The volunteers cleaning up Corby's 'neglected' pathways, one street at a time
A group of Corby folk fed-up with the state of the town have taken on the job of weeding, cleaning, tidying and cutting back overgrown hedgerows because they say the area has been neglected by the council.
The Clean up Corby group have had enough of the town looking a mess and inaction by North Northamptonshire Council. So they’ve taken it upon themselves to get down on their hands and knees and do the work themselves.
They were spurred into action after a local resident fell on an overgrown pathway and hurt her head.
Big hearted-Lancashire lass Sylvia Parkes moved to Corby from her native Blackpool several years ago. Up north she regularly ran open kitchens for homeless people at the beach cafe where she worked.
After she moved to Northamptonshire she was keen to get stuck into volunteering again.
She said she was helping serving free community meals at The Phoenix in Beanfield Avenue when a woman fell over on an uneven kerb and slit her face.
“I heard what had happened and realised something’s got to change,” she said.
She put her head together with other local women in the voluntary sector including Leeanne Tutty and Susanne Cunningham from the Hazel Leys Happening Youth Club and they decided to begin cleaning up the streets themselves.
"We went and did Sheffield Walk and smashed it,” she said.
"We just realised we had to crack on and do it ourselves.
“Corby has an amazing community spirit and we are showing them how strong that is.
"But it’s not us that should be doing this. It’s the council. This has been neglected for years.”
She dismissed local political sniping on social media and said NNC executive councillors who posted pictures on social media of themselves tidying up Barnsley Square earlier this week had been ‘shamed into it.’
“I’m not political, I don’t vote,” she said.
"I saw that the council’s executive went out doing a clean-up this week and good for them. I’m glad they had time to weigh their rubbish. We don’t have the time or the resources to do that.
"The council needs a serious plan of action for our town and that plan should not include volunteers doing this.
"We’re paying for our own gloves, bags and equipment. We did ask the council for bags for the grass cuttings and they told us to just pile them up but then they’ll just blow everywhere again.
"The council are doing works that are very visible, that people can see, but all these side streets are getting left.
"These don’t matter until someone dies or is seriously injured. I don’t think they really care about these streets.
"Lots of the issues have been previously reported to the council on Fix My Street but then they don’t get fixed and the council claims they’ve been dealt with.”
Sylvia says that by cleaning up the common areas, locals are already beginning to take more pride in their streets which will hopefully stop them getting in such a mess again.
"We had an 84-year-old lady come out to help when we did Sedbergh Road,” she said.
"The trees were all overgrown and people were having to walk in the road. NNC came out to look at it but they said nothing’s wrong.
"People have lost pride in their areas and it’s the council’s job to set the bar so local people can keep on top of it.”
Sylvia has even been paying locals for electricity from her own pocket so volunteers can plug in borrowed strimmers to tidy up the grass.
Deputy mayor Susanne Cunningham has been volunteering in the town for years. Members of her Hazel Leys Happening Youth Club joined a clean-up earlier this week. She said: “We’ve got the kids here today in Selby Walk to help out. I remember when we we younger we had a scheme where we used to go out litter picking in Corby and we all got a t-shirt from the council.
"That’s all gone unfortunately and there’s nothing like that now.
"Part of the issue is that people can’t afford to pay for green bins so they’re emptying their clippings everywhere, then they go brown.”
Leeanne Tutty brought along young volunteers from S&L Rugby Club.
She said: “We’ve had so many volunteers coming down.
"It’s about teaching these young people to look after their environment so that it’s nicer for them and nicer for everyone.”
Jaq Tutty, 13, was out with his pals Jacob, Hayden and JJ to help weed Selby Walk. He said: “This is the first time I’ve volunteered. I just wanted to come out and help the community and make it a nicer place to live.”
David Erwin lives in Sedbergh Road. It was tackled by the volunteers earlier this week.
He said he has been weeding the footpath outside his house himself because it has not been done by the council for around three years.
"It just makes it dangerous for people walking past when there’s all weeds growing up through it," he said.
"It’s been three years at least and it makes the pavement so uneven. It’s awful. What the volunteers are doing is fantastic.”
If you want to volunteer you can visit the group’s Facebook page. They’re also appealing for tools, waste bags and gloves so they don’t have to spend their own money providing them. Anyone who can help should phone Sylvia on 07543 388566.
A council spokesman said: “The council provides a range of services to look after the local environment and residents can also report street cleansing issues via the council’s website. The authority takes firm action where necessary, including prosecutions.
“We welcome the work of these volunteers. The council offers support to voluntary groups to carry out litter picks, providing equipment, including litter pickers, sacks and high-visibility vests. We will pick up and dispose of the collected waste at a pre-arranged location.”