Litter-pickers brave rain in bid to tidy Deeplish

Members of the Rochdale Environmental Action Group (REAG) joined Deeplish residents, youths and the Milkstone & Deeplish Area Forum to clean the play area and park

Members of the Rochdale Environmental Action Group (REAG) joined Deeplish residents, youths and the Milkstone & Deeplish Area Forum to clean the play area and park.

Led by Sohail Ahmed, Deeplish Community Centre Manager and Chairman of the Area Forum, the group collected 16 bags of rubbish, including bottles, cans, papers and food trays.

During the litter-pick, a discussion was also held regarding “Back Alleys in Bloom” and the planting of flowers across the ward.

A spokesman for the group said: “Everyone was enthusiastic and committed to improve the environment and also to raise awareness of the community.

“Provision of larger wheelie bins and all other relevant environmental issues were discussed and there was an agreement to continue to take these issues to the appropriate authorities and forums.”

Mr Ahmed also called for the bushes and weeds to be removed and flowers planted to improve the environment of the park.

He promised to discuss the issue at the next forum meeting and speak to the ward councillors to discover how much funding would be available for such a project.
Following the success of the first litter-pick, the group will now clean Clara Street, Deeplish, today (Saturday 11 May).

A youth and community worker who supervised the initial clean pledged to get more youths involved in future activities, including tomorrow’s event.

Councillors Terry Linden and Mohammed Zaman will also be joining the group, alongside environmental management staff.

Ghulam Rasul Shahzad OBE, REAG secretary, hopes to encourage everyone across the borough to start cleaning their local environments.

“Members of REAG believe if every household, business, individual and members of an organisation spare some time every day or once a week, Rochdale will be cleaner and greener town,” he said.

“We should feel pride in our town and try to do everything possible to keep it clean. It does not cost anything to spend a few minutes or an hour. This physical activity is also good for health.

“We are asking the people of Rochdale and those who work and use services in Rochdale to help us to improve the environment in Rochdale to make it cleaner, safer and greener.”