Kettering street given 'a bit of love' with huge clean-up

A Kettering street which needed cleaning has been cleared of dirt and grime after it was closed for a day to give it a ‘bit of love’.

Residents in Havelock Street had told councillors on the doorstep that the road needed scrubbing, leading to Cllr Emily Fedorowycz (Green, Clover Hill) to work with North Northamptonshire Council’s street cleansing team.

Local volunteers knocked on doors to ensure the road would be cleared of vehicles on Friday (April 8) when it was closed for a huge clean-up – and the transformation was remarkable.

The street was cleaned using heavy duty cleaning vehicles and a team of volunteers, who went ahead of the machines, scoured the edges of the pavements to clear dirt and grime.

Cllr Fedorowycz said: “For the past few years we’ve been trying to clean up Kettering with litter picks and there were certain streets that used to be worse than others with regards to litter.

"Havelock Street was one of those and seemed to need a fair bit of love - so that’s what we decided to give it.

“Seeing the street before and after was amazing. We had residents coming out of their houses just to stare at the street.

"No-one here had ever seen anything like this before, let alone the street being that free of cars! It was quite the spectacle. I’m so grateful to the amazing officers Wayne, Ben, Mike, Ian and Geoff for helping make this possible. We have such an amazing street cleansing team and I know the residents are so grateful for this.”

One council officer said he had never seen the street so clean in all his years of working for the local authority.

Cat Angieri, from Havelock Street’s famous Franks Pizzeria restaurant, also got involved. Volunteers and council workers joined the community for tea and biscuits after the clean-up, where there were free drinks and sweet treats on offer for those who had helped. There was also an Easter colouring competition for the children.

Cat said: “A big thank you to all those involved - Emily, her team and North Northants Council – for the Havelock Street clean. The area really needed it, and the efforts were very much appreciated by us all.”

Two volunteers, Eli and her mum Kristine, travelled from Corby to help at the clean-up as well as Wellingborough town councillor Marion Turner-Hawes who is part of the Wellingborough Eco Group.

Cllr Dez Dell (Green), who joined the operation along with fellow Green councillor James Towns, added: “It really was incredible to see Havelock Street so empty and the street cleansing team and volunteers did an amazing job. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’d eat my dinner off it, but it was pretty close!

"All the hard work Emily has put into organising this is really impressive. I hope it’s appreciated and that we can roll this out to other neighbouring streets.”