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WALTHAM FOREST: Street cleaning firm under fire

8:40am Wednesday 25th June 2008

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"TEETHING problems" have been blamed for an increase in dirty and littered streets since the local authority changed cleaning contractors.

The council promoted the launch of its new street cleaning contract with Kier, promising tax-payers tidier streets because Kier's performance is measured on the cleanliness of streets and grounds rather than the frequency of cleaning.

However since the new contractors started earlier this month, some residents say they have not lived up to expectations and there has been more litter.

Beth Hamer, 39, of Badlis Road, Walthamstow, photographed piles of empty fast food cartoons and cups in Jewel Road which she walks along twice a day to the Underground station, after spotting a marked increase in the amount of litter dropped by people passing between Hoe Street and Forest Road.

She said: "I think its disgusting that the streets have been allowed to get into this state. I understand that teething problems can occur but this is a street where people have their homes and these people pay for street cleaning services in their council tax.

"It is a busy road, so there has always been quite a lot of litter from chicken shops, but it was picked up fairly quickly.

"I seem to remember that this new contract was trumpeted as being innovative because the measure of success was not how often the streets were cleaned but rather how clean they actually were. So far I can see, Kier has failed in both respects here."

Ms Hamer, a television commissioning manager, reported the state of her street to the local authority and contacted Cllr Geraldine Reardon and cabinet member for environment Cllr Bob Belam, who she said were both sympathetic.

But Cllr Belam admitted there had been "teething problems" with Kier, which they were trying to resolve by getting more street cleaners on the street.

He responded: "The contract with Kier did encounter some teething problems, but this is nothing out of the ordinary when dealing with such a large-scale workload.

"The council has worked closely with them to reschedule their cleaning rota and ensure these delays are no longer an issue.

"We want to be the greenest borough in London.

"As one condition of this contract is that Kier's performance be based on the cleanliness of streets and grounds - rather than the frequency of cleaning - I am confident working with Kier will help us achieve this goal."

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technomist, walthamstow says...
10:00am Wed 25 Jun 08

In the High Street ward, the local councillors, Labour and LibDem alike, have miniscule majorities: There are many reason for this, but the poor state of the local streets was one of the key factors causing people to switch their votes at the last council elections.

I was talking to James O'Rourke, a local LibDem councillor who won last time, about this very thing a couple of days ago. We agreed that the High Street was absolutely disgusting as a result of the new contractors.

These kinds of teething troubles do occur with new contractors, but Kier had better buck up their ideas fast, because this is a very serious matter. Many people round here are pretty fed up with the value they get from their public services.

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Gary, e17 says...
10:56am Wed 25 Jun 08

so we are being told that a new contractor could not cope with the new work we are paying it for. Why run the business in the first place? Streets are a mess partly because people are **** poor at disposing of rubbish correctly, the council can get the blame but how about er residents??

The recycling service is extremely poor and to say we are going to be the greenest borough is pie in the sky.

Compulsory recycling means compulsory collection and of more stuff than they do at present.

we are missing opportunities to recycly more yb not collecting from pubs,bars restaurants and indeed any business that has recyclable waste, forgive the pun but "Sort it out"

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technomist, walthamstow says...
11:36am Wed 25 Jun 08

I do agree that we should all be much more mindful of our waste. The problems in the streets are not all just down to residents, the recycling policy and the disposal of domestic rubbish, however. There are also thousands of visitors to the area in any week, as well as market vendors and businesses contributing massively to the problems. (Just take a walk along the back of the shops on the High Street if you want a pretty disgusting insight into the scale of all this. James O'Rourke once took me on a tour of it all and has been taking photographs of this regularly to demonstrate how the previous arrangements weren't working.

The 'teething problems' Bob Belam has alluded to could be spelled out a bit more clearly, but simply laying blame is not always the best way forward. I think in any case its really a matter for Keir's management to solve as quickly as they can, understanding that their performance is being watched very closely indeed by residents who have no longer have any compunction about bringing these matters up with councilors and who will be voting accordingly. Most of the people I speak to are expecting higher standards of service delivery.

