[b]I am fed up of complaining about litter and dog fouling and of everyone else complaining and getting nowhere. We have brought this subject up at every Meeting in Mablethorpe for goodness knows how long and enough is enough!! It is time the Town was allowed Wardens to go around the problem area's and issue on the spot fines.I know that other towns have them including Grimsby but I don't know what powers they have. All I do know is that the excuse of shortage of funds is not a satisfactory excuse as the fines issued would pay their wages at the very least. The Council could do this on a trial period to see how effective it would be. We read in the press about new initiatives to tackle littering and dog fouling which is getting worse Then we get ELDC employing an Enforcement Officer who we have to share with other surrounding towns. The Traffic Warden is shared with other Towns too. What use is this to our community and why don't we all e-mail or write to our Town and District Council's and demand more action and less words. Please don't let me read any negative comments about it being a waste of time, as so is sitting on our backsides doing nothing. We can at least try and try again. If any of you know about any Town Wardens in other area's will you please let me know. I will be raising this issue at the Neighbourhood Management Residents Meeting on Tuesday 3rd August at 6:00 pm at the Council Offices, Stanley Avenue if anyone would be interested in joining us. We must start to be more demanding of our Council's as they can't rely on free volunteer's to do what should be addressed by themselves, especially ELDC. They have made quite a few employee's redundant and issued "Take it or leave it" options such as Council Gardeners having to do cleaning duties etc. and this includes demoting Managers and Supervisors. There will not have been the same actions at the executive level I don't suppose!

I am surprised that no-one has any comment regarding this new topic, as it was quite interesting at the recent Neighbourhood Management Meeting, how many people agree with action on this subject. It seems to be a last resort to get the message through to the powers that be, that all their previous efforts have been weak,useless and a waste of time, as the litter, weeds, anti social behaviour and dog fouling are getting worse. I would welcome any input.
Thanks,
Pam.

hi Pam your comment
(Please don't let me read any negative comments about it being a waste of time,)
may have put people off
i can't think of anything to say that would not come across as negative about the council
I know traffic and dog fouling is important, but compared to other problems this town has
they come way down the priority list but that is only in my opinion.

Hi Steve, Thanks for your comments. Town Wardens can deal with litter, fouling, fly tipping, fines for supplying alcohol to underage drinkers(with the permission of the Chief Constable). My point is that the Councils are not able to sort out these problems to our satisfaction due to insufficient people being employed, so therefore complaints are made about the worsening situation. That's one reason for the creation of the Willdo site after all. I still think that the presence of Wardens around town would be a deterrant, giving out fines etc. I will find out more about the powers they are allowed. Yes there are more important issues than litter etc. but only the police can deal with these. In fact, someone has been charged with committing multiple burglaries which has accounted for many recent ones and there have been arrests for the arson and damage to Sutton-on-Sea Beach Huts. Also, drug dens have been cleared, so the Police do deal with more serious crimes. If there are cut backs with the number of Police and PCSO's, what other options are there?

hi pam you say
Town Wardens can deal with litter, fouling, fly tipping, fines for supplying alcohol to underage drinkers(with the permission of the Chief Constable). My point is that the Councils are not able to sort out these problems to our satisfaction due to insufficient people being employed,

I say it would not matter how many people were employed, the council would not enforce the law they are more than happy to tell you what they can do, and quote legistlation but they just are not prepared to enforce it.

e-mailing the council as you suggest, will just get you ignored or fobbed off
i think we should petition our MP to put pressure on the council and most certainly the police to provide the services we pay for
unfortunately with all the talk of cutbacks, they now have another excuse to fob people of with as to why they don't do their job.
it seems to me they have not been doing their jobs before the talk of cutbacks and they will carry on not doing their jobs after the cutbacks.
you state the police do deal with serious crime, is that the police in general, or the keystone cops based in mabo? because i think there is a massive diference
sorry to hear about the mermaid pat it is just so unfair

I dont recon that town wardens will ever apear in mabo after all we have only recently got a shared traffic warden whom is very thin on the ground, Ive seen him once only. Most other councils have now took over this job from the police through new government legislation.dought it happening here though. Oh the mermaid and vandalism, surely the cctv has captured some evidence? Good things happening- the planting and gardens are fab this year and a credit to all concerned. Looks like the council have removed the old railway crossing gate front of the sports centre,wonder if it has been scrapped or being renovated.The kiosks along the sea front look excellent this year and are also a credit to the business owners.

