Green Spaces in Walton
|
On 27th May 2016 WoTTA conducted a Greenspaces Audit of Walton with Laura Richardson, Parks Development Officer at Elmbridge Borough Council. Our concerns were regarding the poor standard of general greenspace maintenance, the flower beds and flower boxes being full of weeds and not planted out, rubbish from bins overflowing or fly-tipping in green spaces, the lack of hanging baskets in Bridge Street, the maintenance of Cowey Sale and the prevention of damage to the riverside/towpath.
This audit ties in with our recent audit of Anti-Social Behaviour in Walton. Both these issues point to New York Mayor Giuliani’s Broken Window’s Theory - a place that looks uncared for will encourage Anti-Social Behaviour. The EBC response to our audit and queries is: MAINTENTANCE The Greenspaces maintenance contract is held by The Landscape Group (TLG) and is due to run for 7 years. EBC want people to log individual issues by either calling 01372 474568 and speaking to the Greenspaces team or via a new on-line complaints form has been implemented. The link is : Green Space Maintenance WoTTA’s complaints received to-date have been logged on that system and WoTTA will be checking to see what action is taken. GREEN VERGES Although EBC has responsibility for cutting the grass verges, Surrey County Council has responsibility for verge repairs. Any complaints should be logged Green Verge Damage LITTER EBC can try to work with TLG to address timing/frequency of bin emptying in parks and green spaces. EBC have passed on WoTTA’s concerns regarding town center bins. If we see any problems with overflowing bins in the town center it can be logged here Bins where you can also report Fly-Tipping and Graffiti COWEY SALE Maintenance of the greenspace and flowerbeds at Cowey Sale has now been handed back to EBC who invite working on a community project to address these issues. Autumn at earliest. WoTTA have spoken to Ashley School who potentially would like to be involved in this. LACK OF HANGING BASKETS IN BRIDGE STREET If baskets have not been allocated to this area, EBC will not be able to provide any in this year as the order would be raised in the autumn, however EBC can re-visit this in time for next summer. WoTTA will follow this up in the Autumn. TOWPATH WoTTA asked if a sign could be erected (such as they have on Desborough Island) to prevent littering, camp fires etc. For this to happen, WoTTA would need permission from Hannah Gutteridge, who is the SCC Land Rights of Way Officer. WoTTA will chase this. |
Click to report issues on:
Green Space Maintenance Green Verge Damage Overflowing Bins Fly-Tipping Graffiti |