Column | Councillor Kevin Guy – 26/09/2023

Last week we saw some disruption to recycling and garden waste collections due to Unite industrial action in relation to the local government national pay award.

We worked very hard to minimise impacts on residents and kept people updated through our website and social media, so please do keep an eye on these to receive the latest information.

Waste, recycling and street cleansing are key issues in maintaining the quality of the local environment.

In addition to the day-to-day work of our highways and cleansing teams we have also invested an additional £1million in Neighbourhood Services in our Clean and Green programme.

The Clean and Green teams provide more street cleaning, weed removal, free graffiti removal for domestic properties, more gully emptying and respond to councillor and residents’ reports.

We have some great “before and after” photos to show the difference we are making.

You can make reports on Fix My Street which is an amazing map-based technology online system that the council uses to make reporting highways and cleansing issues easy for you.

Click on the map and you’ll see what has been reported in your area – such as a cracked paving slab or dumped rubbish – and what we are doing about it.

Thousands of incidents have been reported using Fix My Street and successfully acted on by the council’s teams. For other issues please go to our Report It pages on our website or speak to Council Connect on 01225 394041.

Another key aspect of a clean, healthy local environment is clean air. As you know we are very proud of the fact that Bath & North East Somerset Council introduced the first charging clean air zone outside of London.

I am particularly pleased by the way that other areas seek to learn from what we have done, and so it was great to see our deputy leader and cabinet member for climate emergency and sustainable travel, Sarah Warren, give evidence recently to a House of Commons select committee inquiry into air quality targets. Sarah called for clearer messaging from government about the importance of this issue for people’s health and also said that more powers over public transport would mean the council could give people more alternatives to using the car.

Recent additions to these alternatives are the new “Tier” e-scooters and e-bikes – soon to be joined by cargo bikes- that the West of England Combined Authority have introduced in Bath.

These have the potential to help people travel more sustainably but we are closely monitoring the introduction of the scheme, particularly the impact of the new e-bikes and the potential for them to obstruct footways.

If you have any feedback on the new services, please contact us on [email protected].