Action plan to tackle Thatcham litter

Town events throughout the year will support the Big Tidy Up and hit rubbish hotspots

A PLAN to sort out the problem of litter strewn across the streets of Thatcham has finally come into fruition.

On Monday Thatcham Town Council discussed a plan of action to keep the streets clean, which will involve campaigns, events and competitions during the spring, summer and October.

Last year, the town council held several discussions about how to tackle the issue, but no solution was reached.

The town council's finance and general purposes committee discussed a set of proposals on Monday which about how to promote and encourage clearing up litter at public town events.

As well as incorporating the anti-litter campaign during town events, it is hoped that a second spring clean event, following the success of last year's event, whereby residents gathered to collect litter, would be held this year.

Spring events will involve registering for the Big Tidy Up national campaign, launching a slogan and poster campaign and put up posters in litter hotspot areas, establishing what campaigns schools are carrying out, and seeing whether there is any chance of a partnership between the schools and the council to combat the litter problem.

In the summer, councillors plan to raise people's awareness of litter at public events such as the Thatcham Family Fun Day and Fun on the Broadway.

This will also happen in October at the Festival of Arts and Leisure.

Town councillor, Phil Dray, (Lib Dem, West Thatcham) voiced support for this particular method of raising awareness.

He said that in order to get the most amount of people helping with freeing the town of litter, they needed to tie it in with community events.

He said: "It's something that can go forward and it's something that's emotive in the town."

He said that anyone in the town would say that litter was one of their biggest concerns and added: "It's not going to take it away but we are taking steps forward."

The town council has set aside £3,000 in the current budget for Environmental Strategy and it is envisaged that some of this money could be used to cover the cost of the anti-litter campaign, as these funds have not yet been used this year.

Mr Dray added: "It's the perfect focus for us.

"I have not problem pushing this forward."

Chairwoman of the committee, Stephanie Steevenson (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central), added that all of the town events would now have a litter tidy up aspect to them but that there would also be one dedicated tidy up day in June.