Why such dirty streets
 

I now live in Canada and when people visit the first thing they comment on is how clean everything is. When I go home (my family now live in B/burn The first thing is I notice is how dirty everything is. People seem not have pride in their communities, kids think nothing of throwing their rubbish on the floor, still side step around the dog **** and just generally don't care. I think it is sad that particularly children are not raised with that sense of pride. My 4 kids would not dream of throwing anything on the floor, when in England they are amzed that people do not poop and scoop. This is not meant to offend I am just curious as to why. I love coming home, I will always be a Lancashire lass. When I was home last I asked some of the kids on my Mum's street to clean it up, they would only do it if they were paid, they said that they didn't care how it looked. Not their problem were there words.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I agree totally with your comments. My family too would never throw litter on the streets but I'm afraid it all goes back to the parents, kids tend to do as others, including parents do. I watched an asian woman and her 3 kids leaving Mc Donalds in Blackburn dropping bags and boxes everywhere in the street. I informed her that she and her kids seemed to have dropped something, she looked and then replied.... "Oh no it is rubbish". After I pointed out the rubbish bin no more than 2 metres from her she still ignored the litter and carried on about her business. How can we expect the kids to have pride in the country if the parents have none.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

lol agree with you but these days if you ask a child what the "P" word is when they ask for somthing the reply will most likely be pi$$ off :rolleyes:

some folk are brought up and some are dragged up

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

i would say its the british mentality in general, when i lived in spain we used to nip over to gibralter every 2/3 weeks and boy could you tell we owned it, agree with fireman its all about parents and respect which sadly has diminshed in many cases.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Agree with all that has been said.

It's that bad that when I saw a young lad put his litter in a litter bin this morning I was very impressed and thought "well at least someone is bringing their children up with values."

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I am glad that you agree with my comment. Does none of the council members want to try and put some pride back into the town.In the spring we have community clean up days, everyone comes out and cleans up the parks. The kids have painted the bins to make them look nicer. I was reading the post regarding the hanging baskets in Ossy, forget the flowers and put the money into a street cleaner or is the idea that people looking up at the flowers may not notice the rest of the rubbish on the floor. I don't entirely blame the kids because I think some of the adults are worse.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I completely agree with everything said on here. It is sad to come home after travelling to places such as Singapore and Hong Kong where it is heavily populated and litter free, to see our Aldi bags stuck in trees, shog dite on the pavements and rubbish blowing in the breeze.

I think that over the years some people have begun to think that littering is acceptable and that nobody minds. There are laws against littering in this country but it is as rare as rocking horse manure that they are enforced. The community wardens would have been well placed to slap fines on people for littering (including kids). Not only would it have paid their salaries but would have contributed towards clean up costs.

Takeaways and off licences should be made to do their bit by adding costs to the products they sell and refunding for the return of the packaging. We never used to see all of this glass on the streets when you got a 5p refund back on the bottle.

I was lucky enough to witness the Hong Kong system when a hapless Brit dropped some litter outside the airport. A gun carrying policeman came at him and extracted a $600 on the spot fine. It was either pay up or go to jail until somebody pays up for you. The policeman then made the man pick up his rubbish and put it in the bin (less than 6 metres away). Needless to say I was peeing myself laughing all the way into town. If only that happened here..........

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Blimey Lettie hehehehe that brought back memories collecting & returning pop bottles for between 5 - 15p per glass bottle - that used to fund my sweet spends LOL i remember going round everywhere where we lived in search of those bottles & did well every week, sadly alas not be be anymore it seems:(

My pet hates is dog muck & littering :( dog muck is probably the worst specially as its summer you can guarentee one will have a bit of muck on their shoes cos some careless dog owners cant clean up after their animal whilst about on the streets & has no respect for anyones health or inconvienience of cleaning dog crap & dont even own a dog!! Im always reminding my 2 about littering & think im a right fishwife because i remind them what their pockets can be used for if theres no bin around - though i think society as a whole is culprit not just parents as with anything there seems no distinct definition or example set in this country cos even the most meticulous parenting leads to child following their peers example than what they are taught at home.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Is it better just to sit back and say that it is acceptable or should someone be trying to do something about it. By doing nothing it makes it ok, someone has to start somewhere. The kids finish schools maybe you could encourage your kids to clean up your streets and hopefully someone will notice and might make them clean their own. What are the laws regarding dogs ? They should be on a lead unless in a designated park. There is a lot to be said for dog parks as well as dog toilet areas. We laugh but at least you can walk down the street with your head held high instead of looking down afraid of what you may step in.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Easy to say magily but seems harder to enforce apparently as for eg dog fouling - there are signs for penalites for doing so but policing it is another as seemingly same with litter - think it comes down to the usual money of employing such enforcers - i dont know:confused: I'd really like to know how foreign lands can keep their streets so clean & we cant - there must be something??

