News-Clean up operation launched for County Durham

Cllr Mark Wilkes with the new equipment

We have 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.

Phase one

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

Community wellbeing

Cllr Mark Wilkes, our 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."

Ward-by-ward approach

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.