Newcastle Labour has launched a week of community clean-up activity across the city, beginning with action on Shields Road in Byker.
Council Cabinet members, senior officers and staff are joining the clean-up as part of Labour’s Your City, Your Home campaign, which is bringing the council and communities together to tackle litter and encourage greater pride in Newcastle’s neighbourhoods.
The week of action begins today in Byker, with a clean-up of the Shields Road area complementing the work carried out every day by the council’s street cleansing teams.
The campaign comes after Newcastle City Council spent £2.2 million collecting and disposing of around 7,000 tonnes of litter and fly-tipped material in the previous year.
Labour believes that money could be much better spent on services and improvements for residents and is combining cleansing and enforcement with work aimed at preventing litter being dropped in the first place.
The Your City, Your Home campaign asks residents to think of Newcastle as their home and to treat its streets and neighbourhoods with the same respect.
Community organisations, schools, businesses and residents are being encouraged to organise their own clean-ups, while the council continues to support more than 100 community groups already helping to look after neighbourhoods across Newcastle.
The Shields Road clean-up will be followed by further activity across the city during the week, including council staff taking part in litter picks and local schools getting involved.
Labour’s approach combines community action with enforcement against those who continue to litter and fly-tip.
Cllr Nick Kemp, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change, said: “Litter is one of the issues residents regularly raise with us and we want to work with communities to make a visible difference in neighbourhoods like Byker.
“Shields Road is an important local shopping street and today’s clean-up is about showing that the council is prepared to roll up its sleeves and work alongside residents to look after our city.
“But cleaning up afterwards isn’t enough. We also need to change behaviour so that less litter is dropped in the first place.
“Through Your City, Your Home we’re asking everyone to play their part and take pride in the neighbourhoods we share.”