Words by Erdington Ward Cllr Robert Alden – Leader of Birmingham Conservatives
As we enter April, Erdington and Birmingham have been facing a bin strike for over three months due to the dispute between two parts of the Labour movement.
Across the City there have been hugely concerning scenes of dumped rubbish sometimes piled up to shoulder height, blocking pavements and carriageways, while the papers have reported that rats are growing as large as cats and spreading exponentially.
That’s why, while the Labour Council failed to lead, as the opposition the Local Conservatives published our plan to end the strike and clean up the city.
We also called on the Council to declare a public health emergency, to ask neighbouring councils for help clearing up the 21,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish on the streets and we have offered as the opposition to join the gold command major incident board of the Council, putting residents first to help Labour end the crisis they created in Birmingham.
A massive thank you to local residents and everyone volunteering with Erdington Litter Busters and local friends groups helping to keep our area clean.
While press coverage around the world has highlighted rubbish issues in communities and at Mobile Collection sites across the city, Erdington’s recent visit passed with praise from the media for how calm and well-mannered it was and that there were no piles of dumped waste.
Once again, together as a community, we’ve shown why Erdington is such an amazing place to live.
For more from Erdington’s Councillor Robert Alden and Councillor Gareth Jones visit www.facebook.com/ErdingtonNews
