A Peckham man has accused council workers of ‘abusing’ a street clean-up app after a blocked rubbish chute was incorrectly marked as fixed.
Southampton Way Estate resident Nick Flower branded Fix My Street app a “total waste of people’s time”.
The Tenants’ and Residents’ Association Chair reported the problem on the council’s app on Saturday, February 24.
The Fix My Street app allows residents to report maintenance problems to the council which then sends staff over to fix them.
Southwark Council reported the problem as ‘fixed’ at 7.23am on Monday, February 26.
But when Nick went to check the problem, he claimed the chute was still blocked.
“If used properly Fix My Street is a brilliant innovation,” he said.
He added: “If abused, it’s a total waste of people’s time. Southwark have signed up to it to look good and now they’re abused the system to hide their incompetence.”
The chute has since been unblocked but Nick claims this only took place a week later – after Southwark News contacted the council.
When Southwark Council introduced the app in March 2023, Cllr Catherine Rose hailed it as “the most direct way to report anything that needs fixing, cleaning or clearing”.
In the last month alone, Southwark Council says it’s fixed 1,383 maintenance issues through the app.
Southwark Council was approached for comment.