THE hugely successful Street Pride pilot initiative by Fenland District Council staff volunteers is to be rolled out to selected areas in Fenland for members of the public to join in. Council staff volunteered to be guinea pigs for a community Street Prid

THE hugely successful Street Pride pilot initiative by Fenland District Council staff volunteers is to be rolled out to selected areas in Fenland for members of the public to join in.

Council staff volunteered to be guinea pigs for a community Street Pride Team which pulled up its collective sleeves and cleared footpaths, cemeteries and nature reserves of rubbish in areas throughout the district.

Staff, their families and friends and other like-minded community groups have committed more than 300 hours of their own time at weekends to tackle six environmental hotspots over the last 10 months.

Now, the Street Pride initiative is set to be delivered to specially-selected areas within Fenland. The overall aim of the scheme will be to build community spirit and improve the local environment. More than 200 community groups are to be sent an information leaflet and a form on which they can register their interest in taking part in the scheme. The deadline for registering an interest in the initiative is November 10.

Initially, five areas will be selected to take part in the phase two of the Street Pride initiative. Once this phase has been successfully completed, it will be opened up to all interested communities in Fenland.

The five selected pilots will take part in workshops to show participants the potential and scope of the Street Pride initiative, which can include:

- Working with the local police representatives

- Improving the aesthetic entry to villages

- Reporting and monitoring dog fouling hotspots

- Reporting and monitoring flytipping hotspots

- Working with schools and youth groups

- Hands-on environmental projects Holding an environmental action day.

Once a checklist of activities has been drawn up, council staff will provide support on delivering those activities. On completion, the five selected pilots will each receive a certificate, a plaque and £500, which can only be spent on improving the environment or used to attract match funding for larger environmental projects.

Anyone wishing to get involved in the Street Pride initiative can contact the council's Street Pride co-ordinator, Jo Hart on 01354 602163, or e-mail her at: jhart@fenland.gov.uk. Alternatively, people can complete and return the coupon below to receive more information.

Councillor Peter Murphy, portfolio holder for Streets Ahead, said: "Council staff have shown amazing public spirit, giving up their time on Saturday mornings to clear rubbish and smarten up nature reserves and footpaths in all weathers. I am delighted that the concept is being opened up to communities across Fenland. I'm sure local people will be just as enthusiastic about preserving their environment.