Your Letters - July 6

Letters on Waste Collection

You would have thought that we had heard all we could about Rother's policy on recycling and household rubbish bins. Now there is a new twist to the story.

Those of us living in a block of more than twelve flats will not benefit from the generosity shown to other Council Tax payers who will have been supplied with new bins free of cost. In our case we will have to provide new bins to suit the pickup lorry of the new contractor, Verdant, at our own cost.

Since providing new bins to blocks of flats numbering just 12 will have cost Rother Council in the region of at least 350, one would have thought that the Council could have extended its generosity to at least making equal funds available to those blocks with more than twelve flats.

Patrick W. Johnson

Devonshire House, Devonshire Road.

VERY rarely so I write to your paper but I am writing with regard to the recycling situation. My husband and I have recycled for years our papers, glass and plastic. Therefore, we are not anti recycling.

What we do find appalling is the fact that our rubbish is only going to be collected fortnightly.

Yesterday we went past our black bin from which a disgusting smell was emitting and lifted the lid, which was tightly closed, to find it covered in maggots. The smell was appalling. We were informed in the literature which came with our bins that because the lid was kept closed there would not be a health hazard and no smell.

We double-wrap all our rubbish and any wasted food is wrapped in a plastic bag then put into our indoor bin-liner and when that is full is then put in our dustbin liner - so everything is triple-wrapped. So we were appalled to see the state of our bin yesterday (and this is in a week when we have cool weather, what is going to happen in a heat-wave?)

Our son used to live in Eastbourne, where they have had wheelie bins for years. Yet the services we receive are less and less. It is quite acceptable for recycling to be done fortnightly, but we think for health reasons the rubbish should be collected weekly. How long before we have rats all round because many people do not wrap their rubbish and cannot get all their rubbish in the bins and it will be sitting around for two weeks rotting, allowing the seagulls, foxes, rats etc to spread it all over the place? What do we pay our Council Tax for?

R.G. and Mrs V.A. Wright

(Address supplied).

YOUR correspondent D. Duly (June 29) asks when Rother will introduce an adult version of the recycling pamphlet. If he goes round prior to a collection, he will find many people cannot understand the existing one, perhaps a tiny-tots pop up picture version is needed first? Please don't nitpick. I thought the existing one was clear, informative and easily referenced.

N A TAYLOR

Portfield Close.

I KNOW that this could be seen as another rant but our first collection of waste in black wheelie bins was due for Friday, June 29. This did not happen and I was told by the Verdant depot when I rang them that the collection if not by 5.30 that evening would take place on Saturday 30th to catch up. Being away in Cardiff that weekend I returned on the Sunday evening and found the bin still full as were my neighbours bins, I was told by one of them that Verdant had sent a recyclables lorry on Saturday and did not pick anything up (not surprising as it should have been wheelies). As all residents had followed the instructions in the letter sent to them by the company I am surprised that they could not follow their own instructions, this seems to be a bit incompetent to say the least.

Now we are left wondering if we will have to wait another two weeks as next should be a recyclable collection. Of course we could guess and be 50% right (or 100% wrong). It is not surprising that people are not happy with the situation as it is

R. A. BRYANT

Wrestwood Road.

Copy of letter to Verdant / Rother

I HAVE been trying without success to telephone you. The bin for papers was too small for a fortnight's newspapers - I could never put the lid on.

You then announced that there would be a three- week delay in collecting paper.

After three weeks you left me a sticky note saying that my bin was too heavy for collection, and took none of the papers for recycling.

This means that it will be five weeks prior to your next collection, by which time there will be even more recycling for collection.

Can I please have a bigger paper collector, or two or three normal sized ones?

Could you also define what is too heavy to collect and how I am supposed to weigh the bin to establish this?

K. Kennedy

Ceylon Walk.

Copy of letter to Rother.

THANK you for the council's standard letter in response to my letter of complaint dated June 6.

