With the darker days and colder weather at this time of year many of us are busy with seasonal jobs and lists. The situation is no different for Colchester Borough Council’s Neighbourhood Services who work hard to ensure Colchester is ready for winter.
For months before Christmas, Neighbourhood Services were busy preparing for the Christmas and New Year recycling and rubbish collections. They made sure the resources and plans were in place for all 80,000 households in the borough to receive their weekly collection during this time.
In one week alone, the Service makes 240,000 collections! There’s also a lot of demand on the service this time of year and last December and January the service collected an additional 110 tonnes of recycling – that's the equivalent weight of a blue whale!
The service is also responsible for gritting eight of the council-owned town centre car parks while their vehicles -particularly the recycling and rubbish collection trucks -require more maintenance to cope with the winter weather too.
Over the winter months, the service will host 28 market days which includes four additional market day trials on Wednesdays in Lion Walk, a successful Colchester Christmas Market with over 80 stall holders as well as the usual Friday and Saturday markets.
The service also supported the preparation for the annual Christmas Lights Switch-On and managed the Colchester Christmas Market.
Neighbourhood Services also carry out their quarterly operational inspections at all 76 playparks in the borough. This will include our largest play area in Castle Park and the most recently installed play area at Mile End Recreation Ground.
With playparks being used less during the winter, it’s also the perfect time of year to carry out annual maintenance tasks such as laying artificial surfacing where needed.
As well as assisting with the Better Colchester ‘Colchester Woodland Project’ the Service will also collect 2-3 tonnes of leaves from footpaths in Castle Park and use these to create mulch for planting the following year – plus an incredible total of 74,000 winter bedding plants have been planted in Castle Park.
Councillor Martin Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, said: “Our Neighbourhood Services undertake a huge amount of work behind the scenes and winter is no exception.
“It’s an incredibly busy time for the Service and we want to highlight some of the work that’s carried out at this time of year which helps to create a better Colchester for residents, businesses and visitors.
“Some of the work taking place now, such as bulb planting, creating our own mulch and annual playpark maintenance won’t be noticeable until the Spring but it’s important that all these tasks are planned and carried out at the best time of year to make the service as efficient as possible”
ENDS
Attached: Infographic to highlight some of the work Colchester Borough Council’s Neighbourhood Services will carry out this winter.
Better Colchester is a dynamic two-year action plan to help deliver the aims and objectives of the council’s overarching strategic plan. Around £2 million has been set aside to deliver proposals that will make Colchester an even better place to live, work in and visit. Find out more at www.colchester.gov.uk/bettercolchester
For further information about this press release, please contact communications@colchester.gov.uk or 07815 088150.
Page last reviewed: 2 January 2020