St Aidan’s Big Tidy Up gets underway

(Date of issue: Tuesday, 8 September 2009)

Work to clear up a local area in Carlisle is now underway.

As part of a Big Tidy Up campaign, St Aidan’s ward is getting a comprehensive clean-up and residents are being urged to give their support.

Carlisle City Council and partners have organised the work which started yesterday (Monday, 7 September) and will continue on until this Sunday (13 September).

Volunteers who want to take an active part in making their local environment cleaner, greener and safer, are being asked to take part in a litter-pick. This will be held this Saturday (12 September), starting at 9am. Anyone interested in taking part, should meet at Greystone Community Centre, Close Street. All equipment will be provided by the City Council. Anyone interested in taking part, should contact 01228 618556 or 01228 817200 for more information.

During the week, the City Council’s gully cleaning crew will be asking residents to move their vehicles on certain streets, at certain times, so that they can clean gullies at difficult locations. At the same time, a mechanical sweeper will sweep the gutters so the locations are left as clean as possible. Letters will be sent to local residents setting out when the work is planned to happen

Cllr Lucy Patrick, Ward Councillor for St Aidan’s, said:

"St Aidan's ward councillors are always focused on acquiring extra resources to tackle cleanliness issues, I am therefore delighted with this new initiative to both improve the local environment, tackle ongoing problems such as fly tipping, and actively involve residents in the process."

Cllr Anne Quilter, fellow Ward Councillor for St Aidan’s, added:

“Over the past few years I have been impressed by the hard work and dedication of our area maintenance teams. It can often by seen as a thankless task and residents must be aware of the part they themselves play to help make their community a pleasant place to live and work. I welcome these types of initiatives and hope that the St Aidan’s Big Tidy Up is a great success for all involved.”

In addition to the litter picking event, Carlisle City Council will also be doing the following in the St Aidan’s area during the Big Tidy Up week: additional road sweeping; removing fly tipping; litter picking; removing fly posters; removing graffiti; washing bus stops; cleaning gullies; cleaning road signs; shrub bed maintenance; verge maintenance; removing weeds; minor highway repairs; painting bollards and other general maintenance work.

The CDRP (Carlisle and Eden Crime & Disorder Partnership) will also be asking residents to sign indemnity forms to allow the City Council and the Probation Service to remove graffiti from properties, free of charge, during the Big Tidy Up week.

Enforcement Officers will be checking for fly tipping and dog fouling and advising occupiers of the regulations surrounding these issues.

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