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Residents urged to stay safe when litter picking

KIND-HEARTED residents are being reminded to stay safe when picking up litter across the county.

Thanking communityspirited groups for their efforts, Wiltshire Council reminded people to stay safe by not collecting litter on busy roads.

Both the A303 and A36 are busy main roads that are managed by National Highways, but Wiltshire Council has a statutory duty to collect litter, the authority said.

To collect litter on these roads, the council has to seek permission from National Highways and put measures in place to minimise disruption to road users.

Sometimes, this may require traffic management such as stop/go signalling or even full lane closures to keep teams safe – and it’s for this reason that the public and community groups should not look to pick litter along any main road.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, cabinet member for Streetscene, said: “I’d like to thank all those high-viz heroes and community groups throughout Wiltshire who give up their free time to make our beautiful county a nicer place to live.

“However, it’s really important that they do so safely, and that means not litter picking on main roads.

“We work closely with partners such as National Highways and town councils to ensure safe and efficient litter collection throughout the county, and on the A36 our litter picking work will begin in April.

“Of course, if people didn’t litter our county, we wouldn’t need to collect anything – but unfortunately, there are people who just don’t seem to care about their community or the environment.

“It costs us £100,000 each time to collect litter on trunk roads; this is money that we could be spending on essential services for our communities.

“In our Business Plan we have committed to take responsibility for the environment, and we’d urge everyone to dispose of litter properly – it’s easy for drivers to just take it home with them and then put it in the bin.”

Anyone who would like information or support relating to a community litter pick should contact the Streetscene community engagement manager via wiltshirehelpdesk@idverde.co. uk.

To report litter, people can go to www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywilts.

William George Sheen, 26, of Clarks Close in Ringwood, was previously sentenced to 28 months in prison for this burglary and others.

Police Staff Investigator Stephen Hortin, from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Operation Hawk Team, said: “I am pleased with the result of this sentencing, and that both Hopkins and Sheen will be spending time in prison for this burglary.

“Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary work hard to protect our communities from all types of offences. Burglaries are a deeply damaging offence for the victims, and we take them very seriously.

“Getting justice for this victim and having two burglars off the streets is a positive outcome for the communities we strive to protect.”

Wiltshire Council shortlisted for award

EFFORTS to help Ukrainian refugees, cut homelessness and improve adult education have seen Wiltshire Council shortlisted for an award.

The council has been named among six finalists for the Local Authority of the Year gong at the MJ Achievement Awards 2023, an annual event to celebrate success and recognise excellence in local government.

The council’s entry referred to a range of achievements, including being one of the leading authorities in England for supporting Ukrainian refugees; innovating to reduce homelessness, adult education and children’s services rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted; creating teams to support people to thrive at home, reducing hospital admissions and delays in discharge; and area boards supporting projects valued at more than £8 million.

The winners will be announced at an award ceremony on 23 June in London.

Cllr Richard Clewer (pictured), leader of Wiltshire Council, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for this award, and it’s testament to all the hard work put in by everyone associated with the council day in and day out – all in service of our communities.

“This sort of recognition puts us on a national platform and that can only help us as to achieve everything we’ve set out in our Business Plan.

“This shortlisting, coupled with our recent extremely positive Peer Challenge report, demonstrates that as a council we continue to head in the right direction and that our clear long-term vision is right for the county, providing a strong foundation for us to take the kind of action that may not have been seen elsewhere.”

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