A smarter approach to gully cleansing

Press release: An abstract view of the Council crest

North Tyneside Council is working towards introducing an improved approach to cleansing road gullies.

It will mean that those gullies which are most likely to become blocked will be cleaned more often – reducing the possibility of roads flooding.

The project is being delivered for the local authority by its partner Capita.

There are more than 40,000 gullies in North Tyneside and, other than those in some known problem areas, they are typically cleaned every 18 to 24 months.

Over the past year, every gully has been cleaned and had its condition and silt levels recorded. During the next 12 months, every gully will be cleaned again and have its silt level recorded once more.

This will identify gullies requiring more frequent cleansing and those needing less, which will inform a new risk-based gully cleansing strategy and ensure the most efficient use of resources.

Gullies in locations which have been identified previously as flood risk areas will remain on more frequent cleansing cycles and, as now, will be attended to in advance if there is a severe weather warning.

Cllr Carl Johnson, cabinet member for Environment and Transport, said: “This is a smarter way of maintaining the borough’s gully network.

“There are many occasions our team will attend a gully only to find that it is running clear and required no work. Their time could have been better spent at a gully where cleansing would make a difference.

“The silt levels in more than 40,000 gullies have been measured over the past 12 months and each one will be assessed again over the next year,

“This will enable our team to develop a new strategy that minimises the risk flooding by cleansing more often the gullies which need it the most.”

The council has two state-of-the-art gully wagons. One gully wagon is a 1,800 gallon combination unit which can carry fresh water and effluents at the same time. The other is 2,550 gallon combination unit with a moving division, which means more fresh water or foul water can be carried as needed.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Capita Local Public Services, part of Capita plc, is dedicated to making processes smarter, organisations more efficient and customer experiences better across the local government, health and education sector in the UK. We unlock value for our clients by applying talent and technology. Responsible for operating all of Capita’s major local, public sector partnerships, we deliver a wide range of specialist services including IT and digital transformation, customer management, revenues, benefits, finance, infrastructure support and regulatory services, education support and back office processing.

Capita Local Public Services can also draw on specialist capabilities, such as HR, payroll and procurement from across the wider Capita group, to ensure the very best market knowledge and outcomes are achieved.

In November 2012 Capita entered into a partnership with North Tyneside Council to deliver a range of technical services: engineering; property; planning; building control and public protection.

ENDS