Stumbling block for litter plans (From Knutsford Guardian)

Stumbling block for litter plans

5:00pm Monday 24th September 2012 in News By James Wilson

KNUTSFORD’S plans for a community team of volunteers to pick up litter in the town has hit a stumbling block.

Councillors discussed the idea of setting up a ‘litter task force’ at the meeting of the environment committee in July.

Town centre manager Diane Smith suggested the town council should set up the group after admitting the borough council’s Streetscene was stretched because of cutbacks.

She added other towns in the borough – Middlewich for example – employ their own handyman to complete tasks around the area, and suggested this was something Knutsford could look into, adding that another way was to create a volunteer group.

Steve McQuade, town clerk, told the environment committee of the council he had spoken to the Middlewich Clean Team, which had discouraged Knutsford from following their lead.

“Their one real piece of advice, which sticks in my mind, is that these types of schemes often initiated by councils tend to fail,” he said.

“The success in Middlewich was down to the group being set up by the community and run by the community.

“They said that at the time of public cuts if the council is the main driver then we will become open to criticism by saying we are looking for volunteers to do the council’s work.

“They said to try to get another group to do it and give them support rather than doing a council ‘clean team’.”

Clr Barbara Coan put forward Friends of the Moor as a community group which could front a group as it had recently held litter picks in the town.

Clr Tony Dean said: “That is a very good idea, and if that doesn’t work what about asking Promote Knutsford Forum?

“They meet and talk about the local economy, but perhaps they could get their teeth into something like this.”

The next litter pick, organised by the Friends of the Moor, will take place in the town on September 29.