Actually a lot of thought goes into what is possible in HHighways management. The fly tipping increased massively when the waste collection, collected by LBH, became a fortnightly collection. HH had been contracted to collect fly tips, and have to do this within 24 hours of being reported, but the increase has made it impossible to keep up. So the guys that would normally empty litter bins are having to run around doing the fly tips. And Hounslow cut the grant to them as well. Cleansing the streets are just as important as potholes but potholes are more complicated. HH have guidelines, which were agreed in the contract with LBH of how bad potholes have to be to be filled. So if we want the contract to be changed so that the current standards are improved then we need to be prepared to pay for them. It is easy to sit on the sidelines and jeer, but I suggest you join a residents' association and ask HH to come to a meeting to answer questions. Or you could volunteer as a lay assessor to meet monthly with HH to talk about these issues. No one is suggesting that HH are perfect, but they are committed to trying to make things work, even if we get frustrated with them when it does not. I am not an apologist for HH, and have even made formal complaints against them. I used to think like you that they were all jobsworths and using excuses not to do what we as residents wanted and expected. I now realise that in fact they want to do a good job (and probably get bonuses if they do to be cynical) and that a lot of thought goes into trying to clear up after people who just do not care about the environment.
Iris Hill ● 2661d