The Head of Place introduced the report which summarised the measures put in place at Swale House regarding the safety and security of the building and its users.

The Chair invited Members to make comments and points raised included:

·         Referring to paragraph 2.6 in the report, clarification sought on where the walkway was;

·         suggested some form of fencing be put up to secure the undercroft car park;

·         there should be some investment in the undercroft for security of staff and Members and that it should only be accessible to visitors during working hours or when there were evening meetings;

·         referring to paragraph 2.13 in the report, it should be made explicit that access for visitors was through the front entrance of Swale House, not the rear entrance;

·         noticed that there was currently a homeless person directly outside the rear entrance of the building, and suggested there should be security in place in that situation;

·         it was important to consider people who were in the building by themselves, particularly out of hours and the weekend;

·         referring to previous incidents within the undercroft, these could not be allowed to be repeated, and measures needed to be put in place to make the area more secure and safe;

·         suggested costings be sought on gates being installed on the slope to the undercroft, for vehicle and pedestrian access;

·         clarification sought on any crossover with the Facilities Officers’ role and a security role;

·         it was important that any tenants within Swale House felt safe;

·         concerned with the use of Heras fencing as it was not secure enough;

·         suggested an automated security system be used, which worked via a person’s phone;

·         sensor flood lighting was a good deterrent;

·         permanent secured fencing needed to be installed;

·         welcomed the report, but more information was needed on the cost of security measures;

·         an automated, fob-controlled gate was needed;

·         there was really good CCTV in operation at Swale House and staff and Members could call the security team if needed;

·         gates should not be required;

·         suggested rough sleepers would move to the other side of the fence if one was erected;

·         the Facilities Officers were good at ‘standing guard’ when staff and Members left the building, but that was not their role, maybe this should be added to their role;

·         more security guards were needed; and

·         suggested CCTV was not the answer.

The Buildings Operation and Maintenance Manager responded to some of the points raised:  the walkway referred to was the access route from the car park to the side of the building; security was not part of the Facilities Officers role; and the CCTV was not monitored all the time during office hours, but was recorded.

The Head of Place responded to some of the points raised: the report set out some of the security options; temporary Heras fencing was a possibility, with a more permanent solution being considered with associated costs and considerations, such as access points for personnel and management of deliveries; there were also reputational concerns with regard to problem shunting; the relevant staff were engaging with the rough sleeper and advising on their options; lone working risk assessments were carried out and were reviewed periodically; in terms of protecting staff and Members going forward, staff were working closely with the Police and local off licences on who they provided alcohol to, plus enforcement of the Public Space Protection Order which limited where people were allowed to drink in public spaces; flood lighting was left on and the public WiFi was cut off; the Facilities Officers kept an eye on CCTV hotspots, and wider CCTV could be explored in the undercroft; and the Facilities Officers had no jurisdiction to challenge people’s ID. A lot of experience had been gained from the incident that had occurred last year.

Councillor Mark Last moved the following proposal:  That officers looked into the options to secure the Swale House undercroft and the footprint of the building, including cost implications, to enable Members to recommend the best way forward at the next meeting of the Committee.  This was seconded by the Chair.  On being put to the vote the proposal was agreed.

The Chair proposed the recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor Richard Palmer.

Recommended:

(1)      That the report and comments made be noted.

(2)      That officers looked into the options to secure the Swale House undercroft and the footprint of the building, including cost implications to enable Members to recommend the best way forward at the next meeting of the Committee.