Residents in the south of Cumbria are being invited to nominate the “grot spot” they would like to see cleaned up by local council workers in their spare time.
The appeal is part of the South Lakeland council’s Clean Up South Lakeland campaign, which has seen hundreds of volunteers across the district organise their own neighbourhood litter-picks this summer.
Locality officers will have their own stand at this week’s Westmorland County Show, complete with a grot spot suggestions board for members of the public to nominate the locations they would like to see spruced up by volunteers from the council’s workforce.
Residents can also submit their ideas via the council’s Facebook and Twitter pages by leaving a comment or message.
Locality team Leader Sue Warner said: “We have been very impressed by the efforts of people right across South Lakeland this summer.
“From primary school children to rural parishioners, there has been an amazing display of community spirit with people organising their own litter-picks using equipment borrowed from the council.
“It’s been so popular, we have even invested £800 in buying 50 extra litter-pickers and 40 new hoops to keep up with demand.
“Now it’s our turn to give something back by clearing up a location of your choice. We are looking forward to reading your nominations and we will choose the top three to be tackled by council colleagues in their own time.”
More than 20 office-based council employees have volunteered to tackle the top three litter hotspots in their own free time at evenings and weekends as their way of saying thank you to South Lakeland’s litter-picking heroes.
Councillor Philip Dixon, portfolio holder for customer and locality services, said: “Keeping our beautiful district clean and litter-free is a mammoth task, and last year we collected 3,464 tonnes of waste from litter bins and street cleansing.
“That’s why we are incredibly grateful to all the residents who freely give up their time to support our efforts to keep this beautiful district safe and clean for everyone.
“Please let us know which grot spots you think would benefit from a clean-up, and the volunteers from among our council staff will take care of the rest. I’m looking forward to stepping out and joining them as we all help to clean up South Lakeland.”
