North Shropshire Conservatives call for answers over worsening street cleanliness
North Shropshire Conservatives have written to the Lib Dem-run council demanding answers over what they describe as worsening street cleanliness across the area following complaints from residents.
Concerns have been raised by residents in Whitchurch and across North Shropshire about overflowing bins, increasing levels of litter and a visible decline in the condition of public spaces.
The Conservatives say residents are becoming increasingly frustrated at paying higher council tax while seeing basic local services deteriorate.
In an email sent to Lib Dem portfolio holder Councillor David Vasmer, North Shropshire Conservatives have asked for clarification on the current state of street cleaning services, what action is being taken to address the issue and when residents can expect improvements.
Richard Hamilton, Head of Communications for North Shropshire Conservatives, said:
“Residents are contacting us because they feel standards are slipping badly across North Shropshire. People expect clean streets and properly maintained public spaces, particularly at a time when council tax continues to rise.
“Instead, many residents feel things are moving in the wrong direction. Overflowing bins and litter-strewn streets are becoming an increasingly common complaint.
“We are asking the council to explain what has gone wrong, what action is being taken and how quickly residents can expect to see improvements.”
Until the end of March across the Shropshire Council area bins were emptied by a firm called idverde, who were commissioned to carry out this work as part of Kier’s highways maintenance contract with the council. On 1 April, this contract came to an end and Kier took over the litter bin collection service for areas outside Shrewsbury.
Earlier this month, David Vasmer, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and environment, said:
“I know that some areas have been experiencing problems with their litter bin collections in recent weeks and I wanted to explain why, but also reassure people that the changes will lead to an improvement in the way bins are emptied.
“The change of contractor has, regrettably, seen some bin collections delayed and I know this has caused concern in many parts of the county.
"However, we are confident that these issues will be sorted out by the end of May, and that – from that point – we will then see the litter bin emptying service become more efficient and, as our data grows, we will be better able to predict when bins need to be emptied more often.”
