The Accolades Continue

From experience of meeting and talking to residents over many years I have long held the belief that all residents really want is to live in a clean, safe and pleasant environment and be left alone to get on with their lives. In all decisions that I make I measure it against this criteria.

Apart from the amount of green and open spaces, the one thing that gets commented to me the most from friend and family that visit is how clean the streets are – especially for a seaside location which attracts large numbers of visitors.

It is nice when these comments are made but it is nicer when official recognition is received. I was delighted to hear last week that Southend had received a prestigious 4 Star award from the British Cleansing Council for the third consecutive year.

A team of inspectors made an unannounced visit to the borough in August, visiting most areas across the borough. A report was compiled following the inspection and I thought I would share some extracts:

“The airport and train station was an exemplary start to the inspection attaining near perfect scores”

“It was good to see both manual and mechanical sweeping and washing taking place during the visit and there was a good provision of litter bins both throughout the High Street and on the seafront”

Airport & Train Station:

“An exceptionally clean and tidy entry point to the town.  Excellent litter bin provision and positioning and exemplary standards of cleansing”.

Shoeburyness, Seafront and Shoebury Common Beach:

“A really clean and tidy area, very well kept indeed”.

Southend High Street:

“On the surface a tidy area but suffers from high levels of smoking litter and gum in places; however this is to be expected due to the high footfall.  Good to see both manual and mechanical sweeping in operation during the visit”.

Southend, Victoria Station:

“A good and well kept area”.

Seafront & Pier area:

“This is clearly a very busy area and it was peak holiday season at the time of our visit.  All things considered it is holding up well. Bin provision was good”.

Southend, Chalkwell Park:

“A lovely Park, busy due to it being a hot sunny day but fantastically clean and tidy”.

Leigh on Sea:

“A very busy area visited at lunch time but being maintained extremely well”.

Summary

The standard of street cleansing was of a reasonably high standard, particularly in the tourist hot spots and main areas.  It was a sunny day in peak season so challenges for the Council were clearly at their highest level yet they seemed to be coping well. Overall the Council should be commended for its cleansing procedures which are clearly working well.

I would like to express my thanks to the Waste Management Team and our contractors Cory’s for their ongoing efforts.