A proud team of residents has shown its love for Thetford by removing unsightly weeds growing out of pavements – but members have urged council workers to clean up the mess which, they say, is blighting their beloved home town.
Jane Varanand said now is the time for people to be taking pride in Norfolk’s fourth largest settlement – especially as the area is growing, about to benefit from the dualling of the A11 and recently won a silver gilt at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show for a community show garden.
But she believes weeds and rubbish on the pavements in areas such as King Street, Minstergate and the Riverside makes the area – wrongly – look unloved.
So she decided to get a team of volunteers together to do something about it.
To date, eight or nine people have been collecting several bags full of rubbish, getting on their hands and knees to pick weeds and clear up litter for hours at a time.
But Mrs Varanand, of Abbey Green, Thetford, said: “We have to make it clear that dear old Thetford is once again lagging behind in basic sanitation of the area.” She called on the relevant council authorities to act, adding: “If Thetford was swept properly, the weeds wouldn’t have anywhere to root.”
A Norfolk County Council spokesman said highways engineers had been spraying the weeds on the public highways in Thetford this week.
“The treatment being used is the most effective that we have available but usually takes two to three weeks for the chemicals in the weedkiller to work and the final results to be seen.”
However Corinne Fulford, chairman of Thetford Town Council’s amenities committee, said she had been “frustrated by the lack of progress” over the past year.
“We have a lot of visitors here and the festival has just been and gone,” she said.
“Every time you look out the town centre is completely strewn with weeds. It makes it look like it is unloved.”
People can report problems with weeds by visiting online.norfolk.gov.uk/highways
What do you think of the weeds in and around Thetford town centre? Write, giving your full contact details, to reporter Andrew Papworth by emailing andrew.papworth@archant.co.uk
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