ENVIRONMENTAL REGENERATION COMMITTEE REPORT 2007/2008

Chairman: Councillor Mrs Janet Oxley

2007/2008 has been a busy year with everyone working hard to improve the town environment for both residents and visitors alike.

This committee is continuing to work with other groups and agencies looking into and resolving environmental problems in and around the town. We have the continuing problems with graffiti and vandalism, including vandalism in the cemetery which in turn causes great distress to residents. We have a newly formed group ‘Friends of Barton Cemetery’. This group was initially formed by Gavin Quaintance after his family suffered damage to his Grandson’s grave. This group has the full support of Barton Town Council. The soon to be introduced CCTV cameras may go some way to help with the problems in the town centre, however we must all be diligent. This year we also had the added problem of Summer flooding. This Committee is working closely with North Lincolnshire Council who are introducing contingency plans to cope with any future flooding problems.


We also continue to try to resolve day to day problems e.g. damage to highway verges, traffic calming measures, litter, dog fouling, public conveniences, grass cutting, weeds in the streets etc. – the list is endless. However, to resolve these and many other problems we rely on a good working partnership with the North Lincolnshire Council and have always received good responses from them. A special thanks to Michelle Button and her team at Neighbourhood Services for their prompt responses to problems.

As well as Town Councillors, membership of the Environmental Committee includes representatives from the Barton Lions Club, Barton Rotary Club, The Civic Society and NLC Neighbourhood Services, who have all worked together to improve the town’s environment. My sincere thanks to all of them.

We have again entered the town in the Council for the Protection of Rural England competition to find the Best Town 2008 and look forward to winning another award this year with our displays of flower beds, hanging baskets and planters, neatly cut grass, and the absence of litter from the streets. This improves our chances of becoming a top town and also improves the environment for the people who live and work here.

I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to all the committee members for their support, their enthusiasm and effort in achieving so much this year. I look forward to seeing the results of their future efforts.