Road safety on Whetstone Lane/Rodney Street

I've had the following message regarding the proposed safety measures at the junction of Rodney Street and Whetstone Lane. This is good news and should make the junction a lot safer.

"The junction of Rodney Street and Whetstone Lane was one of a number of traffic regulation orders that was recently advertised. The process of advertisement seeks to find if there are any objections to the order.

I am please pleased to inform you that I did not receive any objections to the order at the junction of Rodney Street and Whetstone Lane.

The process of introducing a traffic regulation order requires that were no objections have been received or resolved the order should now be advertised to make the traffic regulation order operative. This will again involve advertising a number of traffic regulation orders.

An order will also be sent to our contractor to mark out the yellow lines on site. This work should be carried out some time in the near future."

Activity Report

Another busy update with details below on Council tax increases, road safety, voting rights and the usual, all important, street issues.

Council tax increase confirmed

This week it was confirmed that Council Tax in Wirral will rise by an average of 1.67% from April. The rise has been kept down by an unusually generous settlement from central government but, nevertheless, compares unfavourably with many other authorities including Liverpool where the increase will be just 0.5%.

Major breakthrough on road safety

Our campaign to make roads safer and bring down Wirral’s poor record on casualties saw a major breakthrough this month. Wirral Council has announced that all residential areas will see 20mph limits. While it is disappointing that current plans will take four years to implement, this is very welcome news. You can get more details here.

Don’t lose your right to vote

Elections are fast approaching. Local elections take place on May 6^th and there is very likely to be a national general election on the same day. Yesterday it was revealed that 3.5 million people are not registered to vote and this includes over half of all 18 to 24 year olds.

While conducting our residents survey, we have identified many people not on the register and handed out many voter registration forms. We have also helped many people to register for a postal vote. This is especially useful for disabled people or those who through work, study or travel will be away on May 6^th.

Please contact me directly if;

• you think you may not be registered to vote and need to check;
• you know you are not on the register and need a registration form;
• you would like a postal voting form.

Streets update

• The war on fly-tipping continues. Alerted by residents to a major eye-sore behind houses on Borough Road (adjacent to Victoria Fields) I immediately sent photos to the Council. Within days the site was cleared. There was a similar outcome on Chesnut Grove where months of accumulated rubbish by the electricity sub-station was promptly removed. I am now seeking a similar result having been called out about the extensive fly-tipping in the alleyway between Elmswood and Harrowby Road.
• Alleyway gates behind Briardale Road have been repaired and on the same road a new lantern has been ordered for the day-burning light.
• The car park linking Egan Court and Athol Street has now been cleared of overgrowing vegetation.
• The missing yellow line opposite St Catherines Hospital on Derby Road has now been restored. This should help ease congestion.
• Broken lights on Victoria Road, Carnforth Close, St. Catherines Gardens and Oak Bank have now been repaired.
• Graffiti on Ridley Street has now been removed and I have reported graffiti on Park Street by Wood Close.

If there are any issues affecting you please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Breakthrough on road safety

Our campaign to improve road safety is bearing real fruit. According to the Wirral Globe , the borough will see 20mph established across all residential areas. While it is disappointing that this will take four years to complete it nevertheless looks like a real step forward. Hopefully this will see Wirral drop down the national leage table and prevent many families enduring the heart-ache that accompanies road casualties.

Broken lights reported

Our residents' survey always throws up street lights that are out of order. Today I have reported the day burning light pictured on Briardale Road as well as the following lights that are currently not working:

Columns 14A and 16A on Carnforth Close, CH41 2TX
Column 4 on Victoria Road, CH42 (outside the Victoria Lodge pub)
Column 1 in St Catherines Gardens, CH42 7JJ (by junction with Derby Road)
Column 4, Oak Bank, CH41 2TS

Borough Road clean up

Glad to see that this eyesore behind the houses on Borough Road by Victoria Fields has now been cleared.

Well done to the street cleaning team for responding so quickly to my request.

Congestion on Derby Road

Congestion on Derby Road has been a real problem since the road was resurfaced. Unfortunately, the Council has been very slow about replacing road markings. I was, therefore, glad to hear this week that, following my complaint, the single yellow line running from opposite St Catherines Hospital as far as Harrowby Road will be replaced "asap".

Wirral Dog Wardens

Had a very useful chat today with one of Wirral's dog wardens (there are three in total). Dog muck is a huge problem and something I get more complaints about than anything else.

So what can you do?

If you know someone is failing to clean up dog mess you can report them to the local dog wardens. Just ring 647 8799. You will need an address or alternatively a car registration number. A warden will pay the dog owner a visit and explain their obligations with respect to handling dog waste. If a second complaint is received then a warning letter can be issued. Subsequent complaints can lead to a prosecution but this does require a witness prepared to give evidence. You can also report a stray dog on the same number.

Anyone caught allowing their dog to foul can be issued with a £50 penalty notice by a warden or a police community support officer. The whole of Wirral including all beaches are covered by the 1996 Dog Fouling Act.

As long as it's in a tied bag, dog waste can be placed in any litter bin or a green wheelie bin. It does not have to be placed in a dog litter bin.

Wirral, unlike most authorities, has its own dog kennels. Around 1,000 dogs were handed in last year. If you are interested in adopting a stray call 647 8799. There is a charge of £55. The kennels are on Corporation Road, CH41 4JZ.

There will be a dog wardens clinic on Seymour Street on February 19th. This will include a microchipping id service costing £5 per animal. I understand that anyone using an RSPCA approved clinic needs to have their dog microchipped.