by Katie Alston

People have been told to clean dirty pavements themselves because it's too expensive for the council to do it.

Worry had been raised by Faversham's Town Marketing Group that the cleanliness of the town's streets had been deteriorating.

The main area of concern was a lack of deep cleaning of pavements which was leading to surfaces becoming increasingly "grimy and unsightly".

The issue was referred to Monday night's Faversham Town Council meeting where several councillors said the dirty dilemma could be solved by residents and traders heading out with soapy water and brooms.

As well as being a Faversham Town Cllr David Simmons is also in charge of the environment and rural affairs at Swale Borough Council.

He said: "Having spoken to my officers I have found out that it would cost £10,000 for a deep clean of the areas suggested by the Town Marketing Group.

"This is just too costly and not possible.

"If however they can come up with a list of more specific hot spot problem areas, Swale Borough Council would be prepared to look at these.

"This is just too costly and not possible.…” – Cllr David Simmons

Other councillors had a more community centred approach to the issue.

Cllr Cindy Davies said: "It would be good if shopkeepers swept outside their premises and took pride in the areas outside their businesses.

"Having heard how much the deep cleans costs it makes sense for people to do it ourselves.

"It doesn't take a great deal of organisation and would take 10 minutes to do. Even house holders could do their bit."

Cllr Bryan Mulhern said: "Getting shopkeepers and restaurants to took after their own pavements would certainly help keep the place clean and would help the cafe culture.

"Other places do it and it should be encouraged here, especially during long dry spells when it can get quite smelly and dusty.

"We should have higher standards."