My road stinks, again

This this is another post about the Council, my Councillors, the new bin scheme and the same residents and businesses who continue to soil my street. I wish that it wasn't, how I so wish that it wasn't. However after being away and walking down my street and smelling what I can smell I really couldn't spend my "Charlton" time doing anything else.

This is an open email that I've sent to my local Councillors and the press, it should say it all.

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This is an open email to my local Councillors. In particular I write to Councillor Gary Parker who has at least managed to give me comparatively substantial responses to my queries in the past, This is compared to Councillor Allan MacCarthy, who simply said that Councillor Janet Gillman was dealing with the problem (and that after a substantial delay due to "illness"), and Councillor Gillman herself who after a brief (ninety word) letter saying that the current problems were reported with no mention of a longer term plan.

Once again the top of Floyd Road is in an unacceptable state. The blue Clear Away bin that Waste Services said belonged to the local Kebab shop has reappeared and the green bins outside number 2 are full of plastic sacks. There are piles of plastic sacks and opposite, between number 1 and the top of the street, down the alley way are more green bins and plastic sacks with organic waste rotting in the summer hear. The smell is, on this warm Sunday evening, something that is rather impressive. I've attached a number of photos with this message that show the problem, what they don't show is that during the few minutes that it took for me to take them several people walked past me either commenting on the smell or simply wrinkling their noses.

In an email to me dated the 25th of June Councillor Parker told me he was "continuing to deal with issues regarding waste management in the Charlton area." One month has past, how effective can anyone claim that that "dealing" has been. If anyone has the chutzpah to claim that the response has been in any way effective I challenge them to come within a few meters of the top of my street, take a deep breath and then to repeat that same claim.

Councillors Parket, MacCarthy and Gillman have the audacity to claim that they are of the Charlton Ward. My dictionary informs me that the root meaning of the word "ward" is "keep safe, guard."

Consider the following:

1) We've had 7 months of the new bin scheme.
2) We have the same residents and businesses continually soiling my street with the same refuse.
3) Only one of my three Councillors has entered into any form of dialogue what so ever with me.
4) Councillor MacCarthy has himself been appointed to the role of Deputy Mayor of the borough.

I claim that not one of my Councillors, or indeed the Council itself, cares for, keeps safe or guards my local area.

They know about what is happening but still it continues to happen.

To be ignorant of a problem and to do nothing to resolve it is one thing.

To be aware of a problem and to still fail, or worse to not attempt, to resolve it is surely worse.

And this is how they tackle so simple an issue as to keep the streets clean and safe. Do they ask, or expect, us to trust them to deal with anything more serious?

And so once again I challenge my local Councillors to step up to that which they promised. I challenge them to care for, keep safe and guard the people that elected them into office.

You choose to stand for office, so now show that you stand for your residents or continue to prove that you simply don't care.

The Waterworks Arrive

The road works to replace the water pipes that were meant to hit my road a month ago have finally arrived.

I've already seen at least one scrutty individual decided that he's too important to pay attention to the road works and throw the cones and barriers out of the way so as to get his car up the street.

According to a letter they popped through my door they're scheduled to last three weeks. It'll be a bit awkward but it's got to be done, a bit more noticed about the delay and rescheduling would have been nice though.

Red Bull Air Race

The Red Bull Air Race is returning this year! I caught some of the practice runs in the week before the last one and bought tickets for the final and I had a great time. I will be looking into the possibility of going again.

What is reasonably interesting about this years event is how the organisers are handing the distribution of free tickets to local residents.

Last year the organisers gave tickets to the three London Boroughs who bordered the event. This is what Red Bull had to say to say at the time 10% of all general tickets will be given free to local residents of affected boroughs (Greenwich, Newham and Tower Hamlets) (click here for a bit more information).

So what happened?

Well both Newham and Tower Hamlets announced an open lottery for their residents to apply for tickets.

Not Greenwich, oh no, not Greenwich. They kept kind of quiet about the whole thing and I discovered that the tickets were to be distributed to "Community Groups" and then any left over would go to residents who managed to discover that they could register an interest. It was all very messy and as hinted at above somewhat secretive.

Local Blogger The Last Bus Home found out what happened to the tickets, you can read his findings here.

So two Councils did a free draw and Greeenwich had our glorious leader, and the first politician to lie on stage at the O2, Chris Roberts "hand pick" some local community groups before the rest went to the general public, or those that had heard about it anyway.

And what are Red Bull doing this year? Well they're organising their own draw for local residents to apply for (read about it here).

Could they be hinting that they were not too happy about the somewhat shoddy way that the Council dealt with the last batch of tickets that they gave them?

You can make your own mind up on that one.

If you want to know a bit more about last years saga then click here.