Consultation has concluded

Council invests millions of dollars annually in street cleaning, graffiti removal and general improvements to amenity in our city. Annual surveying, however, highlighted dissatisfaction with the maintenance and cleaning of Footscray Central Business District (CBD). We are currently looking at ways to improve the general amenity of the CBD and we would like to hear comments and suggestions from the community.

We are putting this survey to regular visitors to the CBD (shoppers, service users and workers) as well as local traders and property owners. We are also going to ask the broader community what improvements might encourage more visitors to the CBD.

Consultation has concluded

FAQs

A: Council has a number of strategies to combat and respond to illegal graffiti. Firstly we recognise that ugly tagging is less likely to occur in places that have been specifically allocated for legal street art. There are a number of locations around the Footscray CBD that Council has funded specifically for this purpose. Council also employs a Graffiti Ranger who regularly consults with local traders to identify areas that need cleaning.

Our City Business team have recently begun working with traders on the Leeds street improvement plan that offers free graffiti removal along with shop front upgrades. Council offers free graffiti removal kits to households.

Council will shortly be introducing a proactive service approach which involves regular monitoring and cleaning of graffiti in key locations within the Footscray business district.

A: Council has no power to force businesses to alter their shop fronts unless they are unsafe. However, we have undertaken street improvement programs that offer the free service of shop front beatification. In Leeds Street the offer was made to approximately 50 traders and fifteen traders have so far agreed to participate in this program.

A: Council collects waste on a weekly basis and recycling on a fortnightly basis and provides a limited number of collection bins per property. Council provides a residential service that has been extended to small businesses. Council does not collect commercial quantities of waste from businesses. A number of properties use private contractors due to the quantities of waste produced and almost a third choose to have not service at all, as they run businesses that produce very little waste.

A: Council employs 20 staff in our cleansing team and our total operational budget for cleansing is $2.3 million per year. Street sweeping is carried out nightly in the Footscray CBD. Council responds to requests to pick up illegally dumped rubbish. We respond to approximately 2,600 customer service requests per year.

A: Traders get one waste and one recycling bin at no extra charge as these are covered by rates payments. Traders can elect to pay a fee for up to two additional waste and recycling bins. Council charges $300 per additional standard waste bin per annum for up to two additional bins. The real cost to council to provide this service, however, is measured by weight and estimated to be in the order of $500 per bin as the contents of commercial bins are larger and heavier than residential bins.