tidybs5

  • Tidy BS5 – more evidence that Bristol is 2 cities

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    I’m indebted to Twitter user @StapletonRd for the following photograph of communal bins in the prosperous Clifton area of Bristol.

    Communal bins screened by Bristol City Council to protect the delicate eyes of Clifton residents
    Communal bins screened by Bristol City Council to protect the delicate eyes of Clifton residents.

    As you can see, no effort – or expense – has been spared to make communal bins acceptable to the area’s rich residents, who have sharp elbows and loud voices, not to mention the ear of the council.

    Now let’s contrast this with Milsom Street in Easton, where communal bins were imposed on residents in 2012 after a botched council consultation (with the emphasis on the first syllable of consultation. Ed.).

    communal bin in Milsom Street buried under a pile of fly-tipped furniture
    Somewhere under that pile of furniture is a communal bin.

    Somewhere under that pile of fly-tipped furniture (reported to Bristol City Council this morning. Ed.).

    In Easton the communal bins were introduced by the council as a remedy to tackle an endemic local fly-tipping problem. One can see how well it’s worked.

    One can also see that no effort has been made to make the communal bins more attractive to Easton residents: no off-street siting of bins; no wooden fencing to screen them from delicate eyes and so on.

    Many years ago, east Bristol residents campaigning to retain public access to Packer’s Field, 7 acres of much-used green space for informal public recreation, were told by council officers that they “were not the kind of people the council listened to“.

    By the unequal treatment of Clifton and Easton residents in respect of communal bins, that attitude is still alive, well and kicking very, very hard indeed down at the Counts Louse (or City Hall as some now call it. Ed.).

    One can only hope that after the mayoral and council elections on Thursday, those newly elected will finally start to break down the discrimination and unequal treatment of different areas that has blighted Bristol City Council’s administration of the city for generations.

  • Fresh instructions = filthier streets

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    Since your correspondent starting campaigning seriously on litter and fly-tipping some 2 years ago, he’s become quite well known to the crews of the dustcarts and the local street sweepers.

    Both these bodies of men (and they are all men. Ed.) quite often stop me in the street to exchange a few words and from them I’ve gleaned much valuable information, such as e.g. how there’s only one 5 tonne truck assigned to patrolling the streets of Bristol and collecting the fly-tipping that’s reported – a textbook example of woeful under-resourcing.

    From these gentlemen I’ve received more reliable and concise information in a few minutes about the state of play in Bristol’s waste management arrangements than I’ve received in interminable hours of meetings with the council officers set over them who fly desks to earn their crust.

    A short while ago while I was heading down the Stapleton Road, the dustcart pulled up beside me and the driver told me that he and his colleagues had received fresh instructions. They were not to pick up fly-tipping such as black plastic refuse sacks that had been dumped alongside the area’s notorious communal bins (posts passim), but this was to be left in situ for collection and examination for enforcement purposes. However, this might be a fruitless exercise, as the city council has admitted in meetings that only 3% of the fly-tipping collected off the streets comprises any evidence that might point to the criminal who dumped it.

    Both the dustcart crews and I could see the result of these new orders: any fly-tipping not cleared as per the previous arrangement by dustcart crews would be left on the street for longer, making the place look grottier, as well as constituting a health risk, e.g. if it had sharp edges or was a hazardous substance; and if the fly-tipping contained food waste this would also be a health risk, as well as attracting vermin such as gulls and rats.

    The result of this new policy can be seen in the photograph below, which was taken on Lawrence Hill on Tuesday after the communal bin had been emptied by the chaps from Bristol Waste.

    waste left by communal bin after collection
    Bristol City Council endorses institutional squalor for east Bristol. Note the added grot factor provided by the tagging and fly-posting on the communal bin.

    There are times when I wonder if I’m wasting my time fighting litter and fly-tipping in east Bristol, particularly when it seems I and my fellow campaigners are also having to fight the idiocies emanating city council and Bristol Waste, its arms-length, wholly-owned waste management company as well.

  • Bristol to increase fly-tipping enforcement

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    Yesterday Bristol City Council set its budget for the next financial year.

    While the Bristol Post’s report concentrated on the 4% increase in council tax and Bristol’s donation of £500,000 for a Concorde museum in neighbouring South Gloucestershire, its political editor, Ian Onions, somehow managed to omit some important news for those fighting environmental crime in the city.

