A letter to the editor....
"Helen Clark Bell and her team at Love Wimbledon are certainly to be praised for their sterling efforts in cleaning up the town centre (‘Cleaning up the Streets of Wimbledon’, 27 July 2012).
Residents I speak to often complain about the recent increase in levels of dirt, litter and chewing gum on Wimbledon’s streets. Yet the town centre has rightly looked its best to welcome the many thousands of people visiting during the Olympics.
I am also pleased that Love Wimbledon’s campaign will extend beyond the 2012 Games. It’s just a shame that this is so necessary. If the Labour-run council hadn’t failed in its basic duty to keep our town centres clean and tidy, I am quite sure there are many other ways that Love Wimbledon could be spending its precious resources to help and promote the local businesses that fund it.
Residents pay high enough council tax bills and surely have the right to expect the borough to deliver the basics and provide a proper street cleaning service in return. Instead however Labour have cut the street cleaning budget since coming to power in Merton and stopped street sweeping following refuse collections.
They also scrapped Conservative plans for chewing gum cleaning machines and for 24 hour weekend cleaning in Merton’s town centres. And all this whilst stashing away a £15 million surplus of residents’ hard earned money in the last year alone.
So a well deserved Gold medal for Love Wimbledon but sent home in disgrace for Labour!"
Cllr Richard Hilton
Conservative Environment Spokesman