Fair’s rubbish created ‘zombie apocalypse’

Inverkeithing: Councillors told lack of communication left people using town’s High Street ‘ankle deep’ in debris day after popular event

A Fife councillor has compared the aftermath of Inverkeithing’s Lammas Fair to a “zombie apocalypse”.

Councillor Alice McGarry said people were wading through debris in the town after revellers left the High Street event.

Mrs McGarry spoke out as south west Fife area committee discussed how budget cuts are affecting parks maintenance and street cleaning.

“The aftermath of the Lammas Fair looked like a zombie apocalypse.

“When I went up on the Sunday morning, the place was ankle deep in rubbish. It was horrific.”

She continued: “It’s certainly my impression that the service is struggling.

“The most visual service we have is street cleaning and parks and it has badly deteriorated in standard. We need to look at how we can address this through the budget next year.”

Council officer Jim Stenhouse said the mess had been left as a result of a lack of communication.

Mrs McGarry said it was cleared after she called in an emergency council cleaning team.

Damien Woods, service manager for parks, streets and open spaces, said: “The High Street was cleaned up the morning after the fair. We have now put measures in place to avoid any clean-up delays at future festivals.”

During the meeting, councillors praised the work of local staff, who they said did a good job amid budget constraints.

In particular, there had been positive comments from the public in response to wildflower planting.

Gavin Yates said: “What surprises me is, we don’t get more complaints. When I drive into Fife, I see a difference. The quality is better.”

But Mr Yates said members of the public should take more responsibility for issues within their control, such as dog fouling and littering.

“The public need to take more cognisance of their behaviour and the behaviour of their children as well.”

Pat Callaghan and Mike Shirkie called for on-the-spot fines for dog fouling.

Lesley Laird said: “We can’t continue to face that level of austerity and not start to see an impact.

“Do we want the grass cut twice a year or do we want to provide a care package for somebody? That’s the kind of decision we have to make and it is not a pretty place to be.”