Derby residents encouraged to get involved with the Great British Spring Clean

Published: 16 March 2022

Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean is back with a bang from the 25 March and we’re hoping that this year is going to be bigger and better than ever.

The Great British Spring Clean isn’t just about picking up some litter during your dog walk or on the walk to school. It’s about bringing communities together and starting conversations about how we, as a Council can work better together with our communities to improve neighbourhoods across the city.

From Abbey to Spondon, between 25 March and 10 April, events will be taking place to make our city look ship-shape and shiny for the summer ahead and beyond. I’m thrilled that many of these events are taking place in partnership with local schools, community groups and other partners such as the Police and of course, our own Council teams.

We know that no one wants to see litter, fly-tipping or dog waste on their streets. And, whilst our Streetpride and Public Protection teams do fantastic work, having pride in our city needs everyone who lives in the city to be involved and engaged. It’s not the Council that makes our communities so culturally rich or diverse, it’s you, our residents! As Cabinet Member, I am actively encouraging every resident in the city to take time out during the spring clean and either join one of our events or gather with a few neighbours to do a litter pick in your local area.

As I said before, the spring clean isn’t just about picking up litter or clearing away fly-tipping. Both of these actions damage our environment and spoil the enjoyment of areas and sadly, they’re both on the rise. As you might know, we recently launched a new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in the city that means our Public Protection Officers can issue fines to dog owners who aren’t cleaning up after their pets as well as anyone caught fly-tipping or littering. We don’t want to hand out fines so we’ll always do our best to educate those showing a lack of respect for our environment but, we will also take action against those causing a blight in our communities.

Alongside tidying up local areas, we’re also investing into projects to bring colour and vibrancy to our city suburbs with events that include adding new planters and plants, refurbishing street furniture like benches and special deep cleans too.

I’m also thrilled to announce that kicking off the Great British Spring Clean in Derby this year is Lawn Primary School in Allestree who are holding a litter picking event at the school and the wider Park Farm area. I think we can all recognise that it’s so important to instil a sense of pride to our youngest residents and give them a clean, vibrant and safe city to grow up in. At the same time, residents in Abbey Ward can come and get their hands stuck into a deep clean taking place on Lynton Street.

Our Neighbourhoods team will be on hand throughout the spring clean, and after to offer support and equipment to anyone wanting to make a difference in their community. We’ve got plenty of bags, litter pickers and much more – just ask us.

To get involved with any events in the spring clean, or to get support to host your own, email neighbourhoods@derby.gov.uk who will be more than happy to help. You can also get in touch with the team to let them know about other issues such as anti-social behaviour or dog fouling.

If you need to report littering, fly-tipping or a litter bin that needs emptying, you can do this any time, and on-the-go via our MyAccount website.

I’ll see you out there, litter picker in hand!  

Community