This is the rubbish Halton Borough Council’s Parks Team collected on Saturday from our parks. This Time spent litter picking is time they could be doing other essential work to keep our open spaces pristine.

You can help them by taking your litter home.

The Team Leader on duty said: “This is a daily occurrence at the moment when the weather is pleasant, and places an extra demand on the workforce in addition to the routine work such as grass cutting.”

Litterbugs have left rubbish scattered across Halton’s prize winning parks and verbally abused Halton Borough Council staff who work to keep the areas clean.

The Council wants people to enjoy parks and Open Space Officers Park Workers have worked hard to maintain throughout the pandemic so that people can do that.

But a minority have not been keeping them tidy, with incidents reported in all parks, with Spike Island particularly hit.

Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board Member for the Physical Environment, Cllr Ron Hignett, said there was no excuse for dropping litter.

He said: “If bins are full, take your rubbish home with you. Groups of up to six can meet now, but you do need to keep social distance. Please be respectful of our staff, they’re trying to keep the parks nice for people to use.

“We have always thought of our parks as jewels in Halton’s crown. And the public agrees. Thanks to all the council staff and the many volunteers who help make them look so good.

“Let’s not have all that good work undone by a mindless minority.”

Frontline Park Workers have been at the forefront of the Council’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.

They have endeavoured to keep our parks and open spaces safe, clean, and tidy at a time when people are staying local and appreciating the value of places on their doorstep.

Open Spaces Officer Parks Manager, Paul Boardman, said: “It has been encouraging to see our parks so well used during the recent pleasant weather; we are thankful for those that enjoy our facilities responsibly.

“In partnership with Keep Britain Tidy as part of their nationwide “Love Parks” campaign we are encouraging visitors to ‘be kind to our parks’ by treating them, and our staff, with respect”

When Britons voted for their ten favourite parks in the country, our very own Halton Borough Council run Victoria Park was victorious, coming in the top ten twice in two years.
“It was the only park in the North West of England to make the list. Runcorn Hill only just missed out, giving us two in the top twenty!

For more information on Halton’s parks: https://www3.halton.gov.uk/Pages/libraries/parks.aspx

Halton Borough Council has been doing a month long campaign with Keep Britain Tidy urging people to send in positive pics of activities in its parks, with the hashtag #LoveHaltonsParks.