Ealing boosts autumn leaf clearing: how to report a slippery pavement

Ealing Council announced on 27 October that an additional 27 workers are supporting autumn street cleaning. Areas around schools, hospitals and day centres take priority. Scout groups in Ealing and Hanwell are also helping, while residents can request free equipment to clean their neighbourhoods.

The seasonal support sits alongside the normal street maintenance schedule. Residents have three distinct options: report a problem to the service, arrange support for a voluntary clean-up, or check what has happened to a report. These are different routes, rather than interchangeable promises of an immediate collection.

When streets are cleaned

The council's service page says standard cleaning on residential streets takes place weekly or fortnightly, with deeper cleaning at least three times a year. Town centres and transport hubs receive daily cleaning. Seeing leaves on a pavement does not, by itself, establish that a scheduled visit has been missed.

Greener Ealing describes a street-cleansing operation covering approximately 640 kilometres of roads and paths, with around 100 team members. Its service description also lists weekly cleaning on 169 housing estates and in 14 TfL subways, alongside the daily emptying of 900 litter bins. These are figures for the standing service, not the results of this autumn's leaf campaign or the number of newly recruited workers.

Reporting wet leaves

The council's “Report a street cleaning problem” form includes wet leaves. Give the location, the nearest building number or a recognisable landmark, and a description. A photograph can be added if available. An inspector will assess whether cleaning should happen sooner than scheduled.

That is not a promise to clear leaves the next day. Response targets for other categories should not be assumed to apply here. For an emergency clean-up, such as a fuel spill, the council directs residents to the round-the-clock number 020 8825 8825 instead of the form.

Equipment and sacks

The street-cleaning page links to requests for equipment and collection of filled sacks. The sacks are intended for street leaves and litter, not household rubbish or garden waste. During our check, the linked ordering form did not respond, so we cannot confirm that it is currently working.

Following a report online

Love Clean Streets accepts a mapped location, a description and an optional photograph. Residents can alternatively use its free smartphone app and select Ealing London Borough as their home authority. The website allows users to find reports and review their current status, including their own submissions awaiting approval. This helps residents follow progress; it does not guarantee a particular intervention time.