Anyone seeing uncollected waste in the street should email their councilors immediately and ask them to report back on how the problems have been dealt with. In the High Street, their councillors can be emailed at:

cllr.liaquat.ali@wal
thamforest.gov.uk,
cllr.james.o'rourke@
walthamforest.gov.uk
,
cllr.johar.khan@walt
hamforest.gov.uk

Bob Belam is the councillor in overall charge of this portfolio, and has his own website at:

http://bobbelam.myco
uncillor.org.uk/



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technomist, walthamstow says...
11:37am Wed 25 Jun 08

I do agree that we should all be much more mindful of our waste. The problems in the streets are not all just down to residents, the recycling policy and the disposal of domestic rubbish, however. There are also thousands of visitors to the area in any week, as well as market vendors and businesses contributing massively to the problems. (Just take a walk along the back of the shops on the High Street if you want a pretty disgusting insight into the scale of all this. James O'Rourke once took me on a tour of it all and has been taking photographs of this regularly to demonstrate how the previous arrangements weren't working.

The 'teething problems' Bob Belam has alluded to could be spelled out a bit more clearly, but simply laying blame is not always the best way forward. I think in any case its really a matter for Keir's management to solve as quickly as they can, understanding that their performance is being watched very closely indeed by residents who have no longer have any compunction about bringing these matters up with councilors and who will be voting accordingly. Most of the people I speak to are expecting higher standards of service delivery.

Anyone seeing uncollected waste in the street should email their councilors immediately and ask them to report back on how the problems have been dealt with. In the High Street, their councillors can be emailed at:

cllr.liaquat.ali@wal

thamforest.gov.uk,
cllr.james.o'rourke@

walthamforest.gov.uk

,
cllr.johar.khan@walt

hamforest.gov.uk

Bob Belam is the councillor in overall charge of this portfolio, and has his own website at:

http://bobbelam.myco

uncillor.org.uk/



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Walthamster, E17 says...
12:54pm Wed 25 Jun 08

Why does the council keep changing contractors, when the odl ones worked better? The current recycling firm leaves a lot more litter than the previous one. What was wrong with keeping the previous firm?

In Blackhorse Rd area, I haven't noticed any difference in street cleanliness this month. The streets have been a mess since about mid-2007, and I never see a street-sweeper any more.

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Sean, E17 says...
7:56pm Wed 25 Jun 08

I was unaware the cleaning contract had changed hands, but I was aware that our road has not been cleaned for at least the last 10 days. I complained about it a couple of days ago. Why the contract had to change hands I dont know, the street cleaning was fine beforehand, except for when the recycling team had been and scattered rubbish all over the street of course !!

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Dave, Chingford says...
10:12am Thu 26 Jun 08

The usual lame excuses are rolled about about 'teething problems' etc, give it a month or so and the council will trumpet proudly (prob, in WFM, Waltham Forest's answer to Pravda) that it's all fixed with the phrase beloved of government/local councils 'Valuable Lessons will be leant', whilst everyone else will see even more crap on the streets (if that is actually possible)

Dave...

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Michelle, Walthamstow says...
3:20pm Thu 26 Jun 08

"Teething problems " This must be Waltham Forest Councils most used phrase. Whenever something goes wrong it,s teething problems but just for how many months can they get away with that excuse. Recycling (although compulsory) is still not always completely collected, and when it is they leave a trail of mess behind them and amzingly they take at least twice as long as the old team to clear my road meaning it is blocked for over an hour. Teething problems over a year later.
When the Street cleaners do come they leave a nice bag or two sometimes three usually deposited outside someones house and then it never gets collected, it gets ripped open by foxes, rats and anything else that is hungery and is then left strawn across the pavements for weeks not days.

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Dan, E17 says...
3:37pm Thu 26 Jun 08

Good point Michelle - what is it with the street cleaners leaving those horrid grey waste sacks everywhere?

Why do they not pick them up straight after they have finished sweeping?

WF Guardian should do a piece about this.

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Alan Smith, Leytonstone says...
5:14pm Thu 26 Jun 08

Am I alone in thinking that the chicken shops should be forced to provide some sort of litter picking patrol?

For what it's worth, the streets in the Cann Hall ward haven't been swept for at least ten days - annoying because that area seems to have more than its fair share of ignorant, littering dolts. And by far the most numerous item of garbage (as far as I can tell) is the endless detritus of the borough's numberless chicken shops.

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Tony, E17 says...
6:29pm Thu 26 Jun 08

Chelmsford Road E17 has not been swept once during the whole of June. It is absolutely disgusting. Most of the streets round Queens Road area are filthy.

