Work continues on improving district’s cleanliness

Street cleanliness in Daventry district has improved by 8 per cent over the past 12 months, according to new official figures.

The Best Value Performance Indicator for 2007/08 – a figure supplied by Daventry District Council to the Audit Commission – shows that the percentage of streets assessed as below an acceptable level in the district has fallen to 16 per cent. In 2006/7 the figure stood at 24.2 % which, despite exceeding the government-set level of 25%, ranked Daventry district behind other areas in the East Midlands for cleanliness.

The BVPI figures are assessed on the amount of litter and detritus (eg dust, mud and glass fragments) found on public land and highways. In November last year an Audit Commission inspection of the district council’s environmental services cited that ‘most areas of the district are cleaned regularly and to a good standard, including the removal of fly tipped waste and abandoned vehicles’.

Judy Gregory, Excutive Director of Daventry District Council, said the street cleaning methods used by the council were currently being reviewed as part of steps to improve the service.

She said: “We acknowledge that our performance figures for street cleaning are behind neighbouring districts, however we have seen a marked improvement over the past 12 months and we will continue to build on this.

“An audit of our environmental services last November showed an area for improvement is to ensure all neighbourhoods district-wide are maintained to an acceptable standard, but it also showed that most areas were cleaned regularly and to a good standard.

“We are re-examining our street cleaning methods and the frequency of our cleaning rounds to address the issues. Over the past 12 months we have also carried out a number of deep cleans district-wide and increased the work we do within the community to educate people about litter.”

Initiatives over the past year have included litter awareness events at Daventry market to advising shoppers on litter laws, Operation Spring Clean – litterpicking sessions by community groups and parish councils, and creating a new role of education and enforcement officer work with local residents.