THURROCK Council not only spent six nights cleaning its own part of the A13 last week – it also cleaned up after the Highways Agency too.
Drivers travelling between the A1089 Dock Approach Road and the Five Bells interchange at Vange overnight last week will have found lanes closed as council staff cleared fly tips and litter from the side of the road.
And last week council staff cleaned up parts of the A13 and A1089 which the Highways Agency is supposed to maintain.
The agency had spent one night cleaning the road around Lakeside – but left piles of black bags dumped in lay-bys which were then closed off.
It also had left large white bags in other lay-bys, supposedly for people to place their rubbish in – but then failed to take them away.
Council Leader, Cllr John Kent, speaking on Tuesday follows the eastern A13 clear up, said: “It’s hard to believe, but we picked up more than 12 tonnes of material from the road itself and over three tonnes of litter from the roadside over the last week and a bit.
“It’s not a long stretch of dual carriageway, so it should be a surprise how much is there, but sadly it is not. We all know that people, ordinary people like ourselves throw rubbish from their vehicles – it’s not all made up of rubbish from poorly secured lorry loads – so we are all responsible, either for causing the mess or for not doing anything about it by reporting what we see.”
He added: “We will be out and about clearing the same stretch again in the summer and it costs Thurrock’s taxpayers £24,000 each time we do it!”
Cllr Kent said: “The cost of these operations is stunning, so I can understand why the Highways Agency and their contractors put it off. It is a horrible, dirty and thankless task. When you do it properly, no-one notices, when you don’t, everyone moans.
“But the A13 and Dock Approach from Wennington to the docks, had gone beyond what was acceptable.
“Our chief executive wrote to his counterpart at the agency and I did the same. That obviously was not enough. Just a portion of the road was cleared and the mess was left on the roadside.
“The agency had also left their white bags to spill over with rubbish and to attract more of the same.
“I said enough! I told our environmental team to clean up their mess and to bill the agency. I’m not saying we’ve done a perfect job – we can’t close that part of the road
"I just hope the agency will take the hint and will pay the bill winging its way to their HQ.”
