Agenda item

The City Warden will be present at the meeting to give an update on issues in the area.

Barbara Whitcombe, Team Manager, City Wardens and Graham Smith, Street Scene Enforcement Officer gave a presentation to the Community Meeting on the role of the City Warden. As part of the presentation a DVD was shown which illustrated the work of the City Wardens and it was explained that their aim was to be pro-active in preventing problems such as street litter, graffiti and dog fouling.

Graham talked about some of the problems that he had been involved with in the Westcotes Ward, which included:

• Street fires in litter bins.

• A street litter project around Braunstone Gate, Hinckley Road and Narborough Road. It appeared that litter was originating from some of the Takeaway businesses and letters had been sent to them.

• Fly tipping on Narborough Road.

• Dog fouling – particularly on Great Central Way. Graham explained that people were bagging the dog waste, and then dropping the bag because there were no dog waste bins. A bid had been submitted to the Community Meeting for funding to provide a bin there.

• Working with the Police over the problem of graffiti.

The following comments were made:

• I live on Tyndale Street and there is rubbish everywhere there. I have never seen a Warden – it would be helpful if you could make yourself more well known.

The Chair commented that Graham was doing a considerable amount of education work in an effort to prevent litter and he went into schools and spoke at assemblies. The Chair added that she walked along Tyndale Street regularly and she acknowledged that there was a problem with litter there. Graham also explained that he had reported rubbish on Latimer Street, although residents responded that the rubbish had not been dealt with. 

• I have seen people from local businesses put their own rubbish in the street bins and pouring a can of oil down the drains.

Barbara responded that Officers from the Council carried out checks to make sure that local businesses had waste disposal contracts in place to ensure that waste was disposed of correctly.

• The refuse collectors tend to make more mess than they take. I saw someone take out items from the recycle bin and leave it on the footpath.

• There is a problem with litter on the Great Central Way by Bede Park.

• A stoutly designed litter bin is needed between Briton Street and Upperton Road.

• People leave out the green recycling boxes. On Latimer Street for example, they can be left on the pavements for months.

• There is a problem with graffiti on Latimer Street and this encourages people to fly tip because the area looks so dirty and untidy.

The Chair explained that even where the Council paid to remove graffiti, some private landlords did not want graffiti removed from their premises.  The meeting heard that there was going to be a new website when people could take pictures of graffiti and fly tipping; these would appear on the website and details would be given for when the problem had been removed. There would be a campaign to tackle graffiti and advice could also be given on measures that could be taken to avoid attracting graffiti.  The Council was working with Connexions and youth organisations in an attempt to improve this problem.

• There is a bus stop outside Shree Jalaram on Narborough Road, which is sited by a hedge and people throw their rubbish into the hedge. A litter bin is needed there.

• There are a considerable number of rented properties in the area and if landlords are absent, it can be difficult to resolve issues around problem tenants and graffiti on private property. In addition, some of the rented properties are overcrowded.

Barbara informed the meeting that there was a team that investigated issues relating to overcrowding and asked residents to report any concerns to the Council.

• There are a number of different community groups in Westcotes, where people do not have English as their first language. Is it possible to advertise the meetings in their community centres? There is also a need for translation into different languages.  People who are new to the area and who don’t speak English may not always be aware of the system for recycling and the need to bring bins off the pavements etc.

The Chair commented that it was difficult to reach everyone in the Ward, however, a bid had been submitted for a community notice board where information could be posted. It was also hoped to meet with the different faith groups so that they could also help to inform residents about community issues etc. Barbara also explained that a considerable amount of work was done with new students to the area, but it was difficult to get information to people who had English as a second language. The possibility of asking volunteers through the DeMontfort University Volunteer Academy to help with translation and perhaps put information on Facebook was also suggested.