Lessening litter in Melksham

10.27.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 16th May 2008

West Wiltshire's Environmental Enforcement Officer, Steve Williams, has recently met Melksham Town Council, Police, and Communications Staff to discuss the legislation relating to litter prevention and to tackle the excessive litter found on the streets of Melksham after the weekends.

Officers will be making traders in Melksham aware of their responsibility to keep their curtilage free of litter, and the enforcement available to the Council, which consists of Litter Abatement Notices and Street Litter Control Notices.

The curtilage is the area to the kerbside and 10 meters either side of the external boundary of the premises. This does not relate solely to food outlets but extends to banks and building societies or any premises having a cash machine located in the outside wall whose receipts regularly end up on the floor due to overflowing bins. Officers who are advised of a particular problem will be working closely with the Police and Anti Social Behaviour Officers and will first speak to shop staff and make arrangements to clear the pavement regularly. Should the problem persist, a Street Litter Control Notice will be served upon the premises to ensure compliance, with the problem and remedy highlighted in the notice. Failure regularly to clear the detailed curtilage will result in a prosecution.

This of course will have no bearing on the daily scheduled litter clearance provided by English Landscapes, and if this scheme proves successful, it will be used as a model to roll-out to the other 4 district towns.