Garden waste collection update

Anyone hoping for a brown bin collection in their road will be disappointed. I have had this reply following my request that streets off Bentinck Street receive the same service that almost all other residents in Wirral get. Not good.

Dear Mr Cleary

 

Thank you for your enquiry regarding garden waste collection services to your road. Unfortunately we do not have any plans currently to roll out this service to other roads in the borough, however this is constantly under review and should things change we will of course notify you. Your request is though noted.

 

Wirral Council is currently supporting home composting details of which can be found on www.wirral.getcomposting.com

 

As part of the new scheme, which is being run in partnership with Straight plc, low price compost bins are available to residents from as little as £14 for a 220 litre Compost Converter or £17 for a 330 litre model.

 

A wide range of other home composters and composting accessories are also be available to Wirral residents, including wormeries, kitchen caddies and bases as well as water butts.

 

Residents can take advantage of these special offers by visiting the 'Get Composting' website. Alternatively, residents can order their home compost bins by calling 0844 571 4444. On this number, residents can also receive helpful composting tips and advice from the composting team on how to get started.

Derby Road update

I have now received a reply to this letter I recently sent to Highways regarding road safety along Derby Road. It's pretty uninspiring and I'll be chasing this further.

I refer to your recent enquiry to Streetscene concerning the above.

 

The letter your refer to of August 2009 was specifically in answer to a request for the provision of waiting restrictions in Derby Road, due to parking associated with staff and visitors to St Catherine's Hospital. Whilst I do not consider the situation you raise in Elm Grove is related to the issues raised in the original letter my reply referred to, you will appreciate that the redevelopment of the hospital is still on going and whilst many of the staff have been relocated, the additional parking spaces are not yet available and there is likely to be additional contractors vehicles using the area during the redevelopment.

 

The hospital redevelopment will also provide a 'Puffin' crossing near to the main entrance on Derby Road.This will create natural breaks in traffic which will allow easier access on to Derby Road from it's side roads and also reduce vehicle speeds.

Activity Report for August

Welcome to my latest monthly report. Below you will find the latest details on the Church Road development, our most recent attempts to improve road safety, an update on Parks’ privatisation and the usual streets news.

But first, a quick reminder that Wirral Council is currently updating its voter registration records. You should have had a post card about this recently. If your details have changed or you are not registered to vote don’t forget to notify the Council. If you need any help with this please get in touch.

Church Road: yet more delays

Residents in the Church Road area are hugely frustrated by the slow progress on planned retail and housing developments. Failure to agree terms with existing property owners is one problem. On the retail side, it seems that, at best, only four tenants have been found for the eight proposed units. The latest Council documents show that Wirral Council is being asked for additional funding to secure stage one of the retail development.

In the current climate trying to secure any additional funding is extremely difficult. This simply shows how damaging the years of delay have been. If you would like to study the full Council documents on this matter you can do so here.

Road Safety in and around Derby Road

Recently the Green Party has been out and about in the Derby Road area conducting our residents’ survey. Road safety is high on the list of concerns and in particular:

• poor visibility for vehicles entering Derby Road from the Church Road side streets
• lack of any pedestrian crossing facilities on Derby Road
• speed and volume of traffic along Elm Grove

All of these concerns have been detailed in a recent letter sent to Traffic Management. You can read that letter on my website. We’ll also be posting any reply there.

Parks privatisation confirmed

Last month we reported in detail on the Council’s misguided and hasty plans to privatise countryside services. Despite all the complaints this was confirmed earlier this week. The Wirral Globe has the story in full.

Streets update

On the back of our Survey work we have alerted Wirral Council to a raft of items that need to be addressed. These include:

• Our alert about the shocking state of the pavements around the new apartment block on Holt Hill/Warrington Street received a fairly feeble response which you can read here. We’ll continue to monitor this.
• We have reported broken street lights in Hinderton Close (column 6) and Victoria Road (also column 6).
• Graffiti on the entrance to Helmingham Grove has been reported.
• Unfortunately, the alleyway between Victoria Road and Chesnut Grove is frequently disfigured. We have reported the latest graffiti and have also requested that the extensive overgrowth be trimmed.

As usual, if there are any issues you would like to raise please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Road safety on Derby Road/Elm Grove

A lot of residents raise road safety issues in and around Derby Road. Today I've sent this email to Traffic Management:

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Ref: PLB/TC/1/1 Bir 317366

I am writing in relation to the above reference number and the wider issue of road safety in the Derby Road area of Birkenhead.

Your letter dated 4 August 2009 suggested that the relocation of staff from St. Catherine’s Hospital would alleviate traffic concerns along Derby Road. One year on, the feedback I receive from residents suggests that this is not the case. In particular I have had numerous contacts from residents in the area raising a number of issues as follows:

All of the roads running between Derby Road and Church Road have been closed off to vehicles at the Church Road end. Exiting these roads onto Derby Road is hazardous due to poor visibility. If anything, this problem has intensified since the resurfacing of Derby Road which appears to have led to increased traffic speeds.

As access to Derby Road from Church Road has been closed there is heavy traffic along Elm Grove which is open at both ends. Residents along Elm Grove are very concerned by the volume and speed of traffic.

There are no crossing facilities for pedestrians along the entire length of Derby Road.

In view of the above I would very much appreciate feedback on the following points so that I can in turn relay this to residents:

What plans, if any, are there to review and calm traffic speeds along Derby Road and improve safety for vehicles accessing Derby Road from the Church Road side?

What plans, if any, are there to improve crossing facilities for pedestrians along Derby Road?

What steps have been taken to monitor road safety along Elm Grove? Are there any plans to implement road safety measures on Elm Grove?

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

Pat Cleary