Peter writes The OCC Highways dept seem to have a policy of not cleaning weeds from kerb edges and adjacent pavements. Whilst it maybe a short term money saving success the long term damage to kerbs and pavements could be colossal. The attached picture shows an extreme sized weed in Hadland Road. It must be about 3 feet tall. Peter asks has anyone seen a bigger specimen?
Well I don’t like to boast but I have seen fairly large weeds breaking through the car park that belonged to the Upper Reaches.
The back of the Ex Bellingers garage also has a mass of weeds breaking through as it waits to get permission for whatever development happens there. Not OCC highway but it does shows how quickly nature can take over a vacant plot.
We have just arrived back in Abingdon after an absence of a month. We noticed how scruffy the verges and roundabouts looked on the approach from the A34 via the Marcham road to the centre. Could be an attempt at wildflower meadows but looks more like a lack of maintenance. Whatever happened to the flower- filled boat and hanging baskets ?
Last week, pavements around the Fitzharris estate were cleared of weeds. Whether it was town or county council, I have no idea, but a good job was done and the pavements look smart again. Thank you.
I agree the OCC should be controlling weeds, however there are far too many homes with weeds on the pavement and the street in front of their house that would not take much of an effort to control or remove. A little more pride in Abingdon and community responsibility is needed to bring our standards up!
When I moved into South Abingdon in the late 60’s and even in the 70’s the council used to spray all the roads with weedkiller so they always looked pristine. However, I recently contacted the council about clearing the weeds and they said that they did not have the funding to deal with them now. I agree with John. In the 60’s and 70’s even in our, what then were council houses. people would clear all the weeds from around their houses. They had pride in the area but now people do not bother. They even put up with litter in their front gardens. It has become acceptable.
I agree people should take more care of the outside of their properties. I think in Germany it’s law to do so?
OCC aren’t saving money by leaving the weeds, as the damage caused will cost twice as much as sorting them out in the first place. They’ve stopped mowing the grass as often too, which will cause hay fever, putting more burden on the NHS. \When they do finally bother to do the grass their machinery won’t last as long as they aren’t designed to have to cut through grass that’s 3 feet tall!
I can’t understand why people in power can’t see the bigger picture.
I still clear the weeds from the back and front of my house. and a neighbour does hers. We have always done it, even when the council used to spray. It is impassable in many places now. So rarely used. many bursting through the tarmac, along brick walls.
On the other hand, the council has cleared the weeds and broken glass from the little cycle lanes through the chicanes on Preston Road, so I’m a happy camper!
I don’t necessarily disagree with the sentiment or “urge to clear the verge”…but how’s about the council – that we pay for – take some pride and responsibility for…you know…what they are responsible for? Money and funding is being cut everywhere…what actually IS the council spending money on; as every time they aren’t doing something it is due to funding.
Would it be useful if the council employed a consultant to look in to where the money that the council has is being spent? Perhaps if the consultant comes up with a report that is totally useless the council could still pay the consultants for it?
Maybe we could put the job of clearing the weeds out to a contractor, and when the contractor doesn’t do it we can rely on the council to continue to give them lots of money to not do so as well?
…if only we could work out where all the money is going…?
There is another issue here. Weedkiller contains chemicals which are toxic to wildlife, particularly birds and insects. Its widespread use is thought to be one reason behind the catastrophic decline in birds and insects (especially bees) in recent decades. The chemicals also find their way into the water and thus eventually into us. So it really isn’t a good idea to spray these chemicals about more than is absolutely necessary. Weeds destroying pavements are of course a problem, but in some places, such as sites waiting to be redeveloped, it may well be better just to let the weeds grow.
We’ve just come back from Angers where we got involved in their Journee Citoyenne. Every member of a town, village or commune, of any age, is asked to give as much or as little time as they can spare one day per year towards improving their environment.. They can choose from a whole range of projects from painting park furniture, weeding, cleaning notices and so on, all under supervision from council employees or more knowledgable volunteers.
