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Cleanest streets EVER!

Tuesday August 30, 2011

The streets of Hammersmith & Fulham are cleaner than EVER before!

Official research shows that an incredible 98 per cent of streets in the borough comply with Keep Britain Tidy cleanliness standards.

Environmental consultants from WYG investigated the cleanliness of 300 roads in the borough and were amazed with the lack of litter.

The company do similar work for many other London authorities and H&F’s results place the borough amongst the top five local authorities in the capital for street cleanliness.

The figures represent a ten per cent increase on similar investigations that Keep Britain Tidy carried out last year and are better than any other research ever carried out in the borough.

Cllr Greg Smith, cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “We are absolutely delighted with this independent research which proves that it is possible to improve the cleanliness of our streets at a time when the council is making huge savings across the board.

“Residents tell us time and time again how highly they value clean streets and we work round the clock in order to ensure that they are maintained to the very highest of standards. We would like to thank residents for doing their bit to keep the streets of Hammersmith & Fulham litter free. Cleaning litter from our streets is a very expensive process, so by not dropping it in the first place residents are helping the council to save money. To those who think that it is acceptable to drop rubbish onto our streets the message is that you will be fined if we catch you in the act. We will not be resting on our laurels and will be striving to improve the cleanliness of the borough even further!”

There are several reasons that explain why our streets are getting cleaner. The council, through its contractor, Serco, now has 24-hour street cleansing in some areas, more mobile cleaning hit-squads and daily sweeping outside schools.

Changes have also been made to street sweeping schedules so that sweeping takes place after collection for each street.

In addition, the council has a zero-tolerance policy towards litterbugs. The council’s Street Scene Enforcement (SSE) team respond to complaints made by residents and visitors and also carry out daily inspections.

The squad has a wide range of powers in their arsenal and are able to issue fines of £75 to enviro-criminals and in extreme cases, bring about legal proceedings.

One of the most prevalent enviro-crimes in the borough is flytipping - the illegal dumping of rubbish. During the last financial year, the team investigated a mammoth 6,727 suspected flytips, which led to 435 fixed penalty notices being issued.

Earlier this year, the Napule Restaurant on Fulham Road was ordered to pay £2,570 after the council proved that it had illegally dumped 11 large sacks of rubbish on the pavement.

The council also works to clean up ‘grot spots’ and regularly works with the Police and London Probation Trust on community payback schemes which sees offenders clean overgrown patches of land as part of their punishment.

Last year, the council ran a hugely successful campaign to rid the streets of cigarette butts by handing out special ButtsOut personal ashtrays. The initiative saw a massive 40 per cent reduction in cigarette litter.

The council has even employed the services of a hawk in the past to keep the streets clean. In 2008, Maverick the Hawk flew up and down Pernham Road, Fulham, scaring away pigeons that were terrorising residents with their filth ridden fly-bys.

Cllr Smith concluded, "These results are a vindication of the hard work put in by our contractor Serco and H&F council officers over recent years. Nevertheless, we will not become complacent and will continue to strive for consistently high standards, keeping our streets clean for everyone."

To report suspected fly-tipping, or to alert the council to a litter issue call our hotline on 020 8753 1100 or email cleaner.greener@lbhf.gov.uk.

» Send us your comments now

Once again Millshot Close has not been swept.The Council claims 98% of streets comply with Keep Britain Tidy standards-we must be the missing 2%!
From Blue Moon on 21/10/2011 at 16:59
The cleaners who keep St Stephens Ave, Devonport Rd and Goldhawk Rd tidy do an excellent job and are to be congratulated.
The fly tippers who use Scotts Rd are a menace. There are 2-3 places which get used as tips every week.
From John on 30/09/2011 at 15:59
All streets in the borough are cleaned at least twice a week. If your street is below a satisfactory standard of cleanliness, then you can call the Cleaner Greener hotline on 020 8753 1100 or e-mail cleaner.greener@lbhf.gov.uk to arrange for our waste contractors to visit the street between cleaning. Our Street Scene Enforcement team will arrange to place anti-littering signs in streets where they are requested.
From Lesley on 14/09/2011 at 07:32
Our street cleaner is wonderful and deserves to be recognised for his good work. He is always hard at work in Yeldham Road.
From Anne Brocklesby on 05/09/2011 at 08:57
i live a 100 yards from the Normand park depot and my street is filthy ! No road sweeper seen for over a week.I can only assume all the road sweepers are making sure the selected 300 are kept clean. we used to get the road swept on a Tuesday after the refuse has been collected. Nothing in 2 weeks. Are we really getting a better service ?
From sharon on 02/09/2011 at 17:50
I live on Overstone Road, W6. Although you findings are encouraging, Overstone road is a through road for people walking through.
Every single day there is rubbish, cigarette packets, beer cans, fast food, dog excrement, rubbish bags. It is really a disappointment, often I clean the rubbish myself. Could you please look into:
1. Putting up signs, saying please do not drop rubbish
2. Increase the no. of times people clean this street
From DS on 02/09/2011 at 15:45
The man who sweeps our street in Barons Court does a fabulous job. He is very conscientious and - bonus! - friendly. Well done.
From Martha on 31/08/2011 at 14:35
Good work, I spent time in a number of London boroughs and I'd say H&F's are the cleanest which is testament to the efforts of residents, workers in the borough and the Council alike. It all makes a real difference to everyone who enjoys the borough so keep it up.
From Simon on 30/08/2011 at 22:59

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