Council crosses lines to back Reform demands for shabby Dudley streets

Dudley councillors crossed political lines to support Reform UK demands for urgent reports on the shabby state of the borough.

At an extraordinary meeting of the council on June 29, councillors unanimously supported an amended motion which calls for action to deal with residents’ concerns ‘that parts of Dudley Borough are becoming increasingly unkempt and that basic neighbourhood services are failing to meet residents’ expectations’.

Even the council’s ruling Conservatives supported the motion, which has a number of proposals including a bulky waste amnesty scheme, possible pop-up skips in all wards and a report within 60 days on proposals for the provision of a permanent household and waste recycling centre in the north of the borough.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Shaun Keasey, Dudley Reform’s deputy leader, said: “I was delighted with the unanimous vote to support a Reform UK initiative, it shows we are doing what people put us there to do.”

The initial motion called for a report within 60 days on services including grass cutting, street cleaning, fly-tipping and service standards however an amendment from The Black Country Party cut the deadline to 30 days.

A Liberal Democrat amendment added measures including recognition of friends groups in public parks and the restart of Friends Forum meetings.

The Lib Dems also requested an update on the long-term future council’s only operational permanent tip which is in Birmingham Street, Stourbridge.

Dudley Reform leader, Cllr Marco Longhi, told councillors: “This meeting came about because thousands of residents have simply had enough; enough of roads lined with weeds, enough of grass left uncut, of litter that stays where it falls, of more gullies blocked than functional, of potholes everywhere.”

Dudley Council leader, Cllr Patrick Harley (Conservative), explained street scene services had been cut to save the council’s ailing finances.

Clr Harley said: “You are right to raise concerns about the state of our neighbourhoods, they are not where we want them to be.

“Over the past two years we have had to take incredibly difficult decisions to stabilise the council’s finances.”

He added the books now looked better and £1m was being invested in new staff and equipment while maintenance services were being reinstated.

The opposition leader also turned his guns on the lack of a permanent tip in the north of the borough and the recent announcement that negotiations with Wolverhampton Council to allow residents to their Anchor Lane site had collapsed.

Cllr Longhi told the meeting residents in the north of Dudley were missing out and added: “These residents pay exactly the same council tax as everyone else yet they have significantly poorer access to a basic council service.”

Dudley announced on June 26 that Wolverhampton Council believed extending access to residents of Dudley borough would have an adverse impact on Wolverhampton residents.

Speaking after negotiations collapsed Cllr Harley said: “I am bitterly disappointed that after many months, Wolverhampton has been unable to provide a positive outcome for our residents in the north of the borough.

“Use of the Anchor Lane facility for residents who live in the north of the borough would have been an effective solution for people wanting to dispose of household waste responsibly.”

Cllr Longhi wondered why Dudley had not developed an alternative plan during five years since they were denied access to Anchor Lane.

He said: “If that has always been the obstacle why have Dudley residents repeatedly been led to believe progress has been made.

“Surely this simple point was known right from the outset. Residents don’t care whose fault it is any more, they simply expect the council to solve the problem.