Table 4.

Unpleasant/not well maintained neighbourhood (March–April, 2013, Coventry).

Theme/quote
Unpleasant ‘It's not a pleasant area to look at ‘ Not maintained ‘it is not maintained’ (PG3) Graffiti ‘Graffiti as well’ (PG3) Dog mess ‘There is lots of mess, dog muck everywhere...... You walk down there and slip on it or tread in it , it is disgusting’ (PG2) They don't obey the dog fouling signs ‘We do have the dog wardens coming around sticking up signs [about dog mess enforcement rules) but it's not going to work They don't follow it up. There is no cameras or anything’ (PG2) Rats ‘The Foleshill road is wriggled with rats; literally you walk down the Foleshill road. They are not like rats they are like puppy dogs. You come out the bus stop on the Foleshill road at night and a rat will run across your feet’ (PG2) People feeding pigeons ‘I told some people off before because they were feeding them… they just pile chapattis and things on the floor for the ducks …down there. Because they are not just feeding the ducks and the geese they are feeding the pigeons, the rats they are feeding whatever, anyone that sleeps there really’ (PG2) Rubbish on the streets ‘Terrible. See half the time the rubbish around here is just disgusting’ (PG2 & 3) People trailing through bins leaving stuff on the floor ‘You know what's been happening a lot in our street? I don't know if they are Romanians or whatever. Looking in the bins. They take what they want and leave what they took from it. If you find something you like in the bin okay that alright but put everything back how you found it. Now you are leaving me looking like you know like I don't know what I'm doing with all the black bags and rubbish outside. Yeah it's not fair ’ (PG3) Fly tipping ‘But there's people fly tipping as well isn't there? The odd sofa, the odd mattress, the odd yeah’ (PG3) Urinating on property ‘People after they are drunk, they pee next to the door’ (PG3) WALKING TO SCHOOL Used contraception ‘on our route taking our child to school we would find used contraception on the floor’ (PG2) Empty syringes ‘And empty syringes’ (PG2) Canals Drug needles ‘Even if you take a walk down the canal… It's no good. The council says o were cleaning up the canal were doing this, where?? Because there is drug needles. I go fishing and my little girl goes fishing with us and we sit there and I have to leave my fishing rod with my partner and take her home to go to the toilet because she can't do anything around there because there are needles. She can't play around there, she can't do anything. She has to just sit there and fish. You know what I mean. Sometimes they get bored. But they are using drug needles’ (PG2) PARKS Broken equipment ‘The council do not do the parks for the young ones. His kid is only 6 and mine is 8. But he can't take his kid to the park. No not around here. There was but the big ones have broken them’ (PG2) Broken bottles ‘Yeah there is loads of broken bottles’ (PG2) ‘There is a park on Stoney Stanton road. By the doctors. I pass it when I go to the doctors, or go over that way. And he will say can we go in there and I have to say no ‘sorry kid’ not that one. I won't take him into that park because I know that state of it… Broken bottles and needles. It is just not very well maintained’ (PG2) Needles ‘needles as well’ (PG2) STREETS Bins not put back ‘It sounds stupid but obviously being a lollypop lady obviously but every Friday you'll see the dustbin men come …. Now, whether its common sense to me, if I took a bin from number I'd put it back to number four. But no on a Friday when I walk up to my spot basically I have got a bin number four is at number twelve. Number twelve bin is basically at number ninety four. You know it takes me twenty minutes to sort out people's bins. It's not part of my job but if I see a, see a I don't know erm a female with a pram and she has to go in the road because the bins in the way and then apparently I get sacked’ (PG3) ‘Even for children it stops them to come with their own bike to school and they'll give them a prize you know. But Friday you can't come on bike because of that’ (PG3) Maintenance of transport facilities (buses) ‘The buses are like tramps, it stinks, and then you get abuse or something.... it's pretty poor’ (PG2)
IMPROVEMENTS
Dog mess bins ‘Dog bins for dog owners.... A glove as well and bags’ (PG1) Clean the streets ‘Erm it needs to be a lot cleaner. I mean, the clean, the streets don't get cleaned very often’ (PG3)