The Bradley Stoke Journal

Residents are being invited to turn out to help McDonald’s and Bradley Stoke Town Council tidy up the town on Wednesday (29th September) from 10am to 3pm.

More than 20 staff from the McDonald’s restaurant at Cribbs Causeway are due to join Mayor Ben Walker and local MP Jack Lopresti “to target problem areas in Bradley Stoke”, according to a press release put out by the firm earlier today.

By making Bradley Stoke the focus of its annual community project, McDonald’s say they are strengthening the links they have already forged in the town – sponsoring Bradley Stoke Youth FC and supporting the last two year’s Community Festival football competitions.

The clean-up squads will be painting twelve bus shelters, plus cutting-back and litter-picking along a footpath near the lakes in the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve.

Read on to find out how to join the tidy up (and get a free lunch!) »

Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) is inviting everyone to join in a tidy up of the town on Friday 30th April, from 10am to 4pm.

Residents are encouraged to “join in the fun” by forming litter picking groups for their local streets or helping out at organised clear ups around the Council’s activity centres at Brook Way, Baileys Court and the Jubilee Centre.

South Gloucestershire Council, through its Big Spring Clean scheme, will provide gloves and black bags for the volunteers and arrange for disposal of the collected rubbish.

The Bradley Stoke Street Carers volunteer group, started by David Dace, BSTC’s Mobile Cleaning Operative (MCO), will also be helping out on the day.

Cllr Mark Forsyth, Mayor of Bradley Stoke, said:

“‘Since employing the MCO, the level of littering in Bradley Stoke has been greatly reduced. Not only has Dave Dace been working with local residents, he has also met with members of the business community who have also now started to ensure that the [Almondsbury] Business Park is a cleaner place to visit and work.”

The Bradley Stoke Street Carers say they will be holding another Saturday morning ‘Big Clean Up’ soon – look out for more details in The Journal.

Volunteers from the Bradley Stoke community joined the Town Council’s litter picker Dave Dace in an end of summer ‘clean up’ last Saturday.

Mr Dace, whose cumbersome official title is ‘Mobile Cleansing Operative’ (MCO), was joined by a number of  high profile volunteers including Mayor Mark Forsyth, Town Clerk David Chandler and the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Filton and Bradley Stoke Jack Lopresti.

A total of 15 people took part in the action and between them they filled 22 sacks of rubbish, collected from numerous areas throughout the town – including the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve.

Cllr Forsyth commented:

It was a pleasure to take part in the first ‘clean up’ organised by Dave Dace, our recently appointed MCO. Whilst numbers attending were small, I am sure that in time this event will get bigger, whilst the problem of litter will get smaller. Dave has made a huge impact since joining BSTC, and has already helped facilitate a number of groups who have now started cleaning up their own areas. The Council is all about serving the community, and this clean up, along with the recent introduction of extra policing, are all part of making Bradley Stoke the place to live.

Residents of Bradley Stoke have two opportunities to get involved in improving the local environment over the coming weekend.

Saturday (10th October) sees the Big Clean Up, an end of summer clear up in Bradley Stoke and the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve.

Volunteers are asked to meet at 10am at the Jubilee Centre, Savages Wood Road, BS32 8HL [map].

Litter picking equipment will be provided but helpers are asked to wear sensible clothes and footwear.

Children are welcome, provided they are supervised by a parent or guardian.

The event is organised by the Bradley Stoke Street Carers, headed by Dave Dace, the Town Council’s ‘Mobile Cleansing Operative’ (MCO).

Dave, who took up his MCO post in April, is so passionate about keeping Bradley Stoke clean that he has published a poem about his litter picking activities in the town.

He has also recently founded a Bradley Stoke Litter Action Group, for which he hopes to recruit more members at the weekend.

On Sunday (11th October), the Friends of Jubilee Green are organising an Autumn Planting event.

The group says it has 1200 wildflower plug plants and 1000 bulbs to plant under the trees that run along Savages Wood Road, on the edge of the Jubilee Green.

Volunteers are being asked to “bring a trowel and join in the muddy fun”.

Free refreshments will be available from a room at the Jubilee Centre.

The event starts at 3pm. More information on the Friends’ website.

Bradley Stoke Town Council is holding a ‘Clean Sweep’ litter picking day between 2:30pm and 6:30pm this Thursday (30th April).

Residents are encouraged to “join in the fun” by forming litter picking groups for their local streets or helping out at organised clear ups around the Council’s activity centres at Brook Way, Baileys Court and the Jubilee Centre.

South Gloucestershire Council will provide skips at each of the activity centres as well as gloves and black bags for the volunteers.

Community and street groups looking to stage a clean up action are invited to contact the Council on 01454-868082. Bags will be provided free of charge and the Council says it can arrange for the gathered litter to be picked up at a “pre-arranged convenient time”.

A survey of the Council’s Jubilee Centre site at the weekend by the Journal’s reporter revealed plenty of tasks for the volunteers to tackle.

The pond in the corner of the Jubilee Green (pictured above), cleared in a youth-inspired community action less than a year ago, is once again full of junk, including three Tesco trolleys. A further trolley was seen lying in a ditch close to Little Stoke Primary School, while two large patio heaters had been dumped at the side of the upper football pitch.

A new litter picker, recruited by Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC), was officially welcomed to his role by Mayor Robert Jones and other Councillors at a photo call on Thursday morning at the Brook Way Activity Centre.

Dave Dace, whose official job title is ‘Mobile Cleansing Operative’ (MCO), started work this week and has already begun to make an impression on the town’s litter problem.

Funding of £6000 p.a. for the new post and the lease of a new (white) Vauxhall Astra van was included in the Council’s 2009/10 Budget. That figure is in addition to the £6000 p.a. that was previously being paid to a sub-contractor for the cleaning of bus shelters in the town, an activity which will now be carried out by the MCO.

Mr Dace, who lives in Champs-sur-Marne, will work 16 hours per week over five mornings but he said his hours are flexible and can be adjusted to cover any festivities or special events.

Cllr Jones told The Journal that funding for the MCO will be reviewed annually. He added that next week’s Finance & Leisure Committee meeting will discuss a proposal to add a BSTC logo to Mr Dace’s van so that it can be easily recognised by local residents.

Although the main roads are covered by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), the MCO will clear litter from hedges, footpaths and bus shelters and areas where people “hang around”.

Mr Dace reported that most of the litter he has collected this week has been food wrappers and drinks cans/cartons. Much of this appears to have been thrown from cars but other litter hot-spots include the skate park, the conservation area near Sherbournes Brake and Savages Wood Road.

Much of the litter collected appears to be from Tesco, Greggs and KFC, he added.

Mr Dace (centre) was welcomed by (l-r) Cllr Jon Williams, BSTC Activity Centres Manager John Rendell, Mayor Robert Jones, Cllr John Ashe, Cllr Roger Avenin and Town Clerk David Chandler.

Asked if a contribution towards litter picking costs might be sought from local retailers, in particular the takeaway stores at the Willow Brook Centre, Cllr Jones said that the Council would “initially monitor the situation and keep up the pressure on local businesses.”

Residents concerned about litter in a particular area of the town are encouraged to contact Mr Dace via the Town Council office on 01454 868080. He said he would happily contact the relevant SGC departments to deal with fly tipping and will also liaise with SGC’s StreetCare.

More photos from the welcome event (on PicasaWeb).

Related Links:

• Shocking litter photos show state of Bradley Stoke’s verges
• Resident calls on Willow Brook stores to address litter blight
• Contact Information – Bradley Stoke Town Council Office