A 12-month project to help clean up neighbourhoods using a one-off £950,000 investment has been launched across Bath and North East Somerset.

Residents in Keynsham have been the first to benefit from Bath & North East Somerset Council's Clean and Green campaign which includes a boosted graffiti removal service and increased routine street cleansing.

Kelston Road Park was one of the first locations to have graffiti removal work carried out recently when the team removed tags from the noticeboard.

Free graffiti removal is now offered for domestic properties and commercial properties can request a quote from the service.

Part of the Clean and Green funding has also been used to recruit an additional officer to help respond to an increase in demand for graffiti removal and to equip a new truck with the necessary equipment.

The campaign will also provide a new response team working across parks, cleansing and highways service areas to respond to problems with overhanging vegetation and sign cleaning.

A new Clean and Green team will work with community volunteer groups and local councillors to tackle problem areas and organise community action days.

The £950,000 investment was approved by the council as part of its 2022/23 budget.

Councillor David Wood, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, joined the graffiti removal work on site in Keynsham to see the process first-hand. He said: "It's great to see how the team operates in real time and the work they do to keep our area clean. We are working hard to spruce up our neighbourhoods so that we can all enjoy them and instil some pride in our area. The extra funding will help our dedicated team to carry out their work efficiently, but we are really hoping to encourage residents to play their part and get involved either by using Fix My Street to report a problem or by joining a community action day."

To arrange graffiti removal, residents and business owners can complete the new online form. Graffiti in public places can be reported using Fix My Street.

Clean and Green funding is also being used to invest in additional staff and equipment to carry out the regular maintenance of street plants and weeds. The council is no longer using the chemical weedkiller glyphosate for regular maintenance, means more labour-intensive manual and mechanical weed removal is necessary.

To help community volunteers carry out weed removal in their local area the No Place for Litter hubs across B&NES have been given hoes, brushes and shovels which people can borrow.

If you would like to borrow any equipment, contact your nearest #NoPlaceForLitter hub at least two to three weeks ahead of the required date. They can make sure the equipment is available and arrange a time for you to collect.

There are #NoPlaceForLitter hubs in Keynsham, Bath, Radstock and Chew Magna. Each can arrange the loan of the tools and litter pickers. You can find out more on the council website.

If you're a community organisation and would like to become a local hub for community weed removal equipment, please email [email protected].

The council has also been carrying out additional cleaning of gullies as part of the campaign. Clearing away any litter, leaves and silt from rainwater helps to ensure that surface water from the road will run off through the highway drains, reducing the risk of flooding or damage to the road and paved areas.