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Technomist, walthamstow says...
10:29am Fri 27 Jun 08

Rats have always been with us, but are being seen more and more in the High Street area.

I would ask Bob Belam to let us know in detail , in these columns, what these 'teething problems' are and give us a firm date when we can see on the streets what Kier is offering as its best performance. Then we can all judge for ourselves if the council has given the contract to the right people or not.

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William, E17 says...
11:02am Fri 27 Jun 08

Why is this MsHamer taking photographs of rubbish? Seems like a strange hobby, but then perhaps she is planning to commission a television programme called "chicken patrol" with Cllr Bob?

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caroline, walthamstow says...
12:33pm Fri 27 Jun 08

Will the council tell us -
how much kier is being paid
what targets they have been set
exactly what the financial penalties are for failing to meet these targets
whether they will consider taking the service back in house or re-opening the tender, if and when Kier turn round and say 'oops we quoted you a price that was unrealistically low, give us more council taxpayers money'.

Or will they just claim this information is too commercially sensitive to be revealed, i wonder?

It is hardly surprising that street cleaning has deteriorated given the fact they sacked 90 staff and scrapped all overtime on the first day of their contract, according to the WF Guardian.

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Not me guv, Ludd says...
12:51pm Fri 27 Jun 08

caroline wrote:
Will the council tell us -
how much kier is being paid
what targets they have been set
exactly what the financial penalties are for failing to meet these targets
whether they will consider taking the service back in house or re-opening the tender, if and when Kier turn round and say 'oops we quoted you a price that was unrealistically low, give us more council taxpayers money'.

Or will they just claim this information is too commercially sensitive to be revealed, i wonder?

It is hardly surprising that street cleaning has deteriorated given the fact they sacked 90 staff and scrapped all overtime on the first day of their contract, according to the WF Guardian.
You missed a question there:

"Is anything suspected by councillors about the recent deliberate behaviour of people now or previously employed by the council, or any other persons currently employed by Kier which has hampered Kier in fulfilling its contractual obligations?

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jacqui, Lansdowne road says...
7:11pm Fri 27 Jun 08

I would like to add my voice to the many complaining about the increase in rubbish on the streets. My neighbours and I have all logged complaints with the council. The idea that this is because of teething problems doesn't hold any water with me...Last November we had the same problem when the leaves were on the ground and this was before the new contractor took over. Litter is dropped in all Londn Boroughs but this is no excuse for lack of street cleaners. The recycling people also drop litter and we have constantly complained about this although little has changed. I am fed up with all the rubbish and a little ashamed. As a friend came over for lunch this week from a South London Borough and commented on it I am even more ashamed!

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Tom, Walthamstow says...
8:24pm Fri 27 Jun 08

The recycling crews are part of the problem. They are always in a tearing hurry. They leave behind stuff they shiuld collect (like clothing). Most weeks they drop bottles, leaving a trickle of broken glass down the middle of the road. Then the streetcleaners come along, but they only clean by the kerb, not in the middle of the road. All told, a rubbish service.

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Ian, says...
12:13am today Sat 28 Jun 08

The LBWF rubbish bins around the area of High Street ward where I live were emptied on the Tuesday 24th June. Three out of the four are already completely stuffed full of rubbish by the end of the afternoon on Friday 27th. The pavements are once again being used as replacement bins and I presume will be all weekend. A local shopkeeper tells me that the council is supposed to empty the real bins once a week but does so much less frequently in reality. How this can be considered sufficient in an area surrounded by takeaway food shops just five minutes walk in any direction is anyone's guess. On each of these bins above a Waltham Forest logo is the statement "ACHIEVING A QUALITY ENVIRONMENT TOGETHER". I believe this is not intended to be ironic.

At just before 2pm on 25th June a Verdant general refuse truck came down the street I live on and the workers piled all the recycling crates containing householder sorted bottles, cans, cardboard and paper indicriminately into the back of the truck. Envelopes blew all over the street which had only just that very morning been cleaned by the Kier street sweeper team after weeks of neglect.

Currently, rubbish collected from the pavements during the Kier visit on the 25th is still sitting in plastic sacks at the corner of the street waiting to be collected by someone. More than likely they will be split open and kicked in every direction by weekend drunks.

