Littering is Not Acceptable. So We're Not Accepting It
Littering blights our communities across urban and rural Bedford Borough, and costs local taxpayers a vast amount in clean-up costs. In my latest monthly article in the Times and Citizen this week, I wrote about the action we're taking to crack down on littering and other environmental crimes (they are indeed criminal offences). If you haven't seen a copy, I have reproduced the article in full below:
It seems a long time ago now, but the jubilee weekend earlier this month saw communities right across Bedford Borough coming together to celebrate and to share the occasion. I was lucky enough to be invited to a number of events in our rural and urban communities, and it was fantastic to see people of all ages celebrating together with neighbours who are close friends or, in many cases, new friends made on the day!
What really struck me yet again is how dearly we value our neighbourhoods and our communities, across all parts of the Borough. It is because of this, I think, that we are so appalled when people act selfishly and spoil the neighbourhoods we rightly take pride in. Littering, in particular, can be a dreadful blight in our communities. Cleaning up after those who drop litter also costs local taxpayers a vast amount of money every year. It is an entirely selfish thing to do, and it's unacceptable. So we're not accepting it. After I became Mayor, an extensive public awareness programme was followed by our ongoing enforcement campaign.
We want to be as open as possible about this, and send the message that those who litter in Bedford Borough can expect to be fined. There is a list of all enforcement actions taken in the last three years on the Council's website. We have built this approach up from scratch, as such enforcement action has not take place to any degree in the past.
Littering is a crime and it is not acceptable in our community
The same goes for other selfish acts which show a complete disregard for the fact that the streets of Bedford Borough belong to everyone. That includes such things as falsely using a disabled parking badge, fly tipping, dangerous parking and dog fouling. The last offence mentioned is covered under the new dog control orders which we are set to introduce this week to make enforcement even more effective.
Those who brazenly flout the law will not be allowed to get away with it. Our communities belong to everyone, not the selfish few, and people should be able to take pride in their neighbourhood just as they did at events across the Borough over jubilee weekend.