A coordinated programme of environmental and highway improvements has been completed across three Southampton streets as part of Southampton City Council’s Deep Clean, Keep Clean trial, supporting the wider Building a Brighter Future programme in St Mary’s.

Building a Brighter Future is a long-term partnership initiative focused on creating safer, stronger and more inclusive neighbourhoods and improving outcomes for the people who live, work and visit the area. As part of that work, the council brought together a range of services to test a new approach to neighbourhood improvements through the Deep Clean, Keep Clean trial.

The trial focused on Denzil Avenue, Cranbury Avenue and part of Derby Road, bringing multiple council teams together under coordinated road closures to carry out a range of environmental and highway improvements.

Works carried out as part of the trial included tree maintenance, road marking and lining renewal, street repairs including pothole and gully repairs, street sweeping, litter picking, fly-tipping investigation and removal, and the removal of weeds and overgrown vegetation. Delivering the works under a coordinated programme allowed multiple teams to work together at the same time and reduce the need for repeat visits and further disruption.

Deep Clean, Keep Clean is about more than carrying out improvements. The initiative was designed to give neighbourhoods a clean slate while encouraging residents, local organisations and council services to work together to help keep communities looking their best long after the work has been completed.

Councillor Toqeer Kataria, Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety and Leisure, said: “Building a Brighter Future is about listening to residents and working with communities and partners to create safer, stronger and more attractive neighbourhoods.

“The Deep Clean, Keep Clean initiative in Newtown has shown what can be achieved when different council services work together towards a common goal. By coordinating their work, our teams have improved local streets while reducing the need for further disruption to residents.

“This initiative is about much more than carrying out physical improvements. It is about helping communities take pride in where they live. Everyone deserves to live in a neighbourhood that feels clean, safe and welcoming.

“Now that the initial clean-up is complete, we want to build on this work by supporting residents to form local litter-picking teams. The council will provide litter-picking equipment to help volunteers keep the area clean and protect the improvements that have been made.

“I would like to thank residents for their patience while the work took place, as well as all the council teams and partners who helped deliver it. I would encourage anyone who wants to get involved to come forward and help us make a lasting difference in their neighbourhood.”

Carol Maclellan, Executive Director of Resident Services, said: “Deep Clean, Keep Clean was developed to support our wider Building a Brighter Future work in St Mary’s and test a more coordinated approach to neighbourhood improvement.

“By bringing together multiple council services, we reduced repeat disruption and delivered visible improvements more efficiently.

“The trial also supports our City Plan vision for a greener, safer and healthier Southampton, helping create places where communities can thrive.”

Deep Clean, Keep Clean supports Southampton’s wider ambitions for cleaner, safer and healthier neighbourhoods. Residents identified cleaner streets, attractive public spaces and safer communities as important priorities during the development of the Southampton 2035 City Plan which encourages pride in the city and individuals, communities and organisations to work together to improve the places they live, work and visit.

As this was a trial, the council will now review the programme, consider feedback received from residents during the works and identify lessons learned before considering any future activity.

Find out more about the Building a Brighter Future programme by going to the Southampton City Council website and searching ‘Building a Brighter Future’.