City's filthy streets shame

Brighton and Hove's Green Party says while officers concentrate on environmental schemes for the suburbs, streets in the city centre have been left strewn with litter, rotting food and uncollected bin bags.

Green councillor Simon Williams has called for talks with Cityclean, the council's in-house refuse department, after reporting that rubbish had been left in the conservation area of Clifton Street, in the West Hill area of Brighton, and allowed to spill out on to the street and rot for five days.

Coun Williams said refuse bosses appeared more interested in introducing binvelopes, communal bins and wheelie bins than making sure refuse collections ran on time.

He said: "Cityclean has been busy with these initiatives in more leafy suburbs but the biggest need is in the city centre where residents still use black sacks. It's a big mess and Green councillors have demanded a top level meeting about this issue."

It is not the first time West Hill has suffered from a late collection, made worse by the summer heat which has left a stench of decomposing food in the air.

Coun Williams said the rubbish in Clifton Street was eventually picked up on Tuesday, five days late, and the street was still littered with rotting debris.

Cityclean managers have been in talks with residents in Preston Park, Brighton, who are fighting the introduction of wheelie bins.

But residents living around Brighton station and in Woodingdean have called on the council to concentrate on the basic job of making sure rubbish is collected on time.

Residents who use black bags plan to start a campaign to raise awareness about late collections and force the council to take action on their complaints.

But many Brighton and Hove residents who use wheelie bins are also angry at what they claim is a poor collection service.

Steve Percy, who lives near Brighton railway station, called the council repeatedly after wheelie bins went uncollected from properties in Pembroke Avenue, Hove, for more than a week.

He said: "They have so many things going on with recycling and sending us letters about what they won't collect and now they don't even pick the rubbish up.

"What I don't understand is that they've put in communal bins and wheelie bins and it's still a mess."

Mr Percy said Thursday was the usual refuse collection day for Pembroke Avenue but it was only after numerous calls it was collected on Wednesday this week, seven days late and a day early for this week.

He said: "There is still mess strewn all over the streets. The council won't sweep it up."

Cityclean keeps weekly records of missed collections and says they are at their lowest level.

On one city centre round, comprising 6,000 properties, there were only nine missed bins last week, according to the department.

But householders in Cowley Drive, Woodingdean, say rubbish is rarely collected on the allocated day.

There used to be five workers on each dustcart before the introduction of wheelie bins but that has now been cut to three, with one driving and two collecting.

One resident of Cowley Drive said: "I am not sure they have ever collected it on a Tuesday. The bins stay out all the time."

Tony Back, of Sandhurst Avenue, Woodingdean, said his wheelie bin had not been emptied for several weeks despite being put out on the correct day.

He said: "They forget me about once a month and then we have two weeks worth and it's overflowing and they won't collect it."

Coun Williams took a tour of the city and found rubbish strewn across several streets in his St Peter's and North Laine ward.

A spokesman for Cityclean said: "Coun Williams has already raised the issue of late collections in some streets in his ward with Cityclean officials and action has been taken.

"The council's successful policy of getting domestic refuse contained prior to collection continues and if Coun Williams has identified streets in his ward where this will make an improvement he is welcome to put in a request."