Forum Topic

CCA request meeting with Ealing's CEO re waste management

Copy of email sent today:Dear Mr NajsarekI am the Chair of the Churchfield Community Association which is the Community Association for central Acton residents generally north of the Uxbridge Road. We have over 200 members. See our website here :  http://www.churchfield.org/ I am writing to ask if you will organise an immediate meeting between residents and the Officers responsible for waste management and street cleaning in our part of the Borough.From the numerous complaints we are told that are being received by the Council, the conversations on social media and the Acton W3 website and the appeals to local Councillors, you will be well aware of widespread dissatisfaction with the state of our streets. I need not tell you of the unswept gutters, the fly tipping and casual dumping, the flies and rats attracted to the waste or the apparent shambles of implementation of the wheely bin policy where some residents waited weeks before the bins were delivered. I myself waited 8 weeks after the given deadline.Earlier this year, Lorien Nash met with Doug Carnegie and Maire Lowe, two local residents. She listened politely to their concerns and suggestions. One issue raised was implemented. After that there were no further replies to their correspondence and Acton streets have grown filthier. This is why we appeal to you. Residents are angry and think they are being ignored.Will you make our filthy streets a priority? Will you meet with residents yourself to set a model for Officers?. Naturally we will insist on proper courtesy and good manners from our residents.I look forward to hearing from you

Chris Hurley ● 3553d43 Comments

Sure - next time I wander the streets of Acton and spot something to be reported ... probably not until Saturday.

Paul Webster ● 3345d

So any chance of you road-testing it?

Philippa Bond ● 3345d

The LoveCleanStreets app is not limited to a single borough.I think it is actively endorsed by more London Boroughs than FixMyStreet.The Ealing version appears to be only a logo/name change - I expect that the app continues to work out which borough covers the area that is being reported on.

Paul Webster ● 3346d

And what about those streets where one side is one borough and the other another?  Eg in Bedford Park?  Aaaaaaaagh!Any chance of communication between two boroughs two or will there just be a silence and no-one will know if anything is happening at all?  Meanwhile many more people trip over the same broken manhole covers and the same rocking cracked paving stones and get taken to A&E or struggle for weeks climbing steps and getting around.

Philippa Bond ● 3347d

Nice to know but I don't have a smartphone.  Will there be an acknowledgement that you have reported something?How irritating that it is just for LBE though.  We cross boroughs - very often several of them - many of us every day going to work.  Should we only be concerned about falling over misplaced kerbstones or down broken manhole covers in our own borough?  How Little Britain!  Well I suppose we can use www.fixmystreet.com for the rest of the world.

Philippa Bond ● 3347d

The LoveCleanStreet app is now endorsed - but it has been branded as"Ealing Council 24/7" (in Apple App Store at least).

Paul Webster ● 3347d

Well done and thank you Paul.  The acknowledgement that I have made a report is extremely important to me.  Time is precious.  There ought to be more interest in the problem being reported than the person doing the reporting - and the idea that reports are disappearing into a black hole simply because somebody doesn't want to know (or it looks bad on a map) is abhorrent.  Problems are often in places that you don't walk/cycle/drive past on a regular basis - and not necessarily even in your own town - FMS acknowledged this.

Philippa Bond ● 3457d

"You said on another post you were downloading the app - have you tried using it yet?"I didn't reply to this part yesterday because I wanted to check to see if what I had reported had been resolved.It has, however, I do not know if it was my report that initiated it because there was no feedback to the report.Easy to use though (as a smartphone app).For those that want to use a regular web browser then they can still use the council (multi-page) web interface.I have not tried LCS via desktop web browser.

Paul Webster ● 3457d

For the reporter, it is very similar to FMS.However, if Ealing have done the back-end integration (and I think they have) then it means no re-keying of data when report is filed.There was no integration done with FMS so every report that came in that way had to be manually entered I to Ealing/contractor systems.I contacted FMS and Ealing Council about getting integration done ... which is how I found out about the alternative that They have been trialling and I think will be formally launching soon.

Paul Webster ● 3459d

What are the differences?Would we the residents find it as easy to use?  It's definitely available for smartphones but lots of people don't have them.Surely residents will want to use whatever is easiest for them - which may not be the same for everyone. What is the financial implication for all involved? You said on another post you were downloading the app - have you tried using it yet?

Philippa Bond ● 3459d

I think that  Love Clean Streets is widely usedE.g. Hammersmith, Islington, Jersey, Eastbourne.They claim to have over 40 local authorities.

Paul Webster ● 3459d

So it just looks like LBE was choosing not to receive them when they became too numerous with the increase in fly-tipping!  Other Councils worked with FMS so that the systems worked better for them. Why didn't/couldn't/wouldn't LBE?

