Madam,

Many residents of Aberystwyth reading about the proposed cuts in street cleaning services might find it worrying.

The opinion (it can only be an opinion, not a finding by PwC surely?) that the present level of service ”could be considered too good” is even more worrying.

What standards of cleanliness are considered adequate for a town hoping to attract tourists from the rest of Wales and further away? Are the new standards going to make the town look shabby to potential tourists, let alone to people who live here all year round?

What good is a new band-stand, a new tourist office, or even lovely flower displays, if the town is not adequately clean?

Getting the basics right means that a pleasant, clean environment comes first. That means adequate numbers of bins, emptied regularly and during busy weekends and holidays.

It means the cleaning of litter and gull droppings on streets and pavements, etc. Then tourists and residents will enjoy spending time and money in town, and shops and council alike should see the benefits. Local community groups, such as the Beach Buddies, and others, already clean beaches in Aberystwyth and nearby. They are volunteers who do a great job, but they cannot do it all.

Cutting or downgrading cleaning services is very shortsighted it seems to me, but mine is just the opinion of a local resident hoping her town will do well, for now and for the future.

Yours etc

Marie-Helene Thomas

Aberystwyth.