I agree it can look shabby. It's been going on since austerity measures hit local authority budgets. BUT not spraying allows all the wild flowers to seed as well - there are lots of poppies and other wild flowers around the lamp posts especially. All the weeds and wild flowers die off by September / October any, and add to the ecology of the area. Spraying does exactly the opposite, and add toxins to our environment. I've trained myself to stop thinking of it as 'shabby' and think of it as 'bee-friendly'.