Last term, year 5 pupils at Marden Lodge School investigated the amount of litter in our environment during a walk around the local area as part of their "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle" topic. The children wrote persuasive letters to Tandridge Amenity Services informing them about the large amount of litter found in the area and suggesting ways to make improvements in order to create a cleaner and safer environment.Last week, in response to the letters, Mr Coughlan (Street Scene and Amenity Services Manager for Tandridge District Council) came and spoke to the class. He spent a lot of time listening to the children, answering their questions and discussing what Tandridge District Council can do to improve the current situation. Below is a list of the impact that our children's letters have had so far:
1. Street cleaning in the road outside the school will be increased from two to three times per week.
2. A fly-tip of crockery that was dumped just the other side of the school fence where it meets one side of the subway has been removed.
3. Tandridge District Council will be putting up anti-littering signs, anti-dog fouling signs, increasing the number of cleans in the area and providing more litter bins.
4. Mr Coughlan has contacted the graffiti contractor who will be removing the graffiti from the alleyway and the railway bridge in Burntwood Lane. They will also be re-painting all the subway tunnels under Wapses Lodge.
5. The children were made aware that Tandridge District Council has a 24-hour response to rude graffiti. The Caterham building that the children then told Mr Coughlan about was cleaned of the graffiti by the following morning – well within the 24-hour time period.
Class teacher Mrs Collier said that a suggestion by one of our pupils, Charlotte, to put the council's telephone number on the litter bins to help members of the public contact the street servicing team has been accepted and will be put on future signs, although this will not occur until the existing supplies are exhausted. Well done, Charlotte!!!Mr Coughlan was so impressed by the standard and enthusiasm of the letters that he has contacted Network Rail and Surrey County Council.Network Rail have now been made aware of the rubbish around the railway line and a request has been made for a deep clean-up of the area in question. In addition to this, it has been suggested that it would be worthwhile to stop future littering by increasing the height of the fences on the pedestrian footbridge.Surrey County Council has also been asked to replace a grit bin that is smashed and has no lid and is currently being used as an enormous ashtray. The bin has already been removed
1. Street cleaning in the road outside the school will be increased from two to three times per week.
2. A fly-tip of crockery that was dumped just the other side of the school fence where it meets one side of the subway has been removed.
3. Tandridge District Council will be putting up anti-littering signs, anti-dog fouling signs, increasing the number of cleans in the area and providing more litter bins.
4. Mr Coughlan has contacted the graffiti contractor who will be removing the graffiti from the alleyway and the railway bridge in Burntwood Lane. They will also be re-painting all the subway tunnels under Wapses Lodge.
5. The children were made aware that Tandridge District Council has a 24-hour response to rude graffiti. The Caterham building that the children then told Mr Coughlan about was cleaned of the graffiti by the following morning – well within the 24-hour time period.
Class teacher Mrs Collier said that a suggestion by one of our pupils, Charlotte, to put the council's telephone number on the litter bins to help members of the public contact the street servicing team has been accepted and will be put on future signs, although this will not occur until the existing supplies are exhausted. Well done, Charlotte!!!Mr Coughlan was so impressed by the standard and enthusiasm of the letters that he has contacted Network Rail and Surrey County Council.Network Rail have now been made aware of the rubbish around the railway line and a request has been made for a deep clean-up of the area in question. In addition to this, it has been suggested that it would be worthwhile to stop future littering by increasing the height of the fences on the pedestrian footbridge.Surrey County Council has also been asked to replace a grit bin that is smashed and has no lid and is currently being used as an enormous ashtray. The bin has already been removed