A minor story about overgrown ivy might not seem revolutionary, but for Wrexham Council, it could point to a wider cultural shift.
Members of the local authority’s employment, business and investment scrutiny committee, heard on Wednesday 8 January about the progress of the council’s ambitious SMART Town Project.
The scheme aims to utilise technology to help cut costs, improve services, and rethink how local governance operates.
Councillors heard how small digital innovations and data-driven decisions could revolutionise operations across Wrexham Council’s departments with insights into how smart technology, like moisture sensors and mobile connectivity upgrades, has already driven small but impactful changes.
“To create this vision in the council, we need smart thinking, smart people who get it, and to drive it forward, we need smart leadership,” explained one of the council officers behind the project.
The council’s use of water sensors in city centre flowerbeds was highlighted as an example of how smart technology can free up resources.
As reported last week by the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service, the smart sensors saved the local authority £32,000 by reducing how often the flowerbeds needed watering during the summer.
The system works by colour coding the flowerbeds, with red showing those that needed watering while yellow shows those that have been overwatered.
Prior to this, council staff would water all planters at the same time, something which wasted time and resources – as well as damaging the plants.
Councillors were also told of the positive impacts this minor change had had, with the officer explaining:”I was walking past the library one day, and the Library Manager came running out, saying, ‘David, can you help me?’ I asked, ‘What’s up?’”
“Well, I can’t see out my windows. I’ve got all this ivy growing up, trees are overgrowing, and customers are complaining that the outside is a mess.”
That information was relayed back to a supervisor, and the following afternoon the ivy had been removed.
According to the council officer, the savings they had made on the watering, meant the environment department was able to keep on top of other things—painting, jet washing, etc.—and could release three members of the team to sort it out.
After a lengthy presentation councillors asked questions, with the first being from Cllr Gallanders over where future funding would come from to keep the project rolling, and how long the current funding lasts.
The committee was told currently the project comes under the ‘regeneration’ title internally, and therefore grant funding from Welsh Government was covering costs.
“We’re confident that it will continue for at least another two years worth of funding,” the officer explained.
It appears there is hope that the ‘penny will drop’ with wider departments that such work can not just save them cash in a time when finances are tight, but can help more widely in improving services.
“I think we owe to taxpayers, value for council time, to be trying to drive efficiencies,” the officer added.
“I’m not going to say costs all the time, because, as we pointed out, it isn’t always about financial benefit.
“It is about just doing things differently”.
Cllr Dana Davies asked a range of questions, on decarbonisation, how the cash savings found via technology fits with the ongoing ‘change’ / council cuts programme, data collection used smartly to assess demand for services, and again, mobile phone coverage.
Cllr Davies added that she is also keen for the project and associated roles to continue.
“The report does say that the initiative has been developing for 28 months,” said Cllr Davies.
“We’ve already identified that it’s a 36 month role. So looking at that from the point of view of, okay then in eight months, this stops potentially.
“I want clarity on whether there’s a commitment to fund the role, especially for the latter six months of this financial year, because we are setting the budget for next year.”
The committee was told that whilst the council was committed to retaining the post, it will be through external funding for the time being.
Councillors also queried the placement of digital signs (council run as part of the project) in Wrexham, with the Racecourse seen as a possible spot.
Poor phone reception around Plas Coch, lights left on in council buildings, and questions around uptake and actual real use of the council’s visitor app were also asked.
Cllr Andy Williams jokingly asked for caution, despite praise from other councils who are keen to learn about what is going on in Wrexham: “It is really nice to see you telling other authorities about what we’re doing, but don’t tell them too much, or they all want to dip into our pot for the money and we’ll get less!”
Councillors were told that sorting mobile reception a ‘priority’, and Plas Coch was the ‘biggest area of concern for mobile connectivity’.
The committee heard: “We were the first authority in Wales to sign the Open Access agreement that tells mobile network operators you can use our infrastructure, lamp posts, etc, to put a small cell on to improve mobile connectivity. So again, we’re pioneers in that aspect.
“But unfortunately, it’s down to the mobile network operators. They have a schedule, they have their investment plans and we didn’t fall into that last year.
On the council’s VZTA app and usage, figures ‘were not to hand’ but committee members should get a further update.
Cllr Robert Ian Williams praised the work, but noted a possible ‘downside’, as people could feel that ‘big brother is watching you’, asking: “What safeguards are there?
“For instance, when it becomes interrogative, like they’re finding out information about people in Wrexham, and then we’re selling it on to say, phone companies or something. Are there safeguards?”
Councillors were told that the data collection so far was ‘pretty much impenetrable’ with sensors involved at the moment collecting ‘no personal data’.
The meeting were reassured: “We are not collecting personal identifiable data, and we are not selling any data, whether or not that is a legitimate way forward in the future for certain things, because obviously it does need to fund itself, but absolutely, that was never our intention.
“We’re collecting information that is depersonalised. There is nothing that would recognise a face or anything like that.”
The committee decided to ask the Executive Board to ‘identify the future model’ for the project, and report back, alongside a report on ‘departmental buy in and future development of the smart agenda’.
Finally they recommended that all the innovation opportunities discussed were reported into the ‘change program for serious consideration’.
Despite the committee hearing about the wonders of data, how those indirectly connected could use such information to improve and alter what they do, we are told footfall figures for the city centre won’t be made public just incase they are down not up.
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