A dedicated team which has been tasked with cleaning and ’sprucing up’ areas right across the ABC borough is to double in size.
And the work of the aptly named ‘Blitz’ squad has been hailed as a “fantastic investment in frontline services”.
A presentation on the work they have carried out – including before‑and‑after pictures of their many success stories – was unveiled to members of ABC Council’s environmental services committee.
Those present, from all parties, heaped praise on the efforts which have been carried out, while a video also showed ‘satisfied customers’, as it were, interviewing business owners and others on their impressions of the team’s actions.
The ‘Blitz’ team is currently a six‑strong unit, operating in two teams of three.
But it will shortly increase in size to 12, the members working in four teams of three from that time.
This is in addition to the 14 street sweepers, 17 staff and 13 town wardens which the council employs on street‑sweeping routes, litter‑picking and emptying bins.
The presentation was made by Head of Environmental Services Lisa Doherty and Business Manager Martin Toye to Tuesday night’s committee meeting, when the former explained that the move to increase the Blitz team would serve to “expand and build on the success of the current squad”.
“They are currently being recruited and hopefully should be in place about June time,” confirmed Ms Doherty.
The speaker highlighted “partnership work with DfI” and the hope to “build on that relationship as well”, such as going in to “clean areas and collaborate with them when they have closed a road”.
Looking ahead, Ms Doherty told committee: “We are also putting a service improvement programme together. We are currently doing a whole review of the street cleansing service, and at the end of that we want to look at the frequency of collections, our rotas, small, large sweepers, where they’re going to go in, the different requirements within each of the towns, whether or not it’s a large town, small town, to look at the frequency of those.
“That has just begun and we hope to be able to have that back with you and your involvement would be very much part of that then as well, going forward, to improve the service.”
The majority of the Blitz team’s work to date – 61 per cent – has centred around power‑washing, but other activities include litter‑picking, grounds maintenance, traffic management and servicing events.
The hope now is for “better planning and scheduling”, pre‑ and post‑event activities and having a “wider reach across the borough”.
After a full year up and running, the current six‑strong squad has been deployed across the borough on 137 occasions, representing a full 305 working days, the majority of which – 143 days – were in the old Craigavon Council area, 100 in Armagh and 63 in Banbridge.
The committee was told efforts will centre on continuing to operate efficiently and effectively across the whole borough, focusing on the areas of greatest need and where the greatest impact can be achieved.
The aim is to “effectively balance scheduled maintenance tasks”, alongside requests from councillors and “urgent priorities”.
Council officers have also now developed a ‘planning tool’, which will allow councillors to view details of past and future activities.
A database has also been developed to hold, display and report on all activities. It will keep details of planned works up to two months in advance, as well as retaining details of completed works, along with photographs.
Through this, councillors will be provided with “performance data”, including the geographical spread of the team activities as well as tasks completed.
A consultation will be carried out with councillors to agree the best way to distribute the information – directly from the app, automatic email of relevant information to their area or specified information on request.
There was glowing praise across the chamber at the presentation’s conclusion.
Committee chair, Sinn Féin councillor Sarah Duffy thanked the team for their “dedication, their hard work and the positive difference they make”.
She said: “Although they are small in number they certainly cover a tremendous amount of ground and they always do so with a smile and a positive attitude, as we’ve just seen in the presentation, and I think that video really captures the energy, professionalism and pride that they bring to their work every day.
“I myself have had the pleasure of meeting members of the team while they’ve been out and about cleaning the streets of Armagh City. And what always stands out to me is not just the physical transformation of the spaces, but the way that they engage with residents and business owners alike. They are visible, they’re approachable and clearly take great pride in their work.
“I’m especially delighted that we have plans to grow the team, because that investment sends a clear message that clean, welcoming streets matter, and the work that they do is valued at the highest level.”
Party colleague Councillor Mary O’Dowd agreed, adding: “The work that they do is absolutely fantastic. Going forward, with the team growing, it’s going to benefit the whole ABC area, but for us councillors, it’s going to make our lives a lot easier as well. The work that you have put in to the app is fantastic.”
TUV Councillor Keith Ratcliffe said the Blitz team had been a “fantastic success right across ABC Council”.
He added: “I know I’ve requested them a number of times around Cusher and they’ve always worked extremely hard and done a really, really good job and made a huge difference in those areas that really had been neglected, maybe for some years.
“The difference is physical. You can see the difference and constituents have always phoned me and got in touch, and how happy they are to actually see what’s been done. It’s very clear that they take great pride in their work and they really put a shift in, to be fair to them.”
Alderman Paul Greenfield was equally generous with his praise.
“The work’s fantastic and we do thank the team and thank those of you who put a lot of work into it,” he said. “I know some of these committees before I’ve been pushing about where you are, what’s going on, and I think that’ll be essential that we actually do know what’s happening and a regular update on that.
“It does make a massive difference to the area. It keeps it the way it should be kept.”
Independent Unionist Alderman Paul Berry said the work really did make a difference and was “carried out to precision”.
He added: “People see visibly on the street the changes that are being made and I think that’s the most important thing, that people see cleaner streets.
“The only thing I would say, and it’s not a negative, is that we need to ensure we concentrate on our town centres, our village centres, our hamlets first before we start going out feeding into Housing Executive land and Road Service land, because when they catch wind of this they’ll be putting more added pressure on us to clean more and more and more, which they’re already doing.
“But it’s like everything, a happy medium, but this is brilliant. I like the process of it and, in a year’s time, hopefully we will be praising it even more.”
Alliance Councillor Robbie Alexander said the team and the work they carry out is “absolutely fantastic”.
“Investment in this service is absolutely brilliant to see and at a time when we’re talking about rates and various departments and how we can do things better, it’s wonderful to see investment like this in frontline services,” he added.
DUP Councillor Lavelle McIlwrath also hailed the “very positive contribution” of the Blitz team.
At the same time, he said he hoped that the work would not leave villages and hamlets “forgotten”, but added: “In the round it’s a massively positive story and we just keep building on it.”
