Litter lining Brighton's A27 worse than ever, say Conservatives

Rubbish strewn along the verges of the Brighton’s A27 mean it is in its "worst ever condition", according to Conservative councillors.

They are concerned about the visual appearance of the road and also about pollution and the impact on wildlife.

Councillor Anne Meadows said urgent co-ordinated action was needed.

She said: “It is the council’s responsibility to organise litter clean-ups along the A27 and to request permission to do this from National Highways for access but this has not been done now for some time and the litter has built up to an unacceptable level.

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“We need to see the council put in place an over-arching plan to deal with this issue and ensure that the litter is regularly removed."

Councillor Alistair McNair said Brighton and Hove City Council’s lack of action was sending out the wrong message.

He said: “People driving through Brighton and Hove on the A27 will ask themselves 'if this is how Brighton’s outskirts and countryside are treated, what on earth will the centre of Brighton look like?'.

“At the moment you can almost wade through this litter like a river.

"The council must do better and we call on it to take a lead and get on top of this."

Councillor Carol Theobald said it was important to remember the council's unitary authority boundary extended beyond the A27 and into the South Downs and that the city needed to take responsibility for its land.

Patcham councillors picking up litter in Braypool Lane

She said that CCTV cameras could act as a deterrent to litterers.

The councillors, who inspected and cleaned up the entrance to Braypool Lane on Saturday, said the council should be doing much more to address the issue, including:

• Organising more regular clean-ups so as not to allow rubbish to build up
• Communicating with the construction industry to stop plastic waste flying out
• Installing signage to discourage littering and show penalties to give more of a sign that the city cares about littering.

A council spokesman said: “We actually litter-picked more than five miles of the A27 and four lay-bys during 2021, collecting more than seven tonnes of rubbish.

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“For safety reasons the work can only be carried out at night when there is less traffic. Road or lane closures are also required.

“It takes around three months for Highways England to approve lane closures so in most cases it’s easier for us to work with other contractors who already have closures in place.

“In June 2021 we applied to Highways England for a road closure to get another big stretch of the A27 cleared. The dates were approved to start the work in October 2021.

“Unfortunately we were then notified that our closure had been postponed and rescheduled to this coming April, due to other emergency work taking priority.

“In the meantime our Cityclean team continues to work with traffic management colleagues and Highways England to put in place smaller road closures and work with contractors who already have closures in place.”

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