But yeh its a case of watch were you tread here.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I can only speak from experience over here and I can tell you that you just don't see litter and certainly no signs saying do not litter. I think because the streets are already clean people then don't litter. We live by an alleyway and it is cleaned regularly from butt ends as kids from the local high school go there. Is it a question of pride, I think so. The British are the proudest nation when it comes to big events, world cup, royal family etc.. but do not have a lot of pride in their towns.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

we used to go behind accrington victoria and collect the bottles thrown out after patients had finished with them

10p gradualy rising to 20p over the years for bar bottles

7p for lucozade bottles

kept me and my mate in sweets all through our school years :D

if we ever got a half full bottle we did used to wonder if some poor sod didnt make it and died before finishing their pop but at least if they wernt in a better place their pop bottle was :)

as for dog muck

any owner caught letting its dog foul the pavement should be given the option of either a £1000 on the spot fine or have their pet executed on the spot and be banned from keeping animals.Ime sure after little timmothy witnesses his beloved fido executed in the street that when he is old enough to own a pet dog of his own he will think twice about letting it crap on the pavement hence leading to a new generation of thoughfull pet owners :)

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I totally agree with all thats been said... im a proud owner of two lovely dogs and i wouldnt dream of letting them foul the pavement..even my own garden is kept spotless an washed every day after them...i can appreciate people not likeing dog fouling because i myself hate it...As for litter, dont know about hyndburn yet but here in blackpool there are wardens patroling the town centre and if you are caught dropping gum litter or even a ciggy you get an on the spot fine..and since it came into force town is a much cleaner place more towns should do this

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

nowt worse then letting your children play out in a park and have them come back covered in SOMEONE ELSES dogs sh1t

i have thrown away trainers rather than pick dog sh1t out of the tread as it makes me wretch to do it and that is one reason why i dont have a dog because i couldnt pick up its sh1t , the other reason is i am alergic to them :)

when the RSPCA give out dogs or when pet shops sell dogs they should not only make sure that the new owner has suitable facilites etc for it but provide a quick tutorial on how to clean up after them

anyone that looks like they are gonna puke while cleaning up the dog mess shuold be refused as it is highly unlikely that they will do it once they get the dog home :rolleyes:

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I'm with you Chav that is why we don't have a dog. My kids were nagging me for a dog, so at the time my friend was going on vacation for 1mth so I said that we would dog sit for her. At first the kids were thrilled for about the first day, then it became a fight as to who would feed and poop and scoop, so guess who ended up doing it all. That was 2yrs ago now and needless to say they have not asked for a dog since. My motto regarding is be willing to poop and scoop not bend and pretend.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

We had rellies over from Oz a month ago and I was embarassed for them to see the state of the town centre. If you tell people(even politely) that they have dropped litter, you are likely to get a mouthful of abuse or maybe even worse.
It boils down to lack of parental control....you can see quite young children eating a pasty in town and throwing their paper bag on the floor....parents don't check them......like it is someone else's job to clean up their mess....the kids don't know any different do they?

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

No civic pride in many nowadays unfortunately. :(

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

you must have seen the posh kids margaret ive seen em throwing half the ruddy pasty.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I make sure my daughter bins all her rubbish and though she mumps about it she knows at least she aint dirtying the streets and should be proud of it.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

When I had a very old dog I never took her out on walks without pooper-scooper bags as, from being the cleanest dog in the world, she became rather incontinent in old age - she lived to be 16. It wasn't a big problem to clean up after her and it always enraged me, and still does, to find dog-mess around on the ground. The worst problem, though, is chewing-gum. The stuff is everywhere, squashed into grey splats all over the pavements, filthy and unhygienic.

