If Brent Council can't keep our streets clean, what can they do?

Barnhill Road, near Lidl

Out and about leafleting and canvassing in the Preston Road area of Barnhill ward and on Chalkhill this morning it is clear that after library closures and general frustration over Brent Council's poor consultation record, dirty streets is a big issue. Street sweeping was cut last year LINK and when Brent Fightback organised a petition to get the cuts reinstated we were told that residents would not notice any difference,

'If they can't keep our streets clean, what use are they?' seems to be the general view. Of course the public are to blame for dumping rubbish in the first place but the council has an enforcement and a preventative role. On 'The Avenue' I spoke to one man who was using a litter picker to pick up cans, plastic bottles, vodka bottles and crisp packets from his front garden. They had all been discarded by people sitting on his garden wall waiting at the bus stop. He said he had repeatedly asked the council to install a rubbish bin there but to no avail. A simple solution.

On Chalkhill I was struck by the contrast between the cleanliness of common areas within the 'Science blocks' and the street. Metropolitan Housing Association and Pinnacle are clearly doing a good job. Outside as the pictures show Brent Council and Veolia are not:

'Flower beds' on Wembley ASDA's perimeter

The Chalkhill Park site

Chalkhill Road

Corner of Chalkhill Road and Bridge Road

On the Town Hall doorstep at King's Drive

The contract for waste management in Brent comes up for renewal in 2014 and should go out to tender soon. Will it be possible for the bidding contractors to meet the necessary standards of street cleanliness on the reduced budget Brent Council will give them?

Brent IS London's Dirtiest Olympic Borough

When street sweeping was cut I predicted the Brent could become 'London's Dirtiest Olympic Borough' and sadly my prediction appears to have come true. Alongside the litter there appears to have been an increase in the number of mattresses dumped on the street. I suspect that some of these may be the result of evictions from short-term property lets. All these images were taken recently.

Evidence accumulating on impact of street sweeping cuts

When I suggested that the street sweeping cuts would make Brent 'London's dirtiest Olympic borough' I was accused of exaggerating. Cllr Moher claimed recently that Brent residents would not notice any difference and standards would be maintained. The cuts in sweeping regularity and weekend sweeping have been in place for just a week. This is what I noticed, along with guests attending a wedding at Brent Town Hall, along King's Drive in Wembley and outside Wembley ASDA at 10.30am this morning:

King's Drive, opposite Town Hall library

King's Drive, corner with Forty Lane

Bus stop outside ASDA, Wembley

Asda bus stop

Beside Kwik Fit, Wembley

 I would be interested to hear how things are looking in other parts of Brent.

Labour Litter Double Think

 I had a chat with a street sweeper over the weekend who told me that no way could Brent maintain the quality of service with the reduced numbers of sweeps in residential areas and the cuts in weekend work. He said that sweepers used to have the flexibility to deal with any extra littering and that would no longer be the case: "If we sweep on Monday and it is littered on Tuesday it will stay there until next Monday.

He also mentioned that Veolia had offered sweepers redeployment to Haringey and the difficulties involved travelling there. Veolia had said those redeploying would get an extra 30 pence an hour, only for the sweepers to discover that this increase was also due in Brent.

I am sure some of you noticed the interesting juxtaposition of letters in the Willesden and Kilburn Times this week. In the first letter Labour Councillor Jim Moher, responsible for the cuts in street sweeping, attacked me ands the Green Party for opposing them.  In the second letter, Labour Councillor  and Group Leader in Westminster, Paul Dimoldenberg, denounced his Conservative Council for....cuts in the weekend street sweeping service. He asks if the Council is not spending Council Tax on this 'primary duty' where on earth is our money going?

Sign the e-petition to reverse street cleaning cuts

Kilburn High Road Protest Last Month

Following their protest against street cleansing cuts last month Brent Fightback has now launched an epetition calling for the cuts to be reversed. They are calling for residents of all politicla persusions and none to sign the petition by going to LINK or www.brent.gov.uk/epetitions

This is the petition:

We the undersigned petition the council to reverse the decision to cut street sweeping services and to retain the employment of properly trained street sweepers.

The proposed cuts in street cleaning will mean most residential streets will only be cleaned once a week (previously three times a week) and a reduced service on other streets including limits on weekend work. The ending of the seasonal leaf service will result in hazardous conditions for pedestrians as leaves rot and will open the council to compensation claims for injuries. Cuts in street cleaning will coincide with the introduction of fortnightly residual rubbish collections creating potential health and safety problems caused by excess litter.

Started by: Martin Francis (Brent Fightback)

This ePetition runs from 31/08/2011 to 23/09/2011.

5-50 signatures earns a considered response form the relevant council department, 50 or over is referred to chair of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 2,500 or more the right to make a 5 minute presentation at  a public meeting of an  Overview and Scrutiny Committee and 5,000 or more a special meeting of the full Council..  So please get as many signatories as possible and pass on the message.

Labour council leader denounces street sweeping cuts

As Brent Council's cuts in street sweeping are debated at tonight's Scrutiny Committee it is interesting to note the following comment from Westminster about similar cuts there:

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said; “This is another example of frontline services and low paid staff bearing the brunt of the Conservatives’ cuts. Residents in north Paddington, Maida Vale and Little Venice are entitled to feel short-changed by the Conservatives for virtually abolishing weekend street sweeping in the most densely populated residential areas. Why are residents paying Council Tax if the Conservatives cannot even guarantee to keep the streets clean at the weekend?

“Someone once said that the streets of London were paved with gold. Now they will say that the streets of Westminster are covered in rubbish.”