Tidy Our Town: Womble describes town centre litter as an ‘embarrassment’ and says there’s ‘no reason’ for it
A dedicated Womble has described littering in the town centre as an “embarrassment” and explained why the volunteer group particularly focuses on routes into the centre of town.
Alison McClean, who first started litter picking three years ago in the summer of 2021, shared why you are unlikely to see the Litter Wombles’ distinctive purple hi-vis jackets in the town centre.
She used the Barrack Road as her first example of a main route, which is a hotspot they like to return to due to the “extensive and repeated littering”.
“There have been rats running around the residential area and food outlets,” said Alison. “And it’s not on.”
Hampton Street, off St Andrew’s Road in Semilong, was picked recently and 70 purple bags were filled in just an hour-and-a-half – as well as a number of fly tips reported.
No sooner had previous fly tips been removed, Alison said it happens again and she would like to see CCTV assessed in these hotspots to track down the culprits.
“Wellingborough Road and Kettering Road are two more examples,” she continued. “There are decent families there who want to take care of their areas. It doesn’t matter what they do, the litter isn’t collected regularly.”
Two success stories in the Mounts area, a route regularly used to reach the town centre, are Duke Street and Charles Street.
In Duke Street, the amount of litter bags filled by the Wombles each time has reduced massively and the group are making strides in changing people’s attitudes in the area.
The Lab’s litter picking group, who tackle Charles Street, do “amazing work” and their pop-up bins on railings saw two permanent bins recently installed.
‘There is no reason why the town centre should be unclean’
Talking about the littering in the town centre, highlighted recently in a Chronicle & Echo story, Alison said: “This is our county town and it’s an embarrassment. The streets are filthy. Other towns litter pick and hose down the streets after the night time economy first thing in the morning.”
She referenced the vomit and urine, along with the overwhelming smell it creates, and bins behind shops – though Alison knows this is not always the fault of the businesses.
“Wombles shouldn’t be tackling the town centre,” Alison continued. “We have wardens to hand out fines and street cleaners, there is no reason why it should be unclean. It’s a desperate shame that our town, which used to be so lovely, looks so sorry.
“It is reflected in towns across the nation and it isn’t specific to Northampton.”
Having touched on the topic with Alison previously, she was asked if one of the reasons why the Northants Litter Wombles do not tackle the town centre is because they are not a litter clearing service. They do it out of passion and kindness.
“Absolutely,” she said. “That’s it in a nutshell. We tackle residential areas and places where people can’t do it themselves. There’s no reason why volunteers should be litter picking the town centre, or litter picking full stop.”
This dedicated picker would like to see a “holistic approach” from the local authorities, with more of a focus on routes into the town centre which visitors see first.
Alison says the response to West Northamptonshire Council’s app to report fly tips has been positive from the volunteer group.
“In most people’s experience, reporting it on the app gets it resolved quicker and it’s user friendly,” she said. “But not everybody wants to use technology.”
Despite the positive impact the app may have on residential areas, Alison says the issues with the town centre come from a place of “laziness”.
She concluded: “If it looks untidy, people don’t mind adding to it. Litter has become the norm, people become blind to it and the consequences. We need a mindset change.”
If you would like to get involved in the Tidy Our Town campaign, established in collaboration with the Northants Litter Wombles, email [email protected].