Grot spots get a spring clean

From the archive, first published Monday 13th Feb 2006.

A massive `spring clean' of grot spots in Bradford is being organised to tackle every type of litter from dropped chewing gum to large scale fly-tipping.

In one of the biggest clean-up operations ever launched in the district, the £340,000 `Big Sweep' project will target 45 of the worst-affected areas.

For more than a month there will be everything from full-scale community clean-ups to targeted specialist work cleaning up problem areas.

The project, funded by the Priority Support Fund, will run from March 4 to April 10, and follows the hugely-successful Go Girlington! campaign which helped to breathe new life into the area after its streets had become scarred by litter.

But environmental bosses hope more funding will be secured to keep the project rolling throughout the summer .

Twenty one specific areas have been confirmed for the clean-ups, with more to follow in the coming weeks.

Where sites are not owned by the Council, action will be taken against private owners, forcing them to clear up the land. Enforcement action will also be taken against people who blight the district with flytipping.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, executive member for the environment, said: "This is an all-out effort to give the district a spring clean and we really need the community's help to make a difference.

"We can provide services such as removing flytips and graffiti but it is up to the residents to keep it that way once the eyesore has been removed.

"We want people to be proud of the place where they live, to be able to walk down clean streets and feel safe in their environment.

"Together we can make it happen."

The first 21 Bradford districts earmarked for a spring clean are

Addingham, Ilkley, Silsden, Steeton, Horton Grange, Scholemoor, Odsal, Cooperville, Haworth-Stanbury-Crossroads, Oxenhope, Cullingworth, Denholme, Manville, Delph Hill, Tong Street, Sandy Lane, Lidget Green, Riddlesden, Wilsden, Queensbury, and Thornton.

As well as targeting grot spots and areas of heavy littering, the Council also plans a blitz on chewing gum and cigarette butts on the city's streets.

More than 5,000 specially-designed pouches to house cigarette ends and chewing gum will be distributed to the people of Bradford around the city.

In some areas, fencing will be erected to prevent further flytipping.

The campaign also hopes to raise awareness among householders with a leafleting campaign.

Pamphlets on how and where to dispose of your household waste will be posted through the district's letterboxes and in some areas council officers will be knocking on doors to give residents advice on how to be as green as possible.

The scheme is the biggest in the city's history and the most high profile clean-up organised since the Telegraph & Argus introduced its Bin it for Bradford campaign in 2003.

Since then a series of initiatives have been launched to make the city a cleaner and greener place, including on-the-spot fines for litterbugs, spy cameras being installed at flytipping hot spots and recycling bins being made available to homes.

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