Morecambe councillor's weed and litter pick plea to residents

County Coun Charlie Edwards made his plea on social media, using photos of some areas of Morecambe covered in weeds to push home his point.

He has asked as many people as possible to join him in helping to tidy up parts of the town on Friday morning.

And he has also asked the county council for their support on the issue.

Coun Edwards - who is also bidding to bring illuminations back to the resort - said it's important that Morecambe gives a good impression of itself to visitors, particularly while many more people than usual are holidaying in the UK this summer.

"As we cannot travel abroad at the moment, people are flocking to our town every weekend at the moment and we quite rightly need to make it clean tidy and appealing for our visitors and for each other," he said.

"This is probably our best chance to advertise what we have to offer to tourists we will get."

Coun Edwards, who is a county councillor for Morecambe South, is also cabinet member for highways, which is responsible for road and pavement maintenance.

He said he had been disappointed by social media posts recently from people complaining about the state of the town, while other residents have suggested the council should do more.

"There are lots of hard working conscientious staff who have worked all weekend who will be really upset and demotivated after seeing posts like the ones put out this weekend," he said.

"I went past the team putting in the new flowerbeds etc on Shrimp Roundabout this morning, you cannot tell me that there aren’t people working to make our town more appealing.

"There is clearly a huge amount to do. This year is crucial as I said - but also Morecambe is a town on the up.

"We want to be proud of this place, we want to attract big things like Eden and everyday things like more visitors to our shops and pubs and cafes and landmarks.

"I hope we take this energy these posts have generated and use it wisely.

"The best way to deal with things like this isn’t to whack a unique and original comment on Facebook - it’s to get out and do.

"Weed and litter pick outside your house. Report problems online. Be proud of our town.

"So this is an open invitation to the people of Morecambe. Bring your spades and shovels and gloves and bin bags and on Friday 18th 9am, let’s get this place ready for next weekend’s visitors and beyond.

"Let’s meet at Morecambe Train Station car park and smash the whole town in one big sweep. I will work with the councils to provide some equipment too.

"See you Friday."

Residents can report any issues to the council online here.In response to Coun Edwards' message on social media, Coun Jean Parr - who is a city councillor for Skerton West and county councillor for Skerton - said: "As county councillors representing areas in the Morecambe & Lunesdale constituency, Coun Margaret Pattison and myself were bemused to read of Coun Charlie Edwards’ plea for volunteers to help clear the weeds.

"He omitted to mention that he is the cabinet member for highways at the county council, controlling a multi-million pound budget for road and pavement maintenance, together with weed control.

"We hope that he uses the council’s resources to employ new, non-chemical technology for weed control, together with effective pavement repairs to reduce the opportunity for weeds to flourish."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "The recent good weather has brought on the rapid growth of weeds and we are currently making arrangements for them to be treated in central areas of Lancaster and Morecambe.

"We expect the first of these treatments to take place around the beginning of July, with a further treatment towards the end of the summer.

"Alongside this we will also be carrying out reactive treatments in other areas of the district as necessary."