Bus shelters have been cleaned following complaints with the delay being blamed on faulty council power-washing equipment.
Councillor Carl Quartermain vented his frustrations at Redcar and Cleveland Council on social media after he was contacted by a member of the public unhappy with the state of bus shelters on Redcar High Street, near to the town clock.
A picture shared by Cllr Quartermain, the former Labour group leader, showed the window of one shelter covered in muck, with fag ends on the floor, litter and weeds.
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The Coatham ward councillor said he was “fed up with this nonsense” and had been “fobbed off” and “given the runaround” while trying to establish who was responsible for the cleaning of the shelter and when it would be carried out.
The council later confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the work had been done.
While a number of bus shelters in the borough are the responsibility of private company Clear Channel, which cleans and maintains tens of thousands of bus shelters across the UK, some are the responsibility of the council.
Cllr Quartermain said: “I’ve asked that the council map the shelters under their responsibility and make sure they are all scheduled for servicing.
“Bus shelters need to be included within a recognised cleaning programme where operatives know which are ours and which are contracted out.
“You’d think a council would have total control over its services, not this one.”
Cllr Quartermain referred to a complaint submitted to him by another resident over the town centre bus shelters, who said it projected a “dreadful” image.
The resident said: “My main concern is the disgusting grime on our town centre shelters, what an immediate image they give visitors.”
A council spokesman said: “It is very important that our borough is clean and free of litter primarily for our residents, but also visitors and businesses who are vital for our economy and our teams work hard every day to keep streets, roads and street furniture clean.
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“There have been some issues with repairing power-washing equipment which led to some delays in cleaning routines however those have been resolved and the bus shelter on Redcar High Street has now been cleaned.”
Recently a report by Councillor Barry Hunt, the local authority’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing, whose portfolio includes ‘clean and green’ teams who carry out street cleaning, suggested new investment was needed in order to maintain and improve cleaning standards in the borough.
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