Transcript:
“There’s a lot about our city we take for granted. For instance, we expect it to be clean and tidy. Most of us want to live or work in an environment free of litter, graffiti, gum and unwanted posters.
But there are people who almost routinely show a complete disregard for what most of us want. It’s not just anti-social… it’s a big and partly unnecessary expense that comes out of the public purse…
Fortunately, Leicester City Council has a team committed to making this a cleaner city for us all. But this team needs the help of all those who live and work here to help overcome the worst problems.
And they don’t come much stickier than this. Chewing gum! Those who think nothing of spitting it out on pavements should try getting rid of it. And we the public have to suffer the consequences.
These hi-tech cleaning machines are the only way to remove the gum and help to keep the pavements more attractive. The gum-droppers face an £80 fine if caught.
It might be art to one or two. But graffiti is a blight on our urban landscape…spoiling buildings, play areas and other public facilities. The Council’s Graffiti Team are constantly prioritising and then working hard to restore the City back to how we like it.
Where appropriate, they also apply anti-graffiti coating to surfaces so that graffiti can be washed away without the use of abrasive chemicals. Specialist equipment is also used to treat listed buildings, war memorials and churches.
This team also deals with paint spillage… fire-damaged buildings… washing ally-ways… and dealing with the persistent problem of fly-posting. Putting up posters on lamp-posts, road signs and walls is both illegal and annoying to anybody who has to live or work near it.
There are other City Council teams too that are also making valuable contributions to keeping Leicester clean and tidy.
The Cleaner City Team has gone back to basics. In their distinctive black and orange uniforms they can be seen tidying up our streets, cleaning benches and emptying small bins.
You’ll also see the Street Cleaner machines out from 5.45 in the morning to 8.30 at night.
Areas such as St Margaret’s Bus Station and new regenerated areas of the City, like that around the new Curve Theatre are given high priority as they attract high numbers of visitors.
This Waste Transfer Station is what’s removed from our streets on just one day. Imagine what the city would be like without these services!
All of these teams are helping to make Leicester a better place for us all to live and work and they can help to identify problem hotspots that the City Wardens can deal with. The City Council’s aim is to try and avoid problems re-occurring and helping the public to realise that we can all do our part to make Leicester cleaner and greener.”
