NUISANCE Parking, littering and speeding are among the key election issues in the Walcot and Park North ward.

The new ward, which will return three councillors, comprises the existing Walcot ward, plus part of the current Parks ward.

Carol Brownlee, of the Swindon Walcot and Parks community group, said she would like the new councillors to ask New College to pick up the litter dropped by its students, which blows on to Buckhurst Field.

Carol, who has lived in Chickerell Road for more than 40 years, said: “We get students coming out of the college and dropping their litter, although there are litter bins.

“I go around and pick litter up from time to time, particularly the area around my house, and you can fill a sack quite easily.”

Carol said she would like the council to take better enforcement action against dog fouling, and crack down on parents who park dangerously in Welcombe Avenue when they drop off children at Goddard Park Primary School.

“I know the school has got a Walk to School campaign but parents don’t seem to listen and don’t realise they’re putting their own kids in danger by parking irresponsibly, and those who are walking have difficulty crossing the road,” she said.

Daphne Pook, 73, who lives opposite Buckhurst Field in Buckhurst Crescent, said she would also like the council to spend more time cleaning up litter on the field.

The great-grandmother was so fed up with what she saw as a poor clean-up by the council, that she decided in March to tidy up the field herself.

And in just two days, the retired cleaner, who has angina, arthritis of the spine and a metal piece in her leg where it had been fractured, filled seven bin bags with litter.

Daphne said: “We need a proper clean-up every so often. The council men are pretty good, they empty the bins and do a bit, but there’s no proper clean-up under the hedges and around the field.”

In Old Walcot, Mike Townsend, 72, said he would like the councillors to fight for restrictions at certain times of the day to stop town centre workers parking on the estate’s roads to avoid paying to use a proper car park.

Mike, who has lived in Upham Road for 37 years, said the problem was particularly bad in the narrow Cumberland Road, where delivery vehicles drive on verges and churn up the grass to get past parked vehicles safely.

He said: “Parking is quite a big issue for people on the estate. It’s people parking and leaving their cars all day long and going into work. They sometimes block driveways and if you are having a delivery, it’s hard to get people to deliver to your place because there’s people parked outside.”

Mike said he also wanted the new councillors to demand a 20mph speed limit in Old Walcot to tackle speeding, especially in Upham Road and Burford Avenue.