Voting SNP doesn't seem to help Edinburgh's top four areas for complaints about waste – John McLellan

For an Edinburgh district so well represented by the SNP, you might expect services from an SNP-led council to be tip top but, from newly revealed waste complaints information, the party can’t be accused of favouring its own.

Rubbish and debris in the Water of Leith at the basin (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

A Freedom of Information request (FoI) by the Local Democracy Reporting Service shows that the top four areas for complaints about waste services are, in order, Liberton/Gilmerton, Portobello/Craigmillar, Leith and Craigentinny/Duddingston.

It’s true that complaints are lower than they were pre-pandemic, but they have shot up since the end of 2020. However it’s the disparity which is hard to explain.

The administration will argue that more densely populated streets will result in more problems, but that means better solutions are needed.

And while density might apply to Leith, it is hard to understand why Liberton/Gilmerton and Craigentinny/Duddingston should have more complaints than the Muirhouse/Pilton/Drylaw or Wester Hailes/Murrayburn/Calders areas.

I’ve highlighted the continuing problems in Piershill, and some fly-tipping has been tackled this week for which residents are grateful, but the area needs constant attention.

Already there are signs that the new communal bin hubs are struggling to cope, and although the Omicron variant has hit staffing levels, that’s a relatively new phenomenon and is already passing.

Another report from Keep Scotland Beautiful showed streets in Edinburgh’s North East were in the poorest condition in the city and this new information bears that out. The question is what is being done?

With an SNP MP, MSP, council leader, and conveners of housing and transport all representing North-East Edinburgh, the answer is not nearly enough.

John McLellan is a Conservative councillor for Craigentinny/Duddingston

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