Merton Council has issued Veolia UK with a Service Improvement Notice (SIN) following “significant and ongoing concerns” over the quality of street cleaning services in the borough. 

The authority wrote to Veolia on Monday after seeing no sustainable improvement in street cleanliness over a number of months.   

The company is contracted, through the South London Waste Partnership, to maintain the cleanliness of our roads to the required standard. Roads that fall below the standard must be cleaned within 24 hours of notification. This response rate, within the prescribed period, has steadily fallen from 97% to just 39%.     

Merton’s Cabinet Member for Local Environment and Green Spaces, Councillor Natasha Irons, said: “Every resident in Merton wants to live in a clean borough and as reflected in our annual resident’s survey, clean streets are a big priority to our community.   

“Over a sustained period of time, Veolia have consistently failed to meet their contractual obligations, and we are not afraid to take action to drive much needed improvement.     

“The council has demonstrated its commitment to clean streets through investment in new mechanical sweepers and pavement washer equipment. Veolia must now match this commitment by addressing their underperformance and our concerns.   

” This formal notice gives Veolia ten working days to respond to the issues we have raised with an action plan and a timetable for improvement.”