The Queen, Baroness Thatcher, Parliament and flagship West End stores have only just escaped an extraordinary plan by Conservative-controlled Westminster council to make them – or their staff – responsible for sweeping the streets outside their homes and businesses.
A confidential document seen by Tribune shows a hand-picked group of senior councillors and top officials have been investigating whether to introduce an American system known as a “frontage obligation” – making every resident and business in the centre of London responsible for cleaning the pavement outside their premises.
The plan – part of a huge package of cuts designed to reduce expenditure by 40 per cent – has been secretly costed by the council. The documents say the controversial proposal would save £18 million in cleaning bills.
However, it would have to be supported by spending £4 million employing snoopers to make sure every resident and business complied. The plan also included a scheme to cut the number of litter bins in Westminster by 50 per cent.
The details are contained in the confidential minutes of the High Level Group whose members include Colin Barrow, the council leader, and which has been meeting since August to discuss what is seen at Central Office as cutting edge blue sky thinking in the Conservative Party.
The document also includes plans to abolish the education and planning departments and a “Big Society” initiative to hand over many council services to volunteers by searching for people “free and powerful enough to help themselves and their communities.”
But it admits that once the council has handed over state-provided services to volunteers there is a serious risk that services “might fail” and proposes that councillors take steps to ensure they are no longer accountable if they do.
Paul Dimoldenberg, the Labour opposition leader on the council, described Westminster’s approach as moving towards “a do-it-yourself” society.
But now it seems the frontage obligation scheme has been abandoned – or at least put on hold – by the Tories.
Ed Argar, cabinet member for city management, said: “After looking at the proposals we decided they were impractical and illegal. We would have required legislation to do it, we could not use by-laws. We have now decided that street cleaning is one of our core services which we should keep.”
Mr Argar also disclosed that a plan to cut litter bins by 50 per cent in Westminster – by using bigger bins for the remainder – has also now been abandoned.
Westminster’s decision seems wise, given the furore that would follow not just from residents and businesses but from trade unions and staff.
The British Property Federation – not known as a rallying organisation for the left – were apoplectic about the idea. Head of policy Ian Fletcher said: “With its transient population and complex property ownership, Westminster is about the worst place in the UK to trial this proposal.”
