Rother and rubbish

Elsewhere in this issue we carry an account of a resident, Andy Stuart, trying to get his bin of garden refuse emptied. Now you might say that we are lucky to have such a service and, yes, perhaps we are. But it is a service that Rother District Council offer to those who need it and for which they pay.

It is not unreasonable. therefore, that RDC having contracted to provide the service and having been paid for it, should then be expected to carry it out.

The service is, of course sub-contracted, and there is nothing wrong with that. Inevitably, the subcontractors being human, things will sometimes go wrong and, perhaps, that has to be expected, but it is also reasonable to expect that, a mistake having been made, immediate action will be taken to put it right. To make little or no attempt, however, to put things right is simply unacceptable.

Emails were sent by Mr Stuart both to a Mrs Brenda Mason of RDC who appears to be in charge of the refuse collection services and to Rye’s theoretical representative on Rother Council, Lord Ampthill.

From Mrs Mason came ritual hand-wringing and protests about how little she could do and from Councillor Ampthill came……….well, nothing. Complete and total silence. As usual he has shown his total lack of interest in the town he is supposed to represent and in the residents who elected him.

If, instead of being in West Street, Rye, the problem had arisen in one of the smart roads of Bexhill, do we really think rubbish would have been allowed to hang around for two weeks? Of course not, this is just another example of RDC’s total indifference to anything that does not happen on their doorstep – unless, of course, it makes money that can then be spent in Bexhill.

And talking of making money, what is happening about the £154,000 that RDC made out of the sale of Camber Fields – this is your department Councillor Ampthill, what are you doing about it?

We have just had Brexit from Europe, maybe it is time to demand Ryexit from Rother.