Offenders help clean for the Queen!
A right royal spruce up!
Offenders in York are rolling up their sleeves for a right royal spruce up of Tadcaster Road, as part of a national campaign to ‘Clean for The Queen’ in time for Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday.
The team of offenders, performing community payback, will be painting half a mile of railings along Tadcaster Road, under the watchful eye of York’s Community Payback supervisor, Joe Murphy.
Ed Gray, York and Selby Community Payback Manager, The Humberside, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company Limited, explains more:
“Tadcaster Road is one of the main routes into the City so this is an ideal opportunity for offenders to make a real and lasting difference in helping to keep York looking its best for residents and visitors – as well as looking fit for a Queen!
“It also means that offenders are visibly paying back to the community where they have caused most harm, by undertaking physically demanding work which would not otherwise be completed.”
Throughout the week offenders will also be out litter picking and generally tidy areas of the city, some of which were affected by the recent floods. One of the locations benefiting is Clifton Backies Nature Reserve, where offenders will be edging and scraping footpaths.
Every year offenders complete thousands of hours of community payback supporting local organisations and charities on projects that may not otherwise be completed. Other projects recently completed by York’s payback team include a much needed clean up of the grounds surrounding Yearsley swimming pool and the overhaul of the community garden at Foxwood Community Centre where they have cut back years of overgrown vegetation and re-established the footpaths.
Community payback is a nationwide project which provides rigorous and demanding punishment ordered by the courts. The main purpose is to punish the offender while making sure they pay something back to the community. In York, community payback is managed by the Humberside, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company – a prime provider of local probation services.
Cllr Andrew Waller, Executive Member for the Environment said:
“I’d like to thank the Community Payback team for their huge contribution to York’s Clean for The Queen campaign this week.
“This is a great opportunity for residents and organisations to take pride in their local area and spend a few hours together cleaning up. I hope as many people as possible will follow their example and join in, as the campaign benefits both the environment and those who live and work in the city.”
Groups or individuals who would like to take part in Clean for The Queen can find out more at www.york.gov.uk/cleanforthequeen They should register their interest locally by calling 01904 551551 or emailing [email protected] Residents may also request a spring clean of an area they feel needs sprucing up on the same contact details.
Offenders help clean for the Queen!
York residents are being encouraged to roll up their sleeves and spruce up their neighbourhoods as part of a national campaign to ‘Clean for The Queen’ in time for Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday. Whilst litter picks in York are welcome at any time, the campaign focuses on a national weekend of litter picking from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 March. It aims to inspire a million people to enjoy a few hours together tidying up, to make their local area a more pleasant environment.
Clean for The Queen is backed by organisations such as the National Trust, the RSPB, the Women’s Institute, Keep Britain Tidy and all the other major anti-litter organisations from across the UK.
The campaign asks schools, community and friends groups, businesses and individual residents to pitch in and take part. We are delighted to confirm that much of the manpower will be provided by the CRCs York community payback team.
Groups or individuals who would like to take part in Clean for The Queen can arrange events any time up to Sunday 6 March. They should register their interest locally by calling 01904 551551 or emailing [email protected] You can find out more about the national campaign at www.cleanforthequeen.co.uk
Follow the payback team on @HLNYpayback and see payback in action for yourself.