Coronavirus: Chichester District Council works hard to support residents and businesses

Since the coronavirus lockdown started, staff at Chichester District Council have been working hard to support residents and businesses across the district.

“This has to be the most challenging crisis the council has ever faced and I am really proud of how our staff and councillors have responded,” says Councillor Eileen Lintill, leader of Chichester District Council.

“We have focused on helping those most in need within our district – working closely with our partners, volunteers and community groups to provide as much support as possible. The response from everyone has been truly inspiring.”

A number of critical services were identified: revenues and benefits, housing, waste and recycling, community outreach and business support. Due to the expected levels of demand on these services and the potential impact of the virus, officers from some of the other teams at the council were asked to help these key areas.

Among them are members of the Environment and Health Protection and Novium Museum teams who have been reassigned to help the charity Stonepillow, which supports people who are homeless or sleeping rough. They have been helping to cook, prepare, arrange and deliver food to people who have been provided with emergency accommodation.

This flexible attitude has come right from the top of the council, with the Senior Leadership Team also getting stuck in.

On Good Friday, two of the council’s directors, John Ward and Andrew Frost, helped out with busy shifts on the waste and recycling rounds. While over the Easter weekend, Chief Executive Diane Shepherd and directors Jane Hotchkiss and Louise Rudziak were busy in the kitchen helping to prepare and cook food for the homeless at Stonepillow.

“I am so proud of our staff. They have gone above and beyond to do whatever is necessary,” says Diane, pictured above helping at Stonepillow during Easter.

“There are those on the front line working in the community; those who are supporting from behind the scenes; and those who have taken on new roles. As a leadership team, we wanted to show our support to those who have been willing to learn a new role, by offering our time over the Easter weekend to support some of our critical services. We all found it very rewarding.”

Andrew says: “It was brilliant to be able to join the crew and help out on Good Friday. It’s clear that the crew work amazingly hard and know their round inside out which helps make the process so efficient. While there was an awful lot of recycling out for us to collect that day as we were catching up on a missed collection, the guys just got on with it! It was a long day but helped by the many claps and thanks from residents as we collected from them!”

Staff members from a number of teams have been provided with training to support the refuse and recycling crews. One of them is a member of staff who is normally a Civil Enforcement Officer.

“I’m used to an early start in my normal role so it didn’t take long to get used to the early wake up call but the biggest difference has been the physical demands of the job,” he says.

“I walk a lot in my role as a Civil Enforcement Officer, but these guys walk from place to place and cover a real distance so quickly, so that was a bit of a change. After the first week I got used to it, and the aches have gone!

“What has surprised me the most has been the amount of praise from residents. People clap from their windows, or call out a ‘thank you’ from their doors. We’ve had cards and messages on bins too.

“Even though it’s difficult, everyone is in a great mood. I’m working with a really friendly crew and it’s been a really positive experience.”

Jamie is a driver on one of the waste and recycling collection rounds. He’s been working in this sector for eight years, and has been a member of the district council’s team for 18 months.

“Although it was very difficult at the beginning of the outbreak when we had staff shortages, we’ve now caught up and we are keeping on top of this. Most people are really appreciative, which is great.

“Safety has always been really important but more so now – we’re doing lots to reduce the risk of coronavirus to crew members and the public.

“We’re minimising the amount of time together and keeping a distance, as much as we possibly can while doing our jobs.

“We’ve been welcoming people from other teams – giving them tips we’ve learnt over the years to help them.”

As well as residential customers, the council says its business waste team has been supporting customers by proactively offering flexible collections arrangements to support business during this time.