Clean sweep for Youlgreave

29 June 2009

Throughout the summer months the District Council’s CleanTeam make villages across the Derbyshire Dales spick and span for residents and visitors, assisting at around 40 well dressings, carnivals, festivals and Britain in Bloom competitions.
 
The CleanTeam are pictured as they moved into Youlgreave to clean the streets and cut grass in the village ahead of a festival that attracts thousands of visitors.
 
The CleanTeam’s wide-ranging work is one of the reasons 97% of streets in the Derbyshire Dales are judged as litter-free – one of the best standards in the UK.
 
Derbyshire Dales District Council Leader Councillor Lewis Rose, OBE, said: "Local people tell us at the consultation events we run how important clean towns and villages are. Our hard-working CleanTeam staff deserve great credit for their sterling work in keeping our area one of the cleanest in Britain.”
 
Every new season brings special challenges for the Derbyshire Dales District Council team. When flash floods hit areas of the Derbyshire Dales early in September last year, the CleanTeam undertook a huge clean-up operation to clear roadside gulleys blocked by silt when the floods hit vulnerable areas, including the towns of Matlock, Ashbourne and Bakewell.
 
Other specialised work that often goes unnoticed includes clearing away hundreds of tonnes of autumn leaves for composting.
 
The biggest challenge for the CleanTeam each year is Bakewell Show, which generates around 20 tonnes of waste straw, followed closely by Ashbourne’s Highland Gathering and Matlock Bath Illuminations.