Dirty streets slur annoys

Is there a street near you that’s a blackspot for litter, or do you agree with Newark and Sherwood District Council that Newark’s streets are clean? Contact the Advertiser newsdesk on 01636 681234.

A survey by a trades union that ranks streets in Newark and Sherwood as some of the dirtiest in the East Midlands is far from being a true reflection, says the district council.

The Advertiser checked streets in the district this week and failed to find one that could be described as a mess.

The GMB survey places Newark and Sherwood 27th out of 40 council areas it has surveyed, behind Nottingham, which comes in at equal 23rd.

The South Holland district of Lincolnshire comes top and Daventry bottom. The GMB says it bases its findings on a report published by the Audit Commission covering the year to March 31, 2007.

Of other Advertiser areas, Rushcliffe is 12th, South Kesteven is equal 30th and neighbouring North Kesteven is ranked 6th.

The head of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s housing and environmental services, Mr Andy Statham, said: “GMB’s statistics are not a true reflection of the resources this council commits to street cleansing, nor the excellent work our staff do in maintaining the acknowledged quality of the district’s public open spaces.

“These figures still show that 90% of the streets in the district were judged as clean.

“Similar assessments are also carried out using public perception indicators by Ipsos Mori.

“The last Mori survey found street cleansing satisfaction has significantly improved.

“It showed 70% were satisfied with the council’s work in keeping the district clear of litter and refuse, compared to 54% in 2003/4.

This was above the Nottinghamshire average of 68%.

“The survey also found 80% were satisfied with refuse collection.”

He said 15 staff were responsible for keeping the district’s 3,000 streets clean, covering a distance of 600 miles.

“In 2007-8 the council collected around 2,500 tonnes of waste from fly tipping and road sweeping operations, compared with 3,299 tonnes in 2006-7, meaning there was around a 25% reduction in the amount of waste dropped, and a 10% fall in the number of fly tipping incidents,” said Mr Statham.