Clean up operation launched for County Durham
A LARGE-scale clean-up operation has been launched to enhance County Durham’s communities.
Durham County Council has allocated an additional £150,000 to its Clean and Green team to carry
out a clean-up operation across the county.
The team used the money to take on eight additional staff as well as purchase four pick-up trucks
and some small machinery equipment including three path cleaners – for north, south and central
sections of the county.
Clean and Green are currently finishing phase one of the works, which include:
Lifting low tree branches
Pruning growth around the bases of trees
Tidying up areas that require a strim or weed spray
Removing or repairing broken fencing
Cleaning and painting fences
Deep cleaning footpaths
Cleaning street signs
Cutting back growth that is obscuring street signs
Sweeping to improve visibility at roundabouts
Installing traps which catch litter
Cllr Mark Wilkes, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate
change, said: “Having a clean, tidy community not only makes an area more pleasant to live, but it is
also something we know is very important to residents.
“As one of the largest local authority areas in the North East, County Durham has a significantly
large footprint – from the Dales to Durham City to the coast. Maintaining every single corner of the
county requires a significant amount of time and people on the ground.
“We’ve decided to allocate additional money to Clean and Green so that we can carry out this
large-scale operation to tidy up our towns and villages. These actions might be small, but they make
a huge difference to residents and will have a positive impact on overall community wellbeing.”
Once phase one is complete, the Clean and Green team will continue its clean up operation as
well as carry out preparatory work ahead of the coming seasons. Areas for work will be identified
through proactive surveys from the Clean and Green and Find and Fix teams, reports from members
of the public through Do It Online, as well as an overall ward-by-ward approach.
