Litter & Anti-social behaviour

I have received an email asking me what would I do about graffiti, litter and anti-social behaviour.

To be honest, litter and graffiti are not great problems in Sittingbourne. There are a few certain areas which could do with a bit of tidying – such as the areas around Sittingbourne and Kemsley stations – but the cleansing services seem to be doing a good job at present. The key would be to ensure they retain the resources required to do this duty and don’t fall to the general reduction in cuts and services we see across local government. The overall appearance of the streets is good for image and morale. If you come across an issue give them a call on 01795 417850.

Anti-social behaviour is a general problem of society, but of course Sittingbourne has its share. Just this week my wife was attacked by kids throwing snowballs, and we’ve had eggs thrown at the house in the past, We are fortunate in that these are minor and rare occurrences – and a lot of people get this far worse. An example was on the front page of last week's East Kent Gazette referring to Ypres Drive.

This is something which Councils have to work on in partnership with the police, housing associations and other bodies and again it is a question of ensuring that the responsible teams have the resources and ability to carry out this role. For information I would refer you to www.swale.gov.uk or www.kent.police.uk.

As a candidate for County Councillor, I would be happy to take forward any of these issues. So if you experience anything specific in the Swale Central area, please email me.