City should not be one great litter bin

I would like to thank the Chronicle for the way the call-in for the employment of enforcement officers to fine those who drop litter was reported, it was well balanced. I found it strange that the Libdems, who “called this in”, had no rationale why this should not be introduced. They started off by saying that they were not against it in principal, but gave no sensible reason why this pilot scheme should not proceed. This scheme will have zero cost to the council, but will give us the added benefit to fine those who drop litter, fly tip, or allow their dogs to foul the streets. Perhaps the most unusual reason that they suggested why this should not be introduced is that it will affect tourism. They clearly do not talk to tourists, hoteliers, businesses and, more importantly, residents to know that it is a dirty city which will affect tourism, not a clean one. I am not prepared to see the city a great litter bin or an ashtray for cigarette butts as clearly the Liberal Democrats are. Is the implementation of this scheme the answer - well I doubt it, but it is, I believe, part of the answer. I have seen an improvement in the “presentation” of waste both in the business and residential sectors. There is more to do, but I am confident we are on the right track. Labour controlled Bristol have a similar scheme which has been successful but we must ensure that the terms of the contract do not allow the targeting of the vulnerable However, if you use the streets of our city to litter with wrappers and cigarette butts, then you can only expect fines to be implemented. I hope that the Liberal Democrat’s realise they should not play “party politics” with our city , I’m pleased other parties did not support the call-in which was dismissed.