Dear Sir,
Last week, a letter of complaint was sent to the Newton News about litter behind a bus stop. The correspondent noted that the rubbish had not been removed, felt that Durham County Council needed “a good shake up”, and looked back to a happier time under Sedgefield Borough Council.
TAKING ACTION
I asked DCC to find out what had happened.
A littering report had indeed been made on 17 January by phone. However, the location stated in the complaint was Burnhill Way, not Burn Lane where the problem was, so the cleansing team had been unable to locate the problem. The complainant did not leave an email address, and so was not informed. There is no record of a second call.
I reported the problem for cleansing, the area has now been placed on a regular schedule, and was picked this week.
USE YOUR COUNTY COUNCILLOR!
I will make two points:
(1) any resident can report any problem to DCC. The best way to do this is online on the County Council website, but whether you do so online or by phone to 03000 260 000, please always make sure you make a note of the FS number.
(2) If the work you identified is not done to your satisfaction, if you tell your local County Councillor the FS number, they will be able to find out what is going on and make sure the matter is addressed properly.
THE PROBLEM
OF LITTER
Finally, may I say that there was no golden litter-free age before DCC – I remember in the 1990s delivering leaflets on behalf of the wonderful Cllr Alan Gray, who was campaigning on a promise to do something about the high levels of litter in Woodham.
Litter is a problem that needs continual effort, and – although no excuse for complacency – litter levels in County Durham are just two-thirds of the national figure.
Cllr John D Clare
