Cheshire East starts initiative to boost cleaner streets drive

Cheshire East Council has started a pilot scheme to help make our streets and alleyways cleaner and tidier.

The initiative is being trialled over the summer in 26 streets in central Crewe, which have been blighted by poor waste management, including contamination of bins and fly-tipping.

The scheme sees the borough council and town council working together as one team, to enhance street cleanliness and combat the problems of poor domestic waste management and anti-social and illegal waste disposal. The intention is to not only tackle those individuals who commit environmental crime but also reassure residents, who are suffering as a result, that such offences will not be tolerated. If successful, the ‘one team’ cleaner streets pilot could be rolled out across Cheshire East.  

Councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said: “I’d like to thank the vast majority of residents and businesses in Cheshire East who stick to the regulations and dispose of waste responsibly and safely.

“However, we know that not everyone is doing as they should. That’s why we have started this pilot scheme to create a ‘one team’ approach, capable of cleansing waste, sifting for evidence, activating enforcement investigations and, where necessary, issuing penalties.

“Among other enforcement actions, the council has served a legal notice (under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) to all residents in the pilot area. This spells out exactly what is expected of residents and what the penalties are for non-compliance. It also enables the council to take swift and effective enforcement action.

“We have been working hard with residents for many months now and have followed the ‘Four Es’ principles: to ‘engage’, ‘educate’, ‘encourage’ and ‘enforce’. Thanks to the goodwill, cooperation and sense of civic pride of the vast majority of people in Cheshire East, enforcement is only necessary in a minority of cases and as a last resort.” 

Properties in the pilot area have been leafleted to remind residents to:

• Put appropriate bins out at the appropriate time (alternating black and recycling bins) and return them to properties promptly;
• Identify bins with house numbers; 
• Place bins in the appropriate designated areas;
• Close bin lids;
• Not put waste to the side of or on top of bins; and 
• Not store or ‘dump’ waste in alleyways.

The pilot scheme came into effect on 19 April and involves the following streets: Chambers Street, South Street, Lawton Street, Maxwell Street, Myrtle Street, Derrington Avenue, Electricity Street, Stalbridge Road, Brooklyn Street, Westminster Street, Walthall Street, Hammond Street, Ruskin Road, Edleston Road, Gainsborough Road (part), Nelson Street, Nile Street, Alton Street (part), Catherine Street (part), Lord Street, Furnival Street, Brook Street, Hope Street, Camm Street, Union Street, Chapel Street and South Street (part).

Cllr Warren added: “Working together, we can keep each other safe and our streets cleaner and healthier.”