Feedback to help improve street cleansing

Published: 6 September 2023

An image of a waste vehicle

A review of the council’s waste service has resulted in a number of improvements being recommended.

A report by East Kent Audit Partnership has identified that some aspects of the street cleansing service that need to improve, particularly in relation to ensuring that town centres and busier areas of the district.

The household waste collection service was reported as performing well with no major issues raised.

Veolia provide the district’s waste and street cleansing service in a joint contract with Dover District Council, where the vast majority of the audit inspections took place.

Cllr Jeremy Speakman, Cabinet Member for Assets and Operations, said: “The household waste collection service is performing very well and it is good to have this confirmed by the findings of the recent audit.

“There are however some important lessons to take from the report as we strive to ensure that the appearance of the district’s public spaces and street scene is maintained to a high standard.

“I'm pleased this audit has highlighted what we need to do and we will work with our partners to ensure that the required improvements are put in place.”

Among the recommendations being made to the Audit and Governance Committee on Wednesday 13 September are that monitoring carried out by the councils’ joint team is robust enough to ensure that contract standards are met.