I must say as a council taxpayer it does not give me any hope that either the council of Verdant has a clue of what they are doing.

The fact that a "circular letter" has had to be produced to answer the volume of complaints shows that the council's record of poorly thought-out schemes continues.

Prior to this fiasco, the previous waste collection was excellent and in particular the helpfulness of the refuse collectors second to none.

The inept government we have did not say that household waste has to be collected fortnightly, just that it has to be recycled.

It is / was Rother's decision to go to fortnightly household waste collections and to DEMAND that the taxpayer sorts the waste for the council, who cannot even award the contract to a company who can work to the submitted plan I assume they presented to the council at the tender stage.

How can older people who do not drive get to the glass and cardboard recycling bins?

Many councils have already returned to weekly collections of household waste and have not sat in their cosy offices waiting and hoping that the TAXPAYER gives up with their complaints.

My wife and I are just taxpayers who want our tax money spent in a professional manner and not WASTED on half-baked, ill-thought schemes and awarded to companies who are not "up to the job."

David Barnes

(Address supplied).

Extract from a letter sent to Rother District Council

I CONTACTED you the other day from work to ask for extra collection boxes as we are trying to do the right law abiding thing and boxes are too small, and also to ask a few more questions regarding the recycling of cardboard as there is some confusion when reading the Rother recycling website, but my main concern was why my rubbish had not been collected on Friday, June 15, when I had done everything which had been asked from yourselves.

I have since spoken to my neighbours and some residents in Amanda Close. Some had their bins collected on Friday but the majority us did not, why is this?

The area of Amanda Close is now beginning to smell of rubbish something which has never happened before.

My bins are full to the brim, and to add further insult, I watched today a refuse lorry back down to one address in Amanda Close, collect and empty one recycling box and drive off leaving everyone else alone with full bins.

I phoned the council to ask why and I was left with a poor response from a secretary who said 'not much we can do but we're trying'... well, this certainly is trying. I have not had my rubbish collected for two weeks. This scheme which Rother decided to introduce, (and to the best of my knowledge without any consultation with Rother's residents) has been a total cock up.

When you look at areas like Wealden they have managed to get it right, why can't Rother?

As far as I am concerned you are annoying the sort of people who have always tried their best to do the right thing, and also encourage others who can't be bothered to fly tip ... well done, whoever set this up must be really proud!

A LAWRENCE

Amanda Close.

TO whom this applies: the stream that runs along by the side of our house is not the place for you to throw your black bag of rubbish late on Saturday night, June 23.

Why did you not put it out for the dustman who came round on Wednesday?

How do you know you were not seen? So watch out.

Whoever you are, have you also not heard of recycling?

My husband and brother dragged it out and put it in the rubbish bin where you were too lazy to walk and put it.

Do not forget it is Wednesday once a fortnight when the rubbish is collected and not dumped in the stream.

People like the above disgust me.

M. Oliver

Eastwood Road.

I LIVE in a large block of flats in Cooden Drive, where we have not been given wheelie bins/ recycling boxes etc.

Since the excitement of the new scheme started, we have suffered unscheduled fortnightly collections instead, and, like many residents, phone calls and emails to the Council have not been actioned.

However, according to the council statement on page 19 of last week's Observer we should still "receive a weekly black sack collection" as it is not possible to introduce the new scheme in certain properties i.e. flats.

At least that answers my original question to them, but who knows how long it will take for us to regain our weekly collection that we should not have lost in the first place?

Helen Phillips

and several other bewildered flat dwellers

Grove Court

Cooden Drive.

FIRST of all, we are recycling-conscious. When we were much younger and fitter we collected hundreds of tons of newspaper before recycling was an issue.

Recycling round here is a shambles. Last week we received our black box with a letter saying that they would collect the wheelie bin rubbish on June 29 and newspaper, tins and plastics on July 6.

About two hours later a gentleman knocked on the door and gave us another letter, saying that the other one had been delivered wrongly.

