Dear Sir,
Great Aycliffe Tidy Team have been operating for two years now. The first litter pick was on 9th of March 2021. Seven of the original people are still regular litter pickers we have attracted new people to the team.
The Team have made a big difference around the Town. It is sad to say, that we can clear some areas and, within a few days, household rubbish appears again. When we pull objects out of the ‘Burn’, we can see Minnows and Sticklebacks swimming about, the ‘Burn’ is certainly not polluted. One task we performed when the stream was very dry, on the 27th of July 2022, during a very hot spell, was to pull rubbish from the stream bed. We found soft furniture which must have been there for years. The furniture had become part of the stream bank, with strong roots growing into it. Another task that we have performed was cutting back low hanging branches, on the Great Aycliffe Way and around the Byerley Park Nature Reserve. Low branches can be a hazard to mobility scooter users, and Cyclists.
Some of the good points of the year were planting 150 primroses, in Byerley Park Nature Reserve. Then some of the Team went to a talk about Wild Flower Meadows growing in Newton Aycliffe. During a very hot day, in August 2022, we were busy tiding up hedgerows near to Cobblers Hall, when a lady driving a blue Nissan stopped to give us ice creams, thank you Madam. During February 2023, in West Park, a gentleman from Thames Butchers provided us with hot bacon sandwiches, thank you Sir.
Often I have to report fly tipping to Durham County Council, again, thank you to the Council Workers for removing the rubbish. I would also like to thank the individual litter pickers that we see and also the Town Council staff, for removing the rubbish which we find.
Ian Gray (GATT)