    This news was that the city council will be employing two more so-called “streetscene” enforcement officers next year, bringing the total number of these officers employed by the city council to 8. These officers are responsible for bringing fly-tippers and litter louts to book.

    photo of Marg HickmanLawrence Hill ward councillor Marg Hickman conveyed this news to Tidy BS5 campaigners yesterday evening, stating that the Labour group’s amendment calling for the 2 additional officers was the only amendment to the Mayor’s budget to receive 100% support in the council chamber.

    Marg was one of 2 councillors to speak to the amendment (another colleague spoke on dog fouling, another of the blights of urban life, in support of the amendment. Ed.). Her speech is transcribed below and conveys many of the sentiments that Tidy BS5 campaigners have been voicing to the council for the past 2 years, with the local authority’s lack of action to date neatly summarised by the phrase “glacial speed of change“, although your correspondent reckons that glaciers actually move faster than Bristol City Council and a more accurate comparison would be with tectonic plates.

    Institutional neglect has been the impact of Green Capital on parts of the city. What is certain is that, when it comes to the cleanliness of most areas of the city, this much-praised initiative has had minimal effect.

    In 2013/14 Bristol had the unenviable status of the dirtiest place in the South West. According to government statistics, Bristol residents reported 10,472 incidents of fly-tipping – can you imagine how many more unreported incidents there must have been? It was with this statistic as a backdrop that the number of street scene enforcement officers was cut in 2013 from 10 officers, plus support staff and 3 dog wardens, to approximately 6 today. In comparison I can reveal that during our Green Capital year we had an army of PR experts – 45 in total – all employed to make the council look good. Well, I know, and I am sure many of you would agree, that our residents would prefer it if we employed more people to keep our communities looking good rather than ourselves.

    There seems to me to be complacency in the council regarding the unacceptable levels of fly-tipping and litter in areas from Lawrence Hill and Eastville to Lawrence Weston, and it is compounded in the south of the city by the Mayor’s refusal to sign off the waste recycling centre in Hartcliffe.

    In BS5, one of the city’s fly-tipping hotspots, which stretches from across the road from Cabot Circus to Eastville, there have been 32 enforcement actions taken against people. This low level of enforcement is because of the cuts and the lack of ongoing training and development of the enforcement staff. We need to augment our street enforcement officers and provide proper support and training, and learn from best practice from around the country to deal with the issue of waste at a time of shrinking budgets.

    We have to support communities across Bristol blighted by this environmental eyesore and come up with solutions that work. We need to consult affected communities, speed up the glacial speed of change, and increase the number of properly trained and supported enforcement officers.

    We have before us an amendment that will get the ball rolling and help kick-start the change we need to clean up our streets. Surely money would be better spent on this rather promoting more and more PR people.

    We would all benefit from this amendment. The communities you serve would benefit and Bristol as a whole would be a cleaner and happier city. Please support this amendment today so that Bristol can be the cleanest city in the South West and not the dirtiest.

  • Tidy BS5 at the Mayor’s Question Time

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    George Ferguson looking trustworthyOn Wednesday evening Bristolians had an opportunity to question the city’s elected mayor, George Ferguson, at the City Academy on Russell Town Avenue.

    Your ‘umble scribe attended, hoping to ask George a question on the city council’s dreadful record on keeping on top of fly-tipping, litter and other environmental crimes within the city as a whole and east Bristol in particular.

    The session was chaired by BS5 resident and freelance journalist Pamela Parkes, who did an excellent job.

    Your correspondent was successful in putting his question to the mayor, which read as follows:

    This year Stoke-on-Trent City Council managed to find £750K of additional funding to tackle environmental crimes such as fly-tipping. What additional budget allocations will the mayor be making this year to emulate the Potteries?

    Needless to say, the mayor ducked answering the additional funding bit (from which one can infer that no additional resources will be made available in Mr Ferguson’s forthcoming budget. Ed.) and laid great emphasis on £80m cuts imposed by central govt. on Bristol and how much Bristol City Council was actually spending on waste management in Bristol. I thought most of his answer was emollient waffle, blustering about the establishment of Bristol Waste, early days for them etc. However, facilitator Pamela Parkes pointed out that despite all the campaigning by residents, both informally and formally under the banner of Tidy BS5, the situation locally hasn’t improved at all. To be fair to George Ferguson, he did make a good point about the need to promote the repair and reuse of consumer goods, to reduce the amount going to landfill.

