Gosport's council to save up to £175,000 in bins deal

Gosport Borough Council’s Community Board has unanimously decided to allow Urbaser to take care of environmental services in the area for up until 2026, with original deal set to end in 2021.

Each member of the board said they were satisfied by the increasing level of service.

They also said renewing the deal would save up to £175,000 during the five years.

All new vehicles will be fitted with 360 degree cameras for safety.

Councillor Graham Burgess, chairman of Gosport Community Board, said: ‘The main reason we have renewed the contract with Urbaser was to get new vehicles for environmental services which have a lot more safety features on board so that drivers can see what is going on around them.

‘The overall feeling is that everyone is delighted with the work from Urbaser since they were awarded the contract in 2011.

‘The thing we were worried about when the contract first started was refuse collection but it has been absolutely superb.

‘They are great at working over bank holidays over Christmas and provide an extra bag service that is not usually on offer.’

‘We have an open book agreement with Urbaser and in 2015-16 we saved £60,000. The money that we save can go back into the area and be used for better things.

Although all members of the Community Board have been extremely satisfied by the services that Urbaser has provided, Councillor Jill Wright has questioned the vehicles in use.

She said: ‘The one thing that I am slightly concerned about is that it says the life span of the refuse collection vehicles are only seven years.

‘The vehicles are up for renewal in 2018 and that means that by the time that they need to be renewed, it will be 2025 and we will still be under contract with Urbaser for another year.

‘It could potentially cause a few problems down the line.

‘I think it would be better to renew them on a three-year lease and then review them when the five years start.’