Just over a year ago Hastings Borough Council took control of the town’s street cleaning services, bringing them back in house. 

Since then the council’s 29 street cleaners have swept more than 11,000 miles of road, emptied over 250,000 litter bins and dealt with 11,000 additional work requests.

The latest performance review, conducted by an independent consultancy firm, shows a significant improvement in the borough’s cleanliness councillors heard last week.

In the review 300 roads were monitored and of these 96.8 per cent passed for litter, detritus, fly-posting and graffiti; the best result the town has achieved in over a decade. 

Councillor Paul Barnett portfolio holder for Urban Environment and Community Safety told last Wednesday’s full council meeting: “These figures show the positive impact taking the waste services back in house has had on the borough’s cleanliness. It is great to see that the Council’s hard work of running our own street cleaning services paying off, this is an exceptional start. I want to thank the public too, our residents and our visitors, who in a very difficult year have been so responsible in reducing the rubbish on our streets and beaches.

“We want to continue to improve our town by making it a tidy and enjoyable place to work, visit and live. This is a joint effort and something everyone can play their part in, by binning litter, taking it home with them and reporting any waste they see in the borough directly to us through our MyHastings online service. This is the quickest way for the team to receive your report.”