Yes Steve,my comments re. police are Mabo cops, we were told at our last Meeting and it was in this weeks paper about the burglaries. By the way, believe it or not, but part of the mermaid is not covered by CCTV and the parts that are, do not get photographed for more than a few seconds at each sweep of the camera. Thanks Imloclam for comments about the planting and gardens,some of which were done by In Bloom.The old railway gate is going to be restored and will then be put in Station Park near the turntable. There will be other additions including a sculpture. This should be really nice if only it is left alone by the mindless dimwhits who take pleasure in vandalising everything. The Traffic Warden has issued quite a few tickets in town but yes, we need one full time, Parking issues are going to be de-criminalised in Mabo. Yes Steve, it would be better to contact our M.P. but I think that individual letters signed by residents would be better than petitions, they are more effective. There is £850 million spent by Councils each year on clearing litter and this has gone up by 10% this year. The cost of litter collection has reduced by half due to the presence of Town Wardens in Grimsby. Neighbourhood Management are contacting the relevent Dept. at ELDC to complain about the increase in littering and fouling in the area.

Quick update,
Had a phone call from Debbie Prince this morning to say that in response to me raising the subject of Town Wardens, the Neighbourhood Management sent a letter to Doreen Stephenson, head of ELDC and the acting Chief Executive of ELDC. They have both responded and are going to attend the next Meeting of the NHM on 27th October at 2-4 pm at the Community Room abovethe Library to discuss the subject. Whether the outcome is positive or negative, at least NHM are doing their best to represent us and to put our requests to ELDC who have agreed to discuss the subject. Please if possible, attend the Meeting to put your views forward as we need action. Pam B

It might be worth finding out if there is any research on whether clearing up places reduces the crime rates etc because people feel more positive about a place. It's one of the principles behind the Guerilla Gardening movement in London.

I think it's quite peculiar the way things get vandalised in Mabo as I don't see that here in Watford despite having even more large council estates with very impoverished people living on them.

edit: after a bit of internet ferreting I have found something called Broken Window Theory.

'Positive loitering' and community watch groups making areas safer

It sounds like it isn't the be all and end all of why crime happens but perhaps makes it worse...

If the police wanted to spend less money on Mablethorpe maybe local people should look into this. There are people with mental health issues in Mabo - getting them gardening would help them. Older people in care homes might welcome the exercise and chance to socialise....

Will look on the internet tomorrow, thanks for your input.It has been suggested that a lot of the vandalism is done by drunken holiday makers on their way out of town back to the Camps. I still think local youths are also responsible, including the undesirables sent here from other towns. Lincs. police have one of the lowest budgets in the Country which creates problems, but I don't know who is responsible for this.
As far as I am aware, our local Marisco Medical Centre has a scheme going which involves people with health issues, mental and physical, doing gardening work (Green Gym). As for the elderly in Care Homes, there are so many legal requirements such as health and safety, risk assessments, CRB checks and sufficient carers to be with them, plus liability Insurance. As someone who has worked in Care Homes, I believe that in an ideal world these activities should be provided by the Home. Unfortunately, this does not always happen, due to minimum staff being employed by most Homes which means that activities are limited. There are some exceptions. Will check the net and get back to yo.

Hi Elisabeth, re the "Broken Window Theory"- really interesting and I agree with the theory, despite the opinion of the few sceptics. It really makes sense. Dealing with the small problems in an area, in order to prevent larger one's happening is a good deterrent. It makes it more difficult for criminals and vandals to operate in well maintained communities.
The "Guerilla Gardening Movement" is brilliant and I never thought there were so many organised Groups.There have been a few extra seeds, plants and bulbs planted around Mablethorpe as an experiment but nothing on this scale. It is quite inspiring when you consider certain areas of neglected waste ground around our Town which need brightening up. Food for thought definately!!

Ah I hadn't thought about the bureaucracy that surrounds elderly people and those undergoing mental care!