Council’s smart approach to reporting of concerns

The council - in partnership with ReportAll - is trialling a new mobile phone application which will enable members of the public to report issues such as dog fouling, littering, graffiti and street cleaning directly to the council service responsible.

The app will work on any smartphone and uses GPS technology within the phone to geotag the exact location of the problem and also gives the ability to add a picture and notes before submitting.

Once submitted, the report goes directly to the council.

Users will have an ability to create an account via the ReportAll web interface which will enable them to track the progress of their report or reports can also be submitted anonymously.

Director of environmental services, Philip Thompson, said: “Larne Borough Council aim to deliver high quality, responsive services to ratepayers and visitors to the area.

“We hope that Report All will enable the public to communicate more easily and thereby assist us in making improvements to environmental quality”.

With figures showing that a third of all adults and half of all teenagers now have smartphones, the council is hoping that this new pilot scheme offers local residents the chance to use this technology to enhance how faults are reported.