‘State of Town giving a bad impression of island’
GRAFFITI, vape stickers and cigarette butts are ‘blighting St Peter Port’, just a week to go before the Town Seafront hosts the NatWest Island Games opening ceremony.
St Peter Port senior constable Zoe Lihou said she was extremely concerned about the state of Town and is urging residents and visitors to report anti-social behaviour and uncleanliness as soon as they see examples of it.
‘It’s not just about having it for the Island Games, we live here,’ she said.
‘It’s a busy season of hospitality. It would be nice to see a sustained plan from the States.’
Mrs Lihou took the Guernsey Press to multiple spots around Town yesterday morning, including Town Church, the steps by Market Square and the bus terminus.
Graffiti is tagged on several of the States-maintained bins in those areas, while vaping stickers cover the top of a bin by the bus terminus and outside Next in the Pollet.
Several of the bins are rusty and have cigarette butts littered around them, while some businesses had left wooden crates and other waste on public walkways.
Traffic & Highway Services has responsibility for emptying Town waste bins.
Roads and traffic manager Phil Ogier said the issues highlighted had all been passed on to its contractor to address.
‘We are very conscious that the island will be welcoming many visitors in connection with the forthcoming Games and our cleansing contractors are focusing efforts particularly in Town and along the approaches to it,’ he said.
‘We would ask the community as a whole to dispose of all forms of waste responsibly so the island can look its best for the games and at all times.’
Mrs Lihou said the issues needed to be tackled.
‘Some of the graffiti has been there for at least a week, and the stickers leave residue on top of the bins which is difficult to clean off. I don’t understand why people find it so hard to put their waste just a few inches below where they end up sticking it.'
She added that people had also been consuming alcohol in the alcohol-free zone by the bus terminus.
She said the problems were not being amplified as much as they should be, because very few reports were being made to the police.
‘I have people coming to me frequently telling me about things they’ve seen, but when I contact the police about it they say they’ve only had a handful of complaints so it isn’t an immediate priority.
‘If this is all left as it is then it gives the impression that we don’t care and is almost an invitation for those responsible to keep doing it, because they know that they can get away with it.’
Continued on page 2
She added that the parish was working with retailers to enhance the areas that it was responsible for, including benches and public maps.
Island Games communications and events director Amanda Hibbs was hopeful that the whole island would be looking its best by the time the games kicked off.
‘Obviously a lot of events will be held along the seafront. We know that time and resources are going to be stretched but we are confident that everything will be looking fantastic.’
The Island Games starts on Saturday 8 July with an opening ceremony on the Town Seafront. The area will also host half-marathon, cycling criterium, triathlon and sailing.
