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Advice on the environment? Let’s ask the Americans

My wife, Amy, and I (!) thought we’d honeymoon in the States and departed a couple of days after the “big day”, and what a fantastic day it was!

During our time in Florida I realised we Brits could learn a thing or two about the environment from the Americans, or the Floridians more accurately. The Disney Parks were immaculate, not a dropped piece of chewing gum in sight, not a word etched anywhere it shouldn’t have been. Having said that we did see a British man with “Mum” tattooed on one side of his neck and “Dad” on the other side… But no other graffiti.

Crucially it wasn’t just the parks. Along the motorways there was none of litter and filth we associate with a journey in this country. On a four-hour drive from Cape Canaveral and Palm Beach, I spotted one piece of litter. That’s right, one piece. Palm Beach? Immaculate. Miami South Beach? Squeaky clean. Key West? Pristine. Naples? Flawless. I could go on but I’d need a superior thesaurus.

The people we met told us that they care about their local environment and want it to be “nice for the kids”. They said dropping litter would be obvious as it is so clean, and that fines could be incurred for littering. Well, people can be fined over here but it has made little difference.

So what can we do? I’m convinced bigger fines will not work. People are sick of being spied upon and no matter how many enforcement officers the Council employed it wouldn’t change the fundamental attitude. My feeling is that if we made our environment spotless, littering would be so obvious that people will challenge the offenders. We’d all become enforcement the officers.

In Oakwood centre, my colleagues and I are battling to get funding to pilot our idea of a “Village Lengthsman”. For those wondering what this is, it’s someone who doesn’t just pick litter, they mend the damaged verge, sweep up gravel, clean the street signs and wash the bins. They would also report out graffiti problems, broken flagstones and generally care for the area. If we can prove the results, we could roll the idea out further. We’re at the early stages and things work slowly in the Council, but with effort we might be able to employ a committed person who knows the area and who will take the job seriously.

Again, though, if the underlying physical environment is shabby, what can we do? The Council is suffering the budget pressures we all face with high inflation on the materials it buys. We know from all the awful tarmac patches the Council can’t afford the manpower plus materials to properly re-lay all the pavement flagstones. The Council won’t get round to levelling overgrown grass verges so they can be neatly mowed. All of this falls into the ‘nice to have category’.

We need some outside help and some cheap labour. I recently met with the co-ordinator for the Probation Service in Leeds. It seems that they are desperately keen for significant projects so that they can ensure people work their full community service. It seems, unbeknown to me, that they have already worked across our area on numerous projects with no associated increase in crime in those areas and with positive testimonials on the work from locals. They are closely monitored at all times, in small groups, and have to wear bright bibs. Like a chain-gang without the chains. , I’m assured they are also sensitive about the ‘type’ of criminal they work in a built up area.

So along with the Councillors from Chapel Allerton and Moortown, we are seeking a pilot to guarantee us a certain level of manpower across North Leeds and we’ll see how it goes. We’ll consult with local residents before we start in an area and monitor the results. If the overall local feeling is that people don’t want this service, that’s fine, we’ll ask in another area. With luck we can ensure these probationers pay their debt to society as well as lifting our area to a level where people want to care for it.

If you have any suggestions for projects you’d like to see completed which require few costly resources and would use unskilled or semi-skilled labour, please do get in touch.

All the best

Matthew Lobley

Roundhay Ward Conservative Councillor

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