Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey Council to cut £600,000 from street cleaning contract
It is being reported in the Haringey Indy that Haringey Council are cutting £600,000 from the street cleaning contract.
The borough’s street cleaners told the paper that the cuts will mean some streets will no longer have dedicated sweepers and instead vans will be driven around to just clean up “obvious mess”. Last month, the street cleaners, employed by Veolia Environmental Services on behalf of the authority, announced they were planning strike action as a result of the changes.
It appears that the council are not commenting on the reported cuts.
Residents' groups have raised fears that the cuts will lead to a deterioration in the the cleanliness of the streets and have called for the cuts to be reversed.
From a story in the Haringey Indy
Tags for Forum Posts: Veolia, street cleaning
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Residents' groups have raised fears that the cuts will lead to a deterioration in the the cleanliness of the streets
How could we tell ?
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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You see I don't agree with that.
Looking back at my Flickr Stream street cleaning was awful under Enterprise and did improve significantly under Veolia (even if the refuse collection was not as successful as I hoped it would be, it has to be acknowledged that the streets were looking better). A system whereby streets are only swept where there is an 'obvious mess' probably means only when a resident asks for a clean up.
We need to know which roads get swapped to "obvious mess" category and why.
We need to ask why despite all the fanfare about Veolia improving the service we are seeing in less than two years a slip back to a level of service on a par with Enterprise at their worst. The council will say cuts, of course, but will this prove to be a false economy as so many of the cuts both at local and national level are proving to be.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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I agree with Liz. Or, to be more accurate, my photographs agree. I started taking photos of dumping and litter when I bought my first digital camera in 2004. Though I didn't start posting them online until 2007. There has been a significant change for the better.
A few years ago there were times when I'd be going to a Labour Group meeting in the Civic Centre, but got no further than the bus stop in Tottenham High Road. I was so angry and disgusted at the dumping, litter and graffiti that I turned back, walked home and spent the time emailing reports. That seemed more valuable than the blather at the meeting.
Last night 18 July, all councillors were invited to a presentation from Arup about their outline ideas for the "regeneration" of Tottenham. I was really hoping for some fresh thinking, but it was a rehash of a lot of the same stale, failed ideas as before.
However, among this depressing dross, there was an acknowledgement that the basics, like street cleaning, need to be in place. Obviously, waste management isn't 'sexy' and doesn't involve high powered meetings with Spurs and other big landowners. But at least it got a mention.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Just a wild guess but isn't there a good chance that our street sweepers are locals and that they spend a significant proportion of their wages locally? I'll do my best to get to the presumed protest, this is a bit stupid.
Claire Kober is obviously not a Keynesian...
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Back to a world of increasing public squalor among private affluence?
"A world of filthy streets and clean houses". — John Kenneth Galbraith: The Affluent Society
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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This is another example of the choices the council makes.
£600,000 is there and available all right; the fact is, £600,000 plus the same again and more is going towards the budget that is effectively ring-fenced: the Communications budget – seen as vital – that brings us the Haringey People publication.
What is the next important public service that will be cut before the council tackles the sacred cow of propaganda-on-the-rates?
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Billy I fully accept that the "Communications" budget is not the only area of waste and is unlikely to be the largest. However, I suspect that a higher proportion of the "Communications" budget is likely to be wasteful than any other budget. It has a symbolic value due to the intensive nature of the waste.
The OBOF/patronage-fund was a one-off while the PR-Communications budget is recurring.
(I was trying to find £600,000 for street cleaning in the quickest, easiest way, in a manner that would not cause a loss of front-line services. Slashing the propaganda budget would kill two birds with one stone).
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Actually, Clive. I'm beginning to agree with you that some "communications" expenditure is clearly Koberite PR. One example is the money wasted on the disgraceful sales pitch for the Spurs social cleansing scheme in North Tottenham.
But isn't it time you sent in some small modest F.o.I to get that communications budget taken apart? So the useful and legally required bits are funded. While the frills and political waste is cut.
Or do I have to do it for you?
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Frankly Alan, that sounds like a good idea. I'd like to see that budget dismembered – and at least some of the money put to better use. What did you have in mind? A breakdown? List all annual amounts over £X ? What is required by statute and what is discretionary?
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Be careful what you wish for Clive. A single library would be enough to meet statutory requirements.
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A lot of councils are doing the same, which is no excuse of course. Perhaps it's something to do with the millions the government are cutting from local authority funding?
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Permalink Reply by alex on
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Does anyone know if money has been cut from the budget for street weedspraying or whether the contract has changed. The last two years there has been a noticeable increase in the number of weeds growing out of the gutter and on pavement edges. The dry, hot weather seems to have killed them off, but a month or so ago some streets were beginning to look as though the Council was planning to return them to nature, with weeds up to 2ft high.
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