See Sunderland city centre get a ‘deep clean’

Sunderland city centre is coming clean.
Scouring the pavementScouring the pavement
Scouring the pavement

Sunderland BID and the city council have recruited an army of volunteers to help carry out a programme of deep cleaning.

The campaign, which coincides with Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean, is being supported by almost 70 volunteers from businesses including Liebherr, Nissan, Gentoo, the council, Sunderland Business Group, Wilko and other city centre businesses, as well as students from Sunderland College.

Scouring the pavementScouring the pavement
Scouring the pavement
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Funding is coming from an additional £460,000 invested into frontline services by the council as part of its 2019/2020 budget, which is being supplemented by £48,600 secured by the council from the Government’s High Street Community Clean Up Fund.

The programme of deep cleaning will involve:

*scrubbing and hot washing pavements and other surfaces to tackle staining, gum build up and graffiti;

*washing bins and street furniture to remove unpleasant smells and grime;

The deep clean programme starts in Sunderland City centre at Park Lane. From left Fiona Brown, Executive Director of Neighbourhoods at Sunderland City Council and Kirsty Currie, Business Manager Sunderland BIDThe deep clean programme starts in Sunderland City centre at Park Lane. From left Fiona Brown, Executive Director of Neighbourhoods at Sunderland City Council and Kirsty Currie, Business Manager Sunderland BID
The deep clean programme starts in Sunderland City centre at Park Lane. From left Fiona Brown, Executive Director of Neighbourhoods at Sunderland City Council and Kirsty Currie, Business Manager Sunderland BID

*clearing litter and cigarette butts from pavements and shrubbery;

*removing stickers and flyposting from lampposts;

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*working with business owners on shop entrances and shutters.

Fiona Brown, Executive Director of Neighbourhoods at Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to be working in partnership with Sunderland BID on this and to see so many volunteers willing to give up their free time to help us out.

Cigarette ends collected from the area within an hourCigarette ends collected from the area within an hour
Cigarette ends collected from the area within an hour

“We know that our residents want to see a cleaner city centre and this deep clean is very much in response to that.

“Our environmental services work really hard 365 days a year to keep our city clean but this is about carrying out the kind of deep cleaning that can’t be done as part of the routine daily cleaning regime.”

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Everyone had their part to play in keeping the city clean, she added: “We’re really pleased to be working with the BID and with city centre businesses on this but we also need the help of our residents to help keep it clean.

“That means using the litter bins we have around the city centre, not dropping chewing gum or cigarette butts and reporting any waste or flytipping.

Volunteers help clean the streetsVolunteers help clean the streets
Volunteers help clean the streets

“Only by all of us working together can we hope to make the long term difference that we all want to see.

“It is about the council keeping the city clean, but it also about people taking a level of personal responsibility for their own actions as well.”

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The Echo launched its Clean Streets campaign last year, to support the council in its drive to keep Sunderland tidy.Sharon Appleby, Head of Business Operations at Sunderland Business Improvement District (BID), added: “It’s fantastic to see so many people and businesses volunteering their time to take part in the Great British Spring Clean event in Sunderland, which follows on from the initiatives like Clean Sweep which the BID has run.

“We are fully behind any event that helps make the city centre a brighter and more pleasant place to visit and will be supporting the council with its scheme to deep clean the centre in every way we can.”