The Shepway Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) has been supporting the Clean Kent Campaign through its Operation Cubit Plus initiatives.
Operations Cubit and CubitPlus are regular events that district councils have been undertaking in partnership with Kent County Council, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the DVLA. Cubit tackles abandoned vehicles, while CubitPlus covers street cleansing, graffiti removal, minor repairs to street furniture and other issues related to anti social behaviour.
The CDRP with direct support from the Crime Team at Shepway District Council, has initiated 3 Cubit Plus cleanups.
In March 2004, the first clean up day was held in the Crime Focus area of East Folkestone. In October 2004, the 2nd was held in the Neighbourhood Renewal Area (NRA) of Guildhall North and the 3rd was held in September 2005 in the Old Town area of Folkestone Town Centre.
Each CubitPlus initiative has involved an intense 3-week deep environmental clean up of the area in conjunction with the traditional Operation Cubit work on abandoned vehicles.
Activity has included additional street cleansing, dog wardens and litter patrols, as well as repairs to street lighting (including painting of light columns in the focus area), heightened Police patrol activity, talks by Kent Fire and Rescue Service on fire safety etc. The clean up days have involved local residents, all relevant CDRP agencies and local councillors donning yellow vests, gloves and litter pickers to carry out general litter picking as well as heavy clearance works in particularly poorly kept parts of the target areas.
Evaluations of the operations have resulted in some excellent outcomes. Evaluation reports and viewing of DVDs of the clean ups are available on request from Shepway District Council. One notable outcomes was:
Following alleyway clearance by the community on the clean up day at Ingles Way (NRA) - see attached for photos, Network Rail were contacted about a substantial piece of Network Rail land containing massive accumulations of rubbish and broken fencing parallel to the alley way. Network Rail not only repaired their fencing, but also removed all the rubbish providing for a much improved area. This then allowed the area to be alley-gated.
Shepway District Council also has a team of Environmental Education Officers who actively promote litter issues through community clean ups which involve volunteers or community groups taking part in a litter pick in a chosen area. If your community group would like to organise a clean up please contact the team by emailing viv.tucker-smyth@shepway.gov.uk or alison.wood@shepway.gov.uk
More Information can be found on the Shepway District Council website.
