Column: Cllr Howard Blagbrough: A Cleaner Calderdale

That’s why the Conservative Group is bringing forward a Motion at the September Full Council Meeting for a Cleaner Calderdale. We believe this is important because cleaner local communities and well-kept green spaces foster civic pride and encourage residents to spend more time outdoors.

A Cleaner Calderdale will also help make our towns and villages feel safer and more welcoming for both residents and visitors, ultimately supporting local businesses and strengthening the economy.

Despite the challenges, Calderdale is fortunate to have brilliant volunteer groups who give up their time to pick litter and report fly-tipping. Without them, we would be in a far worse state. We should be equally grateful to Council Officers in the Greener and Environmental Teams who do tough, unglamorous work every day with limited resources.

But gratitude alone won’t fix the problem. We need to change course on a few decisions that, however well-intended, haven’t served Calderdale well.

For example, cutting the number of public bins has made it harder to keep our streets tidy, and the “No Mow May” policy creates a backlog for the Greener and Environmental Teams which leads to overgrown hedges, grass uncut, and weeds spreading. This is not only an eyesore, but also creates hazards near highways, pavements, and footpaths.

Therefore, the Conservative motion calls for the Council to increase the number of public litter bins across Calderdale and the frequency they are collected and putting a stop to the "No Mow May" policy by returning to a regular schedule of green space maintenance during spring and summer months.

However, we understand the financial pressures on the Council, so the motion requests the Council Leader writes to the national Government for additional ring-fenced funding to tackle fly-tipping, littering and the management of green spaces.

The Council has a central role in resolving these problems, but residents, businesses and landowners all have a part to play. It is completely unacceptable that people drop litter in our town centres and along our roads. Fly-tipping is a particular blight, costing the Council around £1 million in the past year – this money could be better spent on public services.

To tackle this behaviour, attitudes need to change and offenders must face more serious consequences, so the motion will urge national Government to substantially increase fixed-penalty notices and fines for fly-tipping and littering.

We are also asking the Government to explore additional measure such as supervised ‘Corrective Work Orders’, used in places like Singapore, where individuals found guilty of littering are required to participate in supervised litter-picking.

Finally, we want to launch a local Keep Calderdale Clean campaign, working with schools, businesses and community groups to promote everyday responsibility and to further support the fantastic volunteer litter-picking groups we already have.