Borough Life Autum 2006: Show some respect
Town centres across the borough are set to become more enjoyable places for shoppers and visitors as part of an ambitious council blueprint for better environmental services.
Under the slogan ‘Respect Your Town’, a dedicated band of town centre ‘caretakers’ have been recruited. They will act as both troubleshooters and ambassadors, helping to keep the centres spick and span.
The caretakers will start off in the two largest centres of Leigh and Wigan, but before too long will also be seen in Ashton, Atherton, Golborne, Hindley, Orrell, Standish and Tyldesley. Working in two teams of three, they will be equally at home getting rid of chewing gum from the pavements, sorting out a wobbly paving stone or helping someone find the nearest toilets.
The council has drawn up a ‘gold standard’ (right) consisting of a series of targets they will aim to meet.
The initiative is the brainchild of council leader Peter Smith and chief executive Joyce Redfearn, and the council’s cabinet has earmarked some £250,000 to fund it. A new machine for getting rid of ugly blobs of chewing gum is already in action.
Cllr Smith says: “People have told us that the local environment should be our top priority. They are fed up with litter and chewing gum, and this is what the Respect Your Town initiative is all about. We are determined to create clean, welcoming places where respect is shown to our shared environment. While we’ll be starting off in our town centres, we’re also trialling new ways of working in neighbourhoods, with township teams dedicated to tackling litter, grass cutting and roads and pavements. In fact, all the things that really affect the quality of life.
“The old days of separate departments that sometimes seemed to be working in isolation from each other are well and truly a thing of the past.”
- The council is also planning to step up town centre litter patrols, especially on Saturdays. Wardens will issue more £50 on the spot fines to anyone over 16 caught dropping litter. And young litter louts will not be exempt: their parents will get a warning letter first, but if they are caught again they too will be fined.
Gold standard: pledges
- All street light faults to be attended to by the end of the next working day.
- Street furniture to be well maintained
- Pavements will be washed and chewing gum removed.
- Highway defects to be repaired within 3 working days.
- Litter bins to be high quality and durable, and emptied regularly.
- Grass to be mown and cuttings collected.
- All signage to be clear and clean.
- The handout of promotional publicity prohibited.
- Unnecessary pavement obstructions removed.
- Anti flypost paint applied to all utility boxes, traffic signal control boxes and CCTV columns.
- Floral displays to be planted and maintained.
- Regular litter enforcement.
Respect Your Town: 01942 404364