    George then handed over to the head of Bristol Waste whose name I cannot remember. She made the point that fly-tipping had remained constant in Bristol over recent years. When challenged about the level of fly-tipping – four times that in neighbouring local authorities, back came the defeatist line that fly-tipping is always higher in cities.

    So overall it looks like there will be little change in the council’s competence or motivation in tackling fly-tipping in the city

    Besides my question, others tackled the mayor on education, housing and homelessness, the treatment of BME communities (following the cancelling of this year’s St Paul’s Carnival and current management problems at the Malcolm X Centre) and transport.

    At the end there was a lively open session, during which there was a lot of hostility to the mayor from the public on various matters – the previously mentioned carnival and Malcolm X woes, growing Islamophobia, declining community cohesion and the total waste of Green Capital (which GF characterised as the most successful Green Capital year yet. Ed.), to mention but a few.

    George placed great emphasis on his listening skills, stating he’d listen to anybody. However, he has past form in his post-listening dismissals of members of the public. This was not lost on his audience on Wednesday, one of whom queried along the lines of: “You may be listening George, but are you hearing what they’re saying to you?”

    T-shirt slogan I've listened now f**ck off
    A T-shirt design produced after George’s dismissal of a member of the public in 2013. Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

    In the end the session overran and City Academy staff were heartily thanked for sacrificing their time so generously.

  • Send George a Tidy BS5 postcard

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    Now landing on Bristol Mayor George Ferguson‘s desk are postcards from residents of BS5 to bring him back down to earth with a thump after being honoured with a prestigious award by Lord Gnome of Private Eye (posts passim).

    one of the Tidy BS5 postcard
    Photo credit: @StapletonRd

    The cards remind George that BS5 residents are fed up with the fly-tipping they have to endure every day, a problem that was neither tackled nor mitigated by council action during the city’s wasted year as European Green Capital (posts passim).

    If you have difficulty getting hold of a postcard, supplies are available from the Up Our Street office in the Beacon Centre in Russell Town Avenue (map).

    Your correspondent took a dozen or so with him to the pub the other night and had no difficulty coming home minus his entire stock of postcards. There are evidently lots of fed up BS5ers out there, George, so you’d better exdigitate on getting to grips with fly-tipping in East Bristol and not just send any postcards you receive down to Streetscene Enforcement to clutter up their desks, as Tidy BS5’s spies down the Counts Louse inform us you are doing. 😉

  • Tidy BS5 exclusive: Hell will freeze over before BCC tackles fly-tipping

    Steve WoodsBristol, Social Media

    Yesterday, feeling frustrated with Bristol City Council’s ineptitude at tackling fly-tipping and litter in the city’s Easton and Lawrence Hill wards, despite 18 months’ vigorous campaigning by local residents and ward councillors, I decided to take advantage of Twitter’s poll facility.

    The results of the poll are shown below.

    screenshot of Twitter poll tweet

    That’s right! 90% of respondents believe Hell will freeze over before the local authority gets a grip on fly-tipping.

    If anyone spots Satan shopping for ice skates in Broadmead, the Galleries, Cabot Circus, Cribb’s Causeway or any other retail centre in the Bristol area, please provide details using the comments form below. 🙂

  • Greenwash Capital – how serious is Bristol about tackling fly-tipping?

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    I am indebted to my friend Julien Weston for the images below of yesterday’s fly-tipping on Jane Street, a notorious fly-tipping hotspot just off Church Road in the Redfield area of Bristol (posts passim).

    Jane Street fly-tipping photo 1

    Jane Street fly-tipping photo 2

    After 18 months of the Tidy BS5 campaign (both formally with UP Our Street and informally with residents acting on their own initiative. Ed.) to tackle litter and fly-tipping in Bristol’s Easton and Lawrence Hill wards, the cleanliness of the city’s streets doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Indeed it seems to be getting worse.

    Furthermore, statistics released by central government recently reveal that Bristol is the filthiest of the West Country local authorities when it comes to fly-tipping. Fly-tipping reported to the four unitary authorities that comprise the former Avon County Council area during the 2014-15 financial year are as follows:

    • B&NES – 530;
    • South Gloucestershire – 1,359;
    • North Somerset – 2,343;
    • Bristol – 9,709.

    Jane Street and the rest of Easton and Lawrence Hill wards are part of the Ashley, Easton & Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Partnership. According to the city council’s website the Neighbourhood Partnership (NP) has the following purpose:

    The Neighbourhood Partnership (NP) is about residents working with the Council to influence decisions. Its aim is to use local knowledge to make better decisions about what needs doing. It also has a small budget to spend on local improvements.