The new letter said that they would collect the wheelie bin on June 29 and the newspaper and tins and plastics on July 6 - the opposite of the first letter.

What happened today (June 29) they were collecting newspaper tins and plastic - the opposite of the second letter!

What a waste of time and money.

Please, please get organised and let us have peace of mind as to when you are collecting what.

Paul and Linda Gunstone

St Peter's Crescent.

SINCE Verdant took over we at 54 and 56 Ninfield Road, Sidley do not exist any more. We did not receive a wheelie bin or a note saying we were not viable, so we rang and had wheelie bin and a black box delivered. Last week 56 put out the black box - no collection, I at 54 walk to Sidley car park and do my own recycling.

On Thursday, June 28 wheelie bin day, bins at edge of property at 6.45am, dust carts charged up Ninfield Road and you guessed, did not stop. With Rother the crew of the Phoenix cart always stopped at around 7am and removed the black sacks, early pick up is advisable as Ninfield Road cloggs up after 7.45am. So once again I called Verdant and was promised a pick up later on - nothing. Are the Verdant drivers all suffering from tunnel vision?

Someone is ignoring their work sheet; surely they should be brought to task or in a fortnight do I phone again for the mop up crew or don't we exist any more I wonder whether Rother will find us when we do not pay full Council Tax for a service they do not provide?

C WARNER

Ninfield Road.

DO the men from Verdant wear blindfolds? I have not had my papers collected from my green box now for five weeks, so needless to say it is full to the brim.

It is positioned alongside my front path, for all to see so cannot I understand why they are being overlooked.

So I approached a Verdant driver a week ago regarding a collection. He said he would arrange it for the next day, but needless to say nothing happened.

So when I went to the Egerton Park Green Day I approached the Rother District Council representative and he took all my details, promised faithfully to follow the problem up.

Once again, after yet another week, no progress has been made.

So I have now visited the help desk at Amherst Road and a young lady said she would contact the company - on returning from a day out there were two phone messages from the help desk asking me to be available to show the Verdant driver where the green box is! I just despair.

Barbara Beck

Parkhurst Road

WE were informed that our waste collection would be on Thursdays. So far we have not had a collection on Thursday or any other day.

J Camden-Field

Brassey Road.

'Rape' action

IN response to the fake rape story reported in your paper over the last two weeks, can I ask Bexhill police, through you, to explain their actions? By letting this person off uncharged, they have effectively made such criminal deception legal. If I walked into a bank and secured a loan through such deception I would expect to be charged. If, God forbid, some poor soul had been arrested after this person's claim of rape, they would be looking at many years in prison. This girl has been given licence to do this kind of thing again, with Bexhill police's blessing.

They have also sent out a clear message to anyone with a similar view that any false claim will be met with a similar pathetic response. I cannot stress how seriously many people I have spoken to view this police action, and request you, or the police, name this young criminal, for that is what she is. There was no suggestion she was deranged or otherwise suffered from any mental illness, so we must assume she is of sound mind?

The police have withheld this person's name when they could easily disclose it. The ludicrous injustice of it all is that any person charged with an offence will be duly reported in your paper, prior to any legal hearing. Those people are all innocent of course, at the time. This girl has admitted guilt yet faced no charges. The inconsistency of the police is galling to say the least, and is not in the public interest. If someone had been arrested and charged through her lies, they would be named and shamed in your paper and the court of public opinion, even though they were innocent.

The best interests of the public have not been served in this matter, and Bexhill police need to re-appraise their actions, when dealing with allegations of such a serious nature - they don't need to be made to look fools any more times before the local community begin to question their abilities and efficiency, and potential to protect and serve.

P BENTLEY

Cooden Drive..

Plan confusion

I AM somewhat confused after visiting the presentation for the (North Bexhill) proposed developments.

Photographs of buildings that bear no relation at all to the proposed new towns or industrial estates, in fact one photograph I recognised as a timber-framed building in Tenterden, Kent.

