Darlington council defends claims it 'can't keep streets and bins clean'

Darlington Borough Council defended itself from claims it "can't keep the streets and bins clean" with street cleaning "well below the standard required for years", aired at a recent meeting.

The concerns were highlighted following a report which mentioned “lack of emptying of litter and dog bins, which had arisen due to staff absenteeism and sickness”.

Council officers said there was “a resource issue that was impacting the service with bins being full”, affected by hot weather.

Councillor Ian Haszeldine asked: “What was the reason for litter not getting picked up, the grass not getting cut properly, the gulleys not being cleaned, more flooding than usual, grass growing in gulleys, back lanes have got grass growing 18 inches high. Can you tell me why that’s happening?”

Cllr Andy Keir, cabinet member for local services, replied: “Services are at the same level. Grass is getting cut.

“There was a one-off issue. I think it was to do mainly on the west side of the town where we had a couple of people who were off.

“Normally we fill the gaps with some people from the agencies, but the agencies are finding it very difficult to find people, so there’s a double whammy there.

Cllr Andy Keir. Picture: Northern Echo.

“There’s still areas of concern. We’re looking at it. Hopefully it won’t happen again. We’re taking steps so that doesn’t happen again.

“I think the service is meeting its obligations.”

Cllr Matthew Snedker said: “There was a period when bins in streets and parks were absolutely overflowing with litter and dog waste, and it was not acceptable.”

He said there was “a persistent and regular flooding problem in College ward”.

Cllr Matthew Snedker. Picture: Gareth Lightfoot.

He added: “The level of footway and highway sweeping is not meeting the desired standard of residents, causing anxiety and stress to them at these times of heavy rain, which are only getting worse and more frequent.

“I’ve visited residents with driveways and gardens underwater. I’ve seen the videos of basements being pumped out.

“And I’ve traced this flooding back to road drains that are choked with sludge and grit and grass sprouting out of them.

“Telling residents you’re finding things difficult and you hope it won’t happen again just won’t cut it.

“The level of street cleansing has been far below the standard required for years now.

“And residents are rightly questioning whether the council has its priorities straight when it can lavish money on a fireworks display but it can’t keep the streets and bins clean.”

Cllr Keir advised to report the problems through an app: “That’s the way it’s going to get fixed.

“There was a deluge. If there’s a road where we have that type of issue, we should find out the root cause of that.

“If there’s blocked drains getting reported the council will get out there, absolutely. If that’s not happening then escalate it.

“It’s something we need to make sure we try to reduce as much as possible, so use the app, report the problem and we’ll get it fixed. That’s the message we give to everybody.”

Cllr Bryony Holroyd said: “I was told in a recent email exchange that there are 60 blocked drains along Coniscliffe Road, for example, and no capacity to unblock them.

“I’ve been reporting an issue with blocked drains in a location that’s at high risk of flooding since February, without any successful unblocking occurring.”

Cllr Keir said: “Keep reporting them because obviously that’s the way we get things done.”

Cllr Hilary Allen said: “The current method of repairing potholes is in my view an abysmal failure. They’re not lasting months, let alone years.”

Cllr Keir said the council’s strategy had been to cover areas rather than dealing with individual potholes piecemeal.

He said: “If you’re telling me that potholes are occurring in roads that are already done, that is quite a disturbing issue.

“Certainly I think the strategy’s correct. That is a better way of getting it done.”