Keeping our streets clean, tidy and well-maintained
We’re working hard to keep our streets clean, tidy and well-maintained.
We have over 140 operatives out in the city litter picking, weeding and clearing leaves every day as part of their roles.
From early October, street cleansing operatives focus on clearing leaves during their rounds. On average, they each collect between 60 and 80 bags of leaves every day.
We also have crews collecting up to 3 tonnes of leaves a day with mechanical sweepers.
Our priority is to ensure our streets, pavements and environment are safe and accessible for everyone.
Catching up after storm Ciarán
We know some areas of the city require more attention when a storm hits.
Cityclean work closely with the highway team to identify hotspot areas that are at most risk of flooding because of blocked trains.
Earlier in the month, Storm Ciarán brought winds of up to 60mph to the city and we’ve been battling wet and windy weather since.
Our street operatives got to work right away unblocking drains, sweeping streets and collecting leaves from pavements across the city.
Picture: before and after photographs of leaves cleared from Cromwell Road.
Picture: before and after photographs of an operative unblocking a drain.
Significant improvements to previous years
Our dedicated weeding operatives are currently focused on weeding streets in Withdean and Patcham.
Street cleansing operatives based around the city continue with weeding as part of their responsibilities.
Latest figures show we’ve removed weeds from 673 streets so far this year.
This is a significant improvement to previous years where we weeded 450 streets in 2022/23 and 380 in 2021/22.
Improvements have been made by new machinery, early recruitment success and prioritising hotspots. Read more about our operational improvements in our newsroom.
We expect to have removed weeds from more than 700 streets by the end of the year.
Evaluating weeding tools, equipment and techniques
As we move into the colder months, we’re reviewing the work done over the summer to tackle weeds on our streets and pavements.
We’ll use the findings to inform how we might use resources more effectively in the future and evaluate the tools, equipment and techniques used.
On 2 October, the Weed Policy Working Group met to discuss the progress made, challenges faced and how we might move forward.
Our review will form part of a report is going to the City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee next year.
Clean and tidy streets create a thriving city
Councillor Tim Rowkins, Chair of the City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee, said: “We’re committed to ensuring our streets are clean and tidy.
“We’re currently working on a new weed management policy and also set up a Weed Policy Working Group to explore options to improve weeding operations across Brighton & Hove.
“As well as weeding more streets and staying on top of leafing this year, we’ve also recently introduced a flexible afternoon waste collection round, rolled out new communal bins and increased the fines for littering, fly tipping and graffiti tagging.
“This is all part of our plan to improve the look and feel of Brighton & Hove and create a safe, pleasant, and thriving city for everyone to enjoy.”