A new colouring by numbers map, a slip of a felt tip pen here and there and we have a couple of new roads with an intersection on the by-pass linking the new industrial estate, the other linking the affordable housing of the new town with Pebsham Lane, and not to mention 400 new houses added to an overcrowded site, backing on to existing gardens with no thought or provision for screening between new and existing dwellings!

Please enlighten me as to the changes that have been made, drawings altered, and all in a space of several weeks since the Bexhill, Hastings Link Road exhibition, and somehow I have an uncomfortable feeling that more changes will be made without our knowledge or involvement. Oops, another slip of that felt tip pen.

Richard Paine

Gwyneth Grove.

Missing link

THIS is a copy letter of my views forwarded to the planners for the proposed link road and future development. I do feel I am wasting my time because of my past experience with planning, even though I'm sure the many letters and sensible views you will receive won't make the slightest difference - it's all just a PR exercise.

The proposed road is a poor solution. It is rushing the traffic to a bottleneck on the Ridge which is almost like a country lane and other roads in the St Leonards area.

My main worry is that Rother council are pushing for this road to release the building land at Worsham Farm for 1100 residential units and factories on adjacent land. Do the planners have any understanding of the area?

I live in Pebsham area and the change in the volume of traffic on Hastings Road and Wrestwood Road to the Glyne Gap shopping centre due to all the new building residential units on hand around this area and the new college is dramatic. How can these roads take the massive increase of traffic from such a future development of residential units. Where is the infrascturcure for all the people, the Conquest Hospital must be at full capacity by now.

I speak for many and from our experience our standards and quality of life that we have worked hard to achieve is slowly being eroded by continually trying to cram in even greater density within already established areas. It is a disaster waiting to happen, with the blessing of the planners, because it does not affect their quality of life where their homes are.

These are the views of very disillusioned Council Tax payers who are not listened to any more.

K. HAWES

Rowan Gardens.

Anti-brigade

It is a shame that the RDC Tories have wasted 250,000 on the silly recycling advertising campaign, whilst unable to implement the service smoothly. Those funds could have paid off most of the deficit incurred by the De La Warr Pavilion, a far better use of tax payers' money in my view.

My sister and friends came down from Liverpool (a city which has been awarded the status of European City of Culture 2008), excited about seeing the revamped Pavilion and to attend the Eddie Izzard charity performance. They were appalled and bewildered at the disregard that most Bexhillians have for the building.

Now the unelected "anti-brigade" on the Town Forum wants to put the final nail in the coffin by seeking to influence future funding and artistic content. It would appear from recently reported low attendance of the forum that most people in the town have no interest in this poor excuse for a Town Council, and therefore it cannot claim to represent the views of all residents. I am glad that a proportion of my Council Tax helps support this magnificent landmark. I hope that maybe there are few people in Bexhill who share this opinion.

Stephanie Webb

Wickham Avenue.

Common sense?

I HAVE lived and traded in the Little Common area for 25 years and feel that the news of this planning consent being granted, possibly to Tesco's, is appalling.

Aside from the political reasons, the voice of common sense should be asking WHY?

Why do we need another supermarket in Little Common when we have a perfectly respectable Co-Op, a small convenience store, another small store in Lo-cost at the station, a small Tesco not many yards outside Little Common, not to mention the larger Sainsbury and Tesco nearby.

What will happen if that store opens, whoever owns it? They will undercut the Co-Op which will then close and Little Common will be left with a white elephant of a store in it's midst which no-one but a supermarket will want to rent.

Trading conditions for all small traders are more than a little difficult in these days of out-of-town shopping and the internet. Why must these large corporations be allowed to muscle their way in and destroy the atmosphere of a nice village community.

What a pity our councillors are afraid to stand up to these bully boys. Before too long we will be changing our name of Great Britain to Great Tesco Land.

Pauline Oakley

Gatehouse Close.

