Shrewsbury Park Residents' Association

Council owned kerb-side verge maintenance position statement

Dear fellow resident, 

This position statement has been prepared further to discussions at the Association’s 2011 Annual General Meeting and Committee meetings.

The Residents’ Association Committee does not support the idea that the Association should organise residents to undertake maintenance and litter picking of the Council-maintained roadside shrub beds, greens and verges. 

The Committee feels that it should explain its position on these matters and the rationale for it.

• Residents are paying for these basic street services to be provided in their Council Tax.  Residents would therefore be undertaking services that they are already paying for.

• It is unlikely that residents working on the public roadway would be able to comply with the relevant legislation or have the necessary high-visibility clothing or other required equipment.

• If it organised the work, the Residents Association would have a responsibility for any residents that were hurt or injured or if vehicles or property were damaged.

• For health and safety reasons, the local Safer Neighbourhood's Police Team has advised the Residents' Association Committee that it should not be organising residents to be working on kerb-side verges and greens etc., on or adjacent to the public road.

• If it organised the work, the Residents Association would be exposing residents to entirely avoidable hazards and risk and could potentially be in breach of any duty of care owed to residents.

• If the Association could comply with legislation and advice, it would then need to fund an insurance policy to cover this work paid for from the annual subscriptions.

• The Association has worked very hard to put in place improved maintenance arrangements with the Council to provide these street services.

• It would significantly weaken the Association’s position in its dealings with the Royal Borough in putting in place and keeping to an acceptable maintenance programme.

• The Council has an on-line system to report litter or other street defects and the Association is happy to report issues raised by residents.  The response to reported litter or graffiti has generally been effective.

• The Council has traditionally maintained the shrub beds and verges to a high standard until comparatively recently. It is the Association’s role and aim to restore these standards.

• If the Association organised working parties it would lead the Royal Borough to gradually withdraw its service provision, not increase it.

• The Estate-wide consistent appearance would be compromised.

• An initial enthusiasm might reduce in the face of the scale and regularity of the tasks on a year round basis.

• Residents lead increasingly busy lives and it is not the Association’s role to increase the burden on residents.

• Residents move away, leaving those remaining with a legacy of additional maintenance with Council Tax staying at the same level.

• The current Association Committee’s position is unchanged from all previous Committees.

In summary, the Association’s role is to ensure those responsible for carrying out the maintenance of the Estate do so and not for organising already hard-working residents into ‘work-around’ arrangements to cover these activities. 

The Association wishes to stress that it is not its intention to hold-back good neighbourliness and public spiritedness. 

If residents do have a few hours to spare for horticultural work, they may like to offer to assist an elderly neighbour or other resident living on the Estate who would appreciate help with maintaining their gardens. 

The Residents’ Association Committee is not ethically or legally able to give consent or implied consent by organising residents to work on public roads with power and hand tools and adjacent to moving and parked cars etc..  However, if residents choose, of their own volition, to pick up a piece of litter from their hedge as they pass, this is the choice of, and at the discretion of, the individual householder. 

Robert Million

Chair, Shrewsbury Park Residents’ Association