Sheffield businesses 'BID' to rid city centre of litter and graffiti

A six-week long campaign will once again be held in Sheffield city centre to rid the area of litter and graffiti.
Diane Jarvis, Sheffield BID manager.Diane Jarvis, Sheffield BID manager.
Diane Jarvis, Sheffield BID manager.

The project, funded by Sheffield Business Improvement District (BID) will tackle graffiti on privately-owned commercial properties free of charge, in the hope of making the city centre a cleaner place to live, work and play in.

It will launch with a day of cleaning on Friday, March 2, led by BID's Street Rangers, who clean up the mess left in the city centre by late-night revellers in the early hours of each morning.

The wall after cleaning.The wall after cleaning.
The wall after cleaning.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Diane Jarvis, Sheffield BID manager, said: "Making Sheffield city centre cleaner is one of the BID's five core objectives. By removing unwelcome graffiti, we hope to make Sheffield a more attractive place to spend time and show our best side to the city's visitors.

"Throughout the campaign, the BID is offering a free graffiti removal service to privately owned, commercial property, free of charge. We hope that those businesses that are eligible take advantage of our service, to make Sheffield city centre cleaner for all."

As well as graffiti removal, BID also carries out security and lighting reviews in the city centre, subsidises anti-graffiti coatings and organises crime prevention visits to help clamp down on the issue.

Tom Holmes, head of branch at John Lewis, said its Barkers Pool store was often targeted by graffiti vandals.

Graffiti on a wall on Arundel Street.Graffiti on a wall on Arundel Street.
Graffiti on a wall on Arundel Street.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: "We regularly use Sheffield BID's Clean Team to have graffiti removed from the outside of our store. The clean team is professional, efficient and provides a vital service that helps keep the exterior of John Lewis clean - not only for our customers, but for all shoppers in the city centre.

"We urge other businesses to take advantage of this fantastic service during the BID Spring Clean to help clean up Sheffield city centre and make it a place we can all be proud of."

Landlords and tenants of private commercial properties in the city centre affected by graffiti can contact Sheffield BID on [email protected].

If you would like to volunteer for the clean-up event on March 2 email [email protected].

The wall after cleaning.The wall after cleaning.
The wall after cleaning.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Star is also calling for people to get involved in the Keep Britain Tidy Great British Spring Clean event on Saturday, March 3, organised by Sheffield Litter Pickers, as part of its Clean Up Sheffield campaign.

People are asked to meet at the Clocktower Pavilion, S5 6WS at 1pm and the group has 100 litter grabbers which will be provided to those who need them.

Linda Ball, of Sheffield Litter Pickers, said they had also now secured the support of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association Yorkshire group, who will be helping out on the day.

Anyone who is interested in joining the group or getting involved in the event should search Sheffield Litter Pickers on Facebook.