Philippa Bond ● 3459d

FMS stopped sending them because the email address on Ealing side was removed.https://github.com/mysociety/fixmystreet/issues/1128

Paul Webster ● 3460d

Is that what happened?  I'm surprised as I was under the impression that it was LBE who was choosing not to receive them and just put it down to Council control-freakery.  I'd love to be wrong!

Philippa Bond ● 3460d

"It doesn't really matter how people report issues to the Council - the important thing is that they do."It does .. because FixMySreet reports were not being forwarded to Ealing Council .. so people who thought that they were reporting were not really.Which is why FMS disabled the facility."Pages and pages to have to go through for something that people don't have to do aren't the answer and give a super bureaucratic and unhelpful impression."Which is why using the app should be better than filling in the council web pages. Quicker and easier to use ... to be seen if it results in action and updated status.

Paul Webster ● 3460d

It doesn't really matter how people report issues to the Council - the important thing is that they do.It is important that whatever method is used that there is a response so that the reportee has a record of when and what etc has been reported for their records.  In the past it could feel as if your messages fell into a black hole.  It also better that many issues are public.  This is why tweeting is now successful.  However this isn't a possibility for many.  Sending a photo of a problem is obviously very useful for both sides.  Pages and pages to have to go through for something that people don't have to do aren't the answer and give a super bureaucratic and unhelpful impression.

Philippa Bond ● 3461d

For those wanting to use an app rather than the council web site to report issues then ... I think the one to use now ishttp://www.lovecleanstreets.com/reports/homeThis is what they are (or will be) endorsing rather than FixMyStreet.

Paul Webster ● 3461d

Sorry for the delay in responding about this. The CCA has been working with Mill Hill Park  Residents  Assocation local residents and Officers of the Council to find solution to the problems of waste management in Acton. On 11th August the Director of waste management Darren Hanaghen visited Acton and spoke to business and residents. A follow up walkabout with Officers took place on 31st October and a number of businesses were cautioned. This is an on going project with different problems requiring different solutions. The CCA is pleased to have developed a good working relationship with Officers and feel reasonably confident that improvements are on the way, although they may take time to implement.

Chris Hurley ● 3462d

how did it go?

Sara Nathan ● 3547d

Teamwork is very worthwhile!  Don't worry Chris, nowadays initials, abbreviations, acronyms and textspeak probably should be listed amongst foreign languages spoken!

Philippa Bond ● 3547d

It is worrying that when it does finally rain properly instead of just teasing us we will have flash floods as the drains will block with all the detritus on the streets - and there is more hard paving etc due to increased wheelie bin and car parking spaces and less permeable land surface to absorb it.

Philippa Bond ● 3547d

Please excuse my ignorance. I've already told the Director who is attending from the CCA. It's in the Mill cafe should the SNT want to come along.

Chris Hurley ● 3547d

You are right Urs, outside No. 33 Birkbeck Avenue is another 'grot spot' most days rubbish is dumped on the pavement, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk past.This has been reported numerous times in the past.Another dumping ground is right outside the HSS Hire Shop in Horn Lane, between there and the alleyway, overflowing bins, mattresses and general household rubbish.On the corner of Horn Lane and Emanuel Avenue is always heaped up with black bags and assorted rubbish.Faraday Road, Allison Road, Brougham Road and Birkbeck Avenue could do with a good sweep with a broom, not litter picked because most of the leaves and assorted debris has been lying in our street for weeks. The next thing will be blocked drains because of the lack of street cleaning.Acton High Street is a disgrace, the pavements need a DEEP CLEAN, it is really bad outside McDonalds, but the entire area is a mess.

Jean F Fernandez ● 3547d

http://www.actonw3.com/default.asp?section=community&link=http://appasp.ActonW3.com/server/app/forum/default.asp?site=4Chris - the post was from PCSO Sarah Kearney.  There is a thread above.

Philippa Bond ● 3547d

SNT  Safer Neighbourhood Team

Jean F Fernandez ● 3547d

Sorry but what is Acton Central SNT? The meeting is at 8.30 am tomorrow morning

Chris Hurley ● 3547d

There is smashed glass at the bottom of Milton Road by Churchfield Road.  It's been there for at lease a week and is a danger, particularly to kids and dogs.

Richard Foster ● 3547d

Top of Birkbeck Avenue, No 33 and a few others, tall houses that I believe belong to a housing association, no room for bins, black bags get dumped by a tree all the time (plus items of furniture) to the extent that it gets impossible to even just walk past, let alone get past in a wheelchair or with a buggy. Bags get ripped open by foxes, and there is stinking rubbish all over the place.

Urs Esser ● 3547d

Are Acton Central SNT welcome at the meeting? If so what time is it and where?

Sarah Kearney ● 3548d

It is a First World problem that we make too much waste and just expect the Council to clear up after our excesses and take whatever we throw at them. Literally.I hope that the CEO will list some of the many things that Council Tax is used for and is needed for.  Clearing up after the excess that people buy, can't manage and waste shouldn't have to be the greatest priority.  Holding landlords and agents to account for not providing or maintaining or monitoring or informing tenants of the provision of facilities should be - from a health and safety and probably also planning permission/building regulations perspective.

