Almost 100 miles of road have been swept, 139 truckloads of rubbish removed, and 1,727 residents met as City of Wolverhampton Council’s Love Your Community: Neighbourhood Team project celebrates its first six months.

Since January, the team has visited 98 streets across Wolverhampton to deliver more than 85,000 metres of targeted cleaning, including sweeping, litter picking and weed removal.

The team has swept 160,000 metres of road, pressure washed 640 metres of surfaces, cut back 10,350 metres of vegetation and spoken with 156 businesses.

More than 100 referrals have been made on behalf of residents to council services and partners in response to resident and community concerns raised during team visits.

Love Your Community: Neighbourhood Team is a 12-month pilot project and activity will continue during the next six months to enhance the appearance of local streets and open spaces as well as increase pride and engagement.

The council first launched the initiative in late January as a single, dedicated taskforce to improve the cleanliness, safety and appearance of local areas.

The original team was then boosted by a second in March to focus on the cleansing and improvement of the main arterial routes into Wolverhampton, making sure residents and visitors experience a sense of pride across the whole of the city.

The targeted Love Your Community work is being carried out in addition to the council’s existing programme of activity. It is a direct response to feedback from residents and local councillors and reflects the council’s commitment to proactively tackling environmental issues.

Activities include clearing problem litter spots, removing weeds, cleaning signs, manual and mechanical sweeping, painting and installing planters as well as encouraging community and volunteering opportunities.

Neighbourhood Team members are made up of council staff from a range of different services and projects are supported by partners from Wolverhampton Homes.

Areas visited are being prioritised on a variety of factors reported to the team by local residents and councillors. Some of the issues are seasonal, but all are specific to the individual local area.

Residents in the areas being supported are notified in advance and people have chance to highlight what needs to be targeted when the team are on site.

City areas covered so far by the team are: All Saints, Bilston South, Blakenhall, Bushbury South, East Park, Ettingshall North, Fallings Park, Graiseley, Heath Town, Low Hill, Oxley, Penn, St Peters and Wednesfield North. Wards due to be visited over the coming weeks include Bilston North, Blakenhall and Park.

Councillor Qaiser Azeem, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Our Love Your Community: Neighbourhood Team initiative has had a very significant impact for local people and I am truly delighted to see the difference the past six months have made.

“From sweeping roads and cutting back foliage to listening to local residents and hearing their concerns, our team members have been doing an amazing job in neighbourhoods across the city.

“We have seen an extremely positive response when out and about in communities. People have been very welcoming and say the teams have made a real difference to the very local issues that concern them.

“We really hope that the Love Your Community work will be continued by residents, perhaps with local litter picks or little events to bring local people together.

“We have seen support for the project from local groups, businesses and organisations and we are delighted that people are getting involved. By working in partnership with our residents, we can create a city that people are proud to call home.”

Love Your Community: Neighbourhood Teams are enhancing the council’s existing environmental programme which covers:

• 96% of reported fly tipping on council land is removed within five working days, in most cases within 48 hrs of report
• in 2025, the council prosecuted 17 people for fly tipping and related offences. Offenders were ordered to pay fines and court costs totalling £36,188.54
• cleansing teams start work from 7am to ensure the city is ready for its residents and visitors
• public street bins are emptied 4,600 times a week
• 600 SMART bins have been installed across the city to help save money, protect the environment and improve the cleanliness of our streets
• in the past 12 months 4,838 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued for littering, 72% were paid. People who didn’t pay, were taken to court
• we respond to more than 11,500 enquiries per year for street cleansing, grounds and tree maintenance; replying to all enquiries within an average of four working days
• our teams cleanse 517,324 meters of streets and pathways
• we cut 4,645,416 sqm of grass, and maintain 433,914 sqm of meadows
• around 100 operatives a day are across the city cleansing streets, sweeping gullies and maintaining hedges and verges
• we investigated 951 fly tips last year. In the streets that were targeted with Shop a Tipper we reduced fly tipping by 50%
• every 12 months we remove approximately 4,000 tonnes of litter and leaves from our streets and responded to over 6,000 customer enquiries for ad hoc cleansing above our programmed work.