The cold and damp weather may have deterred a few GoodGym volunteers from attending on 7 March, but respect for the five members who did turn up.    They were joined by four hardy ECCO members:  Ann and Angela from Cedar Road,  Angela from Lebanon Road and Mike from Leslie Grove.

The nine of them really put their backs into the task,  clearing litter and removing ivy and weeds from the planted areas of The Boulevard, particularly focusing on the bed at the western junction of Bisenden Road and Addiscombe Road.     They filled 33 bags,  which will be taken away by Veolia.   That is 3.66 bags per person – a new record!

I am very grateful to Tracey Bellamy and her colleagues in the Council’s Neighbourhood Support team,  who spearhead the Council’s support of clean and green initiatives and who provide and collect the correct equipment on each occasion,  and who also liaise with Veolia to ensure that the filled bags are (generally) quickly removed.

Very sad to report,  the Neighbourhood Support team is at severe and imminent risk of being disbanded.   I can attest to the fantastic job the team does trouble-shooting and resolving street problems.   They are the ones who have a quiet but firm word with residents who cannot manage waste issues in a pro-social way,  or ensure that a stray bin in the highway containing stinking and verminous waste is quickly removed.   And they do much more besides.   I will monitor developments on behalf of ECCO residents.

Jerry Fitzpatrick (ECCO Clean and Green Street Champion)
jerryfitzmsp@gmail.com