URL: https://horsham.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=745

Decision Maker: Cabinet, Council

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose:

Content: RESOLVED   i)              To award the contract to a suitable supplier to facilitate the purchase of the waste vehicle and associated equipment.   ii)             To delegate authority to the Director of Resources in consultation with the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to finalise the terms of, and enter into, any documentation required to give effect to this decision.   RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL   iii)           That a capital expenditure budget of £1,730,000 required to purchase seven new refuse collection vehicles is approved. This will be spent in the financial year 2026/27.   iv)           That a capital expenditure budget of £50,000 required to purchase two new bin lifts and revenue budget of £5,000 for labour costs is approved. This will be spent in the current financial year 2025/2026.   v)            That authority be delegated to the Director of Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources to increase the capital budget by up to £50,000 in the eventuality the cost of the vehicles is higher at the point we enter into the procurement.   REASONS   i)              There are seven refuse collection vehicles which have reached the end of their useable life and require replacing due to unreliability and associated costs.   ii)             There are two refuse collection vehicles which need the bin lifts replacing.   iii)           Full Council must approve additional capital and revenue expenditure     ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED BUT REJECTED AS IDENTIFIED IN THE REPORT   i)              Serious consideration was given to repairing a greater number or all of the vehicles rather than purchasing new ones. However, the extensive repairs required to restore the seven vehicles to operational standards comes with a financial burden of £150,000 in parts alone, and £12,000 in hire vehicle costs. This does not include labour and potential unforeseen expenses, which will only push the total costs higher. Moreover, the operational impact is far-reaching, with delays in service, technician workload, and diminished morale affecting the operation. There is also no guarantee that these vehicles will last for any extended period of time so it could be a wasted spend. This would lead to increased low morale and further breakdowns and struggles to complete daily work which comes with a high reputational risk from not delivering the service.   ii)             Consideration was also given to replacing all nine vehicles, but this was rejected as two vehicles can have their bin lifts replaced as the main body is still of a satisfactory condition.    iii)           Leasing could be considered but it is costly based on the high mileage in the district and is not an effective way to manage vehicles. Based on 34 years of knowledge we know it will have its challenges of ensuring there are enough vehicles to carry out statutory duties, ensuring all work is completed every day and that the hire vehicles themselves are reliable enough.   iv)           Electric vehicles are always considered whenever the Council is buying new vehicles and our transport manager carries out regular research into this and talks to others across the industry. The vehicles we have tested either are not reliable or do not have the range to cover the rounds and this is still the case.   v)            EVs currently don't allow us to provide like for like replacements due to the limited range and we will need 1.5 EVs for every 1 diesel. To replace the current 7 RCV’s with EV would cost £4,800,000 compared to £1,7300,000 to purchase diesel. On top of that, we would need to re-route the rounds to facilitate this which would be a major project on its own. We would need to acquire more depot space and install charging infrastructure (cost unknown, but significant). We would need to recruit 12 more staff to crew the additional vehicles at a cost of £550,000 per annum. Whilst the running costs of fuel and maintenance per EV are cheaper than the HVO equivalent, it would not cover the additional staffing costs required, nor would it pay anything back against the higher capital cost.   vi)           Electric and/or hydrogen technology still needs a lot of developing before we can rely on it for RCV’s in our district. We do use HVO which reduce carbon emissions and many other authorities are now starting to use this.   vii)          There are 18 vehicles that are not being replaced in this phase and as is the case with all fleet replacements, we will consider the cost and feasibility of EVs in developing the proposed approach.    

Date of Decision: June 25, 2025