Shrewsbury Town Council started management of street cleaning services across Shrewsbury today [Wednesday 1 April], marking a major step forward in delivering high-quality, locally managed environmental services.

Following a recruitment process, the Town Council welcomed nine members of staff to its dedicated street cleaning team. Two members of the team have transferred from Shropshire Council’s contractor, bringing valuable experience and knowledge that will support the smooth transition of services. Operatives have been in post in readiness for when the services formally transferred over.

Leading the new team is Karl Bartlett, Street Cleaning Team Leader. Karl was originally appointed part of Shrewsbury Town Council’s Stepping Up Team, which was formed last year to reopen pathways and alleyways that had become inaccessible due to overgrown vegetation. His experience in this role gave him valuable insight into the challenges Shrewsbury faces and enables him to lead the new street cleaning team.

Karl has been preparing for the launch of the service, developing rotas to ensure the team is cleaning areas as needed across the whole town and ensuring they will meet the standards required for our community.

Karl Bartlett, Street Cleaning Team Leader, said:
“We need to get Shrewsbury back to what it was – a clean, green, powerful machine, which is what it used to be, with flowers and hardly any litter. A place with lots of local people and tourists enjoying themselves.”

The street cleaning service will include litter picking, bin emptying, mechanical street sweeping and graffiti removal, ensuring that Shrewsbury remains a clean and welcoming place for all.

Shrewsbury Town Council are now responsible for emptying more than 500 litter bins across the Shrewsbury area. Bins will be emptied regularly based on footfall, with high-use areas such as the town centre being emptied every day.

As part of preparations, Shrewsbury Town Council has been working with Shrewsbury Men’s Shed to repair some of the damaged bins across Shrewsbury, as well as working on a replacement programme for those that can no longer be used.

The new mechanical street cleaning operation will cover more than 600 miles of streets across Shrewsbury. The team will utilise a 15-tonne road sweeper that will cover more of the road surfaces, whilst the 3.5-tonne road sweeper will be used to sweep footpaths, shuts, passages and areas harder to access that are regularly used by residents. They will follow a structured programme to maintain consistent standards of cleanliness across all parts of Shrewsbury.

Members of the public can report street cleaning issues by emailing enquiries@shrewsburytowncouncil.gov.uk or by reporting them on Shropshire Council’s Fix My Street app.

Helen Ball, Town Clerk of Shrewsbury Town Council, said:
“This is a significant investment in Shrewsbury’s public realm and in the services that matter most to our residents. Through our work with other parish councils, we have seen how well-maintained bins and consistent street cleaning play a vital role in encouraging people to take pride in their town and reduce littering. We are committed to delivering a service that reflects the standards our community expects and deserve.”

Councillor Rob Wilson, Leader of Shrewsbury Town Council, added:
I am looking forward to seeing the positive difference that the Town Council can make after taking on this responsibility. This is about investing in Shrewsbury, supporting our environment and ensuring our town remains a place that residents, businesses and visitors can be proud of. I want to thank our staff who work tirelessly for Shrewsbury, and I know will make a real success of this change. We can’t change things overnight, but I hope that residents will start to notice improvements very soon.

The new service will operate seven days a week, working with the town council’s existing teams to maintain high standards of cleanliness and presentation across Shrewsbury.