Derby City Council says sorry as drain lorry row turns ugly

Derby City Council has apologised after a row over the purchase of a lorry turned ugly. Last week, it emerged that the Labour-led city council had yet to buy a second gully cleaner to help maintain the city’s 40,000 drains despite funding being agreed in cross-party budget talks at the start of the year.

Liberal Democrat and Littleover councillor Lucy Care said at a full council meeting on Wednesday (November 20) she was “really disappointed” after she was informed the £180,000 vehicle had not been purchased because the council’s Stores Road depot was full.

The revelation has triggered a fallout between the political parties. The Local Democracy Reporting Service has seen emails from opposition councillors sent to council leader Nadine Peatfield and finance cabinet member Kathy Kozlowski after the meeting expressing anger over the situation.

READ MORE: Derby Arena council cafe given one-star hygiene rating by its own inspectors

READ MORE: Improvements start on Derby 'accident hotspot' road after safety investigation

Join us on WhatsApp to get the latest news straight to your phone

Conservative councillor Jonathan Smale hit out at the leadership in his email. He said: “I am deeply disappointed that the council has yet to implement the budget amendment for deploying a second gully cleaner, which I proposed in February and was unanimously approved by full council.

“The failure to procure the second gully cleaner demonstrates a disregard for the bipartisan support that enabled the passage of this year’s budget, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of opposition councillors.”

More opposition councillors – Conservative Steve Hassall, Liberal Democrat Ajit Atwal and independent councillor Philip Ingall – also said it was unacceptable for the council not to have yet purchased a lorry after the budget approval. They added, as a result, they would consider not giving the leading Labour group support when the next budget (2025/26) is decided.

Derby City Council has now apologised to councillors for a lack of communication on the matter, but not over the delay of the vehicle purchase.

It still remains unclear when the new lorry will be purchased. The council said “a review of the council's depot provision is ongoing”.

A spokesperson from Derby City Council, said: “The purchase of the gully cleaning vehicle was paused earlier in the year as a result of ongoing capacity issues at Stores Road. A review of the council's depot provision is ongoing, and once complete, we plan to uphold this budget amendment.

“We take on board that this should have been communicated with councillors, and apologise that this hasn't been the case. This will be followed up internally to ensure proper briefings on any delays going forward.”

Derby City Council leader Nadine Peatfield said it was a “shame” to see opposition councillors “jump straight to attack” over the matter. She added their threats to not support budget discussions were “not helpful for Derby”.

Councillor Peatfield said: “Having become leader of the council in July, all my efforts have focused on looking forward to the next budget and the challenges we face thanks to 14 years of Tory cuts and dwindled reserves. The delay in purchasing a new gully cleaner was as much a surprise to me as to the other councillors, but the reasons for that delay seem clear, even if the communication has been wanting.

“That is why it’s such a shame that the opposition jump straight to attack. Only days ago they joined us in praising officers and agreed we should be supportive. It would be far more constructive to enter into conversation, but so far, the leader of the opposition has ignored my invitation to meet on a regular one-to-one basis.

“We should be engaging with each other in healthy debate, not attack. Threatening to not support the most difficult budget this council has ever had to face is not helpful for Derby.”

We send out the biggest stories in an email every day. Sign up for the main Derbyshire Live newsletter here.