Agenda item

To receive questions from members of the public, of which prior notification in writing has been received (no later than noon two clear working days before the day of the Council meeting).

Should you wish to submit a question please complete the online form at www.maldon.gov.uk/publicparticipation.

In accordance with the Council’s public speaking protocol it was noted that the following questions had been received from Mr Tom Kelly:

Question one:

‘Why doesn't MDC 'encourage Anglian Water, especially in the overall current Sewage crisis, to provide a much HIGHER LEVEL of Anti-Bacterial Protection in Maldon's Rivers than current levels,, irrespective of the minimum levels set by the dept of the Environment at Government level, thus giving river users...and especially Maldon Mud Race competitors...better health and wellbeing standards?’

Question two:

‘Why hasn't there been an increase in the permanent staffing at 'ground level for areas such as the 3 cemeteries, but there is large number...bit like NHS bureaucracy of managers and' directors'....at what cost, and a reliance on Contractors or Volunteers (the latter subject to the dictates of a Health and Safety Officer despite their years of experience)? Isn’t it time members had a proper look on site to understand things?

The Leader of the Council had provided the following response to these questions which he read out and had been published as a supplementary document to the Council agenda.

Question one:

Unfortunately, the Council has no regulatory jurisdiction over Anglian Water and any storm water discharges from their systems into our rivers and ditch networks. The Environment Agency (EA) is the regulatory body and through a permitting system regulate wastewater discharge activities. They are also responsible for taking appropriate enforcement action where environmental crimes are identified including the unregulated discharge of foul water.

Maldon District Council is not able to dictate water quality levels however, our officers do work in partnership with the EA and will share intelligence to assist with their investigations where pollution incidents are identified.

As part of this partnership approach, the Council also coordinates group meetings where representatives from Anglian Water attend. Items for discussion include improvement plans for the sewage network in and around the district of Maldon. It is through these groups that we get the opportunity to understand what improvements to the sewer systems are planned and ask the questions about how these will be prioritised for our district.

Question two:

The Council recognises the importance of ensuring that we provide peaceful, well maintained cemeteries where our residents can mourn their loved ones, and our staff strive to deliver a good level of service across all of our three cemeteries.

We are currently exploring opportunities to ensure that we are able to provide greater resilience to the maintenance of our cemeteries. This includes the way in which the service is delivered as well as opportunities to improve the layout of some areas to enable us to manage the maintenance to maximum effectiveness.

We are also looking at how we can improve the way in which we work with and support our volunteers, who add value to the maintenance of our Cemeteries.

A report was considered by the Strategy and Resources Committee on 23 November 2023 and proposals were agreed to deliver greater resilience and maintain a more consistent standard of grounds maintenance across our cemeteries.