Prove it! Councillors in Telford clash over effectiveness of neighbourhood enforcement officers
Councillors want to see more data to prove that neighbourhood enforcement officers are making a difference in Donnington & Muxton.
Donnington & Muxton Parish Council is in the first year of a three year agreement with Telford & Wrekin Council that is costing some £17,300 per annum.
The NEOs tackle issues of illegal parking around schools, antisocial behaviour, dog fouling, fly tipping and crime.
They patrol around local schools and have issued warnings and fines to parents illegally parking when dropping off or collecting their children.
Councillor Lisa Dugmore (Muxton) told a meeting this week that she has seen no evidence that the officers are making a difference.
“We want to see the impact of what’s happening, the impact of what they are doing,” Councillor Dugmore told the full council on Monday (October 13). “It’s not clear. There is no evidence that anything is changing.”
Parish clerk Ralph Morgan told councillors that he had asked them for the kind of information they are looking for but “no-one got back to me.”
Councillor Dugmore said: “We were pretty clear what we want to see. We want to see the impact of what’s happening.”
But Councillor Ollie Vickers (Donnington West Ward) said: “When we speak to residents they tell us that they value the service. We need to listen to residents on this.”
Councillor Dugmore replied: “What difference does it make? It’s not changing anything.
“I can see numbers, so what? I see reports of the same number of flytips each month, it’s not changing.”
Taking over from Councillor Dugmore after she stopped to “count to 12” councillor Thomas Hoof (Donnington West Ward) took up the issue.
“It is sensible and financially responsible for us to look at how we’re investing our money.
“That’s all we’re asking, it’s not a controversial topic. Can you justify the spend? Can we prove the system is working?
Councillor Jenny Urey (Muxton) said she believes the number of reports is “probably increasing” as residents find it easy to report issues online.
She told the meeting at Turreff Hall, in Donnington, that she received 38 messages on the NEO team’s WhatsApp group on Monday, showing what the team has been doing.
“More information is being logged,” she said, but agreed that more data would be useful.
Councillor Vickers said the NEOs also go out to educate drivers about not parking dangerously.
Councillors agreed to see if they could have more data.
