One of the most visible ways in which this Council acts is through rubbish collection and street cleaning. This May saw more wheelie bins and seagull-proof bags hitting Thanet streets.
FixMyStreet highlights problems like dumped rubbish, broken glass, abandoned vehicles and other problems which make an area look awful. It doesnt seen to be regularly updated though as to whether these complaints are being acted upon, so I had a look at the areas brought up to see how bad it was. Its clear the website isnt up to date and these complaints haven't been followed up.
Locals will of course recognise this alleyway, leading from Byron Avenue to Dane Park. Broken glass dumped rubbish is typical for this alley along with heavily broken up pavement as well. Once you come out, you see a couple of black sacks sat across the road.
Rubbish bags picked up but clearly a street cleaner hasnt been down Poet's Corner. A complaint has been on FixMyStreet for over 2 weeks.
This bit of Addington Road has a frequent problem with rubbish like this.
A check on the TDC website shows that collection for a lot of this wont be until Monday and in the worst case such as the Addington Road photo, Thursday.
Where are the Ward Councillors who should be showing leadership of their community in demanding action? These problems have been there for some time now and the complaints are there on the FMS website, yet so many of them remain unanswered. Local residents say they contact the Council and yet it persists. How can they have confidence in a Council which to them, isnt performing one of its key jobs?
Refuse collection and street cleaning may not be pretty, but it matters...
7 comments:
Sorting this lot out should be a doddle for the flying multi talented Environment Service Cabinet member. Unless of course he is to busy looking out for fly posters around Westwood X.
The flying multi talented Environment Service Cabinet member is aware of this and is sure it will be dealt with in due course. It's the problem of dumped rubbish which is a challenge and particularly in a small handful of locations that absorb our resources.
Try picking up the phone and reporting it.. that normally works where I live.
The cllr/dr should also know that email is also a very good way of reporting rubbish to the council, that is what fixmystreet does and the public can see for themselves what progress is being made. This is exactly what James has done and he has illustrated that TDC does not act pronptly on these matters.
But being dealt with is due course is meaningless, it could be years, a more definite time scale is required, so give us one please.
FMS is just one way in which the Council can learn of problem areas and it’s clearly useful. This website is still in its youth and as knowledge of this website increases, (maybe through a link on the TDC website?) its usage and thus its effectiveness will increase. I completely understand the Council's tough financial position and scarce resources, which is exactly why Im making comment on this, a fairly cheap method of gathering information on local problem areas.
From what I saw, it wasn’t so much dumped rubbish as poorly contained rubbish. Looking at two of those photos, a serious talk with the owner of the properties concerned and a discussion of options could lead to a proper solution. Common sense would easily prevail.
I welcome contributions from residents on problem areas and how to tackle them. After all, you all know your areas best...
In fact James is quite correct and you have to draw a distinct line between where the council's duty begins and ends. Poorly contained or simply abandoned rubbish is a nightmare to deal with in a number of well-known locations around Thanet and draws resources in from the rest of the island which is not fair to socially responsible residents.
I have reported the problem and with luck it will be dealt with on Monday/Tuesday.
Where else, I might wonder, would you expect the cabinet member responsible to engage in actively listening to residents concerns and acting upon them?
Thanks for the update Cllr and your help in trying to get this sorted out.
From what I saw earlier today on a quick check on those areas, a few problems are dealt with, but the majority remain. I have just emailed the Council a list of those issues.
Around the country, a huge number of local politicians - of all Parties - engage daily and actively with those they represent. Many are in Cabinet or Committee positions. That is great, but it signals that you are far from unique, Councillor Moores.
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