Traders concerned about 'filthy' adverts (From Harrow Times)
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Traders concerned about 'filthy' adverts in Station Road, Harrow
10:09am Friday 5th October 2012 in News By Emma Innes
Traders are concerned the adverts will lower the tone of the area
Traders in Harrow are concerned that “filthy” advertisements in the area’s phone boxes will deter shoppers.
Traders on Station Road have spoken out about the prevalence of handwritten “massage” advertisements in the shopping street.
Ryan Clark, manager of Harrow Fisheries, said: “It’s not something you want to see.
“You don’t want to walk down the street and see things like that stuck in phone boxes.
“People who live here get used to it but it doesn’t look good to new people visiting the area.
“It will put people off coming to shop here."
Staff at Hair Connections, in Station Road, are also concerned.
The company’s director, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s not nice really. It’s bringing down the area.
“There have been some dubious activities going on around here. Harrow has changed a lot – it’s not like it used to be.
“It is full of filth now and we just don’t need it.
“It is keeping people away from the town centre at a time when we need all the help we can get.”
He added: “This could lower the tone of the whole area.”
In a statement Harrow Borough Council said: "Harrow Council can confirm that it does not routinely inspect or clean telephone boxes as all telephone boxes in Harrow are the property of British Telecom who regularly maintain and clean them.
"If a Harrow cleaning operative comes across a telephone box which is obviously unsightly they will remove the cards unless to do so would cause damage."
Comments(6)
jackdaw
says...
1:18pm Fri 5 Oct 12
by Charles Osgood
There was a most important job that needed to be done,
And no reason not to do it, there was absolutely none.
But in vital matters such as this, the thing you have to ask
Is who exactly will it be who'll carry out the task?
Anybody could have told you that everybody knew
That this was something somebody would surely have to do.
Nobody was unwilling; anybody had the ability.
But nobody believed that it was their responsibility.
It seemed to be a job that anybody could have done,
If anybody thought he was supposed to be the one.
But since everybody recognised that anybody could,
Everybody took for granted that somebody would.
But nobody told anybody that we are aware of,
That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of.
And nobody took it on himself to follow through,
And do what everybody thought that somebody would do.
When what everybody needed so did not get done at all,
Everybody was complaining that somebody dropped the ball.
Anybody then could see it was an awful crying shame,
And everybody looked around for somebody to blame.
Somebody should have done the job
And Everybody should have,
But in the end Nobody did
What Anybody could have.
jackdaw
says...
1:29pm Fri 5 Oct 12
SeaBee
says...
2:23pm Fri 5 Oct 12
What about the area's local newspapers?
Ads for escort services, massage services, etc.
DimSum
says...
4:05am Sun 7 Oct 12
harvey_uk
says...
5:17pm Thu 11 Oct 12
jackdaw says...
1:15pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Does the Harrow Times or any of your readers know whose remit this falls under. Is it the responsibility of British Telecom, a Council Portfolio holder or the police. Who is the person responsible for monitoring this rubbish.
Organisation and names please as the buck stops with you. What is the point of Harrow town centre refurbishment when we have this situation!
When we have someone to complain to I am sure the Harrow Times will help readers by forwarding their complaints.