I report a lot of fly-tipping, graffiti etc as I pass through Battle Ward, usually by emailing councillor services. I now have an alternative. It's downloaded and waiting for it's first thing to report. Councillors are being encouraged to trial this app and, if used, it should free up councillors services to deal with casework, rather than Streetcare reporting. I have already seen positive comments on #rdg about it and I am looking forward to trying it out.
UPDATED: I have used it four times now. Once for dog fouling and to report a dumped suitcase, speakers & shelving and a tv stand. You tap begin, I used my phones gps for the location, you take a pic, add a short description and allocate it to one of the categories listed and hit send!
Once you report something you get a confirmation email then an email when the report is accepted. Your pictures are shared on the Love Clean Reading website, as are their location. The status of your case is updated by email and also online. The website is here: http://loveclean.reading.gov.uk/Reports
You can also use the website to report things.
'Council To Trial Free 'Love Clean Reading' App
29/10/2012
Reading Borough Council Press Release
Reading Borough Council is inviting a group of local residents to help
trial a free new 'app' which will allow people to report things like
litter, graffiti or flytipping direct to the Council whilst they are out
and about.
The new app called 'Love Clean Reading' is a quick and easy way for
residents to help the Council keep their local neighbourhood clean by
taking photos of litter, fly tipping, dog mess or graffiti they come
across. All they have to do is take a picture and then use the
downloaded app on their smartphone or tablet to send it directly to the
Council's Sreetcare Team.
The Streetcare Team will then send the member of public confirmation of
receipt and - when it has been attended to - a photograph of the cleaned
up area.
Last year's 'We Need to Talk' public consultation highlighted the great
importance people in Reading placed on clean environments. The Council
will this week be writing to the people who last year completed a 'We
Need to Talk' questionnaire last year, who have supported their local
Neighbourhood Action Group in the past and Reading Councillors, to help
trial the 'app' over a six month period.
The idea is to gather any public feedback from the trial, improve it
where necessary and then consider opening it up all other Reading
residents to use.
Thanks to GPS technology, the 'Love Clean Reading' app is able to
identify the exact location of the problem and alerts the relevant team
at Reading Borough Council. There is no need for the person to dig
around for a telephone number or make a phone call as all the
information the council needs is contained in the report.
In some cases that would mean Streetcare officers clearing up the mess,
before taking a photo of that work and posting it on the website at
http://loveclean.reading.gov.
was on private land for example the Council would report that back and
explain that it had contacted the private owners to clear up the mess.
Paul Gittings, Reading's Lead Councillor for Environment and Climate
Change, said: 'At a time when so many of us carry around these smart
phones or tablets, it makes sense to use that existing resource and
instant reporting facility to our advantage.
'When you think around 1,500 of the 25,000 phonecalls calls made to
Reading Borough Council's call centre every month are to do with things
like graffiti, fly-tipping, abandoned vehicles, this 'app' is an extra
reporting mechanism for local residents. Where possible the Streetcare
Team will take swift action and where it cannot, we will say why.
'Ultimately this is about making Reading a better place to live. I'm
really looking forward to seeing the results of the trial and, if it
proves to be a success, making it a permanent service for local
residents to make use of.'
The 'Love Clean Streets' app, which was originally pioneered at Lewisham
Council, in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, back in 2007 and
research showed it helps to cut the processing time of a report by up to
87% and are far more accurate than those received by phone. Complaints
about graffiti in Lewisham, South London, fell by more than 30% in the
first two years of the app being used, with customer satisfaction with
the Council's street cleaning services increasing at the same time. It
is now used by local authorities across the capital.
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