Report to ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & REGULATIONS Committee for noting

Transcription

1 Subject: Prepared by: Regulatory Services Environmental Health Activity Report 1 July - 30 September 2015 Sarwan Kumar (Regulatory Services Manager) Meeting Date: 21 October 2015 Report to ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & REGULATIONS Committee for noting SUMMARY The report summarises the performance and activities of the Regulatory Services Environmental Health Section for the last quarter 1 July 2015 to 30 September Best practice updates, key risks, bylaw and regulation effectiveness are also outlined. The activity of the unit is within budget. RECOMMENDATIONS That the Committee 1. receives the report Sarwan Kumar Regulatory Services Manager Kevin Strongman Group Manager Environmental & Regulatory Services Keywords: Regulatory Services Environmental Health Activity Report July 2015 to September 2015 A Page 1 of 5

2 1. OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITY Regulatory Services (Environmental Health) provides a number of services to ensure that the Gisborne district remains a healthy and safe place to live, work and play. Services include education, consenting, licensing or registration, enforcement and monitoring of: Food premises, alcohol licensed premises, camping grounds and other registered premises. Living conditions, nuisance and disease vector control. Environmental protection - air quality, noise control, recreational bathing water quality. Waste management and illegal dumping. Hazardous substances. Local bylaws such as Port and Harbour regulations and public area control food hygiene and liquor ban areas. 2. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Operational expenditure is well within budget for the year to date. Expenditure in the unit is primarily associated with employee costs, contractor costs for noise control, pest cat control, and also monitoring and administration of alcohol licensing and of registered premises. Operating expenditure, including employee related costs, are under budget for the year to date. Operating revenue is tracking above budget for the period. During this quarter revenue to the unit comes primarily from annual premises registration fees due in September. Alcohol licensing fees also contribute to revenue and is currently well above what was budgeted. Phasing income across the full year will provide more accurate data of revenue and budget. 3. LONG TERM PLAN PERFORMANCE MEASURES Environmental and Regulatory Service performance measures for the 2015/16 period Exceedances of National Water Quality Guidelines for safe contact recreation bathing standards at monitored recreational bathing sites. New measure to be implemented Percentage of applications for liquor licences and food certificates processed within target timeframes. Percentage of noise complaints to be assessed within half an hour of receiving a complaint. Percentage of registered and licensed premises that undergo an environmental health compliance inspection annually. Percentage of reported pollution incidents with Council response initiated within 30 minutes. On target to meet performance measure A Page 2 of 5

3 4. UPDATE ON KEY PROJECTS All appeals against the Provisional Local Alcohol Policy (Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012) developed for the Tairawhiti Region have been mediated and the Council has endorsed the proposed changes. The revised policy will be progressed over the coming months, firstly through The Alcohol Regulatory Licensing Authority (ARLA), then through an additional submission period before approvals. The Public Places Liquor Control Bylaw is under review. The public consultation phase has returned five submissions considered at a hearing in October The Freedom Camping Bylaw review is ongoing. 5. KEY RISKS ACROSS EACH ACTIVITY Key risk to the activity is loss of suitably qualified staff. 6. KEY LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2014 (Rugby World Cup Trading Hours) is in force. Council s role extends to informing licensees about the Act and receiving notifications from those premises wanting to use the extended hour s provisions. Some monitoring by licensing inspectors will be done. Two licensees have notified they will be utilising the amendment provision. Preparation for Food Act 2014 implementation continues in readiness for 1 March Key work includes a data system upgrade, identifying where existing registered food premises fit within the new regime, scoping fees and costs. 7. KEY ORGANISATION AND STAFF CHANGES KEY MEMBERS Environmental Health Administration Assistant (Alcohol Licensing) resigned for other employment. 8. DELEGATIONS Sarwan Kumar has completed duties of the Secretary to the District Licensing Committee under delegated authority. 9. KEY BUSINESS PERFORMANCE MEASURES Key business performance measures are being developed. Current Performance Measures are discussed in item 3. All Requests for Service (RFS) were resolved within target timeframes and performance measures for service quality was met. 10. BEST PRACTICE UPDATES FOOD AND ALCOHOL The District Licensing Committee considered oppositions against three applications at a hearing on 15 September The committee subsequently granted each application. A Page 3 of 5

4 A FoodSafe Newsletter was prepared and distributed in September to inform food premises and their staff on Food Act changes, applying for events and renewal of registrations. A Liquor & Licence Newsletter was prepared and distributed to inform licensees on extended trading hours for the Rugby World Cup Annual renewal of registrations for food and other licensed premises is done in this reporting period. To date, 80% of operators have completed the renewal process. PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Public swimming pools water quality monitoring was completed as programmed. No exceedances were recorded at the pools tested. Environmental sampling at beaches was completed. Results are published on the Council s website within hours of the results being received from laboratory. No exceedances were recorded. Open of scours to the city river network occurred during flooding on 20 September Notification was completed and signage placed at access areas to beaches and rivers. During the September flood event, environmental health officers assisted with flooded property verification and with identifying nuisance from dead animals washed with debris on the city beaches. Emergency discharge of untreated wastewater occurred due to malfunction at the Wastewater Treatment plant on 30 September. Notification was completed and signage placed at access areas to beaches. BYLAWS AND PUBLIC SAFETY Continued reviews of bylaws to comply with the statutory requirements. The review of the Public Places Liquor Control Bylaw 2003 is nearing completion. 11. POLICY EFFECTIVENESS No matters to report. 12. BYLAW AND OTHER REGULATORY EFFECTIVENESS Effectiveness of programmed and demand activities described in item 10 above is measured through environmental health performance measures. Regulatory Services Activity Summary - 1 July to 30 September 2015 Enforcement Interventions New or Transferred Registrations Permits Abatement Notices issued 9 Food Premises 15 Health Act Nuisance Notice issued 0 Temporary Food Premises/Stall permits (fees charged) Insanitary Building Notices issued 0 Food permits charitable (no fees charged) 7 19 Premises Closure Notices issued 0 Premises Hygiene approvals 0 A Page 4 of 5

5 Litter Infringement Notices issued 6 Offensive Traders 0 Bylaw Overgrowth Encroachment Notices issued 2 Mobile Traders (food) 3 Mobile Traders (non-food) 0 Alcohol Licences Determined Camping grounds 0 Premises Licences - renewal 26 Temporary camping grounds 0 Premises Licences - new 1 Funeral Premises 0 Special Licences 47 Hairdressers 1 Manager s Certificates renewal 42 Events Manager s Certificates new 21 Number of event applications 20 Temporary Authorities 0 A Page 5 of 5