Tuesday (15 March) saw Thurrock Council's Community Engagement officers joined by the Leader of the Council, Cllr Rob Gledhill, community groups, local services and business owners to tackle fly-posting in Grays town centre.
'Operation Abbey' saw the groups carry out a one-off clean-up morning of action. This helped to remove graffiti, fly-posters and stickers stuck to shopfronts in Grays High Street whilst working with business owners to inform them of how they can tackle anti-social behaviour. 17 businesses agreed to join the operation in advance, including S C Barbers, Poundcity, Lulu Cakes and Feast.
Cllr Gledhill, said: "It may seem trivial but flyposting either in poster or sticker form makes an area look unkempt and gives the impression no one cares.
"There has been an increase in the number of local offences recently, with shops and other premises targeted overnight by people fly-posting stickers without consent or permission. Over the years these have built up to be unsightly, bring the area down and even impact on our excellent Keep Britain tidy scores.
"Thurrock Council officers have been working with shop owners to outline they have the responsibility to remove these stickers now their shop fronts are cleaned. Before removing the stickers evidence will be taken to help the council prosecute the companies or individuals responsible for the offence. Fines can be up to £150."
Cllr Gledhill added, "On the whole, those involved in the clean-up operation used inexpensive household equipment readily available in high street stores and it took only minutes to remove years of stickers from the street. All business owners are now aware that they will need to continue to keep the shutters clear and will be provided with an after-care letter advising on how they can report future offences.
"I'd like to thank everyone who offered up their free time on the day to not only tackle these issues and help make our high street clean once more. It was great to hear feed back from residents on the day that it was long overdue and made a difference to the look of the High Street. If this turns into a success the project will be rolled out across the borough to help improve all shopping areas and send the message out that Thurrock has no place for fly posting.”
