Activity report for February

Here's an update on some of what I have been up to during February.

Thanks to those residents who have reported faulty street lighting. I have been reporting these to Streetscene as and when I become aware of them. Some have already been fixed but others remain outstanding.

In our residents' survey some people say that lights are not bright enough. Well,most of the street lighting was installed some 50 years ago and is pretty, shall we say, old. Modern lighting can give a better effect and has been installed on some busy roads but, as usual, cost is the issue in rolling out better and more efficient street lighting. It seems just to stand still, Wirral street lighting needs around £1m per year but only gets a fraction of this. My worry is that as the recession bites, funding will be further squeezed.

Following the comments on poor quality repairs by residents on Craven Street and Paterson Street I met with Maritime Housing on February 25th for over one hour. The meeting was very constructive and Maritime promised to get back to each of the residents who raised concerns through me. If you are a social housing tenant and have any issues you would like me to raise on your behalf, please let me know.

Litter is of course a constant complaint. I’ve recently spotted or been alerted to particular eyesores on Hilton Close, Borough Road (Glover Street) and Mount Grove Place (Whetstone Lane). I’ve photographed each of these which you can see here and have reported each of them to Streetscene.

Our door-to-door survey of the ward continues and issues relating to crime and anti-social behaviour feature prominently. I will be taking these to the police before the end of March and will report back during March.

Earlier this month I attended the Council meeting where the withdrawal of funding for community services across Wirral was confirmed. The event was a sorry day for local democracy and you can read my full report here.

To add fuel to the fire we now learn that Council tax bills are to rise by 4.4%. Effectively we are being asked to pay more for reduced council services. There will be more on this in the next edition of my ward newsletter which you can expect to receive by the end of April.