Two Stevenage Borough Council Bungles

9.09.09pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 30th Jun 2010

Within the last week, Environment officials at Labour dominated Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) have notched up two separate location errors within Stevenage.

BUNGLE 1:

Checking on a previously reported damaged street name plate for MILDMAY ROAD, Liberal Democrat group leader Robin Parker found that a new street name plate had indeed been fitted but it states MILDWAY ROAD (which has never existed in Stevenage). See photo attached.

BUNGLE 2:

Responding to local residents' concerns about excessive littering near the bus stop next to the junction of Sweyns Mead and The White Way, in Chells Manor, Liberal Democrat group leader Robin Parker got a new litter bin placed there a month or so ago. He later checked it was being emptied regularly, to find it was not - and in fact was overflowing with rubbish. Several calls were needed from him to Environmental Services at SBC before officials admitted they had got muddled and had been emptying a different bin and had not got the new one on their list. Officials now say it is being emptied. We will check in case of further bungles. See photo attached.

COMMENT:

Robin Parker said: "These bungles may be small ones, but it is not surprising mistakes like this happen when Stevenage Council's dominating Labour majority insist on also trying to run the official scrutiny side of things themselves - and when suggestions from the Liberal Democrats about possible service improvements, like the timing of litter picking, are ignored. We shall continue with our informal scrutiny as we always have done."