ON THE STREET

Members of the public have been asked to report unnecessary street signs as the Government urged councils to cut down on "street clutter". Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Transport Secretary Philip Hammond have written to council leaders calling on them to reduce the number of signs, railings, bollards and advertising hoardings. The Government believes that in some cases traffic signs and railings are installed by councils in the mistaken belief that they are legally required. However, although some signs are required by law, Government advice is that for signs to be most effective they should be kept to a minimum. To help councils do this the Department for Transport is reviewing traffic signs policy and new advice on how to reduce clutter will be published later this year.

The Department for Transport said that, for example, the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire was littered with bollards, with a parking area for 53 cars having 63 bollards. Also, the removal of street clutter from Kensington High Street in west London had reduced accidents by up to 47%. Mr Pickles said, ''Our streets are losing their English character. We are being overrun by scruffy signs, bossy bollards, patchwork paving and railed off roads, wasting taxpayers' money that could be better spent on fixing potholes or keeping council tax down. Too many overly cautious town hall officials are citing safety regulations as the reason for cluttering up our streets with an obstacle course when the truth is very little is dictated by law.''

Mr Hammond said, ''We all know that some signs are necessary to make our roads safe and help traffic flow freely. But unnecessary street furniture is a waste of taxpayers' money and leaves our streets looking more like scrap yards than public spaces. We have written to councils to remind them that it need not be this way. We don't need all this clutter confusing motorists, obstructing pedestrians and hindering those with disabilities who are trying to navigate our streets.'' In 2006 a survey by the Hampshire section of the Campaign to Protect Rural England of a seven-mile section of the B3006 in the South Downs National Park revealed an average of 45 signs per mile. (Source: Daily Telegraph, Aug/10)

War veterans have been asked to pay street cleaning fees for a Remembrance Day march. For more than 80 years the old soldiers in the village of Osmotherley, North Yorkshire have honoured the war dead in time-honoured fashion. Now the 15 veterans who march just 50 yards along the village high street to the war memorial are being asked to pay street cleaning fees by the local council. Colonel David Black, chairman of Osmotherley's Royal British Legion branch said, "This year we applied for a road closure and the council sent a letter stating that if any street cleaning was needed it would charge us £54 an hour."

Colonel Black, a former officer in the Queen's Lancashire Regiment who spent 32 years in the Army, is also angry the veterans have been asked for a risk assessment by the police. He said, "I don't remember doing a risk assessment before going to do my five tours in Northern Ireland or for my spell in Aden. I am determined the march will go ahead but some small groups might look at this and not go ahead and that would be a very grave shame." The Royal British Legion claim veterans groups all over the country are running into masses of red tape.

The Home Office issued guidelines three years ago asking councils and police forces to support veterans' parades. Now the Legion is asking councils to follow that advice in discussions about Remembrance Day marches. Hambleton District Council denied that it was picking on the Osmotherley veterans. A spokesman said, "They were sent a standard letter that goes out to all requests for road closures. It is more for events like street fairs and we don't envisage any problems with the Remembrance Day march. In future, references to the street cleaning will be taken out of the letter." (Source: Daily Mail, Oct/07)

Housing estates across the region are "swamped with litter". Fast food is also a problem as not only has the amount of fast food litter increased by 12%, but leftover burgers, pizza and kebabs that people throw on the floor have caused pavements to be caked with grease. Vomit, urine, oil and chewing gum, which was found trodden into 94% of town centre streets are leaving bad stains.

The areas suffering most from this were local shopping precincts and needy neighbourhoods, with around 70% of these deemed "below par". Alan Woods, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said although the public should take responsibility for the way it treats the streets, local councils should also shoulder some of the blame. "The East Midlands may be losing out on visitors and businesses choosing to relocate here, because some council managers don't plan properly, listen to their resident's concerns, or equip their street cleaners with the tools for the job," he said.

Low quality street cleaning was an issue. The survey's researchers watched street cleaners in action on 38 occasions, but only on five occasions did they get the area tidy. All 10,000 sites across England, which included alleyways, bus stops, residential streets and picnic sites, checked by the campaign were graded "good", "satisfactory", "unsatisfactory" or "poor". All English regions scored an overall unsatisfactory mark for cleaning up rubbish, with the East Midlands, North East, London, North West, Yorkshire and the West Midlands having the worst problems.

Police were accused of being 'heavy handed' after three officers were dispatched to issue a ticking off to two boys for playing football in the street. Henry Worthington, 12, and his brother Alex, 11, were told their kick-abouts in a cul-de-sac outside their home after school were illegal and could result in them getting anti-social behaviour orders. Their father Anthony, of Timperley, Greater Manchester, was also sent a letter from officials at Trafford Council warning him his two sons could be in breach of the 1980 Highways Act which outlaws ball games. Trouble began when Henry and Alex both began playing football in the street while the World Cup was in progress.

Mr Worthington said, "It's a quiet street, and we live on the corner of a close. About three months ago, the boys got stopped by officers driving a patrol car up the street and they told them not to play football in the street. A few weeks later they came round to my house. The first time there was only one uniformed officer, in his patrol car. He was polite and just said it's against the law to play football in the street and that they were monitoring the situation. I thought fair enough, I'm not going to argue with a police officer, but I did say I couldn't see why it was a problem when it is a quiet street. Apparently it is illegal under the Highways Act 1980."

He continued, "I told the boys not to play, but the other kids on the road are still playing, and from the next road so it's the same situation for them. Then three officers turned up. One stayed in the patrol car and the other two came to my door. I couldn't believe it. They have always been very polite, and I told them that I had asked the boys not to play in the street. Two weeks ago I had a letter from the council regarding street football outlining what anti-social behaviour is and referring to an on-going problem regarding street football. It also talked about section 161 of the Highways Act 1980."

Inspector Simon Wright from Greater Manchester Police said, "Playing football in the road obviously has clear dangers and the man in this case was simply reminded of this by officers looking out for his children's safety. It is actually a criminal offence and is often perceived as a nuisance to local residents, especially as there are plenty of parks for the children to go and play in a safe environment. I am not aware of a complaint being made to police but would be more than happy to discuss any concerns the father has with him."

He added, "I think the police action amounted to common sense. You should not let your kids play on the road, it is not a playground." Jonathan Coupe of Trafford Council said, "Anti-social behaviour is defined as any behaviour that causes alarm or distress to another person. In this particular case a letter has been sent to the parents to explain that a complaint has been received about their child's behaviour with a request to address the issues outlined in the complaint. This is in no way a formal warning or prosecution. Through action such as this, issues can be resolved in an appropriate manner through the parents themselves without having to involve the authorities." (Source: Daily Mail, Sep/10)

Allowed

Unsupervised juveniles out on the street at midnight.

Youths smoking joints on the street.

Youths driving stolen cars.

Gangs of youths loitering on the streets for hours at a time.

Repeatedly trespassing and walking over other people's gardens.

Holding three-hour parties with alcohol and/or drugs in the street.

Under-age drinking.

Being drunk and incapable of standing up on the street.

Vomiting profusely on the pavement outside a neighbour's house.

Urinating in a neighbour's hedge.

Excessive use of obscene language in the street.

Loud verbal threats of violence and verbal abuse in the street.

An unhelpful response from the police telephone operator.

Not Allowed

Getting a prompt response from the police on any of these matters.