THURROCK’S new environment chief is demanding action on creating a tidier borough.

The council have come under criticism in recent weeks for the untidy state of Grays High Street in-particular and have responded by reinstating twice daily and weekend cleaning of high streets.

Councillor Gerard Rice has been named cabinet member for environment, and has demanded a permanent solution be found to eradicate untidiness within the borough.

Mr Rice said: “Last year we warned that the cuts being imposed on us would have a negative effect in many ways.

“Everyone has seen since April is how quickly all our good work on street cleaning and looking after parks can go wrong.”

He added: “We’ll need to look at the costs and how we get people as a whole more involved. In recent years we’ve tried Tidy Thurrock, we’ve tried Be Smart, and we’ve tried pushing Pride in Thurrock.

“All these have had an effect but we need a campaign and to get the public and businesses on board, not just tidying up their neighbourhood, but thinking about litter, reporting people who drop litter, and working with the council to change attitudes about litter.”

“The environment team has seen its street cleansing teams cut from 44 to 23 people; its grounds maintenance teams from 87 to 63 and then what remains merged. We’ve tried to counter the effects by creating area-dedicated teams, but obviously work still needs to be done.

“I want the new overview and scrutiny committee to put this top of their agenda and I don’t want people playing politics with it. We have to get this right and quickly. The committees are cross-party and we have to all work together.

“We all want to see an attractive litter-free Thurrock, let’s get things moving now.”