New council company to run waste and cleaning services in Peterborough begins operating

The Peterborough Limited board greet members of the building cleaning team on their first day

The local authority trading company Peterborough Limited has taken over services previously outsourced to Amey such as waste collection, street cleaning and maintenance of parks and grassed areas.

All of Amey’s 449 staff will move over to the new company with services transferring over a few months, beginning yesterday with the 61 employees who manage the cleaning of 32 buildings including schools, community centres and a number of external organisations.

The transition of staff will continue between February and May.

The council had signed a 23-year deal to outsource the services back in 2011 but announced in 2017 it was ending the Amey contract due to poor recycling rates and because it felt it could deliver better value for money.

Peterborough Limited is wholly owned by Peterborough City Council. Its board members have responsibility for operational control, developing and delivering the business plan approved by the council, reporting on progress and being subject to scrutiny by the council.

The recently appointed board of directors of Peterborough Limited comprises Cllr Mohammed Farooq (chair), Cllr Howard Fuller, Paul Sutton (interim finance director) and council head of corporate finance Kirsty Nutton.

Dr David Gillett is an interim adviser to the board.

Cllr Farooq said: “This a momentous day for the city and I am pleased to welcome our first employees. I’m proud to be part of the new trading company which signals a major new direction for delivering many council services.”

Peterborough Limited will now focus on embedding the building cleaning service team into their roles and preparing for the second phase which will see the transferring of waste and recycling collections and passenger transport services to the new trading company on April 1.

The final phase will see building maintenance, street cleansing and grounds maintenance transition on May 4.

The services transferred to the new trading company will operate on a like-for-like basis. Residents and businesses can continue to contact the council on 01733 747474 or use the council website for these services.

Although there are no immediate plans to change the services provided by Amey, the council has indicated it wants to use Peterborough Limited to compete in the private sector for contracts, for example with commercial waste, with profits reinvested in services.