Philippa Bond ● 3548d

Chris, It has been almost 3 weeks since Berrymead Gardens was cleaned, there is litter all up the street in the gutters and on the pavement, there has been broken glass all over the footpath for at least a couple of weeks. Berrymead is a very busy access road that people use to get to and from the High Street. Many people feel that they have the right to dump their litter in the street.There is also continually fly tipping at the bottom of the street and at the top of the street in the alley behind the shops where there are apartments. The residents dump rubbish in plastic bags because they don't have wheelie bins. So there are three problems that we have in the street: 1) There needs to be regular street cleaning more than once a week. The road is so busy and people dump so much rubbish the road gets filthy. I would like to understand why there is basically no street cleaning in Berrymead and also the rest of the borough. I walk up Acton High street and it is filthy. None of the other boroughs around here are like that, there is a big difference when you move from Ealing to Chiswick or Shepherds bush. It's unacceptable, this is the basics and the council can't get it done. WHAT IS OUR COUNCIL TAX PAYING FOR? 2) Flytipping - at the bottom on Berrymead Gardens there is continual fly-tipping and people drinking and leaving their cans and junk around the area. There needs to be monitoring of the area OR there needs to be regular scheduled pickups of garbage from the area, it happens at least once a week and it looks terrible. The fly-tipping problem is also borough wide, in most streets that i walk past there are big loads of bags and general rubbish that are not collected. 3) The flats behind the shops need to get wheelie bins. I suspect that because they are mostly rented and the people living there don't know the system so there needs to be some education on what they need to do. They leave 20/30 bags of garbage in a lane behind the flats each week, it's disgusting. I would like to see a plan from them outlining...A bi-weekly street cleaning scheduleA process to get flats the bins and how to use themA fix to the flytipping problemSo all in all Ealing council can't get the basics of garbage collection right. ALL London boroughs do this and get it right what is wrong with you?? Nathan

Nathan Macrides ● 3548d

Talking to someone looking at what was happening it was interesting to hear that the instructions to contractors include that they should look inside bins.  So for those of us who have retained an ordinary dustbin - they should be looking inside rather than us having to actually take the bag out.

Philippa Bond ● 3548d

Chris can you please ask why the gated community 52a to 60a (20 flats) entrance in Grove Road have no wheelie bins despite 31 requests so they dump their rubbish outside ! Also they obviously have the trucks and the staff , so weekly collections cannot cost that much more !Cheers

Dennis Brogan ● 3548d

Just to report that the top end of Goldsmith Road is particularly bad....rubbish seems to be strewn all over the pavements / gutters permanently!

Rachael Moore ● 3548d

So today is your last chance to let us have info about problem areas. Thanks to all those who have contributed so far.

Chris Hurley ● 3548d

The main issue for me is the 'once every three weeks' street cleaning. People are unfortunately always going to put out the bags on the wrong day (or everyday in between), but with irregular pick ups of black bin liners, and with foxes spreading the contents around the streets, cleaning the streets once every three weeks is woefully inadequate.Chaucer Road is awful and so too is Myrtle road. I have a guest from Colombia staying who was shocked at the state of our roads! Worse than Bogota? That is quite something.

Mark Jarvis ● 3550d

Members of the CCA Exec will be meeting the Director responsible for street cleaning this week or early next week. It would be helpful to have concrete examples of unresolved issues that we can raise with him please.

Chris Hurley ● 3551d

For those not on Twitter. Two charming Kingdom enviro crime officers have been spotted by PC Loveday on Churchfield Road today. Responding to local concerns. I'd post their photo if I knew how.

Maire LOWE ● 3551d

Well done Chris. I'm sure there will be a reply but just to underline the point maybe others personally concerned about filthy Acton could copy Chris's letter and send it to Mr. Narjsarek themselves with a message saying you support the request for an urgent meeting. Copy to your local Councillor too in case they don't look at this forum. There are twelve Councillors for Acton/Southfields, so it shouldn't just be Daniel Crawford and Gary Malcolm who are responding to residents' worries. They can't all be on holiday.

Maire LOWE ● 3551d

I have sent numerous emails raising various complaints to Julian Bell asking "where is my wheelie bin , why have roadsweeping services been cut , why don't we have weekly collections etc and I just get a standard reply saying "where is the rubbish bag you are complaining about ?'Good luck Chris but don't hold your breath till we can vote this totally inept Labour council out !

Dennis Brogan ● 3552d

You're a star, Chris!

Urs Esser ● 3552d

Excellent. Hope it works.

Susan Flory ● 3552d

Good work. Fingers crossed.

Mark Jarvis ● 3552d