TRAFFORD Council and partner agencies will be out and about in Old Trafford between February 24 - 28 in a Week of Action to raise awareness of environment and safety issues in the area.

The week will kick-off with an information road show at Old Trafford Community Centre where residents can learn more about the importance of protecting and improving the environment, avoiding crime and pick up some safety tips.

As part of the drive, Council officers will be visiting businesses offering free graffiti removal kits to assist them in keeping their shop fronts graffiti free and offering advice on waste disposal and retail crime.

Greater Manchester Police will have an increased presence in the area and will be available at events during the week to offer advice and support to residents.

Skips will be provided by Adactus Housing to allow residents to dispose of unwanted items. This will be supported by 12 young Prince’s Trust volunteers.

As well as this there will be school visits, litter picks with local community groups, garden tidy-ups with Trafford Housing Trust.

The Council’s ground force teams will focus on cleaning the streets and passageway during the week and will send in their graffiti removal teams to clear graffiti from affected areas.

The council will also be recruiting Street Champions throughout the week. These are volunteers who act as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the community, to help get things fixed and make a real difference to their local area. They play an important part in improving the local neighbourhood as well as having a say on local environmental issues.

Prior to the Week of Action there will be several planning meetings with volunteer groups who will be assisting council officers in the best way to tackle the problem and get the message across to the local community.

The Week of Action will culminate in a litter-pick with 90 young people from Old Trafford Community School supported by Veolia Environmental Services. Young volunteers from the National Citizen Service will also be in the area delivering a project they have developed to highlight the issues with environment and safety.

Executive councillor Alan Mitchell said: “This is a great way of educating people of the importance of keeping our streets clean and safe, to make Old Trafford a pleasant place to live.

“Instilling a sense of pride will go some way in trying to eradicate the problem. Fly tipping causes a major nuisance for residents and dealing with the aftermath deters Council Officers from dealing with their daily tasks. The Council is committed to not only dealing with fly tipping quickly and effectively but, as importantly, doing all we can to prevent repeated occurrences.

We hope that by working with the local community and highlighting the negative effect that fly-tipping has on the area we can vastly improve the streetscape for local residents.”

Following an investigation into fly-tipping, Trafford Council has recently taken enforcement action by issuing 39 fixed penalty notices carrying a £75 fine to residents in Old Trafford who illegally disposed of waste in passageways to the rear of their properties.

Anybody wishing to report incidents of fly-tipping should contact Access Trafford on 0161 912 2000 or email: access.trafford@trafford.gov.uk. It can also be reported online by visiting: http://www.trafford.gov.uk/residents/report-it.aspx All enquiries will be treated in the strictest of confidence.