As Chair of the Ramsgate Town Council (RTC) Planning and Infrastructure Committee, I thought we should concentrate for a brief moment on the infrastructure of our town.
Of course, RTC has very little power to influence this. Nearly everything is down to Thanet District Council (TDC) or Kent County Council (KCC). Any progress can thus only be through perseverance and nagging!
However, I tackled KCC with about 20 reports of blocked road gullies (Gone are the days when drains were cleaned at least once a year). I see these on my walks around the town, but the power of Facebook provided me with a much longer list. After much persuasion, KCC accepted the list. I then had reference numbers which I could track. I believe some of these drains have been cleared or at least investigated.
Then we considered the state of the town. To be honest, the litter situation has improved over the last couple of years. Initiatives such as Ramsgate ROAD (Ramsgate Residents One a Day), the Litter Forum, Ramsgate Litter Pickers and the Mayor’s monthly litter pick have made a difference, alongside the efforts of our wonderful street cleaners – seriously, they are. It’s only when someone is sick or on leave that TDC employs agency staff.
So, we composed a letter to traders and other businesses and a few Councillors distributed them throughout the town and some outlying shopping areas. We chatted to the local businesses and explained that we were asking traders to go beyond the call of duty and sweep the pavement outside their shops – and also, where possible to clear weeds from the edges of the property, clean windows and generally spruce up the outside of their businesses. We feel that a clean and tidy town presents a much more attractive front to visitors. Of course, everyone pays rates but as you all know, Government contributions have fallen so low that most Councils are reduced to basic services.
What a wonderful response we all got from the businesses! Most traders claimed that they already do this and the evidence is there. Nearly all were enthusiastically supportive, and some businesses offered staff time to help with any cleaning up projects.
We then went round to give out the RTC Civic Pride certificates which could either be stuck in shop windows or pinned up somewhere. Lots of businesses are not allowed to put up more posters, but rest assured they have been offered these certificates. No certificates went to persistent litterers – those who serve takeaway food in polystyrene containers, the workers smoking outside their business who were witnessed dropping butts – you know who you are! Pubs are difficult, as customers smoke outside and throw their butts in the gutter. Some pubs do sweep up, but many sweep the debris into the drains.
I hope this scheme has made a difference to the town, but obviously problems still persist. Litter mainly consists of cigarette butts and cigarette packets, sweet wrappings and receipts from shops. Our empty shops are an eyesore and any ideas are welcome as to how to bring them back into use, though many of them have been rented out again and new businesses will eventually re-emerge.
It’s another reason to be proud of our town and the people who contribute to making it a better place.
Written by:
Councillor Pat Makinson,
Councillor for Sir Moses Montefiore Ward