Issue - meetings

Members gave consideration to a report which provided a review of the Schedule 4 scheme to-date and proposed consultation on the Scheme’s future continuation.

The Council had agreed to implement the Scheme using its powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and it had come into effect in August 2018 for the Gainsborough area. The scheme had been introduced to combat the persistent issue of abandoned shopping trolleys, which at the time were being collected at a rate of 30 per week.

The issue of abandoned shopping trolleys was still present in Gainsborough and the collection rates were now averaging 12 - 13 per week. The first quarter of 2023 had seen the number fall below an average of 10 per week, a reduction of 62% since the implementation of the Scheme.

The report set out the rationale for the Scheme continuing and the consultation process was a statutory obligation on the Authority if they wished to continue, amend or cease the Scheme. The dates and purpose of the Consultation were set out within the report. 

Debate ensued, and in response to a query about the type of supermarkets this would apply to, Members learned that the Scheme applied to the larger supermarkets and was not applicable to smaller convenience stores nor more general stores that had trolleys.

Having been proposed and seconded, on taking the vote, it was unanimously

RESOLVED that:-

a) the progress of the scheme to date be noted;

b) the proposals for consultation to take place for a 4 week period commencing Friday 23rd June 2023 be approved; and

c) a further report be brought back to Regulatory Committee in September 2023 to provide the outcome of the consultation and recommend a course of action for the scheme’s future.