A Thetford litter picking group is marking a £300 grant to support its efforts after racking up a full year of community litter picks.
The Burrell Ward Community Litter Pick is organised each month by Breckland Labour Councillors Terry Jermy and Chris Harvey in partnership with the Barnham Action Group – the tenants’ and residents’ group for the Barnham Cross Estate.
The group was recently awarded the money from Thetford Town Council’s Small Grant’s Scheme to support their efforts. After each session, volunteers are invited to stay for refreshments provided by the group. The grant will be used to support some of those costs.
On Saturday, 9th April 2022, the litter picking group were visited by Mayor of Thetford Councillor Mike Brindle and Chairman of Barnham Action Group Tim Lovejoy to celebrate the grant being awarded.
Councillor Jermy said; “The ability to stay after each session and have a chat over a cup of tea and something to eat adds a really important social element to the monthly litter picks. It gives people a chance to get to know one another better, building links between the volunteers. Often we can have quite a laugh about what we may have found during our session.”
The litterpicks began in April 2021 and take place monthly on the second Saturday of every month. The location alternates between meeting at the Charles Burrell Centre one month followed by the Meet Up Café at Canons Walk the following. The next session takes place on Saturday 14th May, from 10am at Meet Up Café. All equipment is provided but you residents are welcome to bring their own if they have it.
It is estimated that the group has so far removed more than 140 black bin bags worth of rubbish from around the Burrell Ward.
Councillor Harvey added; “I’d like to thank all those residents that have joined us over the past year. We have a regular group of people that attend but it is always nice to see new faces as well. Whilst we are out and about Terry and I regularly take photos of other ward issues as well and report these to the relevant authorities for action. It is amazing to see how much you can get done in a morning as we know it makes a big difference”.
Thetford Town Council’s small grants scheme provides grants of up to £300 for voluntary and community groups locally. The application form is fairly straightforward and can be found on the Council’s website: www.thetfordtowncouncil.gov.uk
