priority 2. Encourage and promote job creation and economic prosperity	The reduction in service levels may have the impact of discouraging investment and economic regeneration within the Borough.
Priority 3. Build pride, responsibility and respect to create safer communities	The reduced levels of maintenance and degradation of parks and open spaces may have the unintended consequence of undermining pride and respect amongst residents of the Borough.
Priority 4. Improve health and well-being	Decommissioning 80%-90% of play sites will reduce opportunities for children to take exercise. Restricted access to parks areas no longer maintained to acceptable standards will reduce public outdoor leisure activities. Reduced access to outdoor sports pitches will limit opportunities for organised team exercise (i.e. football, rugby etc).
Priority 5. Protect and promote our clean and green environment	Grass cutting and general grounds maintenance frequencies across the Borough will be significantly reduced. The work to provide habitats for flora and fauna and to maintain accessible green spaces within the Borough will cease. This priority will no longer be supported through Council activity.
Well-run organisation - financial & governance; staff; customers

Impacts on partners

The reduced levels of grounds maintenance may render Thurrock a less attractive prospect for partners to engage with Thurrock in the future.

Impacts on customers / community and equality/diversity implications
The reduced levels of grass cutting and grounds maintenance may render Thurrock a less attractive prospect for investment and business. There may be an unintended consequence in terms of reduced visits to retail areas and a less vibrant housing market. As these services are for all residences each day of the week, all will be affected.
Has an EqIA been undertaken?	YES / NO       Date:

Other impacts/implications

Reduced levels of grounds maintenance in parks may cause residents to not want to use the parks if they are unattractive and unkempt places. There will be less space for recreational activities. If grass will be cut on a when required basis there will be inconsistencies across the borough in the height of the grass. With the scale of the reduction in team size the capacity to respond to complaints and services requests via “My Account” will be limited.

Section 4: Risks and Mitigation

Delivery risks
Risk Description	Likelihood	Impact	Rating	Management or Mitigating Action
Timescale – it may not be possible to reduce operational capacity to the required level by December 2014.	2	2	4	Increased level of support from HR
Public response – residents’ reaction to the proposed changes in service levels is likely to be critical and unsportive.	4	3	12	Communications campaign. Support from Corporate centre in establishing strong community volunteer groups to undertake some of the maintenance work.

 

Service risks
Risk Description	Likelihood	Impact	Rating	Management or Mitigating Action
The parks and open spaces will look unkempt, with longer grass and increased weed levels. This may give rise to public health risks and accident claims against the Council.	3	3	9	Disclaimer notices in high risk areas where reduced maintenance is to be carried may help to limit the Council’s public liability. Equipment in play sites no longer maintained will be removed to reduce injury risks and claims.

For information on the ratings criteria guide, please see \\Thurdata01\data\THURROCK\EXCHANGE\ROM

4 8 12 16 3 6 9 12 2 4 6 8 1 2 3 4     Impact

Section 5: Assumptions, Dependencies & Exclusions

Timeframes Assumptions/ Dependencies/Exclusions	There is an assumption that staffing and vehicles levels can be decreased within the timeframe set for this saving.
Benefits Assumptions/ Dependencies/Exclusions	The cost of redundancies and losses on asset (vehicles & plant) disposals is not reflected in the savings figure.
Costs Assumptions/ Dependencies/Exclusions
Other/ General Assumptions/ Dependencies/Exclusions	There is an assumption that in decreasing the service levels and resource numbers that the saving will be achieved, and that additional service requirements will not be placed on the operational teams There is a assumption that the Service will no longer have capacity to respond to complaints within the corporate targets.

Section 6: Stakeholder Engagement Requirements

		Approximate timelines
Staff/Unions             NB. Services should not be undertaken consultation with staff in isolation – all such activity should be coordinated through Jackie Hinchliffe		Discussions on area based working to start in September 2014, with staff consultation from November 2014.
Portfolio Holders/Members                     NB. Services should not be undertaken consultation with staff in isolation – all such activity should be coordinated through Directors Board		October 2014
Partners                   NB. Services should not be undertaken consultation with partners in isolation – all such activity should be co-ordinated through Directors Board		October 2014
Residents/Public     NB. Services should not be undertaken consultation with staff in isolation – all such activity should be coordinated through Directors Board
Other – please specify

Section 7: Any other comments to support savings proposals