I received a reply from Ealing Council on 26 June as follows:Dear Ms Fernandez,Thank you for taking the time to give us some feedback about your recent experiences. I can assure you the closure of the Street Watchers mailbox is not a reflection of the councils commitment to your service, the council considers Street Watchers a valuable asset in helping us to keep the borough clean and improving local neighbourhoods. I’m sorry if you felt this way.I’d like to explain a bit more why we’ve made these recent changes.Changes to the reporting system have come about as a direct result of implementing methods which are integrated with the respective contractors. Many of the web based reporting pages are linked directly to the contractor, this means the matter is directly logged with the service responsible for employing a solution. In the past when you emailed the Street Watchers mailbox it could take up to 36 hours before the matter was logged in by Customer Services and sent to the contractor, by using the reporting forms, this lag time is reduced. We recognise the reporting system is not fool proof, our web team have been alerted to some of the issues residents have had and I can assure you the web pages are being updated. If you have any suggestions as to how the council could help Street Watchers use the web based system, please feel free to let us know.There are many ways in which Street Watchers can help to improve the quality of life for all those who live in their neighbourhood. Residents are the eyes and ears of their community , collectively they are a strong force that can come together to bring about long term solutions. Organising regular litter picks, working with local businesses to fund skips for bulky items, working together to create a strong community spirit can all help to deter the few who do not act responsibly. I would encourage you to work with your local councillors and their ward forum to look at establishing projects which bring the community together to address local issues. If you need ideas about community projects and information on hosting community events please go to the councils resident engagement website Bubble, you can find it at www.dosomethinggood.org.ukKind RegardsTan Afzal Community Management Coordinator “Enabling Better Communities”( 020 8825 6426 / 07525 893580* afzalt@ealing.gov.uk+ 5/NE/14 Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, London, W5 2HLPerhaps at the very least they should at least have advised Streetwatchers of their plans, I know we were given a different title and that the department was amalgamated with one other, but that's about it!There is no doubt in my mind that they have sidelined the volunteers who became Streetwatchers and the result is obvious. Some of our streets are filthy.Flytipped rubbish is on the increase.Some wheelie bins are left on the pavement, perhaps residents have no space for them?Discarded black plastic bins filled with rubbish can be found in the street where I live, these have been there since the introduction of the new scheme on 6 June.Graffiti is also on the increase.I have sent an email to the council but no response.Sadly I can envisage the situation deteriorating even further. Are there any Streetwatchers left I wonder?The council should have come up with another idea so we could continue to report antisocial behaviour quickly, not waste our precious time trawling through the Ealing Council website.As I said we are all volunteers doing a service for the community, all the council had to do was ask their contractors to clean up the mess!I have given up!
Jean F Fernandez ● 3586d