[Margaret Pilkington]

Neil I think you are right in what you say about councils leading by example.
Up until recently we have had a council whose motives for doing anything were questionable(well, that is unless they showed the esteemed leader in good light...if they didn't, then it seems they weren't done).
This council is new, just finding its feet........and probably with a legacy of issues which are, in a nutshell, thorny.
We have to wait and see.......but I do believe that a good start would be to enforce the No Alcohol areas.
Maundy Grange....now that is a totally different problem. Don't have any ideas as to how that could be sorted. I know that Dorothy started out with the very best intentions, but she is as soft as your pocket and is, as other posters have said, contributing to the problem.
A pile of poo will always attract flies.