Councillors clean up Kingswood town centre

By Labour South Gloucestershire....

Councillors representing central Kingswood were out on the streets on Saturday cleaning up the town centre as part of an annual Big Spring Clean campaign.  In two hours they managed to fill 10 bags of rubbish as well as a collect an abandoned tyre.

Local Labour councillors Gareth Manson, Andy Perkins and Pat Rooney from Woodstock ward and Pat Apps and Bill Bowrey from neighbouring Kings Chase ward picked up the litter and rubbish from the area around Kingswood town centre and neighbouring streets.

The clean-up was part of the Big Spring Clean campaign, which is co-ordinated by South Gloucestershire Council as part of a wider Keep Britain Tidy campaign. The Council provides gloves, bags and litter picking devices for volunteers to collect the rubbish. The Council arranges for the collection of the filled bags afterwards and can provide skips free of charge for bigger clean-ups.

The local councillors said:

"One of the most frequent complaints we get about Kingswood's town centre is the litter and rubbish.  Although the Council does have a regular litter picking regime in the town centre it often can't keep base with demand and some of the side streets are only cleaned when someone complains to the Council.  At a time when budget cuts are stretching Council resources, we felt the town centre was a good candidate for this year's Big Spring Clean."

In previous years areas to have been cleared by the councillors have included Lavers Close and the open space at Westons Way.

The councillors added that they also pick up on other issues of concern to local residents:

"Events like this are also an excellent opportunity for us to talk to local residents in an informal setting about any other issues they are concerned about."