Next to that is the discarded fast-food wrapper. Why do the English assume that someone else will always clean up their mess? My eldest daughter, much braver than I, once picked up a paper half full of chips, thrown from a car on to the pavement, and shoved it back on to the lap of the woman who'd thrown it saying, "I think this is yours". The woman was so shocked she didn't say a word - but she didn't throw it out again while we were watching.

I hate litter-louts with a vengeance. I just wish I had my daughter's guts to make a stand.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Post on blackpool web saying the bins are overflowing though.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Our council does a lot to try to clear up town centre rubbish, mainly because the town council won't let the borough council get away with it. When the borough refused to provide sunday street cleaning, to clear up after saturday night so that it was clean for sundays tourists, they started hiring someone themselves.
The town council got praised for it, so the borough decided to start cleaning on a sunday.
I think it can go too far, such as using the towns cctv to spot people dropping cigarette butts, but people dropping happy meal boxes then yes, especially when there's a bin.

I often pick the rubbish up in the street and bin it because the flats grounds don't have a boundry fence. It blows straight in to the flower beds.
I've also gone out on a saturday morning wombling as part of the national spring clean event in the town. I am proud of our little town.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Linlithgow has the cleaners out at all hours to keep the place tidy. Its a wierd sight at 06:30 on a Sunday morning when these guys are doing ther crud cleaning. Dosnt make much difference as its a vicious circle.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Can't agree with the Spain thing Cashman, when I have been over to visit my friend in Denia, lots of dog muck on the streets .. there again, flags are more of a light marble appearance, so could show up more.

She lives under a 'mountain' and there is a route to climb to the top. Only went half way, in open toe-sandals mind you, as soon became obvious that this was the unofficial dog-walking path, the dog muck was everywhere and the smell... yuk. National Park too.

I know we still have a long way to go, but certainly there is not as much on our streets as used to be.. have walked around and takes me some time to find this offending mess, can't remember the last time I stood in some and had to come home and wipe off with newspaper. There again, in car more now.

Chewing gum and other litter far worse though. Hope my kids do carry on with what they have been taught. Think so, daughter once pulled up next to a Royal Mail van and driver threw his litter out the window.. she wound hers down and called him a dirty b**tard, etc., and would report him.

Know it is the responsiblity of parents, but would like to ask also what type of movements there are for teaching this in schools. Would think role-playing best type 'Ya know .. 'here is your waste Little Johnny, over there is a bin, I will guide you to put same in t'bin. There, that not so hard, is it ?. Now you do it all on your own' :D

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Apparently Hyndburn was named as the dirtiest borough in Lancashire last week - no surprise huh?

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Read that myself Gayle, I am saddened. Perhaps tackle one type of litter at a time.

Was suggestions to ban chewing gum, although, like to salivate me gums meself, do you think a ban should be imposed. ? Or are we getting into human rights again ? Ok Jambutty over and out. :D

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Chewing gum is a major problem as are fag ends, i picked about 50 up out the front earlier.
The main problem with gum and butts is that people don't see them as litter. People need re-educating in this country, I can't remember the last time I saw an anti litter campaign. Its all very well using the towns cctv and and ground enforcers but if people don't realise it's wrong.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

In Blackburn they tried putting gum boards up - the idea being that people would stick their gum on the board instead of on the floor - all that happened was that instead of ugly gum lying on the floor it was on the wall. I suppose the main benefits were that the board could be removed regulary and also that no one got sticky gum on their shoes. I think it was a short lived initiative.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

what is wrong with putting it a litter bin?

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Eeeeeewwww!!!!!! I am disgusted to think that someone in authority had the mentality to think that gum boards in B/burn are a good idea. Perhaps they should consider removing the ideas person as well as the boards. Is that what that thing stuck on the Cathedral is for :-)

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

mmmmm . does seem a little farcical, doesn't it ? As Madhatter says could have been better with a special litter bin, however, council probably thought had to drag themselves down to the mentality of gum litter louts.

See report in the Observer, that the first person in Hyndburn has been fined for letting their dog foul the pavement. £ 75 plus £ 60 costs. As this law has been in force ? years, took a long time, didn't it ? Lots of people now being fined for dropping cigarette ends.

Who catches these offenders ? Understand if it is the Dog Warden's job, can't be everywhere can he ?

