Love Your Neighbourhood - £1m project launched to make Hull’s streets cleaner and greener

By Simon Bristow

Hull City Council is launching a £1m neighbourhood clean-up programme that aims to make the city’s streets cleaner and greener, while creating up to 30 jobs.

The council’s budget for 2023/24 by the ruling Liberal Democrat administration, which was approved last week, includes £1m a year for the Love Your Neighbourhood project.

The initiative will see a new team set up to tidy small areas of the city one at a time, spending a fortnight carrying out a range of tasks before moving on to the next location.

After the team has finished, residents should see a noticeable difference to the look and feel of their neighbourhood.

The project aims to make a visible improvement to what people see when they step outside their front door, focusing on things such as:

• Litter bin repairs/replacement

• Graffiti removal

• Fly-tip clearance

• Bulky item clearance

• Verge edging

• Grass cutting

• Shrub maintenance

• Leaf removal

• Hedge cutting

• Gully cleaning

• Pothole repairs

• Street light repairs

Streets will be prioritised based on need and the package of services carried out will be different for each area.

The council will now begin recruiting 20 to 30 new members of staff for the Love Your Neighbourhood team, ready for the clean-ups to begin in April.

City council leader, Councillor Mike Ross, said: “This will be an ongoing and evolving process, which we hope will give people a sense of pride in their neighbourhoods.

“It won’t be just a quick spruce-up – we will be carrying out a deep, thorough clean-up of local neighbourhoods, which residents have been calling for, as well as carrying out a whole range of other tasks while in the area.

“The trials we have carried out so far have been very successful, with residents telling us how happy they are with the difference the clean-ups have made.

“With this new team, we are also creating permanent jobs for local people.

More details on the jobs will be available soon via the Hull City Council Employment Hub.