Over the years Brighton and Hove has had more faces than a cuckoo clock shop.

From its roots as a fishing village to becoming a playground for royalty to the kiss-me-quick cheeky seaside resort, there isn’t much that our city has turned its hand to.

But, in the last few months, I have noticed another side which is slowly emerging.

And this one will not boost jobs or the city’s reputation on a wider scale.

In fact, it will do the complete opposite.

See Brighton and Hove is very quickly becoming the scrubbiest place in the country – some days truly befitting its moniker of Skidrow-on-sea.

I say scrubby and not dirty as there is a big difference.

Dirty is done through neglect, but scrubby almost seems like a lifestyle choice.

From grotty railings to fly tipped mattresses, boarded up homes to rubbish bags strewn across the street, there’s a lot left to be desired in Brighton and Hove.

Now some of these issues do come down to the fact the city is so densely populated.

In some corners of Brighton and Hove there is simply no space to do anything.

Bikes, bins, children’s scooters – there’s nowhere inside the house to store these things.

Such mess – albeit temporarily – plants the seed in people’s minds that it is acceptable.

The same can be said for communal bins.

Overall they have been a great idea, especially in the packed city centre where there’s no room to swing a cat, never mind store a bin.

But then there are things that everyone can keep on top of.

Like littering or giant weeds or the appearance of their homes.

There should be no reason why every time I get on the bus there is a bit of detritus left on at least one seat.

And if you can afford to buy in this expensive corner of the country then you can definitely afford a paint job every few years.

It is the broken windows theory all over again.

If we allow complacency to creep in then very soon that becomes the norm.

What really gets my goat is that people are quite happy to let it happen in front of their eyes.

Like it’s completely normal for someone to carry a mattress down the street on their head and dump it next to a big bin in the street.

Like we actively encourage people to have a picnic then leave the waste in the park. Like it’s completely cool to have an Amazonian wasteland growing on your doorstep.

Other cities do not have this issue.

I’ve visited plenty over the past few years and all seem to have their houses in check.

So why are we letting things slide in Brighton and Hove?

It’s like we allow the liberal attitude that drew many of us to the city in the first place, take over.

Like we can’t ask people to tidy up after themselves or be more considerate without fear of impeaching on their human rights.

We can still be quirky and alternative without the general mess.

This call to arms is not about banning graffiti and sterilising the streets every night; it’s simply to urge people to take pride in the place where they live.

If not we may as well make Ian Hislop happy and change the name to Skidrow permanently.

No money for increased salaries

Another year, another bin strike.

It would not be Brighton and Hove without the staff at Cityclean declaring industrial action for one reason or another.

Once again, this time it’s over pay – or rather changes in pay grades for drivers which were carried out last year The details in the various arguments are quite complicated.

At the time of writing this the GMB has suspended planned walk outs while talks go on.

But I’m not the only one hoping they are resolved sometime soon as disruption to bin collections hardly does much for the image of the city.

A simple question though for the workers: when £30million plus is being taken out of the council’s budget, where will the money come from to pay for your increased salaries?

One person I was chatting went further and asked: “Do they not like their jobs? If they’re not happy then perhaps they should do something else.”

A tough sentiment perhaps.

But is it a sign that people’s patience with striking bin men is reaching tipping point?

Looking at next year's elections

It's party conference season and...

Sorry did I send you to sleep?

Have there ever been a collection of events less eagerly anticipated than these? With less than nine months to the election I certainly hope it livens up come May.

What would you like to see painted?

Last week I stumbled on a Brighton home that’s been turned into a royal palace.

That’s because one householder has painted a giant Royal Pavilion on the facade.

It certainly is eye catching.

Which got me thinking – what other landmarks would you like to see on people’s homes? Get in touch with me on twitter @ridgwaytim.