Filthy pavements at Elephant & Castle

Has anyone else noticed just how filthy the pavements are becoming at Elephant & Castle? I'm not talking about litter (which the council cleaners do well to keep on top of), but sticky, smelly streaks and general grime. The granite paving south of the Tube station copes better compared with the York stone more recently installed, which is prone to staining but much of it seems to be caused by piles of bin bags left for collection which then leak across the pavement - the spot right outside the Northern line station entrance seems especially prone to it.

Given the increasing number of people spending time in the area is it not time that Southwark Council sent someone down every now and again with a pressure washer or ride-on machine? Seems a minor additional expense on top of the millions spent tarting the place up.

Totally agree.
The new pavement around St Mary's Churchyard is going down the pan as well: marks from skaters, not enough rubbish bin, gravel all over the place (I guess it was placed to stop weed growing, but there are no edges to keep it into place and it's a very windy area).

Yes, I don't get it at all. Dirt and grease around bus stops is particuler bad and outside pubs where people congregate (see my post about Elephant and Castle pub. I fantasize about seeing council workers with water pressure cleaners washing away the grime. I agree that the council street cleaners do a good job sweeping up rubbish, but that is as far as it goes. The bare minimum is done.Do local businesses pay for this through rates? Who would we contact at the council?

I have seen gravel put down and covered with a clear polymer resin which hold it all it place. Perhaps Southwark could do that too?

I do wonder if it's something to do with the stone they've used, and perhaps the lack of rain for a while. After seeing this post I noticed the newish paving slabs down the bottom end of Blackfriars Road are also covered in grim stains everywhere you look. They are some sort of warm coloured stone but I don't know exactly what, not the normal bog-standard concrete slabs anyway.

Jan the old one wrote:

I have seen gravel put down and covered with a clear polymer resin which hold it all it place. Perhaps Southwark could do that too?

Sounds like a good idea. The way it is at the moment is just silly: what were they thinking?
I think weed would look tidier than the current mess.

'Weed' wouldn't stay there long enough to become a problem ;-)