Labour Councillors have led the charge on lobbying government to have National Highways take responsibility for cleaning up our A27, which regularly has unacceptable levels of roadside litter.

At a recent Full Council meeting, Labour called on the administration to write to Government and request they transfer responsibility for cleaning up the A27 to the National Highways department, because the current system simply does not work.

Labour did of course also suggest that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak could show remorse for their law-breaking antics by doing some voluntary service in the form of litter-picking alongside the A27, but this request fell on deaf ears.

Nonetheless, Labour are pleased that the Green administration listened and followed through on Labour’s request for frank communication with government to find a solution to litter alongside our major highways.

Labour’s lead on transport and environment matters, Cllr Gary Wilkinson said:

“I’m pleased the leader of the Council heeded our calls to press government on this important issue for our residents.

“Currently, we have to co-ordinate with National Highways contractors for litter picks to take place during other maintenance work. This often proves impractical and means many parts of the road are strewn with litter for long periods.

“In addition, the burden and cost of keeping the highway and verges clear of litter falls unfairly on some local authorities including Brighton & Hove City Council.

“While more needs to be done to prevent the litter happening in the first place through education and enforcement, we need to ensure that the system for removing the litter is as efficient and effective as possible.

“Labour therefore requested officers to liaise with National Highways to identify ways to mitigate and manage the clear up problem.

“It would be a much simpler operation for them to undertake and this surely must be in the best interest of all our tax paying residents.”