A27 Clean Up Campaign

Litter cameras to be trialled

The Telegraph

A debate in Parliament last week on the littered state of roads “maintained” by National Highways. Many of the comments raised were very good… the replies from the Minister for Roads, Richard Holden, were less so.

Parliamentlive.tv Westminster Hall

Heywood Foundation Prize - Cleaning Up our National Roads (just sent to MPs along the south coast by a local resident… it sums up the issues very well)

Dear Local MPs

I am attaching a copy of my submission to the Heywood Foundation relating to clearing the litter from our national roads. Your area is mentioned in my submission but I shall not bother you with the images of litter/abandoned equipment as I am sure you will be fully aware of the disgraceful scene in our area (and elsewhere).

For many years now we have been campaigning for the necessary change to clean up our national roads but the Government has failed miserably to tackle this and the problem is getting worse each year.

If you have any influence over this matter, could you please bring this to bear. I cannot believe that politicians of any party would want to see this country looking so filthy and such an embarrassment internationally.

Kind regards

Some of will have noticed that the Lewes stretch of the A27 has recently been cleaned. Lewes District Council has had to apply to National Highways (previously Highways England) for permission to close the road at night time, specifically to litter pick the verges. This costs a fortune. We don’t know how much this time, but previously we have been quoted £50,000 per closure on this stretch - and that’s before you take into account the cost of cleaning itself.

LDC staff worked for 9 nights to litter pick 12 miles of verges, starting at Beddingham, working to Falmer, and then back to Southerham. We thank them very much for their hard work, in difficult night time conditions. We also thank LDC for paying for the closure, recognising that the previous policy of trying to coordinate with Nationals Highways to wait for their closures just doesn’t work. Unfortunately, the same litter pickers who cleared this were disappointed to see that the litter has already started coming back, but that is the nature of the problem we face, and only enforcement (of which their is currently none) will stop this.

Paying the expensive price for closing the A27 specifically for litter picking does seem to be the only solution that works currently (National Highways having previously refused calls from local MPs and this campaign to take responsibility for litter clearance themselves). However, it’s still not that easy, as Brighton and Hove CC have recently reported to us. They had a planned closure (also to be paid for by them) booked last autumn, but National Highways cancelled this at the last minute, requiring the road to stay open due to emergency measures elsewhere, and no closure had been agreed since. They are targeted on keeping the road open, not clean, and they don’t allow closures as often as they are needed, as can be seen from the state of the Brighton stretch.

Anyone driving along the Brighton stretch of the A27 currently, alongside the National Park and scenery of supposedly national importance, can’t fail to notice the absolutely horrific amounts of litter along the roadside. It really is nothing short of shocking. The verges are COVERED in rubbish, from plastic sheeting and bags, to polystyrene, mattresses and cans. Surely this isn’t a scene that belongs in Britain in the 21st Century?

What a terrible indictment of our area, Brighton & Hove City Council (a Green Party controlled council!), Highways England and particularly of our local MPs and all the parties they represent, who ultimately run the country. This is a failure at every level, how can they all be allowed to get away with this, or pass the blame around?

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. So how do our authorities keep on getting elected, and paid, when they fail in one of the most basic tasks they are legally required to deliver? Anybody visiting our shores must be shocked by what they see, and many will no doubt conclude that Britain is falling apart. And seeing scenes like this, they’d probably be right.

So, WHAT ARE THOSE IN AUTHORITY GOING TO DO TO CHANGE THIS? No mutterings about missed cleaning slots and no opportunities to close the road please. What are you actually going to do differently in future, as clearly your current “strategy” is a total failure. How are you going to significantly increase the amount of cleaning you do? How are you going to enforce the law and prevent the illegal load shedding and littering that happens on this road every single day? Or have you lost control of that too?

No more excuses please.

Lewes District Council litter pickers were out on the A27 last night, and cleared just over of mile of roadside from Beddingham roundabout to the paragliding club. They were scheduled to continue further on tonight, but unfortunately that has had to be cancelled due to the weather, and it will now probably not be cleared for a while.

This a very good example of how difficult it is for councils to clean these roads, a problem we do understand. They have to litter pick at night, and those night shifts have to be scheduled in advance as the workers have to be rested in advance. If a slot is missed, as tonight’s now will be, it can’t just be done the following night… the schedules can’t be that flexible.

Some good news is that it sounds like Lewes District Council are hoping to litter pick the A27 from Beddingham westbound towards Falmer in March, although this hasn’t been confirmed yet. Let’s hope that it does go ahead, and that the weather holds!

A lone litter picker has messaged us with these photos - litter picked from the A27 on the Kingston / Ashcombe stretch west of Lewes. She also saw another litter picker out there today on the Ashcombe stretch, does anybody know who that was? It seems like a number of people are taking matters into their own hands, and are starting to make a big difference.

Well done to all who do this, but please do stay safe!

An update on some of the great work carried out by volunteers removing historic litter from the roads of East Sussex in 2021, including a litter pick of the A27 in April. Another litter pick of the A27 between Beddingham and Southerham is expected for the Spring sometime.

Although the condition of the roads in the rest of East Sussex is really looking up, the A27 continues to be a problem. We are still in dialogue with the councils along the route (particularly B&HCC and LDC), and we’re hoping for a council litter pick in the New Year, but the same old issues remain… B&HCC we’re planning a litter pick in November to coincide with planned closures, but once again the closure was postponed by Highways England.

Some sections are better than others - the A27 between Polegate and Pevensey is looking pretty good on the whole, and local residents continue to litter pick accessible sections and junctions on an ad hoc basis. If anybody feels like litter picking an area near them, it would make a good New Year resolution! Here’s to a happy, healthy and cleaner 2022 for all A27 supporters.