Street care and cleaning

Please tell us what you think about our website, we welcome your feedback.

Customer notice

Due to essential maintenance some of our web services will be unavailable between these times 7pm Friday 25 May and 5pm Sunday 27 May 2012.

In case of any emergencies please see our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Wiltshire Council aims to improve the attractiveness, safety and cleanliness of Wiltshire’s streets and lanes.

We work with the police, the probation service, the fire and rescue service and community groups to tackle street care and cleaning and associated anti-social behaviour.

You can report the following:

• fly posting
• fly tipping
• graffiti
• dog fouling
• street litter and public litter bins
• dead animals on public land
• street sweeping
• play areas
• overgrown grass, weeds, hedges or trees
• problems with public toilets
• needles and syringes found on council land

Fly posting

Fly posting is the unauthorised placing of posters, advertisements and notices on lamp posts, railings, phone boxes, bus stops, public toilets and other equipment or signs in public areas.

Fly posting is an offence and offenders can be fined up to £2500. Any illegal advertising will be removed by the council without notice.

• Report fly posting

Legislation: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Highways Act 1980, Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

Fly tipping

Fly tipping is the name given to rubbish that is dumped illegally in places like country lanes, open fields, parks, playgrounds, cemeteries and even alongside other people's houses.

Fly tipping (or permitting fly tipping) is a serious criminal offence which can carry a fine of £20,000 or more, or even result in a prison sentence. The police have the powers to seize vehicles used for fly tipping. To help reduce fly tipping, the council operates a chargeable special collection service for bulky items.

• Report fly tipping

Legislation: Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

Graffiti

Graffiti is the illegal placing of words or pictures that are drawn, painted, written or carved on walls and other surfaces. Wiltshire Council enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices and will report offenders to the police.

We remove graffiti from public areas including publicly owned fencing, public toilets, benches, litter bins, bridges, signs, play equipment (in council owned parks) and underpasses. If the graffiti is offensive (for example, racist) we will normally try to remove it within 24 hours of the first report.

• Report graffiti

Legislation: Criminal Damage Act 1971, Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

To report graffiti on utility owned sub stations please contact the utility company:

• Scotia Gas Networks – 0845 070 1431
• Wales & West Utilities – 0870 165 0597
• BT – 0800 0232023
• Southern Electric – 01225 701500

Dog fouling

Dog owners must, by law, pick up any mess made by their pets in public places such as roads, footpaths, school playing fields, sports fields and parks. Wiltshire Council enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices and refer offenders for prosecution.

• Report dog fouling

Legislation: Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996

Street litter and public litter bins

Wiltshire Council street cleaning teams pick up litter and empty litter bins on a regular basis. Town centre bins are checked and emptied daily with smaller areas done weekly or fortnightly.

Dropping litter on private or public land, parks, pavements, roads and rivers, including cigarette butts and chewing gum is an offence and our enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices.

• Report street litter
• Report overflowing or damaged public litter bin

Legislation: Environmental Protection Act 1990

Dead animals on public land

Wiltshire Council provides a free service to remove dead animals from all roads and public spaces. We remove wild animals such as badgers, foxes, and deer along with domestic pets such as cats and dogs. If pets such as dogs or cats are found we will try to find the owners through the pet’s collar or microchip.

We do not collect any animal smaller than a domestic cat or dog, if you do find a dead animal of smaller size, you can either deal with it yourself by double bagging the animal and putting  it in the domestic waste bin or leave the animal to decompose naturally.

To report a dead bird, please contact us, however please contact the Defra Helpline on 08459 33 55 77, 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday if you find more than five dead swans, wild gulls, waders or ducks. You will be asked for details of the birds and the location.

We do not remove farm animals (such as cows, sheep or pigs) and you should report any dead farm animals to the owner. We also do not collect dead animals from private property.

Please be aware that we use a specialised team to remove dead animals and unless a road is being blocked, the dead animal may be left in place until our next scheduled visit to the area.

• Report a dead animal

Street sweeping

Wiltshire Council aims to do mechanical sweeping of kerbed roads in villages and residential areas once every three months. Town centres are swept daily and non-kerbed rural roads are swept on an "as needed" basis. As part of our cleaning programme we also do litter picking on grass verges and laybys.

• Report a street that needs sweeping

Legislation: Environmental Protection Act 1990

Play areas

Wiltshire Council inspects all the play areas they manage on a weekly basis to make sure that they are fit for purpose and safe to use. Inspectors do a visual and hands on check to play equipment, safety surfacing, fencing, seats and litter bins and they report any vandalism. There is also a detailed annual inspection for all our play areas.

Unsafe items will be made safe or repaired within two weeks. Dangerous items will be removed immediately or cordoned off to prevent use.

• Report a problem with a play area

Overgrown grass, weeds, hedges or trees

Grass on our own land is cut about once a month from March to October.

Grass verges on rural roads are generally cut at least twice a year. The first cut usually starts at the end of May and takes about six weeks, and the second cut usually takes place in October, but the timing and number of these cuts depends on weather and growth. Hedges and trees on verges are cut in order to maintain visibility at junctions and bends, to prevent traffic signs being hidden.

Grass, weeds, hedge and tree cutting on most open spaces, verges along private roads or private property is the responsibility of the land owner.

• Report overgrown grass, weeds, hedges or trees

Problems with public toilets

The council provides a number of public toilets in town centres and is responsible for cleaning and maintenance.

• Report a problem with public toilets

Needles and syringes found on council land

Wiltshire Council will collect needles and syringes left lying on our land. Please do not touch anything you find as it could be dangerous. Please make a note of its location and report it immediately.

Wiltshire Council also operates a sharps boxes collection service for people who need regular collection of needles used at home for medical purposes.

• Report needles and syringes found on council land

If you discover discarded sharps on privately owned land, it is the responsibility of the land owner to have them safely disposed of. There are a number of specialist companies listed in telephone directories and on the internet who specialise in the collection and disposal of hazardous waste.

Last updated: 8 August 2011