'It's not called Auld Reekie for nothing' - Readers' Comments on 'filthy' Edinburgh

Edinburgh council leaders have been told to “stop playing student politics” and clean up the city as a new report from Keep Scotland Beautiful shows Edinburgh is officially dirtier than supposedly “filthy” Glasgow. Readers were quick to comment...

Keep Scotland Beautiful’s survey found that only 81.2 per cent meet the ‘clean’ standard in Edinburgh

Lynne Bond: Well that's hardly surprising – it's not called Auld Reekie for nothing! Supposed to be the capital but it’s now the capital of filth.

Craig Jones: SNP-led council trying to level out the country. Good work.

Louie Karen Wakeley: The council is given funds to do the jobs like cleaning up rubbish so it’s up to council to put the money to good use. Oviously they're not.

Jim Shanley: Edinburgh and Glasgow were both once great cities but now there’s rubbish everywhere, overgrown weeds on streets and buildings and graffiti all over. The councils are inept and unskilled in the art of management so it’s only going to get worse.

Raymond Rose: Are we surprised? No, because Edinburgh Council’s senior management work remotely and they haven't got a clue about the challenges faced by those delivering services on the front line and they couldn't care less about taking responsibility, or having accountability beyond securing their bonuses and pensions for enforcing cuts in staff, cuts in training and cuts in the recourses necessary to do the job properly. They really don't care.

Lee Stewart: The council’s too busy spending resources on things we don’t want like the Spaces for People nonsense. Now the cleaners can’t get close to the areas that need done because of it.

Maureen Wills: It will soon be Stirling that’s the filthiest as they have changed their refuse collection to once a month. No larger bins have been supplied for this mad idea. Watch Edinburgh following suit. We will be infested with rat ieverywhere if this happens. Who thinks these stupid ideas up?

Camy Marr: This is why the council’s most recent survey results have to be utter fiction. There's not a cat's chance in hell that the vast majority of people in this city are even remotely happy with McVey, Day and their ilk, or the mess they've made, and continue to make, of our once great city.

Morag S Donaldson: No blame on those who drop the litter?

Jackie Brownlee: It’s happening everywhere. If everyone complained directly to the councillors, can you imagine the thousands of letters and emails? We the public cannot keep paying the environmental and financial price of their failure to act. We already pay through council tax for this service.

Gareth Hamilton: If only all the bins were outside a Greggs, they might pick it up – because that’s usually where you see the bin motors sitting.

Elaine Philp: It’s not a competition and it’s easily remedied – empty the bins and pressure wash the bin area and the streets and while you’re at it clear the weeds. Done.

Diane Smith: They are probably waiting for the public to do it. The Dalkeith Guerrillas do it in Midlothian – they clear weeds and tidy areas up. I think this is a slap in the face as we pay taxes for the councils to do this.

Laird Ronald Simpson: So the council is in the dog house again regarding this once great city. With grandiose ideas of what they want money is thrown at these schemes and the basics are forgotten. Get your act together or get out.

Serena Valori: They collect the rubbish every 15 days, there are people throwing junk on the streets and Edinburgh’s very windy. It’s not a surprise.

Tram repairs

Safety repairs are under way on Edinburgh’s tram line after “defects” in the concrete beside tracks became “degraded”. The ongoing work has closed part of Princes Street and Shandwick Place.

Alex Weir: Interesting two stories. The first tells that Edinburgh is filthy, neglected, full of overflowing bins and weeds. The second says that Edinburgh’s moribund, pointless tram fiasco is getting yet more taxpayers’ money thrown at it. I wonder if these two stories could possibly be related?

William Kay: It happens. Get over it. Some cities have tram lines whose foundations are in sand. Like here the trams continue to run but while people work in the track space has to be made available due to health and safety rules, so the traffic has to be diverted. Soonest done soonest mended.