St Aidan’s Big Tidy Up – nearly 50 tonnes of rubbish removed

(Date of issue: Thursday, 17 September 2009)

A week-long campaign to clear up St Aidan’s in Carlisle resulted in nearly 50 tonnes of rubbish being removed from streets, back lanes and open spaces.

As part of a Big Tidy Up campaign, St Aidan’s ward got a comprehensive clean-up and residents were asked to give their support.

Carlisle City Council and partners organised the work which started last Monday (7 September) and carried on until last Sunday (13 September).

As part of the clear up, Carlisle City Council:

• Provided four skips for local residents, council workers and the Probation Service to use. A total of twelve tonnes of rubbish was removed.
• Repaired pavements, planters and some of the area’s bollards.
• Cut back all overgrowth in all planters and shrub beds. Bark was also used to tidy up the shrub beds.
• Using mechanical sweepers to remove seven tonnes of detritus from gutters.
• Posted more than 600 letters to residents and vehicle owners asking them to move cars to allow mechanical sweeping and gully cleaning (this is still ongoing for the next two weeks).
• Removed five tonnes of gully waste during the week.
• Removed around 25 tonnes of rubbish and fly tipping from streets and back lanes. Green waste removed from the shrub beds and planters was recycled.
• With help from the Probation Service, approx 200 instances of graffiti was removed.
• Agreed to hand over maintenance of some shrub beds to residents following their requests.
• Visited schools to talk to them about waste, recycling and littering.

A community litter-pick was also held last Saturday (12 September).

City Councillor Ray Bloxham, Portfolio holder for Environment and Infrastructure, said:

"The Big Tidy Up has proved to be a resounding success and has resulted in tonnes of rubbish being removed from St Aidan's streets, back lanes and open spaces. I'd like to thank everyone that lent a hand throughout the week, their support has meant that major issues such as litter, fly tipping and graffiti were tackled. We hope this makes a lasting difference to St Aidan's communities."

An information display was also in place at Greystone Community Centre, Close Street throughout the week and staff from Carlisle City Council and partners were on hand to answer residents’ questions on local issues and the services available to communities.