Hay-on-Wye street cleaning needed all year round

Street cleaning needs to take place all year round and not just before a world famous festival that draws in tens of thousands of visitors to a Powys town takes place a councillor has said.

Earlier this month, Liberal Democrat councillor for the town of Hay-on-Wye, Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe raised concerns about the state of the town’s streets and asked when street sweeping and weed control were due to take place there.

Cllr Ratcliffe said: “Hay-on-Wye is a beautiful town with a rich history, a jewel in the crown.

“Maintaining its cleanliness is essential for both residents and visitors not just over the festival but all year round.”

“The current state of our streets is quite unsightly and seems to reflect poorly on the maintenance standards within our community.

“The town appears to be neglected in terms of regular street cleaning, and a thorough sweep would greatly improve the appearance and cleanliness of our streets.”

He added that it would be “helpful” to understand how often street cleaning and dealing with weeds is supposed to happen and whether there have been any “recent changes” to the maintenance schedule.

Cllr Ratcliffe asked: “When can we expect a road sweeper to be deployed to Hay-on-Wye.”

Head of highways, transport and recycling, John Forsey explained: “The sweeper was in and around Hay-on-Wye before the festival for an additional sweep to ensure the town was welcoming to visitors and there are plans for the sweeper to attend again over the next few weeks.

“It will then attend in the winter once the leaves have fallen.”

“There was a programme of weed spraying undertaken before the festival and there are plans to re-treat over the next few weeks once resource becomes available.”

He explained that mechanical sweeping is done twice a year and could increase in winter due to “leaf fall.”

His department also “react” to requests when they receive them.

Mr Forsey said: “Waste and recycling are responsible for the day-to-day cleansing and emptying of the bins.

“In addition, the waste and recycling service have been asked to enhance the street cleaning, so more than just emptying street bins, in order that the town is kept in a good condition. ”

“Gully emptying is once a year and weed spraying is once or maybe twice a year depending on growth and weather. ”

Hay Festival is an annual arts and literature festival which takes place each year over the course of 11 days at the end of May and early June.

The festival which started in 1988 attracts around 300,000 people to Hay during that 11 day period.

Notable speakers at this year’s festival included Dame Judi Dench, Gary Lineker, Miriam Margolyes, Rory Stewart, David Baddiel, and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner.