It’s impossible to travel anywhere in our area without noticing the increasingly desperate state of our neighbourhood and the litter problem that affects us and everyone else in Leeds. Council cuts naturally means that budgets for clearing our streets, canals, woodland and open areas have been tightened, and this is unlikely to change in the near future.

Take a look around, it seems that every street, every bit of green space, and our woodland all have the same problem. Areas that appear neglected attract even more litter and anti-social behaviour. With a small amount of time, together we can make a big difference to our neighbourhood.

The idea is simple, get a group of people together, pick a date and an area that needs some attention, and spend a couple of hours tidying it up. Any bigger issues that we can’t solve we can’t export that to the relevant council departments.

Lots of locals and groups I’ve talked to are already interested, and Burley Top Community Network already have their day planned. It’s a great idea of adults and children alike, and if we all do a little bit of our local area imagine the overall impact it will have for everyone. We’d like groups from Burley, Kirkstall, Hawksworth, Queenswood and all over our area to get involved!

This is a shared neighbourhood-wide initiative and we’d like all local groups to be involved and run their own spring cleans. Through Community First funding we have bought a stock of litter pickers, bin bag hoops, gloves and high vis vests, for both children and adults, and these are available to be shared by anyone who’d like to take part.

I could do with some help coordinating, and we do need to make sure that we celebrate each group that has taken part with posting lots of photos of the difference they have made, so please drop me a line at simon@simondawson.net if you can help me?

I really hope that you or your local group will take part, drop me a line with any thoughts.