Fading memory

THE one good thing that has come out of the Corporate cock-up known as "Love Rother, love recycling" is that we have all forgotten the De La Warr Pavilion fiasco, the closed toilets disgrace, the non-existent Tourist Centre and the pile of hardcore formerly known as the Grand Hotel. How about applying for Grade 2 Listed status?

Two months ago some people were knocking on our doors for our vote and promising that they would solve all our problems. When are the Rother District Council going to admit the job is beyond them and do the honourable thing and resign.

P.D. EDMOND

Cantelupe Road.

We're fuming

Re: Smoking ban

THE ban will certainly effect my family and friends.

Firstly, now the railways have decided to go one step further than our dictatorship government and ban smoking outside and on open-air platforms we will no longer be doing our 70+ train journeys a week to and from work, plus other trips, instead we will resort to using three cars between the five of us, if we are not catered for as passenger then neither should our money be acceptable. As for cafes / restaurants / pubs / clubs etc, we will only go to such places from now on if the weather is nice enough to sit outside (which should save us a fortune), instead of various days out to other towns for Christmas shopping, with lunch and coffee stops. We will now mainly shop by TV at home and via the internet.

This idea should save us smokers a fortune, but not in cigarettes, in fares and eating and drinking out, hopefully, we'll be able to save enough over the years to retire to a free country, which is our aim.

MRS FITCHNER

Linden Road.

So messy

Re: Glyne Gap Roundabout and surrounding area

AS a resident of this area for some time I write to express feelings of dismay and disgust at the mess that surrounds this area that is the scene that welcomes visitors from the eastern end of the town.

Firstly the roundabout itself that is an ongoing mess of weeds, this the roundabout that was given a very expensive facelift some time ago at a cost I believe, of 10,000. Who is responsible for this mess?

The grass verges bordering the road here are a mess of old bottles, cans, plastic bags, never ever cleared away - only this morning on walking by I noticed, yes, the grass had been 'cut' or slashed away leaving an even worse mess where the cutter had cut a lot of plastic into smaller pieces and then gone away without clearing up. I would like to ask the question who are the people responsible for these areas, are there not any quality controls on work done? Where are the councillors who not so long ago were exhorting us to vote for them!

Come on, we in this area pay an equal council tax and other taxes as other areas where you see lovely flowers on the west and northern approaches.

ROBIN C SMITH

School Place.

Ripping yarn

I saw the article in this weeks Observer about seagulls ripping open rubbish bags, and thought I'd write in and tell you about my encounter with a greedy seagull on Saturday morning.

I had made a cake for my Nan's 80th birthday party, and it was on my kitchen work top waiting to be iced. I was in my lounge with my two children, we heard a noise and my daughter ellie aged five went to investigate, she came running back screaming " There's a seagull in the kitchen". I could not believe my eyes when I saw a seagull standing on my worktop, you've guessed it... eating the birthday cake. It had squeezed through the window, which was only open a little way just to let some fresh air in. We managed to get it back out the window, not before it added insult to injury and pooped on the worktop (it obviously didn't think much of my cake).

So after disinfecting, I set to making another cake. And, as you can imagine, was a great topic of conversation at the party.

I can laugh about it now but at the time I was not at all impressed.

There is now a fat seagull full of chocolate cake flying around Bexhill.

Sarah Potts

Collington Avenue.

Healthy NHS

IN the light of all the negative press of the NHS receives we would like to let people know of our good experience.

Mum, (Ida Thatcher) was taken into the Conquest with cancer with no chance of survival. She was treated very well during her stay there and kept as comfortable as possible whilst trying to treat her.

Once it was realised that no more could be done she was transferred to the Irvine Unit where they made her feel very welcome and kept her comfortable during what could have been a very traumatic and painful time for her and for us.

All of the staff there were friendly and attentive and particularly empathetic towards us when she finally passed away.

We just wanted to thank the staff at both the Conquest and the Irvine Unit for doing a great job. The care they take is very much appreciated they are all very special people.

MICHAEL & VANESSA PARKER

The Shrublands.