More Parish Council news

March 2014

Truck, trailer or car?

An update on the Parish Council dilemma

The issue of whether the Parish Council should lease or purchase a drop side vehicle for use in ground maintenance activities was not resolved at this month's meeting. The Council had earlier considered whether to buy a trailer or invest in a modest Chinese DFSK Loadhopper Single Cab Pickup.

The purchase of a trailer would cost between £600 to £1500 and would need the Council's employee(s) to agree to having a towbar fitted to their own vehicle(s). The trailer capacity would be restricted by the type and size of the employee's vehicle. Currently they are reimbursed for using their cars for official business at the standard Council mileage rate and there would continue to be a mileage allowance plus incidentals such as business insurance for the vehicles and an allowance for wear and tear. The current use may be something straightforward like opening the gates on the parks or less straightforward like filling their car boots with building materials. Some things, such as fallen branches, don't fit in a boot. And others, which would fit comfortably in a trailer or a pick up, might need multiple journeys to move a large load by car.

The Loadhopper drop side vehicle could be bought on hire purchase at a cost of around £255 inclusive a month for 36 months and at the end of that time would be owned by the Council. Although the Loadhopper range comes with a three year warranty and servicing, a three year anti- corrosion perforation warranty and one year’s DFSK UK roadside assistance it was not considered by some councillors as up to the job and it was agreed that further alternatives should be investigated.

What about a Citroen?

The new alternative presented to the March meeting was a Citroen Relay drop side truck which could cope with a heavier workload than the smaller Loadhopper. This is nearly twice the price and would cost £10 short of £14000 plus annual running costs. The purchase of either vehicle would probably mean an annual amount to be set aside for depreciation to fund replacement in due course.

At this point in the meeting the discussion became heated, with the focus changing from which option to go for to “do we really need to buy a vehicle at all?” The Council disposed of a pick up truck with around 40,000 miles on the clock and had a grand sale of surplus equipment when it reorganised and outsourced the grounds maintenance activity some years ago as a result of a best value review.

Residents who recall those changes may wonder whether the vision which members had at that time of the way in which the Council would provide parks and cemetery services has changed in the intervening years. Talk of more outsourcing to reduce costs has been replaced by some members now suggesting less outsourcing to reduce costs. Circumstances change, and no-one would have forecast, for example, that the Groby in Bloom volunteers would have withdrawn their unpaid labour.

The overheads of a vehicle, especially during the winter months, were raised as well as the issue of security as it would be parked at the cemetery. And the question of how it would be used was asked, which was followed by the suggestion that for this year a vehicle should perhaps be leased in order to establish whether or not a purchase was the most economic and practical option.

The steering wheel on this controversy has now been passed to the Finance Committee who have to decide whether to press the accelerator or apply the brakes. Whatever recommendation they come up with they will no doubt seriously consider whether the status quo of hard working people having to move Council materials in the boots of their cars, or having modifications to their vehicles to tow a trailer, is something that an organisation with a budget of well over £100,000 that is pursuing Quality Parish Council status should entertain.

December 2013

What goes around comes around

The Parish Council's transport dilemma

What goes around comes around, or so they say. When the Parish Council reorganised and outsourced the grounds maintenance activity some years ago it resulted in the redundancy of the two operatives and a grand sale of surplus equipment. This included their vehicle which, it was said, had around 40,000 miles on the clock.

Today, in addition to the Clerk and her part time assistant, the Council has a cemetery sexton, a groundsman, and two other part time grounds maintenance operatives. So there are lots of willing hands but the only wheels to help them with any larger loads that need moving are those of their contractors. Some thought has been given to ways this shortcoming could be resolved, and two solutions have been suggested for members to consider.

Should it be a trailer?

The first would be to buy a trailer for between £600 to £1500 and ask the council operatives if they would mind having a towbar fitted to their private vehicles, the cost to be met by the council and a rate paid for the use of their vehicle. It has been estimated that this could cost around £270 a month in mileage allowances plus incidentals such as business insurance for the person's vehicle and an allowance for wear and tear. The cost of putting a tow bar on has been estimated at £250 to £300. It is thought that more than one vehicle would need to be modified in order to ensure one was always available. Not everyone agrees that the monthly mileage cost would be as much as £270 because there would be seasonal variations in use.

Or should it be a Loadhopper?

The second option considered was to buy a modest vehicle suitable for the job in hand. The vehicle which would be acquired would be a Chinese DFSK Loadhopper Single Cab Pickup, a fairly recent entrant to the UK market. When Auto Express looked at the range earlier this year they awarded the vehicle four out of five for loadspace and practicality, three and a half for MPG and running costs, and three for reliability and safety, driving, performance, cab and interior.

What Van took a look when the vehicle when it was introduced in 2011 and concluded that there’s a market out there for cheap, functional small vans. “There’s a likeable basic charm to the unashamedly basic Loadhopper, and it successfully fills a large gap in the UK light commercial vehicle market. It’s far from the world’s most exciting, luxurious or well-equipped vehicle, but no-one buying a DFSK will be in any doubt about what they’re getting – a basic, unpretentious working tool, and its addition to the UK market is a welcome one.” The verdict was that it's a “Cheap and cheerful, does-what-it-says-on-the-tin sort of vehicle that won’t suit everyone thanks to lack of creature comforts, but for some it’ll be a handy new alternative that meets their needs.”

www.vansa2z.com said “the steering can feel a bit heavy at low, manoeuvring speeds, but is fine once on the move. Speaking of manoeuvrability, there is no other LCV that can touch a microvan for squeezing through small gaps and into tight loading/unloading areas. The turning circle is diminutive at 8.8m, akin to that of a Black Cab. Ride quality can be a bit lumpy on badly maintained urban streets — cart springs feature at the rear — and although the cab has plenty of headroom, rearward movement of the driver’s seat is restrictive in the single cab pick-up and tipper. If the shoe fits, go for it, but try before buying. Stout-built, long-legged folk may have a problem.” The range won their microvan award in 2012 and 2013, but with little competition at that end of the market this is no surprise.

It could be bought on hire purchase at a cost of around £255 included a month for 36 months and at the end of that time would be owned by the Council. Although the Loadhopper range comes with a three-year warranty and servicing, a three year anti corrosion perforation warranty and one year’s DFSK UK roadside assistance, some Councillors felt that it would have difficulty coping with the workload so after 3 years there wouldn't be much left to own. Members decided to defer a decision to allow time for further research into alternative vehicles, and with no council meeting until mid-January it will be next year before this is resolved.

If any readers think that this sounds like a vehicle they could use in their business, charity or other organisation, they should arrange a test drive before Christmas if they want to be in with a chance of winning one