Your Hampton

It is unfortunate, but until our roads get adopted nothing is likely to be done formally about the ever increasing problem of litter!  That is unless we adopt the approach of some of our Peterborough neighbours!

As with many Hampton residents, I feel a growing level of frustration at the state of our streets.  Therefore, on Saturday 6^th February, in an effort to see what could be done, I joined a team of volunteers who cleared litter in Orton Goldhay.  It was pretty much as I expected, turn up, receive some useful equipment, collect litter, go home.

But, and this is what really struck me, it worked on a number of levels:

1. There was a sense of satisfaction gained from doing something for the community;

2. A sense of achievement, as there was tangible evidence of the work done;

3. The opportunity to interact with people I would not ordinarily meet;

4. Being outside and whilst it was cold, it was February, it was better than sitting at a desk and ….

5. It actually started to suppress some of my “grumpy old person tendencies” - and I’m not that old!

So, with the support of Parish Council Steering Committee, O&H Hampton and Roy Clark, our Neighbourhood Officer for Hampton, the second Saturday of each month has been nominated for Volunteer Litter Picking.  There will be alternate venues, one month Vale one month Hargate, starting in March!  The details are above.

Litter picking initiatives have been undertaken in Hampton before, and I applaud all those who organized and got involved in such events.  But there has never been anything regular or sustained.

So come on Hampton let’s make this work.  Come along and help tidy up our neighbourhood, you may find you get more out of it than a bag of rubbish!!!

Ian

Hampton Vale

Latest News

Since March the Hampton Volunteer Litter Picking Group has been busy helping to improve the image of our neighbourhood.

The monthly litter picking activities have been greatly supported; however the underlying problem doesn’t go away! Whether it is a casually dropped sweet wrapper, debris blown from an open bin or fly tipped rubbish at a bus stop, it reflects on us and our community.

We live in a special place, and it has the potential to be a great place.  And it doesn’t take a great deal of effort to think about the consequences of our actions! 

Why shouldn’t we……

1. Put litter in a bin - if a bin isn’t available take it home.
2. Pick litter up if we see it in the street.
3. Put the appropriate bins out for emptying on the appropriate day – and wherever possible keep the bin lids closed and secure.
 

This is our community, help make it great!

With that in mind there are two items of news that need to be communicated…

Firstly for the next three months the volunteer group will be aided by various Hampton groups or associations.  That means additional support will be offered by the WI (June); the Church (July) and TESCO (August).  If you’re free, why not offer 60 minutes of your time and join in?  Put the second Saturday of each month in your calendar as a reminder - the full details are above right.

The second news item relates to a Peterborough wide initiative “Peterborough’s BIG tidy up”.  Organised by the Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service (PCVS), it’s an event that is designed to make us all more aware of the litter problem.  For Hampton this means that an additional litter picking date has been added, namely Saturday 29th May 2010.  The start point is the area behind TESCO, on Silver Hill.  The start time is 11.00 am and this special event will run for two hours.  Again please come along and offer your support, as usual all equipment will be provided.

Please help, your neighbourhood and your community need you!

In order to stay in touch I’ve set up our own web site at http://www.litteraction.org.uk/hampton-volunteer-litter-pickers and I encourage you all to join as group members

Support this volunteer group and download a poster here   Litter pick poster

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