Great British Spring Clean in Westmill, Grange and Jackmans neighbourhoods

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Settle colleagues wearing high‑visibility vests take part in a community litter pick.

Over the last two weeks, we’ve been out across three of our largest neighbourhoods – the Grange and Jackmans in Letchworth, and Westmill in Hitchin, taking part in the Great British Spring Clean, a national campaign led by Keep Britain Tidy.

This came directly from conversations we’ve had with residents through previous Big Door Knocks and the priorities set out in neighbourhood plans. Residents told us that clean, well cared-for shared spaces matter to them and that they’d like to see more opportunities to come together and take pride in where they live.

In response to this feedback, Settle’s Community Investment Coordinator, Nicola Price and Neighbourhood Team organised the events, helping create cleaner, safer and more welcoming environments across our communities. You can find out more about how resident feedback shapes neighbourhood plans on the Neighbourhood Plans page on Settle Connect.

Across the three neighbourhoods, more than 140 people joined in, including residents, colleagues, local partners, schools and community groups.

A special thank you to everyone who took part, including SettleParadigm colleagues, Nicola Ewen (Acting CEO at Settle Paradigm), Branching Out Tree and Garden Services, local councillors Sean Prendergast and Nigel Mason, community representative Mary Marshall, and staff and children from Years 3 and 6 at Garden City Academy in Letchworth.

Image 1: Partners from Branching Out litter‑picking on a local path in Westmill. Image 2: Settle team litter picking in Jackmans neighbourhood wearing-high vis jackets. Image 3: “Cllr Nigel Mason litter‑picking in the Westmill neighbourhood.”
Colleagues were joined by partners from Branching Out (far left) and Cllr Nigel Mason from North Herts Council (far right) to support the events across Westmill, Jackmans and Grange neighbourhoods.

Together, volunteers helped to:

  • Litter pick across green spaces and walkways
  • Sweep and tidy communal outdoor areas
  • Clean shared bin areas and pathways
  • Support the estates team in disposing of fly‑tipped waste

In total, 91 bags of rubbish were collected across the three neighbourhoods.

Nicola Ewen, Acting CEO at Settle Paradigm, said:

It was a pleasure to join colleagues and partners in Jackmans as part of the Spring Clean events. A huge thank you to everyone involved for helping to make such a visible difference. These events were shaped by resident feedback and reflect our commitment to investing in communities and creating places where people feel proud to live.

Image 1 (left): Nicola Ewen, acting CEO litter‑picking in a local green space in Jackmans. Image 2 (middle): A Settle operative standing in front of a vehicle containing fly-tipped item items that have been collected during the events. Image 3 (right): Neighbourhoods Team with bin bags of litter collected.
Pictured (from left) are Nicola Ewen, Acting CEO at Settle Paradigm, taking part in the litter pick, a Settle operative collecting fly‑tipped waste, and colleagues from Settle’s Neighbourhood Team with bags of litter collected during the Spring Clean.

Although The Great British Spring Clean is over, our commitment to improving the neighbourhoods in which we work continues. Nicola Price, Settle Community Investment Coordinator, shared:

It’s been great to act on what residents told us and play a part in making those improvements happen. We’ll keep acting on resident feedback, with more Neighbourhood Action Weeks taking place throughout the year and we’d love to see more residents getting involved.

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