The City of London* has been re-crowned Britain’s Cleanest City (since winning in 2001) despite having virtually no litter bins in the streets.
The City beat off stiff challenges from Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Ely, Manchester,Truro and Westminster – to win the award.
The finale of the British Cleaning Council (BCC) run contest is taking place at 13.45 today. Special Chairman’s Awards are being awarded to Birmingham for a ‘Consistently High Standard’, Truro for ‘Continuing Good Performance’ and Bristol for ‘Judges’ Observations of Cleaner Diligence’.
Ruth Drysdale, Chief Judge, said: ” The streets in the City of London really have to be seen to be believed. Although it has less residents than other cities, it has a high volume of office workers who care about its appearance and the constant presence of street cleaners and sweepers keeps the streets sparkling.”
Since it began back in 1988, the biennial Cleanest City Competition has become one of Britain’s most prestigious awards. Open to all 66 UK cities, it is a keenly fought contest to find the community with the cleanest parks, gardens, streets and tourist spots.
The judges went on to praise the overall standards of the ten finalists. Peter Bird, Head of the Judging Panel, said: ” We really were impressed with parts of all the finalist cities. Indeed, the City of London excelled itself, not forgetting Birmingham, Bristol and Truro.”
Birmingham will be delighted at being recognised at the Awards for their continuing hard work having won the competition in 1995 and having won a Chairman’s Award the last time round.
Bristol will also be celebrating the receipt of a Chairman’s Award for the second time in a row. Their cleaners are being commended for their thorough commitment to cleanliness.
Truro has come up trumps again, having been awarded Best Small City in 2003. Their council’s efforts are being recognised considering the small budget they operate on.
Paul Pearce, BCC Chairman said: “All the surveys suggest that Britain is getting tidier and a lot of that is down to the professionalism of cleaners. That said, we still have a long way to go and if we want every city to look sparkling, businesses and the public in particular, need to play their part by using a bin.”
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* City of London applies to the financial district of London.