In return a jazzy yellow tee shirt, tea in the park and friendships made with fellow helpers.
As the lady said ” The children who pick litter off the river bank today will not be the ones who drop it tomorrow.
Such a good- and copyable ? -idea
That sounds like a great idea Chris, I’d happily do a day per year, and I’m sure I could drag the wife and kids along to help. Not sure who would organise it all, as I expect health and safety would probably get involved and make it as difficult as possible.
If it were possible then maybe a facebook group and the like could be set up to spread the word and get the community involved. 🙂
Well, I’ll join the Mayor and Council and the Town Clerk in their dungarees….
The idea rather sums up the way in which the French and the British see themselves: they are Citizens with a shared responsibility for their surroundings. We are Subjects and expect our council, government or local authority to make sure things are done.
I can’t volunteer to organise the concept of Citizens Days but I would take part in local activities and will write to the council to suggest they could look into the idea.
Is it a fair expectation Chris?
So who provides the railways, the roads, the schools, the hospitals in France? Not, I think, concerned citizens.
I’ve taken part in a few litter picking mornings in Albert Park. I’ve really enjoyed them as they are a good way to meet other locals – we all get to enjoy the results.
Steve and Chris – there are several people trying to get a co-ordinated litter-picking effort under way – see the Abingdon Facebook Group and https://www.litteraction.org.uk/abingdon-against-litter – it might be worth making contact with some of them. The bigger idea of a “Citizens Day” might be worth raising at the Town Council’s Community-Led Plan meeting on 17 July.
Thank you Hester. Will do.
Lovely lovely weeds.
One man’s weed is another man’s flower…
Arriving back in Abingdon earler this week after time away, we did wonder if the distinctly scruffy look of the approach along Marcham road from the A34 was an attempt at wildflower meadows or simply neglect.
If the former then those responsible need to see the wonderful examples on French verges and roundabouts. If the latter then some serious weeding is needed !
whichever way you look at it we could all do more a little more to help ourselves. However It is not limited to weeds at ground level but also overhanging vegetation . Along the Waitrose path there are brambles and stinging nettles of which I was almost pushed into by a passing cyclist the other morning , and don’t get me started on litter.
We regularly clear the weeds from our road, as do a couple of our neighbours and it looks so much tidier. If every able-bodied person did a small amount it would soon add up.
I noticed the monks roundabout is covered in tall weeds too so he’s almost obscured. A right eyesore for visitors coming into Abingdon.
I will be happy to do my bit out side my house too!
Please could I stop paying for someone else to do it, first?
Daniel – I’m sure they’d probably argue that we already have stopped paying and now their argument will be “if you want these services reinstated you’ll have to pay more”.
…you are almost definitely correct Badger. Personally I think that there’s already enough money in the system; we’re just paying someone to not spend it very well.
Daniel – Indeed, when thinking about the council the earlier swimming pool item brought to mind the analogy that they are not achieving much just ‘treading water’ and consuming vast quantities of cash whilst doing so.
I’m sure the present weed situation came about from them noticing people doing the decent thing and clearing some of their street up with the council doing the rest, from this they assumed that if they stopped doing their duty the homeowners would make up the shortfall and as you say still pay. Bare faced cheek!
The thing I find odd is that in other areas I visit (Kidlington, Reading) street cleaning/maintenance is still carried out so why do their local authorities manage to budget for it and not ours?
Badger, I think that the issue is that your opinion on The Veil council is set simply far too high.
I wouldn’t expect them to notice anything of the sort, let alone respond adversely.
It is my opinion that the ineptitude is far greater. ‘They’ spend money on massive salaries (to, understandably get “the cream of the cream” – ha ha). They spend money on ‘consultants’ – huge sums of money – regardless of whether the advice is useful let alone valid or even merely accurate….and no doubt goodness knows what other ways they “waste money up the wall”…then look around in some misplaced ‘innocence’ wondering where all the money has gone…
As I said, I firmly believe that there’s enough money in the system. What we don’t have is the people in place to spend it appropriately.
