Great town – but rubbish approach

Our first impressions of Dewsbury were of a town with great pride in its heritage and history and we look forward to enjoying the facilities of Dewsbury and the wider West Yorkshire area.

However, Dewsbury fails dramatically in establishing a first impression for anyone travelling to the town from the M1.

I refer, of course, to the less than green verges along the A638 from junction 40.

The amount of litter and debris collected in the bushes and grass along this main route into the heart of Dewsbury is nothing short of shocking.

First impressions really do count and this cannot be the tone Kirklees Council is intending to create for such a fine town as Dewsbury.

I can’t believe that most of the Kirklees Council members, as well as many senior officers, have not driven on this route on a regular basis, so why do they tolerate such a disgraceful environmental impact.

I fully accept every council has significant demands on reduced budgets but acceptance of obvious poor standards does set a benchmark for other more important concerns.

It may well be that this section of road into Dewsbury falls within the remit of Wakefield, in which case a stern phone call is in order.

Perhaps the council could organise a community litter pick (bearing in mind the potential hazards of working alongside a main route). I would certainly be up for volunteering.

I might add that I did call the council to express my concerns.

Dewsbury deserves better and the council should step up to the plate and deliver. By the way, I received my council tax bill today.

JOHN PIASECKI

Bradford Road

DEWSBURY

Editor’s Note: Our letter writer sent this letter to Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan who said the Kirklees side would be cleaned up immediately and the council was contacting Wakefield colleagues to get their side tidied.