Vale could clear scruffy roadsides – but it will cost ratepayers

Senior Constable Richard Leale said the complaints about scruffy roadsides and overgrown gutters was a real issue with some parishioners so the Douzaine had made inquiries about using their own contractors to address the problem.

"These are ballpark figures, but for us to employ two men with a truck to clean verges and remove weed growth would probably leave little change from £100,000 a year," he said.

Mr Leale said they had looked at taking direct action because of the number of complaints about scruffy verges, which many said was spoiling the appearance of what is supposed to be Floral Guernsey, and because of the reaction there had been to a Guernsey Press article about it (above).

"There are about 280 miles (450 km) of public roads across the island," said Mr Leale, "and as the second biggest parish in the island we estimate we have 35 miles of them. Double that for cleaning both sides and you can see that keeping them clean would be quite a task – a bit like painting the Forth Bridge as it would be non-stop."

Considerable sum
The estimated £100,000 cost would be a considerable sum for the parish, which currently has an annual budget of around £650,000.

"If people wanted us to go down that route, the whole cost would fall onto ratepayers, which would be around an extra £20 per household," Mr Leale said. "In itself, that may not be a huge sum and I'm sure the Douzaine would be prepared to look at this seriously if parishioners want us to do so.

"That said, there's a strong element of why should we? People pay their taxes to have the roads maintained, cleaned and fit for use so why should Vale ratepayers pay twice because the States of Guernsey are failing to provide some fairly basic services?"

Mr Leale said he was raising the issue to see what reaction there was to it and would be happy to see a discussion of the possibility – remote though it might be – at next month's parish meeting.

"If we're instructed to look at this more closely then we would be pleased to do so," he said. "What would be helpful in the meantime is if we could get some clarity from Traffic and Highways on whether this is a temporary 2024 blip, given the wet summer, or whether they've just given up on keeping verges clear."