Community clean-up schemes demonstrate positive success in instilling local pride and sense of place

A clean-up project in London has seen a previously overgrown and unattractive space transformed into a community garden for local people to grow their own vegetables – and has scooped an award in the process.

Lambeth Council joined forces with residents of Josephine Avenue to roll up their sleeves and clean-up their neighbourhood as part of the council’s Community Freshview scheme, which sees council staff and residents team up to make a positive difference to their local environment.

Working with council staff and the police Safer Neighbourhoods team, local residents have cleared litter, cut back overgrown hedges, repainted street signs and even created a vegetable garden.

Now the scheme has won third prize in the London-wide Capital Clean-up Campaign, which aims to create a cleaner London through local action. Londoners are encouraged to get involved in the campaign by making improvements to the local environment, leading to a long term sense of ownership and pride in the area, from which we all benefit. The campaign cuts right across the cleaner, safer, greener agenda providing opportunities for all Londoners to get involved, being singled out for praise from around 350 clean-up projects across London.

Fourteen neighbourhoods in Lambeth have so far benefited from the Community Freshview treatment.

Louise Belson – Lead Community Representative and Josephine Avenue Group Chair, said: 'Over the 25 years that the JAG has struggled to maintain the street, I cannot remember a time when so much has been achieved as over this year. All hail Freshview - It works.'

Cllr Sally Prentice, Cabinet member for Environment, said: 'Community Freshview is helping to improve neighbourhoods across the borough and to get this recognition is great. The idea is that any clean-ups done in this way are more sustainable, as when people realise that their friends and relatives care so much about the local area they will hopefully take more pride in their area and help maintain the improvements. It’s fantastic to see the community all pulling together to make a lasting difference to their area.'