City of London Sweeps the Board at Clean Britain Awards

The local authority for the financial Square Mile, the City of London Corporation, has received the accolade of National Clean City Champions 2015, at the CIWM Clean Britain Awards. The ceremony took place at the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square.

The Corporation won a gold award in the small local authority category, as well as being named overall ‘local authority champions’ for its achievements in keeping its public areas, clean and safe for residents, workers and visitors.

The local authority was recognised for the successes of proactive campaigns, such as No Small Problem, an awareness raising exercise aimed at reducing cigarette litter. The campaign involved the distribution of 10,000 personal mini-bins, as well as signposting services for people wanting to quit smoking. The efforts of the Street Environment Officers as well as enforcement from the City of London Police resulted in 43 per cent reduction in dropped cigarette butts since the campaign launched last year.

Despite having a small residential population of around, 7,000, the City of London hosts around 400,000 workers every weekday, as well as numerous tourists to its cultural venues including the Barbican Centre and Museum of London. Its booming night time economy has seen the City’s environment team faced with additional challenges. However, the introduction of a night time levy means the businesses that benefit from a large number of customers to pubs, clubs and restaurants, help to fund the clean-up operation.

Wendy Mead OBE, chairman of Port Health and Environment Services Committee at the City of London Corporation, said: “The City the London is delighted that the hard work of both our staff and our contractor, Amey, over the past year has been recognised.

“Elected members have worked closely with staff to support various initiatives that not only keep the streets clean, but directly reduce the causes of litter. The City of London Corporation is fully committed to providing outstanding services for people who live, work or visit the Square Mile and see this prestigious award as valued acknowledgement of our approach to providing a high quality street environment.”

Steve Lee, chief executive of CIWM, said: “With budget pressures tighter than ever, local authority teams have to be ever more resourceful in their efforts to keep our public spaces and places clean and safe for everyone to enjoy, and other stakeholders such as community groups also have an important role to play.

“It is essential therefore that these efforts are recognised and showcased so that good practice can be shared. Local environmental quality affects us all and makes a big difference to our wellbeing and the way we feel about the places we live.”