And the answer is....

.....zero. That's the number of prosecutions for fly-tipping in Birkenhead and Tranmere over the past three years. Hope that reassures you.

There has also been a big decline in the number of penalties/prosecutions for littering across Wirral over the same period.

The information comes in a recent message I received from Wirral Council which is copied below:


Thank you for your request for information shown below which has been passed to me as the Information Manager.  Please see council’s response below which I trust you will find of use.

There have not been any successful prosecutions for fly tipping in Birkenhead & Tranmere in any of the last three financial years.

The Council does not hold littering figures by ward, but Borough wide figures are below:-.

Year            Fixed Penalty Notices s    No of successful prosecutions

07-08           474                                                     32

08-09           277                                                     15

09-10           176                                                       3

Activity Report for June

Welcome to another monthly update.

Details below on the dire state of our roads and pavements, Wirral’s cuts agenda and the usual Streets update.

A hole lot of bother

Something I receive regular complaints about is the state of our roads. As someone who gets around by bicycle some of the pot holes on our roads are frankly lethal.

I was therefore very keen to study the recently released planned maintenance programme for our roads and pavements over the coming year. Unfortunately, the list comes as a huge disappointment for residents in Birkenhead and Tranmere. If the total budget of £1.95m was allocated equally to each ward we would be receiving almost £90,000. However, the Council list only identifies three streets in Birkenhead and Tranmere earmarked for improvement totalling £27,000. Compare this with neighbouring Rock Ferry where over 20 streets and pavements are listed.

Are your Councillors taking this issue seriously? This is a question every resident in Birkenhead and Tranmere is entitled to ask.

You can view the planned programme in full via my web site.

Cuts: Are you affected?

If the monies available for road maintenance are hopelessly inadequate at the moment just wait until the full force of government cuts are unleashed. From a local perspective Wirral Council’s new Tory and Lib Dem coalition is right behind the cuts agenda and the one thing you can be sure of is that the poor will suffer most.

Leaving aside the fact that the banking sector which created this mess is effectively getting away with it, the worrying issue for me is that the agenda in Wirral is firmly aimed at cutting services. While nobody likes paying more in tax, slashing services will hit areas like Birkenhead and Tranmere very hard. The impact on more affluent areas will be far less. We will therefore see a further increase in the massive divide between rich and poor across Wirral.

You can read more about Labour’s legacy of debt and the new regime’s cuts agenda here. If you are directly affected by local authority cutbacks please do get in touch.

Streets update

• The damaged lamp post on Argyle Street South by the corner with Hinderton Road was quickly repaired following my report.
• New street signs for Warrington Street have been ordered following my alert. The previous ones disappeared during the recent housing development.
• I recently complained about the poor arrangements for bin and cycle storage for the proposed renovation of the Quarrybank site by the YMCA on Whetstone Lane. I’m glad to say that my complaint has been upheld and the developer will have to make adjustments to the plans.

Structural maintenance programme

Wirral Council has released its list of planned works to streets and pavements for the current financial year.

You can view the full list here.

Warrington Street

It was pointed out to me recently that the street signs on Warrington Street were removed during the recent development work there.

I've just had a call from Wirral Council to say new signs have been ordered and should be in place within the next few months.

Avoiding junk mail

I get more and more complaints from residents fed up with the quantity of junk mail they receive. Today I spoke with Trading Standards and while they admit there is little they can do there are at least some steps you can take to reduce the volume of junk delivered via Royal Mail as outlined below.

Consumers who do not wish to receive junk mail can consider registering with the Mailing Preference Service for direct mail:

 

Mailing Preference Service (MPS)

Tel 0845 703 4599

E Mail: mps@dma.org.uk

Web: www.mpsonline.org.uk

 

 

For unaddressed mail and leaflets delivered by Royal Mail consumers can register with Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out at:

 

Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out

Room 130

Wheatstone House

Faraday Road

Swindon

SN3 5JW

Tel: 08457 950950

Email: optout@royalmail.com

Alley gates

I am frequently asked by residents whose rear alleys are ungated how they can go about having gates fitted. I've had a very useful response from the relevant Council officer on this which is reproduced below:

The Alleygating programme was suspended in April 2008 following the withdrawal of the external funding that supported it.

The key issues for any requests for new gating schemes are:

o        the provision of the capital costs of the scheme which include the cost of the gates, the key distribution and the labour costs. Schemes have been undertaken where the residents have generated to necessary funding from various sources.

o        ALL residents affected must agree to the scheme one objection and the scheme will not be implemented

o        Alleyway concerned is not a footpath, the scheme is primarily designed for areas of traditional back to back terraced housing to prevent burglary.

Various community focused funds exist including for example Wirral Partnership Homes Community Grants up to £10,000, Area Forum You Decide funding (this is being decided as we speak and groups have until 30^th June to make their views known.

Activity Report for May

Welcome to an update for the month of May. Details below on the recent elections, housing renewal in Tranmere, our tree preservation campaign as well as the usual streets update.

Election update

Thanks to all of you who voted Green at the local elections on May 6^th – 1,095 in total which clearly establishes us as the main challenger to Labour’s monopoly. There will be another round of local elections next May. Our hard work will continue in the meantime. You can get further details on the election results via this link.

Like the country as a whole, Wirral is now run by a coalition of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Labour has been pushed out which comes as little surprise given last year’s farcical events surrounding the proposed closure of libraries and other community facilities.

Housing renewal

Last week, the Wirral Globe carried this story on housing renewal in Tranmere and Rock Ferry. The article was basically a self congratulatory piece implying that all was well in Tranmere and what a wonderful job the former Labour-led Council had done. It included this comment by Labour Councillor George Davies, “To achieve what we have achieved in Rock Ferry and Tranmere, especially during a recession, is staggering.”

Perhaps, like me, you have a different view? Given the amount of demolition and dereliction across Tranmere in recent years not to mention the decline in local shops and the wider impact on the property market it is quite shocking to me that local representatives can appear so out of touch. Please contact me if you have any thoughts on the matter.

Tree preservation campaign

Many of you will recall the shocking events on Church Road which I reported on a few months ago when a large number of trees were destroyed without warning. The Green Party is taking steps to try and ensure that something like this never happens again. We will apply for Preservation Orders for trees that could be at risk from future development. We are currently surveying the entire ward but we need your help. Nobody knows your neighbourhood as well as you do. If you think that any tree may be at risk, then please let me know.

Streets update

Since the election I’ve been catching up on various street issues. One notable success this month involved a persistently ringing security alarm on Claughton Road. Thankfully, Environmental Health were able to respond quickly and disable the device. If you need to report any form of noise pollution call 691 8370.

Other items reported recently include:

• persistent fly-tipping on the land between Victoria Fields and Victoria Road
• day burning light on Hornby Street
• uneven paving and poor lighting on Town Road between Baytree and Rosedale
• lack of maintenance in the corner of Mersey Park opposite Carlton Mount
• graffiti and damaged street sign on Olive Mount as well as the damaged street sign on Frodsham Street
• Council officers have been out to inspect property on Marquis Street affected by encroaching vegetation from the quarry area on Holt Hill. Similarly, Venture Housing has promised to take steps to deal with shrubbery on its properties on Hillside Road which is blocking the alleyway behind Holt Road
  

As ever, if there are any issues affecting you please let me know.