ON Friday (19 June) Thurrock’s new environment chief met a couple of staff in Chafford Hundred and then explained what the council was doing to improve the service and how people can help.
Cllr Gerard Rice said: “People have been complaining that we’re not doing enough to maintain the local environment – I tend to agree – but we’re putting in right.”
He was at the Rainbow Road play area where council staff had cut the grass back – not just around the park itself, but on the road verges nearby too.
Cllr Rice said: “It’s not going to be noticeable immediately, but both the Leader of the Council and I have said we got it wrong last year with the reductions that we felt we had to make. We’re putting it right now.
“Part of the plan was to create four geographical areas across the borough and small teams to deal with the environmental issues in each locality – tidying the parks and streets – which in itself doesn’t seem such a bad idea.
“It would seem though that we cut too much, so we have told officers to employ a dozen more staff, four each for each area, and that has now started.
He added: “While I fear we will not be able to return to the great standards we were reaching 12 months ago, I have insisted that we must do better.
“Over the coming weeks people will start to see an improvement.
“For example last week the Rainbow Road area wasn’t the only part of Chafford Hundred we were tidying up. We targeted the whole estate – and if we missed somewhere, let me know. With new staff and new areas there is a good chance that to start with we won’t be 100 per cent accurate.
“I can’t guarantee we will make every square centimetre of Thurrock constantly spic-and-span, but I will say we will do our best with the resources available.
“We’ve put thousands of extra pounds into cleaning up our borough, but as part of that deal, the people of Thurrock must join with us.
“We must all take pride in our neighbourhoods. I’m not asking people to physically cut the grass or weed the verges near their homes – unfortunately there are insurance issues around that no matter how sensible it seems.
“I just ask that everybody cares; everyone makes sure they do not add to the litter and the mess; and that they let the council know when and exactly where there is a problem.”
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