Walsall streets set to go four months without being cleaned
Streets will go up to four months without being cleaned after controversial new moves were introduced.
Walsall Council has revamped its street cleaning service, meaning it will now complete four-day deep cleans around the borough rather than the regular street sweeping that used to take place on around a monthly basis.
However the schedule drawn up by cleaning bosses sees Park Hall and Chuckery having to wait four months between cleans, while areas such as Streetly, Pheasey, Pelsall and Shelfield having waits of up to three months.
Bloxwich’s streets will be getting cleaned every over month, as will streets in Willenhall South and Rough Hay.
The new plans have been labelled a ‘disgrace’ with the leader of the Conservative opposition Mike Bird calling for a re-think.
He said: “There are always choices. These are the things that people get angry about, they are paying for a service but not getting it.
“We are still paying substantial sums of money to certain people and people on the doorstep are rightly asking why they cannot get their street cleaned. It is a disgrace.
“I shall be taking it up with the officers and be asking for the Labour budget to be revisited.”
He added: “We used to say that if people had lights on with clean streets and no potholes then the council was doing its job, but that is not happening.”
The cash-strapped authority said it has made the changes after reviewing its service and looking at how quickly litter builds up in different areas.
It hopes having a schedule will provide reassurance to people so they know when their street is next due to be cleaned.
Councillor Chris Jones, the council’s portfolio holder for Clean and Green said: “It’s no secret that we are being asked to manage with less and less money, so it’s crucial that we make the most of every penny.
"One aspect of the new service that we’re already receiving positive feedback on from residents is the re-introduction of ‘barrow routes’ in areas of the borough including parts of Willenhall, Chuckery, Caldmore, Palfrey, Pleck and Birchills.
"We’ve listened to what people said they want, and this was definitely a wish list item.”
Under the new deep cleans, council teams will be litter picking, mechanically sweeping paths and roads, removing weeds and clearing around street furniture.
To find out when your street is next due to be cleaned, visit walsallbins.co.uk/street-cleansing-schedules/
