Mission green sweep coming to a street near you

Councillor William Hobhouse, chairman of Rochdale Township, joins street cleaners on patrol in Bamford.

Every ward in the Rochdale township area now has its own dedicated street cleaner, tasked with making streets cleaner and tidier.

A pilot has started across Rochdale this week which will see nine street cleaners, one for each of the council’s wards in Rochdale, being responsible for a dedicated area.

Previously staff had worked across a number of different areas, but the new trial idea is to provide a familiar face that locals will see regularly and someone they can approach about litter problems in their neighbourhood.

The idea has already proved a hit in the Norden, Castleton and Milkstone and Deeplish wards, who have had their own street cleaners since April this year.

Peter Cunningham, head of Environmental Management at Rochdale Council, said: “We’ve been really pleased with how well the street cleaners in Norden, Castleton and Milkstone and Deeplish have been received by the public so we’re extending the trial to the rest of the Rochdale township area until the end of the year. In January we’ll report back to township for councillors to decide whether the scheme should be made permanent.”

Local people are being encouraged to contact the council on 0845 226 1800 and report streets with a litter problem that need a tidy up.

Councillor Wera Hobhouse, cabinet member for environment and sustainability said: “We’re serious about making our streets cleaner and tidier but we need your help. You can help by making sure you put your litter in a bin or take it home with you and by telling us about litter problems in your local area.”

Councillor William Hobhouse, chairman of Rochdale Township, added: “Rochdale residents have told us that they want to see their streets getting cleaner so we’ve made having a visible local street cleaning presence a high priority. This is devolution in action.”