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Technomist, walthamstow says...
10:12am Sat 28 Jun 08

I had the great good fortune to bump into Bob Belam in a pub last night. He was very friendly and did not mind when I buttonholed him about the rubbish. He said that he has personally had a couple of hundred emails about rubbish in the streets in the last couple of days which have been passed on to the responsible council officers to deal with. He is concerned however that if they are all dealt with at once, in an un-co-ordinated manner other parts of the borough may suffer as resources get shifted about. He knows that people are concerned but he also wants to have a chance to see what the new contractors Keir are capable of achieving when their routines are clearer, without them putting on special efforts 'firefighting'. His comments about reasons for the 'teething problems' may be unprintable.

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keith, The Bell says...
11:08pm Sun 29 Jun 08

Why send emails to the man who got the contract signed & sealed in the first place? The right people and the right person is surely at Keir Support Services under which their Street Cleaning activities, are just one of 6 further operations under the company umbrella of support servicing for local authorities. Their email contact to whom all complaints AND DAMMING pictures should be sent is;
kim.lewis@keir.co.uk


I am sending in loads from one of Bob Belam's own constituency streets, Filthy Farnan Avenue, in which he ought to carry out a Ward Walk on his way to the pub to meet Technomist.

Just for a further joke take a look at the company brochure for Keir Support Services at:
http://www.keir.co.u
k/uploaded/fileuploa
d/KSS%20brochure.pdf


Go to pages 8 & 9 where you might well understand why YOUR street hasn't been cleaned. There are 6 operatives all working one street within 50 yards of each other!
ps: Anyone wanting to understand the reasoning behind the way LWBF Cabinet does their contracting work might care to look at the Keir transport (if you get to see any) used in the borough. It mostly carries LBWF branding and 'strangely' some have LBWF Fleet Numbers on the vehicle's bodywork- WHY?

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Technomist, walthamstow says...
5:31pm Mon 30 Jun 08

keith wrote:
Why send emails to the man who got the contract signed & sealed in the first place? The right people and the right person is surely at Keir Support Services under which their Street Cleaning activities, are just one of 6 further operations under the company umbrella of support servicing for local authorities. Their email contact to whom all complaints AND DAMMING pictures should be sent is;
kim.lewis@keir.co.uk


I am sending in loads from one of Bob Belam's own constituency streets, Filthy Farnan Avenue, in which he ought to carry out a Ward Walk on his way to the pub to meet Technomist.

Just for a further joke take a look at the company brochure for Keir Support Services at:
http://www.keir.co.u
k/uploaded/fileuploa
d/KSS%20brochure.pdf


Go to pages 8 & 9 where you might well understand why YOUR street hasn't been cleaned. There are 6 operatives all working one street within 50 yards of each other!
ps: Anyone wanting to understand the reasoning behind the way LWBF Cabinet does their contracting work might care to look at the Keir transport (if you get to see any) used in the borough. It mostly carries LBWF branding and 'strangely' some have LBWF Fleet Numbers on the vehicle's bodywork- WHY?
When I went out to the pub on Friday I had no intention of talking rubbish until at least my third pint. Seeing Bob Belam was an added bonus.

I have a friend who has adopted a rubbish bin near his house and is photographing it daily to keep a record of the state it gets in. That might seem a bit sad, but he is one of many people who are concerned about the state of our streets and he does not want to later be told he was exaggerating.

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Dan, E17 says...
12:04am Tue 1 Jul 08

We are the empowered masses. There is even a web-site to post photos of council neglect.

http://www.fixmystre

et.com/

I don't know whether anyone takes notice though. I do get the impression that the council do take notice of repeated complaining, so persistance does seem to pay off (it is ridiculous that you have to report everything five times though - and a waste of tax payers money). Good that Bob Belam was so open though. I have the impression that he does have the best intentions, you know.

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Tony, E17 says...
8:18am Tue 1 Jul 08

"We want to be the greenest borough in london." Does Bob Belam think that if he keeps repeating these meaningless statements we will stop seeing the unemptied litter bins and rubbish compacting into the gutters? I have now been advised on 3 occasions that my street was "litter picked" on a particular day when it clearly wasn't unless the street cleaner was incredibly selective about what he picked. No street cleaning for over 4 weeks where I live. Very depressing.

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