The Croydon Guardian's story about neglected, dangerous fly-tipping in Coulsdon shows just how rubbish dumped on our streets is a growing problem in Croydon.
The Conservative council's wrong financial priorities are one of the causes of this degradation of our local environment.
They have cut over £1m from the budget for teams dealing with street environment problems like fly-tipping.
The Conservatives gave higher priority to borrowing millions for a new council headquarters, spending £3.1m on office furniture and £176,000 on a new sound system for the council chamber.
An enquiry under the Freedom of Information Act from Labour's prospective candidate for West Thornton, Stuart King, revealed that reports of fly-tipping have almost tripled in Croydon in just three years from 3,749 to 11,149.
In Waddon, the increase is even worse with reported fly-tipping up five and a half times in those three years.
Voters may well have different priorities at next year's local council elections and decide that street cleaning services should have been more important than councillors enjoying comfy new seats in a gleaming new luxury HQ.
Joy Prince, Robert Canning, and Andrew Pelling; Prospective Labour Party candidates for Waddon Ward on Croydon Council
- Do you agree? Disagree? Send your letter to: letters@croydonguardian.co.uk.
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