Rather than address this, we condone it…by ‘helping’. I am not stupid, I appreciate the sentiment, but I genuinely feel we are being mugged off by stepping up, no matter how well intentioned.
I have cleared the weeds on Spring Road along the side of my house for the last three years, it this year they were done by someone else and like the work on Fitzharries they did a good job.
Daniel – V.true… we have been mugged.
Weed of the week – Just noticed a fantastic specimen, growing out of the pedestrian island at the end of Radley Road right by the mini roundabout.
I was wondering, if the kerbside gutters get choked with enough soil etc that a sprinkling of flower seeds might take and over time brighten the place up a little, might not aid drainage but as they aren’t doing gulley emptying any more drainage isn’t going to work either eventually. I wonder if we are going back to residential roads being un-adopted and thus private.
Perhaps Badger…perhaps. I actually think some of the wild flowers are glorious – would I think anything but!?
But what does “adopted” mean? That it is ‘our’ responsibility?
The vociferous council were incredibly quick to respond to ask me to trim a tree branch that dared to hang down below 2.5m from the pavement. Their detailed letter explaining how I could be charged for trimming the tree etc etc…
I trimmed the branch, of course., Within moments of receiving the letter.. Who wouldn’t when intimidated in to action by a volatile Veil officer.
I asked them to trim a tree that was THEIR responsibility. To their credit, they did it….and it only took them 2 years to do so.
I just did some checking – Council Tax on a 3-bed property on Tithe Farm (where I used to live) is £35 per week. For that we get:
County Council services such as schools, social care (adults and children), libraries, some of our roads, pot-hole repairs, weeding
District Council Services – bins, litter, recycling, car parks, leisure facilities, parks, environmental health etc
Town Council services – museum, flowers (!), Fun in the Park, cemeteries, some play areas etc
(Probably some police and fire services as well, but I am not sure about them; I may have missed some others)
People can judge for themselves whether this is good value or not, but remember that all those services are delivered by human beings who deserve a decent wage, pension etc….
It is, without doubt, Stirling value for money. Who could possibly argue…. when you put it like that.
£3500000 was spent on a traffic management system that the consultants said would work. It hasn’t. People I guess can judge for themselves whether that is good value for money.
There’s something like 46000 households paying that +- £35/week. (I think, it’s hard to find out I thought). That’s around £83000000 a year.
I heard somewhere that other councils are doing well…so it is possible.
Not 46000 households Daniel, whole population of Abingdon is less than 40,000 – I have a feeling it’s something like 15000 households.
Hester – In 2011 there were 49,100 households in the VoWHDC Council Tax catchment area, probably quite a few more now. I think that’s what Daniel is referring to.
Yes, that is what I meant Badger.
As i said, I agree that it is good value for money, but I also think that there’s more than enough money in the system it’s just spent poorly and then because of that we end up having to bear the brunt of that by OUR services being cut and us having to pick up the slack.
I choose to work (well, not choose per se) but none the less my contribution to our community is I get up…every…single…day…to go to a job I hate…but that is so I can pay my taxes and therefore fund my local council to look after where I live. It’s a fair deal. And the one I signed up to. I’m doing my part, I think it’s reasonable to ask that ‘they do theirs’.
But the real sting in the tail Daniel is that over 30% of your council tax goes to fund officers pensions, on that basis it’s fair to assume another (at least) 30% goes on officer/ executives salaries, then there is the ubiquitous consultants to pay for so the best you can expect your council tax to go on actual services is 25% of your council tax contribution, that may be adequate to provide us with a reasonable level or service if that balance was not waisted on things like the £250k cost they incurred fighting a planning application!
…I best get out there unblocking drains and doing the weeding then!
