Salford Council has confirmed funding of £839,911 to overhaul its environmental services, targeting fly-tipping, graffiti, and environmental crime hotspots across the city. The investment was signed off at a council meeting on Tuesday, September 27.
The funding will be used to modernise the service and create 'visible progress' on the streets of Salford, according to Deputy Mayor Barbara Bentham. Speaking in Kersal, where street sweepers, strimmer teams, a communal skip, and alley-way cleaners descended on the residential area around Stamford Road for a 'day of action' on Wednesday, September 28, Coun Bentham explained the investment will use area-specific data to tailor services across the city.
Tailoring services to community needs
“Different environments across the city of Salford have different needs dependent on the makeup of that community,” she said. “In my own ward of Claremont, there’s a very high percentage of students. So we know that every September, there’s going to be a lot of mattresses, a lot of boxes from TVs and kettles.
“Other areas have a higher proportion of big families and might have a need for more bins or collections. Each area has its own set of problems, and it’s looking to address a more direct approach for delivering what that community needs.”
Days of action rolled out
The council has also rolled out a scheme of action days – with Kersal the fourth area to be tackled by environmental teams. Parts of Irlam o’ th’ Heights, Eccles, and Broughton have also seen big clear-up days.
Coun Bentham said: “It’s a show of force for our communities. It brings together all the services at once so that we can go from a not very pleasant environment to a really clean one. It’s giving people a fresh start in the hope that they will then continue to look after the areas that we’ve given them back.”
Resident praise and next steps
Local resident Julie Johnson, 63, came out of her home of more than 40 years off Stamford Road to praise service workers.
“There’s a lot of fly-tipping in this area,” she explained. “On our street, there’s now a lot of people who just come and go. There’s a lot of students and other short-term lets, and they don’t really care about the area as much as people like us who’ve lived here a long time.
“So I know it will build up again. But every time they come and do this, it’s just lovely. You do feel proud of your area when it’s clear.”
The modernisation programme will take place in three phases, including extensive research to be carried out by the University of Salford in an effort to identify weaknesses and inequalities across the service, a cabinet report has said.