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Your jokin, lol, they've been fining for dog fouling here for about ten years.
I'm sorry, and I understand some might take offence to an outsider saying this, but as an outsider I think your council is totally crap at running your borough and have been for years. I though north warwickshire borough council were bad, which they are, i've got a half finished kitchen and have had since christmas, but they're better with keeping the place tidy.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

well i guess we will have to put them in our pockets until we get home now then :rolleyes:

either that or flag passing cars down and ask if its ok to borrow their ashtray :)

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

well as ive said else where when they started fining here for ciggie ends, its all very well, but when it goes to court, do you not think the defence of I didntput it in the bin because it could start a fire, and there is nowhere to stub it out will get them off. It's not very hygenic to stub it on the floor, the only alternative is to use the walls.
We've got bins with stubber plates on the top now. It's just a chrome plate, but it works. People see it use it and put the end in the bin.
I still say a separate ciggie box on the side of the bin is safer though

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

just deny you did it , its your word against theirs and if they want to go ahead and waste valuable resources doing DNA comparasons linking you to the giggy etc let them :)

saying that 90% of my fag ends get launched out the car window ( with no cars behind me of course or passers by ) so a high speed persuit over a fag end dosnt seem to be aviable option neither lol

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

That was my other point chav, they used the towns CCTV system to zoom in on the people in the street that were smoking as they entered Somerfield. Sod scanning the street incase a mugger steals a purse, we'll zoom in on the entrance to somerfield with our top of the range, paid for with public money cctv security system to catch someone dropping a ciggarette butt.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I totally agree with you, here in Montreal we poop and scoop and the roads are cleaned everyday. When I was in Accy last year I thought how dirty and dingy everything looks, and people have a total disregard for picking up after themselves. As Magily said about Toronto that they get the people out to clean up the parks etc... we also do this in Montreal especially up on Mount Royal.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I'd happily spend time with a group cleaning up a park. I can't believe bacup park has been let go so much.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Don't think that this CCTV system was ever put in to catch the litter louts Madhatter, just another use for it. Can't win .. people grumble about the litter and then as soon as they are trying to do summat about it people grumble that it can be used for something better.

Seems you have to have wardens in place in certain areas, but suppose these cost money, have Hyndburn got any do we know for this type of purpose ?

Sure you have all looked at this before, but the Parliamentary link on this is:- http://www.parliament.uk/post/pn201.pdf

Careful how you search, put in an incorrect letter in the words chewing *um and kept getting adult sights ... sorry, bit rude, but didn't notice for a while.:rofl38:

Seems was band in Singapore for a while, then when sugar free gum came in was lifted .. is this more bio-degradable then ?

We seem to be concentrating on cure rather than prevention here.. I say let's ban it !! Only gives you wind anyway. No nutritional value that I know of, ok helps to get last bits of yer breakfast out of ya' teeth and maybe helps to keep our breaths sweet.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Thats exactly my point kate, people need educating not catching in the act. Watching someone drop a ciggie or gum on cctv is to labour intensive and too expansive kate. it takes two people, one on the ground, one in the observation room, plus the use of cameras which whilst being used on that can't watch the street, which is why I wanted them, not to prevent littering, as annoying as it is.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I agree, you are right, the fines (Fixed Penalty Notices) for dog fouling and littering have been in place for a few years now. The dog fouling one has risen from £50 to £75 but still £50 if you pay earlier.

However the Conservative Council gave orders (to the Community Wardens) not to fine but to warn people. The Council over the 7 years of this administration have contiually pledged getting tough (check Cllr Britcliffes quotes online) and people have accepted it each time. Evidentially though there are the same no. of dog bins, litter bins, dirty town, very few fines. I would argue these are just empty words on their seventh lap!

The Dog Warden (a friend of PB) does as he pleases IMHO. I have yet to see him for instance contact ward councillors and have an action plan or review for each area, in essence there is little accountability.

Two weeks before this years local elections he was on the front page of the LET (against Officer/media/elections protocol) electioneering on behalf of PB and the Tories with a pair of binoculars saying he was having crackdown (again - 10th LAP for these words) to make the Council look like they were finally (finally again) tackling these environmental problems.

I asked him about Turkey St (200 pieces in 100 yards) and was told not enough resources, priorities and all that gumph. There definately needs to be a review of this service.

