A GRAND scheme announced by Dumfries and Galloway Council a year ago to tackle litter problems has barely got off the ground.
The local authority made a bold statement in March last year about launching a formal litter prevention strategy – and getting the community on board, writes Marc McLean.
Councillors signed off on a six-month consultation to look at the best approaches to keeping Dumfries and Galloway clean and tidy.
With the council spending a minimum of £1.4m each year in street cleansing and lifting litter across the region, the creation of a dedicated action plan to tackle the problem was welcomed by councillors.
However, those plans haven’t exactly gone to plan.
Much of the work is still to be done, the public consultation hasn’t been started, and just 18 per cent of the project has been completed in the last 12 months.
In a progress report, due to be tabled at the Nithsdale area committee next week, council chiefs held up their hands and admitted they won’t make the original March 31 deadline.
The document states: “This project has been delayed due to other priorities. However, officers are now actively working on delivering this project.”
And the public consultation will now run between April 28 and June 8.
There will also be focus groups set up with road haulage companies, schools, and community groups.
The data will then be discussed at a seminar with councillors in June or July, with an updated report at the beginning of September.
