An independent survey by a national organisation has pronounced the streets of the Borough of Great Yarmouth very clean indeed when it comes to being litter- free.

ENCAMS (formerly Tidy Britain) facilitates five-yearly surveys to judge the quality of street cleaning carried out by local authorities.

Great Yarmouth street inspections were previously carried out by ENCAMS in 2002/3 when the borough recorded cleanliness scores of 65.8, 66.94 and 66.06 over three inspections.

In the first assessment of 2007 Great Yarmouth has scored 90.2 per cent - an astronomic rise! “During recent years the local authority has been responsible for judging itself on the cleanliness of streets against national performance measures,” explained Graham Jermyn, Director of GYB Services the company that carries out street cleaning and waste removal for Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

“But this year for the first time the survey was carried out jointly by ENCAMS and Community Connections’ Street Scene Assessment team, which is made up of trained volunteers who regularly patrol the streets in certain wards to report on cleanliness and also to inform us of problems which need tackling.”

The findings of the ENCAMS report underline the results of a recent Citizens Panel survey which asked residents of the borough how satisfied they were with the cleanliness of the streets in their area. Nearly 60 per cent registered their satisfaction with the service.

“The results of both surveys are very heartening,” said Councillor Jim Shrimplin Cabinet member with responsibility for Streetscene Services.

“Keeping the streets clean is a joint operation involving the Council, GYB Services and the public. If people don’t drop litter and fly-tip the whole borough will benefit.

“The Council operates a system which sees a flexible blend of scheduled and responsive work.

“NRF funding has enabled GYB Services to operate the Dynamic Environmental Response Team (DERT), which is able to respond to calls to clear fly-tipping. It also provides a deep-cleaning service which works well with GYB Services other street cleaning operatives who work hard to keep the borough litter-free.

“However, Government funding for the DERT team will cease at the end of this financial year, but the Council will do all that it can to ensure that the excellent standards are maintained in the future.”

For further information contact Graham Jermyn, Director of GYB Services on 01493 846465 or e-mail gpj@great-yarmouth.gov.uk.