Praise for litter-free roads across Tameside

Tameside has been congratulated by the Government for keeping its Strategic Road Network clear of litter.

A national road cleanliness survey gave Tameside Council a passing grade of either a B or B+ for every road inspected, meaning they are predominantly litter free.

Tameside residents have been praised for helping keep roads clean and urged to keep up the good work in not dropping litter and picking up and binning any stray rubbish.

The Government published its Litter Strategy for England in April 2017, setting out its determination to tackle roadside litter, and commissioned Keep Britain Tidy to conduct independent assessments of 194 local authorities.

A letter to Tameside Council from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announcing the result states: “Congratulations on your success in maintaining a consistently high standard of roadside cleanliness.”

Cllr Allison Gwynne, Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “I’m delighted by the results of this survey, particularly considering that it was conducted independently and without our prior awareness.

“I’d like to thank Tameside residents for their diligence in not dropping litter and in helping pick it up, and urge everyone to join in and keep Tameside tidy.

“Littering is not only unsightly and reduces people’s sense of well-being, but can also harm wildlife and the environment and is costly to clear.  With your help we can go even further and make sure that our roads are completely litter free and that there are no issues in our parks and countryside either.”

Around 450km of roadside was surveyed across the country. Grades of A (no issues), B (predominantly litter free with minor instances), C (widespread issues) and D (heavily affected) were given.  

Authorities graded C and D are considered to be falling below standard and will be set a deadline to improve their performance.