ARE you bitter about the litter in your street?
A new campaign launched by North East Lincolnshire Council and supported by the Grimsby Telegraph aims to take the grim out of Grimsby.
The council is investing £150,000 in a borough-wide six-month blitz to tackle the worst areas of grot in the county.
But they need your help to identify those areas.
Whether the problem is dog fouling, fly tipping or an area simply in need of a good scrub, we need you to tell us.
The council is consulting with parish councils and community groups to put forward any issues they are aware of as well.
They hope to leave a sparkling finish to the areas they clean and inspire the communities to carry on the fight against grime with the help of the council.
The campaign begins in Humberston and New Waltham on Monday, September 23, before moving on to Waltham.
The clean teams will then make their way around the wards, dusting the Wolds and scrubbing Immingham before heading in to de-grime Grimsby and de-clutter Cleethorpes.
Your Grimsby Telegraph will report on the locations of the clean ups as they are completed.
Councillor Ray Oxby, pictured, portfolio holder for Environment and Housing, said: The campaign will serve two purposes.
"One is to deal with the issues of litter, dog fouling and repairing of minor street furniture.
"The second aim of the scheme is to help support communities in managing their areas.
"The council can no longer maintain every playing field or area.
"We no longer have the resources due to Government cuts to do everything we have in the past.
"We are not leaving the communities to look after themselves.
"The council will still be fulfilling our statutory duties, but we are hoping to encourage the public to take more responsibility for their areas.
"Some of the services we offer now are not going to be offered in the future because of the cut backs.
"However, we will give full backing and support to parish councils and community groups who are able to take on responsibility for their areas.
"It is often reported that the public's main issues are around litter and dog fouling.
"Having these problems in the street can bring down an area.
"The council does not make this mess, the council does not litter or dog foul on the street.
"There are many good people out there who do care and have respect for their local community.
"There are some who don't and we want to encourage those people to take more responsibility.
"We are looking to work with community forums and Shoreline to help continue the clean up after we have moved onto the next area of the county.
"We are getting the probation service involved to bring in offenders to help clean up the area.
"While we are in the areas we will also be highlighting issues that require capital works, such as resurfacing and major works.
"During the six month tidy up campaign we are working with Balfour Beatty to repair and replace minor street furniture that is broken.
"We are starting in the rural communities to build up momentum and ensure that the urban areas in Grimsby, Immingham and Cleethorpes will get the work done where it is needed most. We are asking for the public to go to their ward councillors, go to the Grimsby Telegraph website, and call the grotline and tell us what areas need tackling in your communities.
"We have led programmes before where different agencies believed they knew what the public wanted but in some cases were a little off the mark.
"This time we want to know exactly what you want doing in your neighbourhood.
"We are working in co-operation with the Grimsby Telegraph to promote this campaign as much as possible.
"We want everyone to get involved and have a say in what they want to see tackled.
"The lasting effects of the community coming together for a cause like this is that often these communities build new bonds. Neighbours look out for problems occurring and can then in their community groups work to tackle these problems with the council supporting where needed.
"We are still fully committed to residents and fulfilling our duties, we just want to help the public take responsibility for the areas we don't cover."
If you, a club or organisation would like to get involved in the campaign to help clean up and keep the areas clean, call the grotline on 01472 324500 or e-mail richard.york@gsmg.co.uk.To highlight an issue, fill out the form below:
