Prominent business leader blasts council over state of city centre’s dirty, littered streets - your views online

"Even if you are conscientious and try to bin your litter, the bins don’t get emptied often enough and usually are overflowing.”

Waste bin overflowing with litter on Calton Hill in Edinburgh Rubbish up Calton Hill,

Mean streets

Prominent business leader blasts council over state of city centre’s dirty, littered streets

Pat Dunlop

The whole of Edinburgh is in a state. Cracked and uneven pavements, weeds all along the roadsides and blocked drains causing floods when we get heavy rain. Overflowing bins are the norm now. Its’ a disgrace! I have reported these things so many times this past two years. The council need to stop using city funds for Spaces for People and deal with the real issues. Clean up our city!

Ann McCarron

Get our street cleaners out, no use sitting in a giant lorry – can't get near gutters. Lots of guys with their own patch to look after would be appreciated.

Jim Shanley

Edinburgh and Glasgow are filthy, streets littered, graffiti, overgrown weeds. The councils are unskilled, poorly equipped to run an egg and spoon race, never mind a city. Council leader Adam McVey is more occupied promoting his SNP political ideology than getting bin collections done. It’s a sad disgrace that this lot have been allowed to ruin once great cities.

Sam Allan

Edinburgh's roads, among many other issues, are worse than ever. Almost every single road surface is unsatisfactory and/or shoddily repaired. The infrastructure and layout of road signs and markings is also poorly maintained.

Helen MB

The council have a responsibility to overhaul the refuse collection services, ask why it’s not working and how they are going to sort it. I don’t mean by throwing more money at it…. It’s a broken service. We need a new one.

Nicholas Burns Cumming

I watched a truck filled with bollards being operated by three men, replacing missing/broken bollards along 'Spaces for People' lanes, yet they can't find staff to clean the streets. I think we know this administration’s priorities. Remember, next year is election time. Get rid of these incompetent plonkers!

Ewa Dziądziak

Come to see Wester Hailes. It's disgusting. Even bin men don't care when they make a mess after taking bins away.

Mel Young

Skip the dedicated 'official' and use the money to employ more staff and provide more bins (and empty them more often).

Danny Watt

I struggle to see how McVey, Day and Macinnes leave their house every morning and think, here we are doing a fantastic job as councillors.

Phillipa Claire Morris

Litter pickers available in a lot of shops in the meantime!

Angela Gilhooley

The litter is everywhere, it needs a mega clear up. If everyone picked up some, it would help.

Tracey Moohan

It’s not just the city centre, it’s a problem across the board. Even if you are conscientious and try to bin your litter, the bins don’t get emptied often enough and usually are overflowing.

Leigh Bonallo

I was in Edinburgh yesterday and shocked at the litter on the streets.

COP26

Nicola Sturgeon takes aim at Boris Johnson over reports Downing Street trying to sideline First Minister at summit

Adie Roebuck

I think she needs to be there to explain how it is possible to have a coalition with the Green Party who want to see North Sea oil production stopped while the SNP use North Sea oil revenues as a cornerstone for their independence planning, the very pollutant that this COP26 conference is dealing with. At the very least it would be an interesting question and answer session.

Atholl Cunningham

Unfortunately Nicola Sturgeon is a leader of a devolved assembly. She would have no say in international meetings such as COP26. There is only one parliament in the UK and that's in Westminster which deals with the UK on the international stage.

Craig Ferguson

I don't think there is any doubt she would try to use it to her advantage, but she can't deny International matters are nothing to do with her. She has more than enough to do trying to get the country back on its feet after Covid. She is a one-trick pony.

Ronnie Shaw

Why don't we just change the name of this identity crisis filled place where I live to Engwalnisco, because it sure as hell ain't a united anything! Total shambles.

James Melvin

I can imagine her trying to photo bomb at any opportunity between Biden, Johnson, Merkel et al.