Residents slam Croydon Tories over filthy streets

Residents are demanding change over Tory-run Croydon Council’s failure to clean up litter-strewn streets according to a hard-hitting report published today.  The Croydon North Streets Commission, an independent panel set up to gauge residents’ views on street-cleaning services in the area, found high levels of dissatisfaction over street cleaning and the council’s failure to remove dumped rubbish.

More people provided evidence to the Streets Commission than to Croydon’s Riots Panel, with individual residents, residents’ associations, businesses and community groups all making contributions.  The Commission, which received over 250 responses from individual residents and groups representing hundreds more, found that 77.1% of residents are dissatisfied with the level of dumped rubbish, and 62.1% dissatisfied with street cleaning.

Key recommendations included removing the £10 charge for disposing of bulky items like mattresses and old fridges, reinstating weekly bin collections in areas with high numbers of flats and housing blocks, and a get-tough approach to prosecuting those responsible for fly-tipping after town-hall Tories failed to prosecute even a single fly-tipper over the past twelve months

Other suggestions included making sure businesses have waste contracts in place, new measures to stop recycling waste blowing down streets, and a review of street cleaning rotas to ensure streets are swept after bin collections have taken place rather than just before.

Croydon North MP Steve Reed, who set up the Commission, said: “These findings are a damning indictment of the Conservatives’ failure to keep local streets clean.  Almost eight out of every ten residents say the council has failed to tackle fly tipping properly, and over 62% say street cleaning is not good enough.  If this level of anger coming from their own residents doesn’t make the council sit up and take notice then nothing will.

“I would like to thank the chair, Nero Ughwujabo, and other panel members for their hard work in putting this report together.   I now hope this important report will mark a turning point by shaming the council into taking action instead of pretending the problem doesn’t exist.  Local people deserve to live in streets they can feel proud of, and this report tells the council what needs to change to make that happen.”

You can read the full report by clicking here.