Is Frodsham starting to look like a Third World country?

FRODSHAM has been labelled a “grot spot” that is beginning to look like a Third World country.
Litter is not being picked up, fly-tipping is taking place and trees are being allowed to become overgrown.
And the blame lies with Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) according to members of Frodsham Town Council.
Cllr Mallie Poulton said: “We used to win awards in the Community Pride competition. Now we get slated. The judges called us a grot spot.”
Target for the complaints was Cllr Karen Shore, CWAC’s lead member for environment, who was attending a meeting of the Town Council.
Chairman Cllr Judith Critchley welcome Cllr Shore to the meeting but then told her: “We all have our little niggles about the way Frodsham is looking at present.”
She referred to CWAC’s decision to close the Frodsham recycling centre two days a week. People who brought waste to the centre and found it closed would be unlikely to take it back home and this led to fly tipping.
Cllr Poulton said ponds at the Saltworks fields had become overgrown and could not be seen. A dog had run into one and drowned. It would only be a matter of time before a child was killed in one.
He had seen litter left in the street for three weeks because the CWAC litter-pickers only emptied bins – they did not bother picking up litter.
The Mayor, Cllr Alan Oulton, said road side trees had been allowed to become overgrown. Cars had been scratched and delivery trucks had hit branches.
“Road side trees need to be managed,” he said. “Frodsham is beginning to look like a Third World Country.”
He said a CWAC officer had suggested residents could cut back trees themselves But residents paid their council tax – they should not be expected to climb trees and cut them back themselves.
Cllr Oulton was also concerned about CWAC proposals to introduce fees for parking in Frodsham. He predicted that if people had to pay to park in Main Street, nearby residential roads would become “linear car parks.”
Cllr Shore, who admitted she had come unprepared to deal with some of the issues raised, blamed funding cuts imposed by the government for many of the problems.
She said reducing opening hours at recycling centres was preferable to closing them altogether but denied there had been any significant increase in fly-tipping. There was a problem with trade waste being taken to recycling centre when it shouldn’t be, but the council was seeking to control this
Cllr Shore said she had been unaware of the issues at the Saltworks fields but promised to visit the area to see the situation for herself.
She said CWAC had new people working in areas they were not familiar with and new machinery that staff were being trained on. But she would look into all the complaints raised.