Environment

The services provided by the Environment Directorate touch the lives of everyone who lives in, works in and visits the Dudley Borough.

Our 590+ employees deliver services as diverse as waste and recycling collections, the provision of the Borough’s household waste recycling centre, street cleansing, highway maintenance, traffic and road safety, the management and maintenance of the Borough's trees, parks, nature reserves and open spaces, parking and parking enforcement, street lighting, the procurement and management of major civil engineering projects, drainage, the licensing of taxis, private hire vehicles, pubs and clubs (including enforcement of conditions), waste enforcement, pest control, fleet procurement, maintenance and compliance and Christmas trees and on-street decorations. Many of these services are statutory.

We also operate a 24/7 out-of-hours emergency response to incidents on the highway and manage the winter gritting operation during the winter months.

The Directorate is made up of four service areas:

• Neighbourhood Services
• Transport and Highway Services
• Waste and Transport Operations
• Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change

Neighbourhood Services

This service is responsible for Street Scene, Parks, Countryside and Arboriculture Services, Licensing and Waste Enforcement, Parking Services and Directorate Support. Their functions include:

• Grounds maintenance of parks, sports pitches, cemeteries, play areas and open spaces
• Management of the Authority's trees
• Management of nature reserves, sites of special interest and woodland
• Running of the Authority's car parks
• On-street parking enforcement
• Cleansing and maintenance of Borough's streets, town centres and public rights of way
• Management of the Licensing Service
• Licensing legislation and conditions enforcement
• Taxi inspections
• Waste Enforcement
• Directorate Support

Transport and Highway Services

This area is responsible for Transport Strategy, Traffic Group, Highway Services, Structural Engineering and Major projects. Their functions include:

• Management of major regional capital infrastructure programmes (West Midlands Combined Authority)
• Transport policy, strategy, planning and design
• Procurement and management of major civil engineering projects
• Maintenance of watercourse grids, reservoirs, bridges, retaining walls and safety fences
• Land drainage and flood risk management
• Road safety and educational programmes
• Traffic Regulations Orders
• Maintenance of the highway register
• Local safety schemes
• School crossing patrol service
• Maintenance of street lights and illuminated traffic signals
• Highway Maintenance
• Asset management of the Borough’s highway network
• Highways and footways maintenance and resurfacing
• Winter gritting service and out-of-hours emergency response service

Waste and Transport Operations

The teams in this service are responsible for Residual Waste Collection, Recycling Collection, Green Waste Collection, Commercial Waste Collection, Bulky and White Goods Collections, Fleet Maintenance, Fleet Management (inc. Compliance), Driver Training, Stores and Facilities. Functions include:

• Household refuse, recycling and green waste collections
• Household bulky waste collections
• Trade waste collection service
• Waste education and awareness
• Pest control
• Procurement and maintenance of Council’s fleet vehicles
• Licence compliance
• MOT facility for taxis and the wider public
• Driver training and driver permits

Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change

The Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change team is a new team set up through the restructure of the Environment Directorate and is responsible for Waste Strategy and Disposal, Energy and Climate Change. This team will lead on Energy and Waste infrastructure, will be responsible for the delivery of the council's carbon neutral plan and support and co-ordinate decarbonisation.

While the team have key areas of responsibility such as the management and operation for the Energy from Waste plant and the management of the electricity Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the team will also lead on all areas of carbon reduction and climate change.

The team will lead on innovation, technology choices, delivering low carbon alternatives and help to support the council in reaching it’s 2030 Net Zero target:

• Management and operation for the Energy from Waste plant
• Management of the electricity Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
• Lead on all areas of carbon reduction and climate change