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 Pictured above: A back alley down a street off Bulk Road. Although the council cleaned up the mess shortly after this photo was taken at the end of April 2004, it was soon even worse, littered with TVs, teapots, carpet, toys, a microwave and an electric heater. Worst of all, there was a huge amount of broken glass which kids seem to enjoy smashing. Disgusting and dangerous.LOCAL GROT SPOTS by John Freeman and other locals. First published 7 February 2004 Updated: 20 April 2005 In February 2004, Lancaster City Council and other partners were cheerfully promoting their clean up campaign to tackle littering in the area (see related news story). But here at Virtual-Lancaster we had to wonder just when it was going to start... Litter is one of the top issues raised by local people. In May 2003, every political party seeking our vote in the local elections said littering would be one of their priorities (view their manifesto promises here!).
For all that hard work, grot spots keep cropping up to the dismay of those who live near them. Both sides of Lancaster's Millennium Bridge has to be a prime example, a location which many visitors to the City are sure to see or pass over -- and remember how bad it looked. Both sides of the bridge are often awash with litter -- a lot of it dropped by school children. A burnt out litter bin, melted to slag, still marks the south side ramp of this prestigious landmark some six months since we first mentioned it. A terrace where you could once sit and admire the view of the Lune is clear of litter -- but only because it has been fenced off to prevent the area from being used as a drinking location, although public drinking in this area is now banned. Council leader Ian Barker admitted in December 2004 what most of us already know -- the Council could do better when it comes to street cleaning. "This is one area where we haven't been successful this year but we'll be working very hard to improve the current situation," he commented in the Lancaster Guardian. "We've launched a litter strategy which we must make the most of and find ways to target the area's grot spots." So it's taken them since May 2003 to get this far? No wonder poeple are so disappointed. Littering by children might come as a bit of a surprise, because in a survey of the area's problems conducted last year it was school kids who were the most vehement about litter. Fed up with seeing so mant grot spots around town that the council seem slow to deal with, we've created this page for you to vent your frustration about street cleaning and the like, and we've been sent a fair few examples of 'grot spots'. (see below). THE COUNCIL RESPONDS In April 2004, the City Council kindly responded to some of the concerns raised on this page. Here's some answers to issues raised by our readers, from Head of City Contract Services Mark Davies: How often is an individual street cleaned? Street cleansing schedules/ frequencies are based on Cleansing Zones as defined in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (Environmental Protection Act 1990). This means that town centres, to comply with the guidance, are cleaned more frequently than rural areas. It would depend on which streets are the issue as to the
answers that we can give. [For example] Lune Street is cleaned weekly,
currently on a Friday, although it is checked two more times each week
when the litter bins are being emptied. There are also changes to legislation which give more powers to local authorities to issue fixed penalty notices. The money can now go back to the local authority, whereas previously it went into central government. We are working with the police and their Community Support Officers to develop more enforcement for littering.  How often do grafitti spots get cleaned up? For example, the
Millennium Bridge underpass on the north side is often re-covered with grafitti but
wasn't it supposed to have been painted with anti graffiti paint? (do
you think graffiti would be reduced if the promised CCTV for the
bridge was introduced?)
Arrangements for removal of graffiti are made as soon as they are reported. Who is responsible for cleaning up the banks of the River Lune -- on the north side of the rive opposite St. Georges Quay it is in quite a state. From the quay sides down to the mean high water mark the City Council has some responsibility. Safety issues do make it very difficult to clean and access is not always possible safely. We are also in the process of liaising with the other 'landowners' that have responsibility.
This should happen and in the areas of grass maintained by Lancaster City Council (basically the urban core) Grounds Maintenance staff are instructed and trained to litter pick prior to grass cutting. Has there been a drop off in litter in the streets where the green bins have been introduced (because bags don't get ripped open etc.)? There has been a drop-off of littering in areas where the wheeled bin/ recycling schemes have been implemented. This is one of the very good reasons for phasing this in. It also reduces accidents (cuts from sharp objects in bags and lifting injuries) to the operational staff. We also had answers to other questions from the Environmental Health Department: Can street wardens now fine people for littering and has anyone been fined? Street Wardens are authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for littering, and people can also be prosecuted. 12 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued. How much money does the council make from fines for littering and dog fouling and does that money go back into cleaning or the general pot? The Council has only been able to keep the fines since November 2004, and no Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued since then. A condition of keeping the fines is that they have to be used for litter/fouling- related issues. MUCH MORE TO BE DONE Although these answers respond to some of our questions (and avoids answering others!), it's clear dealing with the litter problem is taking a long time and much more needs to be done. After all, it's in everyone's best interests: we all know that if streets are cleaner and grafitti is removed quicker, people feel happier and safer. But we plan to keep on the Council's case about this! What do you think? Send us pictures of your local grot spots and suggestions on how the council could improve things! Write to 
and put "Grot Spot" in the subject line. Remember to tell us where any photo was taken and when. Is there a particular rubbish spot that never seems to get cleared? A street light that never gets fixed? Let us know!
 YOUR GROT SPOTS...• 2004 • 2005 |
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