From our historic town hall to our award-winning parks and green spaces, Barnsley is a beautiful place to live and visit.
Nearly everybody I speak to as a local MP shares my pride in the beauty of our borough. Barnsley folk are a proud bunch and we have a lot to be proud about.
Unfortunately, a small minority of people don’t seem to share this pride. I’m talking about litterers and fly-tippers, a selfish group of people who simply can’t be bothered to use bins and think that they can dump their rubbish wherever they like.
Not only is this selfish dumping of waste an eyesore, but it leads to vermin, pollution, and health risks. It also damages the sense of pride that many of us - rightly - have in our town.
Of course, littering and fly-tipping are not problems unique to Barnsley. They blight communities up and down the country. That’s why the Great British Spring Clean, a national campaign hosted by Keep Britain Tidy, will run between March 21 and April 6.
It’s an important initiative that gives people the opportunity to come together to keep Britain clean and green.
I’m aware that - on first thought - litter-picking might not seem like the most exciting way to spend a couple of hours. However, if you’re proud to be from Barnsley, and if you love to be outdoors, you might find yourself surprised by how much you enjoy it. In fact, if you’re like me, you might even find yourself reaching for the litter-picker again and again!
In 2023, alongside volunteers from the council and the Church of Nazarene, I organised a ‘Big Spring Clean’ to tidy up Sheffield Road and the surrounding area.
There was a great sense of camaraderie between everyone involved, and everyone was able to take pride in the fact that the area looked so much better after we had put the elbow grease in for a couple of hours.
Last year, many people across Barnsley got involved in the national Great British Spring Clean campaign. Over 480 bags of litter were collected across the borough in just two weeks by a small army of volunteers and council staff. That’s some achievement.
This year, the Great British Spring Clean returns to Barnsley. There are already 15 litter-picks planned across the borough - check out the council’s website for more details. All the necessary equipment will be provided to volunteers on the day, so all you have to do is turn up. You won’t regret it.
