Letters to the Editor
Please address your letters for publication to Editor, Serving
You, Havant Borough Council, Civic Centre Way, Havant, PO9 2AX or
email the editor of Serving
You>>
Two of the letters this month relate to dog waste bins at
the Queens Inclosure and our Environmental Quality Team Leader,
Gary Morton, replies to both.
Dear Editor
Reading your piece on the red dog waste bins and the phasing out
of some in the local area, I would like to know why there are no
bins including normal waste bins in 'The Queens Enclosure' in
Cowplain. We very often go out our way to take our dog there for
her exercise because it's a safe enclosed area. We always pick up
after her but taking it home in the car afterwards is quite
unpleasant. There isn't a bin even within easy reach on our way
home, down Tempest Avenue. We live in Cunningham Road Waterlooville
and the open areas and wooded areas near us I've counted at least 5
red bins within 15 minutes walking distance. So please explain why
in an area you can be in for over an hour there are no bins at
all.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Helen Brindley
Dear Editor
I have just read the magazine Serving You, particularly the part
about the looking after your animals. I have 2 dogs that are loved
and well looked after and taken for walks regularly. For a change I
took my dogs up to the Queens Enclosure, parking in Park Rd. I
always carry poop bags and at that time I cleaned up after my dogs
only to find that there are no red bins to deposit it in, I
had to carry it around all through the walk, which was not very
pleasant. Now if dog owners are good enough to pick up the mess
they should have somewhere to deposit it. Would it possible to have
some bins deposited through the woods like other woods have?
Yours sincerely
Mrs M. Rawlins
Dear Mrs Brindley and Mrs Rawlins
We install dog bins and litter bins on our open spaces, parks
and recreation grounds and dog waste can be put in all of these, we
don't install red dog bins on the public highway. Queens Inclosure
belongs to the Forestry Commission and they don't install litter or
dog bins on small woodland areas. A small bin was put at the
entrance to Queens Inclosure but it had to be removed after badgers
started to tear into it in search of the contents.
At the moment most of our street litter bins in London Road have
been removed temporarily for road widening due to the bus corridor
works, but new bins will be replaced as soon as the construction is
completed. We will ensure that there is adequate coverage for the
area around the Woods as they are quite spectacular throughout the
year and one of Waterlooville's most popular dog walks.
Yours sincerely
Gary Morton
Environmental Quality Team Leader
Dear Editor
I notice that in the current (summer 2008) edition of Serving
You you offer copies in another language. May I ask why is
HBC
spending taxpayers'
money on translators? I understood it is now government policy to
promote social cohesion by encouraging all of us to read, write and
speak English. Money spent on translation slows down this process
by encouraging those who cannot speak English to delay learning,
thereby strengthening the divisions which isolate ethnic
communities instead of integrating them. How do you justify
this?
Martin Mosse (Dr).
Dr Mosse,
HBC
started using a
corporate approach to translation by ensuring any publications have
a generic strapline for alternative formats last year, as part of
working towards Level 2 of the Equality Standard for Local
Government and to help us to achieve our Duties under the Race
Relations Amendment Act 2000 (To ensure that non-English speaking
residents are able to access essential services, also to enable
people to take part in the democratic process including registering
to vote and to take part in the consultation process). Also this
enables people to get along with others by ensuring they understand
local rules and appreciate local customs for example rubbish
disposal, parking restrictions and common courtesies.
We recognise that speaking/reading and writing English is key to
community cohesion but we also need to ensure that everyone has
access to the services we provide, therefore we will monitor on an
individual case any requests for translated material, depending on
the individual needs of the person and the particular items
requested for translation. We will consider alternatives for those
who consistently request translation – this could include
signposting individuals to
ESOL
classes locally
(ESOL – English Spoken as another Language).
We do not automatically translate any of our documents, we just
have a system in place to translate on request and once we have
considered the individuals needs. Our website automatically
translates into French, German, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish at
no cost to the user or ourselves.
For general information - since adding the strapline during 2007
we have not had any requests for language translations, but we have
had a small amount of extra requests for other formats such as
Braille and large font.
I hope this helps clarify the situation and many thanks for your
correspondence
Caren Ransom
Equalities and Access Officer