    At the last NP meeting on Monday, 5th October 2015, the report of the Neighbourhood Partnership Co-ordinator promised the following change in the Area Action Plan in respect of Lawrence Hill/Church Road corridor where Jane Street is situated:

    Increase responses to the ongoing problems of fly-tipping in Lawrence Hill, mainly Jane Street, Morton Street, Thomas Street, Ducie Road Car Park and Lawrence Hill.

    The evidence of one’s eyes reveals that if there has been any increase in the local authority’s response, it must be starting from a very low, if not to say, almost non-existent base.

    The fact that Bristol City Council allows this level of filth during its year as European Green Capital – and is seemingly helpless or hapless in tackling it – is an eloquent indictment of its treatment of its less prosperous wards like Lawrence Hill and Easton.

    According to the European Green Capital website, the justification behind the establishment of the European Green Capital award is that:

    Urban areas concentrate most of the environmental challenges facing our society but also bring together commitment and innovation to resolve them. The European Green Capital Award has been conceived to promote and reward these efforts.

    If Bristol is prepared continually to tolerate the “environmental challenge” of high levels of persistent fly-tipping in its less prosperous districts, as well as lacking the commitment and innovation to resolve them, then I believe the city was awarded the European Green Capital accolade on false pretences.

    Litter and fly-tipping are not only unpleasant to look at and live with day after day, they’re a hazard to health – both physical and mental.

    Come on Bristol City Council, get your finger out and let’s not just have a tidy BS5, but a tidy city generally! Let’s see if you’re really prepared to deal with this serious level of environmental crime or are just going to carry on making placatory noises to angry residents who despair at your inability and inaction.

    Footnote: my opinion of Bristol City Council’s ability and motivation to get to grips with environmental crime in Lawrence Hill and Easton has not been improved by the fact that I have reported 16 instances of fly-tipping – matching my highest daily count to date – to the local authority today. Help lighten my load by reporting fly-tipping too!

  • How long can you frown?

    Steve WoodsBristol, Media, Politics

    Up Our Street has produced a film in conjunction with Bristol’s Telling Tales Films about being an active citizen.

    Most active citizens become active after frowning and tut-tutting about problems in their communities, but there’s only so much scowling and muttering that can be done: action ultimately needs to be taken; and that starts with a smile. These East Bristol residents tell you how.

    Up Our Street has also produced an active citizenship toolkit. To get one please give them a ring on 0117 954 2834.

  • Next local litter pick announced

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    image of litter pickerMore details have now been received of the forthcoming community litter pick (posts passim).

    As previously announced the time and date will be 11.00 a.m. on Saturday 7th November and the meeting point shall be outside Masala Bazaar, 382-386 Stapleton Road, Bristol BS5 6NQ (map).

    Up Our Street have organised this litter pick with local PCSOs and members of the local community are invited to come along and help to tidy up behind The Coach House pub.

    Participants are asked to wear suitable clothing and footwear. This litter pick is not suitable for children due to the nature of the litter, which may involve sex and drugs litter.

    For further information, please email community (at) eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk.

  • Community pick litter in Barton Hill

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics, Social Media

    There have been some unkind words on social media that all Tidy BS5 campaigners do is moan about the cleanliness of Bristol’s Easton and Lawrence Hill wards on social media.

    Yesterday those words were once again proved to be a lie (posts passim).

    A photo call break during the pick.
    A photo call break during the pick. Picture courtesy of Up Our Street.

    In brilliant sunshine a dozen or so volunteers turned up in Barton Hill Urban Park to clear away litter and rubbish. Those volunteers included local residents who saw what was going on and joined in. Others of all ages from those in primary school to pensioners expressed their support.

    Bags for collecting the litter were kindly provided by Keep Bristol Tidy, the accumulated litter removed over the weekend by Bristol City Council, whilst the event itself was co-ordinated by Up Our Street.

    Amongst those volunteers were local ward councillors Marg Hickman and Afzal Shah, both of whom have been invaluable supporters of the Tidy BS5 campaign.

    Barton Hill Urban Park is just in Lawrence Hill ward, with its boundary abutting the dividing line with Easton ward.

    The next community litter pick to be organised locally will be held on Saturday, 7th November between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm, with the assembly point being the car park of Masala Bazaar, 382-386, Stapleton Road, Easton, BS5 6NQ (map).

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