THE GUM BLIGHT THAT IS RUINING £ 12M SQUARE

Peterborough City Council renews vow to get tough on littering as it looks

New tactics in the war on used chewing gum dropped on the new £ 12 million paving stones of Peterborough city centre are being devised.

Peterborough City Council has acknowledged its current approach to cleaning the city centre is failing to rid the surface of discarded chewinggum.

This is despite contractors Enterprise Peterborough carrying out so- called “deep cleans” of Cathedral Square and St John’s Square – in addition to its regular sweeps of the area – ahead of the busier summer and Christmas periods.

Paul Phillipson, executive director of operations for the council, said: “Chewing gum is an issue for many towns and cities and continues to be a problem in Peterborough. There is no easy solution to deal with chewing gum and it is extremely time consuming and costly to remove it from surfaces.

“However, we are currently working with Enterprise Peterborough on a number of possible solutions to remove gum. This work is in progress and we will be happy to offer further details as soon as a decision is made.”

In 2011, the city council vowed to get tough on shoppers dropping chewing gum on the then recently revamped£ 12 million paved area in Cathedral Square and St John’s Square.

The city council this week reiterated neighbourhood enforcement officers regularly patrol the city centre.

Mr Phillipson said: “We have a fantastic city centre, which we want all our residents and visi- tors to be proud of, so it is very frustrating that some people think it’s okay to drop their litter or gum, spoiling the area for everyone else.

“My message is this - if you drop litter deliberately you should be prepared to take the consequences and be accountable for your actions.

He added: “You wouldn’t drop litter on the floor of your home or garden, so why do it in public?”

MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson urged the council to take action.

He said: “Cathedral Square is a show case for the city centre and it should be as clean as it’s possible.

“Therefore, I do think as part of a wider attack on litter the council needs to make sure every method is employed to make sure it’s as clean and as presentable as possible.”

He called on the authority to “set the agenda” with two

Asection of the new paving in Cathdral Square is pockmarked by dropped chewing gum