Lib Dems call for Conservatives to get a grip on city litter problem

The Liberal Democrats are challenging the Conservative city council administration over its dreadful record on emptying the bins and clearing litter in Gloucester.

At next week's full council meeting, the Lib Dems will propose a motion calling for a root and branch review of litter bin provision and the emptying regime in the city.

Councillors and members of the public have complained about the number of overflowing bins and the litter left in our parks and streets.

Gloucester's bins are currently emptied by streetcare contractor Amey, but they will be replaced by Ubico in April next year.

The Conservatives have been in control of Gloucester City Council for 15 years and standards of street cleaning have been deteriorating for several years.

Podsmead Liberal Democrat Councillor Sebastian Field, who will propose the motion, said: "I have received lots of contact from residents and I regularly report overflowing bins and litter in my ward.

"Other Liberal Democrat councillors are doing the same. It has got so bad that residents have felt it necessary to go litter-picking themselves.

"We are grateful to residents who do this but really it is the job of the streetcare contractor who we pay a large amount of money to every year, in our council tax."

Councillor Declan Wilson, who is seconding the motion, added: "We need urgent action on this problem. We can't simply wait for Ubico to come in in 12 months' time.

"That's why we've called for a root and branch review which will examine the current provision and suggest ways to improve.

"The Conservative administration must get a grip."

The full text of the motion, which will be debated on March 18, reads:

"This council records its disappointment with the Conservative administration over its dreadful record in keeping our streets and open spaces clear of litter and flytipping.

Our litter bins are often left overflowing for far too long, because there are not enough litter bins and they are often emptied too infrequently.

Many of our open spaces and streets are blighted by litter that isn't cleared by our streetcare contractor unless councillors or members of the public personally report it.

This council notes that Ubico will take over the streetcare contract from Amey on 1st April 2022.

That both Ubico and Urbaser quoted for improved response times for dealing with deteriorations in cleansing standards.

We therefore call on the cabinet to carry out a root and branch review (in discussion with Amey and Ubico) of our litter bin provision and emptying regime to also include a review of the litter picking schedule of our public spaces, with the view of proposing a dramatic improvement in service delivery as a matter of urgency."