A CLEAN highways campaigner has issued a court notice to clean up a build-up of litter at a busy motorway slip road.
Peter Silverman, of Kingsend, Ruislip, has served the Highways Agency with the notice after growing frustrated with the state of the Denham roundabout. He hopes this will force their hand to address the ongoing issue, of traffic cones, litter bags, fast foot packaging and alcohol cans all lying strewn by the roadside.
The roundabout serves junction one of the M40, and is used by thousands of drivers coming through from Uxbridge every day.
Any member of the public can issue the orders, but a lack of public information about legislation means the option is rarely used.
Under section 91 of the 1990 Environmental Protection Act, for residents can ask the court to serve litter abatement orders on those who are responsible for tidying up.
Peter Silverman, who also runs scrutiny website of Hillingdon Council, Hillingdon Watch, last year began campaigning the Highways Agency, responsible for the roads, to clean up the M40 between junction one and four. He has been largely successful, stating that after issuing a court notice last April, grass verges became transformed.
However he feels that slip roads are still being ignored. On Monday he issued a litter abatement notice at High Wycombe and Beaconsfield Magistrate's Court.
He said: "The Denham roundabout has been a litter eyesore for years. The off slip which you take when you come off from the west down to the roundabout is an absolute disgrace. The contractors are simply not doing the job we are paying them to do. They are able to get away with it because of lax management practices. I want to encourage others to follow my lead."
Mr Silverman has set up a new website, cleanhighways.co.uk which he hopes will help him spread the word about how simple it is to clean up Britain's motorways, recently described by Mike Penning MP, the under-secretary for Transport as a 'rubbish tip'.
