A VOLUNTARY group dedicated to creating a clean and tidy Altrincham can continue their mission thanks to a generous grant.

The Board of Altrincham Unlimited - Altrincham’s newly formed Business Improvement District - has awarded a grant of £1,035 to not-for-profit community group Our Altrincham for the purchase of new equipment and supplies.

The group has been cleaning up litter and graffiti in Altrincham since 2010 and has collected almost 1,800 bags of rubbish to date. End to end, that many bags would measure three times the height of Manchester’s skyscraper, Beetham Tower.

BID Manager, Katie Bland said, “Our Altrincham has organised voluntary community litter picks in Altrincham town centre for the last six years, helping to keep the town look clean and tidy. They submitted an application for funding to Altrincham Unlimited and our Board recognises that their efforts in clearing up litter in their personal time supports the regeneration and presentation of the town and hence agreed to fund new equipment for the group to enable them to continue with the good work.”

Our Altrincham director Sarah Walmsley said the group was delighted with the donation , as well as the recognition.

“A clean and tidy town is attractive to live in, work in and visit, so keeping up cleanliness standards is important to the local economy,” she said.

“We are working hard right now to drive down our running costs and raise funds to provide a firm foundation for the future. This grant is very helpful because it takes the pressure off us as regards replacing worn out equipment and buying new supplies. We would like to thank the Altrincham Unlimited Board and all the Altrincham BID levy payers for their support and hope to see some of them at our events.”

Our Altrincham is raising funds for the ‘Clean & Green Campaign’ which includes triple gold award-winning project, ‘Altrincham In Bloom’.

To help this cause, please visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Altrincham-CleanAndGreenCampaign.