BASINGSTOKE and Deane Borough Council will become a member of the Keep Britain Tidy network in a bid to clean up the borough.

Keep Britain Tidy is an independent charity with three goals – to eliminate litter, end waste and improve places.

Cllr Jacky Tustain called on councillors to approve a motion that would see the council join the network, it was approved unanimously.

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She said: “We all accept that litter is a problem wherever there are people, some littering sadly is deliberate and some is unintentional.

“Tight budgets can mean limited resources and a need to continuously research and find smarter working practices and a need to raise awareness of the problems caused by litter.

“The Keep Britain Tidy network brings together organisations with a common goal, to make places better for everyone and it’s a proactive organisation.”

She went on to say belonging to the network has many benefits to making “Basingstoke better”.

Cllr Carolyn Wooldridge added: “Litter remains a problem in many areas of the borough despite tremendous ongoing efforts of our street cleansing teams.

“I am reminded of this every month and community litter picks when I am always astonished at just how much litter can be picked up in an hour because of the amount of litter around.

“I can only see benefits of supporting this network and making the borough a tidier place.”

The former leader of the council, Cllr Ken Rhatigan spoke for the first time since his resignation to show his support.

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He added: “We all I believe have a role to play in ensuring the surge of litter does not draw unsightly and unwanted mess in our borough.

“I think we can do more to make a difference in our communities, we need the young to educate the old because they are the ones who have given us the challenge in climate change, but we also need to get the old to educate the young because there was a time in this country where people would not drop litter.

“We should all get involved in tidying Britain and indeed tidying this borough.”

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