Paths and pavements across the Wokingham Borough are getting back to their best following the start of a new street cleansing contract. Lower Earley has already seen the benefits of the new partnership with Urbaser, with work focused around Hawkedon Primary School.
School and housing estate entrances, as well as along major roads, have all been identified as areas where increased work has been required to brighten up the borough. It’s been part of a raft of improvements introduced by the new contractor to significantly and immediately improve the look and feel of the borough which residents see they are out and about.
Urbaser has been carrying out the work since the contract began on 1 April, working hard to introduce the improvements despite restrictions due to COVID-19. Its work includes a combination of mechanical and manual street and open space cleaning; cleaning public car parks and subways; removing fly tipping; and cleaning up for special events.
“Providing this service through our existing highways contractor VolkerHighways has helped us transition to the new provider almost seamlessly,” said Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport. “It will also increase efficiency in the years ahead for our roads and pavements, as highway maintenance and highway cleansing are naturally linked services.”
The new contract with Urbaser also includes:
A new fleet of vehicles
Grade A standard for sweeping litter & detritus on all adopted roads, footways, traffic islands and cycleways
Assurance that all litter bins are emptied on time and that flytipping is removed within set timescales
Easy monitoring of:
o Scheduled sweeping
o Litter bin emptying
o Highway herbicide treatment
o Flytipping removal