Some of the answers are straightforward. More front line staff to catch offenders (Wardens), tougher no nonsense policy (immediate fines and an end to verbal warnings) and more bins would help.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

You only give people warnings for so long, gawd , you publicise the fact that you'll be giving warning, then will be getting tough after # weeks and stick to it. The police never stick to their promises of parking here and they just get laughed at. Everyone knows the one place you WONT get a ticket is on the no waiting bay in the middle of the double yellow zone.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Graham, I am flattered that you have quoted a part of my post, even though you used it as a political platform... I've been used. sob. No, nowt wrong with that; that is your duty.

Still don't understand why took so long to bring someone to court, is it because he argued the fact and that it was not his dog's pooh or summat ? Still puzzled as to who would give the on-the-spot fines and do we know how many has been issued up to press ?

Not a financial wizard, but would think worthwhile having a litter warden based in the town centre in 'plain clothes' and not necessarily everyday either. Must be less than the cleaning .. what happed to the Gum Buster wagon ? There would always be the fear that they might be sat next to you so might think twice about dropping this offending confectionery ..eeew think of the germs on some of these blobs !

Ok .. somebody going to say have plain clothes detectives in stores, and people still steal, but think would be a lot more thieving if they were not there. Like the notices some stores put up that say 'We always prosecute'
Hyndburn should adopt this slogan.

Think that a lot of people drop it as a **** woz here (what was his name?)
attitude, and the boards that were put up at Blackburn would only encourage them to stick here .. more fun .. than in the litter bins.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

If you mean a footpath cleaner that scoures the dried gum off, then councils usually hire them along with the men to do it, they're not cheap and are labour intensive, been a few years since our were done. Thats the problem with gum, ciggy ends crisp bags and chip wrappers can be swept up, but gum can't be.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

WELL I WALKED THROUGH TOWN ONLY YESTERDAY MH AND DIDNT SEE ONE OVEFLOWING BIN BEARING IN MIND THIS WAS B4 LUNCH/ AND TOURISTS WERE FEW.GRANTED THE AIRSHOW LAST WEEK PROVED A DIFFERENT STORY BUT GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF FOLK THERE WAS, HARDLY SURPRISING BUT CAMPARED TO ONLY A COUPLE OF YRS AGO I THINK THIS TOWN IS BEGINNING TO GET ITS ACT TOGETHER.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I watched one of those 'Life of Grime' series not long ago which was set in Scotland. The children were encouraged to make a frame especially for gum sticking and it appeared to work. No fun in just putting it on a board but using it to create a statue seemed a little different.

As for 'doggy doings' we have poo bag dispensers here. Totally free and the bags are easy enough to attach to the dog's lead. There is no excuse for leaving a mess behind and the local cops will soon stop you if you do. I couldn't for shame anyway.

(We are also required by law to carry our Topsie's pet passport with us at all times).

Street cleaners are out regularly and the rubbish taken away every night

The one thing which I really admire is that the blokes from the local prison are used as road cleaners. It's normal to see them picking up the rubbish and clearing the pathways.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't perfect, but it's a lot nicer than I've seen in England during recent years.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

The Audit Commission recently rated Hyndburn as the dirtiest town in East Lancashire and 5th dirtiest in the North West of England.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

out of interest Graham did the Audit rate each town or Hyndburn as a whole?

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

i went to cutwood in rishton yesterday with my kids which is a very nice place with a park , a resivour where you can feed the ducks and plenty of grass to play football on but...

as usual the dog dirt bins were overflowing

every bin in the park was spilling over with rubbish although some people with a brain tied up their bagged rubbish and placed it next to the bin


with this been a place where people mostly use it at the weekend wouldnt it be a good idea to have places like this , parks etc attended to at least one day during the weekend especialy when teh weather is so nice and even more peopel visit them

mind you i think i counted 3 small bins and 2 dog dirt bins for the whole park :rolleyes:

side note:

i have to go out of town with my children because the parks in accrington are so downright disgusting and i wouldnt let my dog if i had one play in any of them never mind my children :mad:

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

well as I said I was only goin by what I read, I wouldn't know, I haven't been up to blackpool yet this year.
I heard that the council never increased the bin empties per day after they stopped that bloke going round emptying them and taking it home to store in his living room. :D

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Each town as a whole, having been assessed as having combined deposits of litter and debris according to a new report by the Audit Commission for the year 2004/5; 27% of Hyndburn Streets where marked down. Stockport was the highest at 30%. The cleanest in East Lancs was Pendle at 16%. (Ribble Valley excepted at 15%).

