Frustrated founders wind down A27 Clean Up Campaign

The A27 Clean Up Campaign was launched on Facebook in 2019 and since then the founders behind the group have been working hard to hold authorities to account in clearing litter from the road.

Neil Kerridge, one of the founders, revealed this week despite all the hard work and ‘countless letters to quite high up in government’ they had ‘got nowhere’.

“It is often assumed that roadside litter clearance is the job of county councils, but under the current national system they are only responsible for road maintenance, which does include cutting the verges, but does not include litter,” Neil explained the complex situation.

“National Highways (called Highways England until recently) are responsible for cleaning motorways, which in the south means the M23 and the A27(M) towards Portsmouth.

“Otherwise, the responsibility of cleaning up litter from all roads, from the A27 right down to rural lanes and the backstreets of our towns, legally sits with local district councils.

“Some have their own teams to do this, others enter into contracts with companies such as Biffa or Kier, but either way it is the district councils job to ensure that roads are free from litter - if their teams or contractors are not performing this satisfactorily, the local district councils should be held to account.

“Worryingly, when asked, some councils don’t seem to know that this - or feel justified to say it’s not their responsibility simply because they have contracted it out.

“One area of genuine difficulty is health and safety - some more major roads like the A27 are now not litter picked at all unless fully closed overnight, which can be both difficult to agree with the highways agencies, and very expensive indeed, so may only happen once a year or less.

“The only solution is for councils to acknowledge that more needs to be done, and for better all round coordination.

“And at government level, it needs to be recognised as a major national issue which requires significantly more focus and money to sort out, including education and enforcement to prevent littering in the first place.”

The campaign group has been working tirelessly talking to the different authorities and MPs and the page has been a place where frustrated residents have posted pictures, videos and vented views.

In February the page described the ‘horrific amounts of litter along the roadside’ by Brighton as ‘nothing short of shocking’ and asked whether it was a scene that belonged in Britain in the 21st Century.

The campaign said: “You just don’t see conditions like this, just over the water in Europe, or in virtually any ‘modern’ country in the world. It just wouldn’t be acceptable.”

Earlier this month, the leader of Brighton and Hove Council Phélim Mac Cafferty spoke out against the ‘eyesore’ created by the large amount of litter left at the side of the key roads following an increase in complaints.

He has written to the government, calling for National Highways to accept responsibility cleaning these main routes into and out of the city.

You can read more about his plea to the government here.