Harlow Council has launched a new Street Scene Priority Taskforce as part of its mission to ‘renew our neighbourhoods’ which is focussed on ‘tackling forgotten and neglected street clutter that chips away at the pride of our town’.
The new Street Scene Priority Taskforce – now a permanent feature under the council’s Building Harlow’s Future plan – is transforming neglected parts of the town by removing street clutter, damaged railings, old road signs, and forgotten debris.
Initially launched as a trial by HTS earlier this year, the team completed over 600 environmental clean-up jobs in just a few months. Now firmly established, the taskforce continues to make a visible impact on hundreds of streets and estates across Harlow.
The team's focus includes:
- Removing abandoned, rusted, broken or outdated signs and street furniture
- Clearing sandbags, traffic cones and signage frames from previous roadworks which have been left lying around on roadsides
- Clearing unauthorised for sale advertising and estate agent signs that blight the town
- Repairing or removing broken railings and bollards
- Straightening and refreshing damaged signs
- Tackling the little things that make a big difference to pride in the town
Launching the new Taskforce, Councillor Nicky Purse, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment, said:
“We are renewing our neighbourhoods – street by street, estate by estate. This taskforce is about restoring pride and delivering on our promise to renew every corner of our town. Residents told us they were fed up with damaged railings, old signs and neglected areas being left untouched – so we’ve taken action.
“By stepping in to fix even the jobs that normally fall outside our remit, we’re showing that Harlow won’t wait around – we’re building our future now.”
The Street Scene Priority Taskforce complements wider work to improve the look and feel of Harlow, including deep cleaning estates, removing graffiti, clearing litter, maintaining green spaces and transforming local infrastructure – all central to the council’s six missions to Build Harlow’s Future.