Give my a broom and I’ll stick it appropriately… so i can sweep the streets as well!
Horsesmouth (post 37) – this is good Daily Mail-style stuff. Equating “officers” with “executives” when as I am sure you know, officers means all their staff, including those delivering the service is playing to people’s emotions/prejudices. Personally I don’t for one moment begrudge the pay or pensions for those doing social care, looking after our parks, roads etc or administering council tax, benefits etc. Do you?
Unless I am missing something, the planning issue referred to was a South Oxfordshire one, nothing to do with the Vale.(And even if it had been, the officers recommended approval – it was the elected members who opposed it – so don’t blame the officers!)
I don’t have any particular view on whether what we get is good value for money or not, but if we are going to criticise “them” lets do it on the basis of facts, not try to score cheap points. Details of how our CT money is spent are all on the VWHDC website – its probably best to get the facts from there, rather than make sweeping assumptons.
Good comment, Hester. I am certainly glad that I have a pension. A little bit of it (five years for Oxford CC in the 1970s) is index linked. Over the past nine years, that has grown from £900 to about £1050 – untold wealth.
To see pension funds as a drain on our pockets is to forget that they also provide part of our social care for the elderly. I imagine that the vast majority of those employed in local and district councils work very hard with little thanks and not much more pay. At least in retirement they can enjoy some measure of decent living.
Charles Dickens laces his social comment with strong emotion, but his observation is not thereby invalidated. I would not want to live in his world. Paying for public service is one mark of progress.
…I don’t actually think that fighting a planning application is a bad thing; if the application is poor.
If we can’t afford to clean the streets we have…why build more streets?
Can I go back to the litter question?
In the late 1970s, when the IRA bombing campaign came to the UK mainland, there was a change in public policy relating to litter bins. We were made aware that these were potential places for bombers to drop their devices – and in pretty short order they disappeared from railway terminus concourses.
I can remember my shock at being told by station staff just to drop my litter on the floor. I was informed that it would be swept up by machines driven and operated by other railway employees. I took my stuff home in my pocket or in a briefcase; but gradually people became accustomed to dropping litter and it became someone else’s problem.
A genuine concern about public safety meant that a decision was made which created an attitude in the public mind that litter was no big deal. To this day we are bombarded by announcements about unattended luggage, but we are not told to take our litter home with us.
Why can’t we be alert to public safety AND be concerned about keeping our environment pleasant?
Gosh, aren’t we a long way from dancing on (or under) the bridge at Avignon?!
Hester as a matter of fact I do begrudge the amount of pension being paid out of the public pot, be it to officers (rank and file) or executives on over £100k a year ( not to mention the just gone Chief exec who had a £200k payout for less than a years work) councils are skint, yet still they advertise jobs with final salary pensions and this is simply not sustainable, we constantly hear of workers/staff (call them what ever fancy title you chose) who are having their pots trimmed while still in employment just to make their employers run a sustainable business so why shouldn’t councils do the same? If we keep on at this rate all our council tax will go on funding staff, be they employed or retired!
You wrongly stated the planning department involved in the huge payout was SODC, it may well be in an SODC area but SODC and Vale planners are one of the same , check out their email addresses “southandvale.gov.uk!
Oh and I forgot to mention Hester if you think my comments are typical daily mail stuff then perhaps comrade Hester yours are more akin to the workers weekly! Keep the red flag flying Hester, eh?
All political systems fail because human beings fail. However, I don’t think that “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need” is such a bad slogan. The motto of the old Cooperative Movement wasn’t too bad either: A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.
I agree that there are some pretty bad examples of highly paid people receiving disproportionate incomes. However, that does not mean that the lower paid should bear the burden of any fiscal readjustments.
I imagine that 90% (or more) of those who work for the various Councils are on very modest pay and not massive pensions. And they are usual in the firing line when complaints are made in person. The last thing they need to be told is to keep their heads down and to tighten their belts.