Letter: Litter – The Council Is Frustrated Too But It Does Care

Published on: 12 Apr, 2019
Updated on: 12 Apr, 2019

From Matt Furniss

Conservative candidate for Christchurch in the forthcoming borough elections and county councillor for Shalford

In response to: Litter Attracts Litter

I agree that it is a real shame that some residents and visitors to our beautiful borough treat our environment so badly.

However, I cannot agree that no one cares and I must correct the writer to point out that we have put plans in place to clear this road and will do with any other road reported to us.

We absolutely share residents’ frustration and put significant resources and effort into cleaning up. We also extensively support the community to clean up where they wish to provide a helping hand.

The major roads such as the A3 are particularly challenging as they are very dangerous to work on and we have to work within strict safety and operational guidelines to minimise risks to staff and road users and also minimise disruption. We run an ongoing cleaning programme for these roads which is described on our web pages here: https://www.guildford.gov.uk/trunkroadcleaning

The area mentioned is actually planned to be attended on the next set of closures in a couple of weeks’ time.

I would highlight that this year we have increased the number of cleaning events we undertake on the A3 by 20%, also, in February, we funded and completed an extra clean of both the A31 and A331 and have plans to undertake further cleans in May and again in the Autumn.

In addition, GBC has issued six Fixed Penalty Notices to drivers who have been spotted throwing litter out of their cars this year alone by officers.

We have also gained financial contributions from BP to clear their private land adjacent to the A3 after engagement over the litter there too.

In terms of supporting the community, we have provided extensive support to 60 community groups since March who have mobilised in the region of 1,200 volunteers.

I do hope that this demonstrates the council does care and continually puts in significant effort to keep the borough clean, including these major roads and that it shares Mr Ashworth’s frustration that drivers continue to behave badly.