Norwich City Council is launching a new campaign to crack down on environmental crime and clean up the city - and is asking everyone to help by playing their part.
Called Love Norwich – play your part, the campaign is being run by the council and Norwich City Services Ltd (NCSL), which provides several of its environmental services.
The campaign will see litter bins being emptied more often in key areas, street washing in city centre hot spots, robust measures to tackle littering, fly-tipping and graffiti and replacing a number of city centre litter bins with larger, more modern alternatives.
But at a time of financial pressure on public services, it also asks everyone to be community-spirited and do their bit – such as not adding litter to bins that are already full or reporting any fly-tipping/graffiti they come across in public places to the council via its online forms.
Councillor Cate Oliver, cabinet member for environmental services at the city council, said: “Norwich is the most amazing city and we know people who live and work here care deeply about it. We have engaged with residents and know they want to see the streets kept clean, with less environmental crime such as fly-tipping and graffiti.
“At the city council we are committed to keeping Norwich a clean and inviting place, which everyone can enjoy. We are facing huge budgetary pressures at the moment but our commitment remains to the environment, residents and businesses in the city, all of which we are trying to help through this campaign.”
The removal of fly-tipping alone costs taxpayers £180,000 a year – money that could be better spent on vital council services. The city council and NCSL are putting in measures to tackle fly-tipping including:
- A series of community clear-up events in fly-tipping hot spots across the city
- Increased investigation of fly-tipping in hot spots in Norwich
- Working with the community safety team at the city council to use CCTV, where appropriate
- Working with housing services at the council to make changes to bin storage areas which attract fly-tipping
- Improved engagement with residents and communities about the issue of fly-tipping
Anyone who has information about fly-tipping in the city or find items illegally dumped on public land, is urged to report it via the council’s website . 95% of fly-tipping that is reported to the council in this way is cleared within 24 hours and reporting is the only way of building a true picture of problem areas in the city.
The first phase of the Love Norwich – play your part campaign has already started, and the council has written to businesses in the city centre detailing measures they should adopt to help keep Norwich tidy. There are new set hours for trade waste to be put out for collection, in a move to keep the centre of Norwich clean and tidy and free of bin bags, trade bins and pallets during the day.
The campaign also celebrates the dedicated volunteers and community groups throughout the city which already play their part in keeping Norwich clean.
As part of this, the city council will be holding a series of community clear up events, starting this Sunday (20 November) at Suffolk Square and Somerleyton Gardens from 10am to 2pm.
Teams from the council and NCSL will be on site removing any graffiti, carrying out street cleaning, clearing any fly-tipping and doing grounds maintenance work. Residents are invited along to speak to council officers about any issues they are having with environmental crime, take part in free family activities and join in with the Adat Yeshua Messianic Synagogue’s community litter pick, taking place in the area for Mitzvah Day from 11am until 1pm.
To find out more about Love Norwich – play your part, including reporting fly-tipping and graffiti and seeing how you can help keep the city clean, visit the Love Norwich pages.
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