A 1 and 1/2 page PDF report is here for the full list and %'s;
http://www.gmb.org.uk/Shared_ASP_Fil...rtystreets.pdf

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

So who you blaming Graham?

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

The department is severely under funded after the last 3 years of cuts (described as Council Tax savings). I don't blame the staff, they are doing their best with what they have and morale is low.

160 trees need to felled in Haworth Park alone (Baxenden) because despite warnings, no monies have been put aside to manage our tree stock. Proper funding and management would have allowed for intervention of diseased stock earlier. In the 7 years of this Council no monies have ben alloated and no survey has ever taken place. Funding tree maintenance though means less dog bins emptied. Yet we can spend £5,000 (I am informed) on the viaduct roundabout to 'create the right impresion'.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

There is nowt wrong with the viaduct roundabout...for any visitor not having been to Accy before, it does create an immeadiate and positive impact (if you are coming in from Hyndburn Rd)...its the rest of the town that is the problem.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

I think it goes back a long way and it is tied into how the Council ended up with a £2 million black hole in one year, terrible finances, little control over budgets and huge debts (which ballooned between 1999 and 2004).

Robson Rhodes, HBC's auditors said in 1999/2000 - 2000/2001 - 2001/2002 there were poor financial arrangements (I don't know before that time - but it was Labour controlled) within the Council. Deloite Touche then got involved and the lid was lifted so to speak.

The debts cost approximately if I can remember £1.9m alone out of a £12m budget in 03. I believe last year that the figure was more than £1.9m, maybe around £2.5? out of £14m. Selling the Council house stock for £30m this year has helped the headline debt figure, but any debt savings (£900,000) have been lost to the ongoing costs of the transfer.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Fasinating...I ask a simple question on the responsibility for cleanliness on Hyndburns's streets and we get a reference to an auditors report, a P & L and a balance sheet.

The Financial Times newspaper is looking for people like you, Graham.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

It wasn't a critisism of making the roundabout nice. It should be nice and we should be able to do other things and do the roundabout. However we can't. The reality is its a choice. £5,000 could, if chosen, be spent on making trees safe and getting rid of diseased tree's before it spreads, like to a 160 trees in HP. Birmingham neglected their tree stock, one fell over killing 3 people. They were fined £150,000 and received a £2m a year insurance hike and importantly, 3 people died.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Well its like shopping. Run up your credit card debt and you'll have less to spend each week. I hope manages to explains it better Tealeaf.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

So Graham, are you telling us that the cardboard crown cost £5k to produce? Not saying that the roundabout shouldn't be nice but that crown was tacky.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Apparently. I am not an expert but it was for the Freedom of the Borough to the Queens Lancashire Regiment and someone said that was a Kings Crown. I have to admit I don't know.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Expected that to go in the last Photo comp 'Blot on the Landscape' . think might have stood a chance.

I understood represented the Accrington Pals regiment badge or summat like that ?

Why didn't the Observer pick up on this and explain it to us all, after all, couldn't miss it could we ? Would have been lovely to have had a small feature around this display .. there again the Observer always seem to miss what is under their nose.

Re: Why such dirty streets
 

Think that was preparing the site, for the design of the bedding, for the carpet bedding, planting the carpet bedding, which could be individual plants or blocks, a bit like a jigsaw, then there's the crown, designing, making and painting and installing, then weeding, and watering and cutting the grass. Can't use a strimmer it would strim the flowers of so that means edging shears. There's more to fancy bedding that meets the eye.
I don't know how they manage to spend so much though, our council breaks even or has some left over at the end of the year, and this is one of the worst laid out boroughs in the country, coleshill over one side polesworth at the top, atherstone lower down, and god knows how many villages and hamlets inbetween. getting money to go round that lot and keep everyone happy is a nightmare. Yes they didn't pay for the cctv, or flowers, or cemetary, or parks, town do that, borough do do the trees though. there is alot needs doing, they don't do the car park gardens which look a mess, but at least they aren't god knows how many thousands in debt.
perhaps if they'd got the parks dept to grow the plants and plant them out themselves it wouldn't cost so much, or just put normal bedding in. HMS atherstone get freedom of the town but we don't plant fancy bedding.
That 5k could have paid for those trees, if only half the baskets in ossy were put up, and they'd got decent baskets and watered them twice a week they wouldn't be dead, all I read on here is ifs, posts by unhappy constituents tales of money being wasted.