street care and cleaning

The street cleansing service is designed to meet the standards in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Region's Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. The Code sets out grades of cleanliness, divides land into zones according to usage and volume of traffic and sets target response times within which areas falling below set grades of cleanliness should be restored to a particular grade. Copies of the Code may be obtained from HMSO or any good bookshop.

The service consists broadly of the following:

Litter picking streets, roads, laybys etc.
Emptying litter and dog waste bins.
Mechanical sweeping of roads.
Removal of fly-tips.

Litter Picking - Areas falling below a set grade of cleanliness will be restored to the grade within the time period specified in the Code of Practice for that particular zone. In addition, areas will be litter picked at minimum set intervals ranging from every six months to weekly, depending on the Code of Practice zone.

Our Litter picking schedule shows when your village is due to be 'litter picked'.

Litter and Dog Waste Bins - Bins sited near roads and streets should never be full and will be emptied at least once a week. Disposable liners, if present, will be replaced and any additional litter around the bin picked up. Please contact us if you would like to report an overflowing bin. If you wish to request a new litter or dog bin please contact us on 03450 450 063.

Mechanical sweeping schedule - Within village envelopes, all roads, kerbed and unkerbed, will be mechanically swept every two months, including around traffic islands, roundabouts, junctions etc. Outside village envelopes, kerbed sections only will be mechanically swept every six months.

Leaf Clearance - Additional clearances will be made for heavily leafed 'hot spots' during the autumn leaf season.

Fly-tips - Fly tipping is the illegal and unauthorised disposal of waste. The council will remove fly-tipping from public land. Private landowners can seek our assistance but a fee is charged for this service. We aim to remove fly tips within 3 days and will prosecute the guilty party where evidence exists.

Blocked highways resulting from fly-tipping should be dealt with by the County Council Highways Section who can be contacted on 01223 833717.

Reports of fly-tipping must include:

the exact location (with reference to landmarks etc), the size and type of material deposited.
Contact name and telephone number to assist with further information
If witnessed, record date, time, vehicle colour, type and registration number, how many people and their descriptions, e.g. gender, age, height, colour and type of clothing.

WARNING Fly-tippers should not be approached by the public. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, perpetrators are not always pleasant.

You can report fly-tipping online (This link will open in a new window).

Dead animals - The council will aim to remove dead animals from the roadside within a maximum of 3 days of a report.

Enquiries/Service Requests/Complaints - All enquiries for service, requests or complaints should be reported as soon as possible to:

Tel: 03450 450 063
Health and Environmental Services