As part of plans to make improvements to the Hemlington area of Middlesbrough, Thirteen and Middlesbrough Council are changing the way that some services are provided to manage the local environment.
The partners are running a two-year trial to better allocate environmental services in the area.
Thirteen is taking on responsibility to manage all environmental services on the Dodford estate (also known as the Ds), including fly tipping, litter collection, removing graffiti, road sweeping, grass cutting, weed and shrub clearance, and litter bins.
Middlesbrough Council will be responsible for all these services in the Hemlington Es estate. The council will maintain all responsibility for refuse collections and the beck area.
The changes were marked with a clean sweep event to tidy up both estates.
Residents came along to get involved in litter picking and find out about services available for people in the area including energy and money advice.
Thirteen also demonstrated its new ‘clean sweep’ equipment and helped children to plant their own sunflowers, which will give residents in the area an even better chance of winning Thirteen’s garden competition later in the summer.
Chris Smith, Executive Director of Service Delivery and Development at Thirteen, said: “This change will help to provide a better, more efficient service for residents.
“This is part of a major project that will help to address issues on the Dodford estate which currently suffers from incidents of anti-social behaviour and problems with the local environment.
“We are continuing to work on plans to implement further changes during the rest of this year and Thirteen is working with the council and other partners to investigate and tackle the problems in the area, with a view to implementing a range of actions that will help the Dodford estate to become a better place to live.
“People who live in the area are the ones who know their neighbourhood best, so we have held two events to get their opinions on what they want to see in the area. It’s vital that residents are given the opportunity to contribute their thoughts and ideas on the plans and the clean sweep event is just one way of keeping everyone involved.”
Geoff Field, Middlesbrough Council’s Director of Environment and Commercial Services, said: “We continually review the way we deliver services to ensure we meet the needs of local communities.
“By working closely with residents and partners like Thirteen we can address issues earlier and more effectively, reducing issues such as fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour and improving quality of life.”