Cleaner, greener and safer

St James Church, Heywood is to be given the ‘Big Clean’ treatment and Angel Meadows will get a £3000 facelift thanks to community members who voted for it to get a spring clean using money granted by the Home Office as part of the Feel Safe in Heywood project last year.

These areas will become cleaner, greener and safer for the enjoyment of residents, visitors and businesses. The council’s environmental officers will carry out litter picks, cut back shrubbery and clear footpaths and the community safety team will be advising them on how their clean ups can go a long way to reducing crime.

Gaynor Emerson, Heywood’s Community Safety Officer at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We know that if a place looks nice people feel safer. Residents have identified these two areas as in drastic need of a makeover. But we’ll also be making sure that as well as removing litter we help to reduce the chances of crime happening.

"Cutting back overgrown shrubbery for example, makes an area more exposed deterring lots of criminal activities and antisocial behaviour.

"We’ll also be exploring other crime reductions techniques such as fitting prikka strips - adhesive spikes - which can be fixed along the tops of walls to make it harder for burglars to force entry into properties.”