Street Scene Service Standards

     

The standards for street scene services are now available.  Shepway District Council sets itself high standards for maintaining the appearance of the district and should you have any comments regarding these standards please contact us.

Keeping Shepway clean is a top priority and we can do it if we work together.  We can all make an effort to keep our streets and open spaces clean and put our refuse out in the right place at the right time.  Here is what Shepway District Council promises to do:

Landfill waste

(Green-lidded wheeled bins and purple sacks.)

We will:

• Collect your landfill waste every two weeks on the same collection day.
• Return your bin to the collection point.
• Empty missed bins or collect missed bags within one working day.
• Deliver purple sacks every 13 weeks to your home, if you do not have a wheeled bin.
• Deliver wheeled bins within 10 working days on receipt of payment.

Recycling household and garden waste

(Recycling - black boxes* and blue bags; garden waste – brown-lidded wheeled bins)
We will:

• Collect recyclable material every week.
• Collect garden waste every two weeks.
• Return your boxes and bags to the collection point.
• Collect missed bins and bags within one working day.
• Deliver replacement black boxes and blue bags within 10 working days.
• Provide every household with collection dates for the following year during July.

* Red bags will be provided for customers who find it difficult to manage the black lidded boxes.

Please put your wheeled bins, boxes and bags out at the boundary of your property by 7.30am on the day of collection.

Note: Assisted collections are available to the elderly and disabled.  For more information call  01303 858660.

Clinical waste

We will:
On request from a district nurse or other medical professional, collect clinical waste on a weekly basis.  Provide a ‘drop-off’ facility at local pharmacies for needle boxes. 

Needles

We will:
Remove discarded syringes from council-managed land and the highway within two hours of being informed where it is safe to do so.

Bulky waste

We will:

• Collect bulky items within 7 working days of receipt of payment.
• Collect bulky items for an agreed charge.
• Collect bulky items from the front of your property.

Items must be out by 7.30am on the day of collection.

Most items are collected except for:

• Car parts.
• Window units.
• Garage doors.
• Patio doors.
• Large items of machinery.
• Hazardous waste.
• Builders’ rubble.
• Glass.
• Long lengths of metal or wood (2 metres or over).
• Items which two people cannot safely lift into the back of a refuse vehicle.

Fly-tipping

We will:

• Investigate reports of fly-tipping and dumped rubbish sacks within one working day.
• Remove dumped rubbish sacks within one working day.
• Remove fly-tipping from public land within 5 working days.

Abandoned vehicles

We will:

• Visit all reported vehicles within one working day.
• Arrange for the removal of 80% of abandoned vehicles within one working day of being legally entitled to do so.

Street cleansing

Our partner, Kent County Council, will keep our streets clean and free from litter to the standards in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Code of Practice: Refuse and Litter.

We will:

• Sweep Folkestone Town Centre, seven days a week.
• Sweep other town centres between five and seven days a week
• Empty all town centre litter bins as required.
• Sweep rural streets every 13 weeks.
• Sweep urban streets fortnightly.
• Issue penalty notices for littering.

Dog fouling and dog control

Dog mess is a nuisance and can make people ill. Toxocariasis, caused by roundworms in dogs, can be fatal.  Dog owners can reduce the risk by regularly worming their dogs and always clearing up after them.  Remember “Bag it, Bin it”.

We will:

• Investigate repeated reports of dog fouling.
• Target specific areas where dog fouling is a problem.
• Where good evidence is available, issue penalty notices, or prosecute irresponsible owners.
• Respond to stray dog calls within 2 hours of receiving a call during normal office hours.
• Enforce byelaws that prohibit dogs on certain beaches at certain times of the year.

Public conveniences

We will:

• Open not later than 8.00am.
• Close not earlier than 7.00pm during (April to September) and 5.30pm during (October to March).
• Clean Folkestone Town Centre toilets twice a day.
• Clean all other toilets once every day.

Graffiti

• Offensive graffiti will be removed or obscured within 2 working days.
• Other graffiti will be removed within 28 days.

Fly-posting

We will:

• Remove all reported fly-posting within one working day of being notified.
• Prosecute persistent offenders.

Cemeteries

We will:

• Provide a sympathetic service and the facilities for a dignified burial or cremation.
• Ensure that the council’s statutory duties in relation to the registration of burials are met.
• Ensure good and consistent standards of grounds maintenance on cemetery sites.

Play areas

We will:

• Inspect all play areas at least once a week.
• Ensure play areas are maintained in a safe condition.
• Empty play area bins at the time of inspection or when the bin is reported full.

Communication

We will:

• Respond to all telephone calls within one working day.
• Acknowledge all letters and emails requiring a reply within 7 calendar days and provide a full response within 28 days.