Mayor Dave Writes: Make Your Voice Heard on Spitting Enforcement Consultation

Writing in his latest regular column for the Times and Citizen newspaper, Mayor Dave Hodgson has encouraged all those who would like to see action taken against spitting and urinating in the street to make their voice heard through the ongoing public consultation. Here's the full text of the article:

"Why anyone would want to spit on the floor in the street is beyond me, but sadly a number of people do it. Spitting in the street is of course not only dirty and unhygienic, it is also a disgusting sight to see in our local environment. After recent case law upheld the issuing of fines by Councils for spitting and urinating in the street, we are proposing to introduce enforcement action here in Bedford Borough.

This approach will only be supported by the courts if there is evidence of public support for the introduction of the powers. So, if you agree that action should be taken against those who spit or urinate on our streets without a care for the other people of all ages who use those streets, please see the consultation online at www.bedford.gov.uk/whywouldyou or at Borough Hall, libraries or the Customer Service Centre.

This really is a selfish act, just like littering. When I became Mayor, the Council did not carry out enforcement action against littering. It was clearly not acceptable that as a community we should turn a blind eye to the crime of littering, so we introduced a new campaign which began with an extensive information and education phase, followed by the current zero tolerance approach.

You can follow this ongoing campaign on the Council website, which includes a list of the 608 fixed penalty notices for littering issued in the last year alone.

The vast majority of people manage to walk down the street without spitting on it, just as most people are able to use the bins rather than dropping their rubbish on the floor. People who don't act in this selfish, deeply unpleasant manner tell me would like to see action taken about those who blight our local streets. If you agree, please make your voice heard."

The consultation runs until 2nd May 2014