'I filled my entire brown wheelie bin chopping these weeds down but I shouldn't have to' - These are the words of 60-year-old local resident Mick Dunne who believes the cleanliness of his street is being overlooked
Mick says he's been dealing with weeds of up to four feet growing along his road as well as litter and even used needles. He says he's been left with no option but to take matters into his own hands.
The construction company director who lives on Awsworth Road, Ilkeston, has claims his local area has started to go downhill and how he feels Erewash Borough Council has severely let him down, Derbyshire Live reports.
He said: "I've lived here 22 years and I've never seen it this bad and it's not just rubbish, debris and weeds. We're finding syringes on the road, which I binned as there were children playing outside of their houses.
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"The problem is, once you start letting footpaths get to such a state, it brings the whole area down. If the streets are kept tidy, people would respect the area more. It might be trivial to some people, but if you start leaving things like this, it brings the area down, when it's the council's job to maintain the footpaths.
"I filled my entire brown wheelie bin chopping these weeds down but I shouldn't have to. Everyone pays council tax and yet nothing is being done to keep the local areas tidy."
He continued: "I've emailed the council three times, I've spoken on the phone to the council and all they do is ask me to fill out a form. Then when I call back, they told me they were having IT issues and that the forms have been deleted by mistake. Well, if that's the complaint system, no wonder nothing is being done.
"I don't see street cleaners anymore around here. They will be at the top of the town which is where people visit, but they're forgetting about the areas in which people live. We have an old couple across the road, disabled people live here and they can't exactly go out and start pulling weeds and tidying as I did - not that I or anyone should have to!
"It's not just this road, if you were to drive down any road in Cotmanhay the rubbish and weeds are everywhere and no one is taking responsibility for it. People are becoming immune to it as they are seeing it every day and it's becoming the new norm. It's a nice street, there's a low crime rate, people are friendly and they deserve better, especially the older people who live down here.
"All councils are under pressure, but you see other areas that are kept tidy and clean, especially with the cost of tax going up, so why can't they do this area? I understand that they keep the marketplace tidy because that's where people visit, but what about where people are actually living?"
"I have had a response fairly quickly from Maggie Throup who is our local MP today, saying that she would raise the issue. It was a pleasant surprise that she replied so quickly, but it shouldn't have to get to this point."
Mick feels that his street is being unfairly overlooked for maintenance.
"They've either forgotten about this part of town or they're making cuts. Whatever the reason, I don't agree with it, we pay our council tax and so we should be able to get the services that come with that, otherwise, why pay it?
"The people in charge should ask the people of Ilkeston what's important to them. Clean streets, tidy streets and safe streets."
52-year-old Diane Norris, who lives on Bridge street agreed with Mick, saying: "Something needs to be done, I got fed up of contacting the council long ago as they never show up. Oh, but the council tax will increase with no questions asked."
28-year-old Luke Richardson lives further down Awsworth Road. He said: "My partner and I have only lived here for a couple of years but we can tell in that short amount of time that the street has declined rapidly in terms of cleanliness."
We contacted Erewash Borough Council who said they are investigating the matter.
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