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COUNCIL FACES LITTER CHARGE
FRUSTRATED resident could be set to make history in the borough by being the first person to take legal action against Hillingdon Council in a row over dirty roads. Retired financial advisor Peter Silverman is using an obscure section of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 to summon the local authority to court over its failing to keep the borough tidy. The charges relate to the embankment on a section of the A40 at Uxbridge which is regularly covered in litter, mainly by passing drivers Mr Silverman, of Kingsend, Ruislip, says he has complained about the state of the area in question, which starts at Fray's River and runs to the slip road up to the Swakeleys Roundabout, for many years without success. In March the Newsnight host Jeremy Paxman wrote an article which bemoaned the squalid state of Britain and the failure of councils to do anything. Mr Silverman said: "The article mentioned how any of us could go to a magistrates' court to get an order forcing councils to take their duties seriously but questioned who had the time? "Being retired I thought 'I do' and decided to see what was involved." He has recorded some of the details of his battle to date on his personal website Hillingdon Watch (www.hillingdon-watch.org.uk) which he created in order to share his concerns about the borough. Copies of his emails relating to the A40 are posted there and he said: "I complained about the A40 in February and in March. "The council told me it was Transport for London (TfL) which should be dealing with it, but when I checked with TfL they said it was Hillingdon's piece of land, a fact finally confirmed by the council which told me it was part of the A40 cleaning programme. "When I pointed out this implied it had not been cleaning the area and was therefore in breach of the EPA I was instead told the section had been missed in the last fortnightly litter pick." Under section 89 of the EPA local councils have a duty to keep public highways clean and if they fail anyone can complain to a magistrates' court under section 91; provided they give the council in question five days notice. The council can then be made by magistrates' to clean the area within a set time frame and receive a fine if they fail. Mr Silverman visited the Civic Centre, in Uxbridge, on Monday (24) to hand a letter to the acting chief executive of Hillingdon Council Hugh Dunnachie outlining his intention to go to court. He said: "If the council does do its duty before any court hearing takes place I will be pleased as it shows what a powerful tool the EPA is. "It's a shame when you have to resort to such measures. Kathy Sparks, deputy director of environment and consumer protection for the council, confirmed the court notice had been received and said: "The council have a regular cleaning programme for all roads in the borough that come under our responsibility and responds in line with the Environmental Protection Act, which sets out the timescales for completing these works. "These vary according to the nature of the road. The act requires that roads of this nature are cleaned within 28 days of recieving a report or when it is reasonably practical as some roads may require closure or traffic management."
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