Report a problem service commitments

Problem Description

Service Commitment

Clean Streets - remove dead animals 

Dead animals removed within 2 working days.

Clean Streets – litter

Significant accumulation of litter will be cleared within 3 working days. Less urgent problems will take longer.

Dog bin – damaged/ missing

Assessed within 10 working days.  Unsafe bins will be made safe within 2 working days.

Dog bin – overflowing

Overflowing dog bins emptied within 1 working day.

Dog fouling 

Dog fouling dealt with within 3 working days.

Drainage - blocked culvert (underground pipe)

Blocked culverts (drainage channel) assessed by a drainage engineer within 10 working days.  They will arrange for necessary clearance by our contractor. 
Some culverts or watercourses are the responsibility of private owners; if they own the adjacent land.

Drainage -blocked road drain (gully)

Drains and gullies are routinely cleaned every 18 months. Any reported blocked drain or gully will be cleaned out within 10 working days.  

Drainage - flooding 

Locations vulnerable to flooding are cleaned regularly to help prevent flooding.  In most cases the flooding will be temporary and naturally drain away. If we can safely unblock drains, pipes culverts we will make every effort to do so.  We will let you know what action we are taking within 10 working days.

Drainage - public sewer 

Public sewers are the responsibility of Thames Water, and heavy rainfall may cause local flooding.  We will report the problem to Thames Water and send you a reply confirming what we have done within 10 working days.

Fly posting - non-offensive 

Assessed within 10 working days.

Fly posting - offensive 

Assessed within 3 working days.

Fly tipping 

Fly tipping dealt within 5 working days.

Graffiti - non-offensive 

Non-offensive graffiti removed within 10 working days.  

If the graffiti is on private property or land, the removal will be the responsibility of the owner.

Graffiti - offensive 

Offensive graffiti removed within 2 working days.  

If the graffiti is on private property or land, the removal will be the responsibility of the owner.

Grounds maintenance problems 

Assessed within 10 working days.

Litter bin – damaged/ missing

Damaged or missing litter bins repaired or replaced within 10 working days.

Park litter bin - overflowing

Overflowing litter bins in parks emptied within 10 working days.

Street litter bin - overflowing

Overflowing litter bins on streets emptied within 3 working days. 

Park problems

Assessed within 10 working days.

Pavement problems 

Problems on pavements passed to the Highways Service. Subject to volumes of requests, Highways inspectors assess the problem within 10 working days.

They will let you know what action they are going to take. Limited budgets mean it is not possible to do every repair requested, with priority given to those that are deemed to present a risk to residents.

Road damage - pothole 

Reports of potholes are passed to the Highways Service who will assess the problem. Dangerous potholes will be repaired within 2 working days. Less urgent repairs will take longer. They will let you know the outcome within 10 working days.

Road surface damage

Reports of road surface damage are passed to the Highways Service who will investigate your report and let you know their plans, responding within 10 days.

Depending on budget availability, between three and five per cent of the road network may be resurfaced in any year. The programme is agreed for a 5-year period based data from the regular inspection process.

Requests for major areas of roads to be resurfaced are unlikely to be funded within the year but can be considered as part of the future year programmes.

Traffic issues

There is an annual programme for traffic related schemes. This is agreed by The Environment Committee in January for the following year (April to March).

While some schemes may be deemed urgent, it is unlikely new schemes will be added to the programme in-year. New requests relating to traffic issues are passed to the Highways Service who will assess and prioritise them for consideration in future year programmes. 

Residents will receive a response to their request, explaining the process, within 10 working days. 

Tree problems

A 3-year cyclical management plan is maintained for street trees. Tree planting requests will be assessed and added to the waiting list where appropriate. We will let you know what action we will take within 10 working days.

Fill roadside salt bin 

Requests to fill salt bins will only be actioned in the period October to March as experience shows that filling them in the summer months is not effective. During this period, the requests to top up the bins will be actioned within 15 working days.

Request new salt bin 

Requests for a new salt bin are passed to the Highways Service who will assess the request within 10 working days. They will let you know what action they are going to take.

Salt/ grit road and snow clearance

The main winter maintenance period runs from the beginning of November to the end of March.  Around 40% of the total road networks, including public transport routes are treated with rock salt whenever road temperatures fall below freezing.

Requests to salt roads and clear snow not on the priority list are unlikely to be possible due to the need to focus on the priority routes. Updates will be posted on the council website and via twitter during difficult weather conditions