Stained pavements across the borough should soon be given their shine back – thanks to a major deep clean programme in Armagh and other key centres.
The Department for Communities will contribute £70,000 towards the work.
And Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council will decide next week whether or not to accept the offer and chip in match funding of £7,000.
The state of the pavements leave a lot to be desired and are a constant source of annoyance for locals.
General staining and grime, chewing gum, food stains and oil and grease have left many in a complete mess.
Given the nature of the stone, granite and asphalt used under the various public realm schemes, specialist cleaning will be required.
Armagh, Portadown, Banbridge, Lurgan and Dromore will all be targeted.
Lurgan and Portadown have been deep cleaned each year since 2013.
And Armagh City Centre was cleaned in November 2014, with workers going through the night to ensure they were in tip-top condition in time for that year’s Georgian Day celebrations.
Banbridge and Dromore, however, have not been cleaned since the public realm works were carried out.
Councillors have been told that the results of previous cleaning operations had been “positively significant” and, taken with other regeneration projects, had “greatly improved the aesthetics of our city and town centres”.
When a decision is taken in relation to the funding, a contractor will be appointed on the conclusion of the tendering process.
