BRISTOL’S CLEANSING HAILED NATIONALLY AS A SHINING EXAMPLE

Wednesday, 24th March 2010

Visitors to Bristol have always been drawn to the city for the picturesque Georgian streets of Clifton, the iconic suspension bridge and world-renowned zoo. Whilst these attractions remain key to the city’s tourism industry, shopping has now been added to the top of the list.

But it’s not just the addition of Harvey Nichols and the long awaited arrival of Primark that has seen Bristol become a complete retail destination serving thousands of visitors and locals every week.

Looking beyond the inviting shop windows and hordes of busy shoppers, the not-so- glamorous area of cleansing has received a considerable amount of investment ensuring a pleasant experience is had by all. This focus on cleansing is now receiving national recognition and other UK cities are looking to Bristol as a shining example.

Just recently a visiting party of senior people from major cities in the UK and Ireland attending an event organised by the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) experienced this transformation first-hand and are now taking a different opinion of Broadmead and Bristol back to their cities, sharing some of the working practices that have served the city so well.

As a leading retail, leisure and cultural destination Bristol was host to the ATCM meeting of key cities to discuss how to promote the vitality and viability of town centres, to share ideas and best practice. The visit included a tour of the city to see for themselves the major improvements over the last decade.

Martin Blackwell, Development Director ATCM, said: “I travel extensively throughout Europe and have seen hundreds of town centres. The standards of cleanliness in Bristol were extremely high indeed. I was struck by the lack of graffiti and when repairs have been needed they fit seamlessly into the existing environment. It really makes a big difference overall.”

Jenny Inglis, City Centre Director for Birmingham, which was awarded the Cleanest City in 2008 and 5 Star Standard for 2009, added: “I was amazed at the recent changes in Bristol, particularly Broadmead, Cabot Circus and Harbourside areas.
“The whole city looked extremely clean; a marked improvement from a few years ago. It is definitely on my list for a short break.”

Cath Follin, Head of City Centre and Markets for Leeds City Council, said: “The quality of the public realm and Broadmead is outstanding, the cleanliness in particular was really impressive. There really is a seamless link between Cabot Circus and Broadmead.”

This step change in cleansing standards did not happen overnight. Long before the shop doors of Cabot Circus were opened for the first time in September 2008, the management team and retailers in Broadmead acknowledged that much needed to happen to ensure Broadmead was not seen as a poor relation to the new development and the whole city was ready for the influx of new visitors.

Back in 2005 retailers in Broadmead voted YES for the first Business Improvement District (BID) in the city which unlocked the necessary funds to dramatically improve the shopping environment. £11 million has been spent since the successful vote transforming the street scene.

By matching the new benchmark set by Cabot Circus, Broadmead’s streets would blend in with the new shopping area helping to create one fantastic retail destination in the centre of Bristol. This would in turn encourage visitors to enjoy the superior shopping experience provided by the combined forces of Broadmead, The Mall Bristol and Cabot Circus.

Hot on the heels of the success of the first BID (which exceeded everyone’s expectations), was a second successful BID campaign which will run from 2008 – 2013 and provide the resources to continue to improve and maintain the standards of cleanliness now found in Broadmead.

Jo Hawkins Broadmead’s Project Manager, said: “Standards of cleanliness in Broadmead have improved significantly. It is our responsibility to make sure we take advantage of our success so far and continue to develop a seamless link between Broadmead, The Mall Bristol, Cabot Circus and the whole central area of our city.

“The challenge we face is whilst visitor numbers increase we must maintain a clean, safe, accessible and inviting environment.”

Jo continues: “To safeguard our initial investment we have implemented additional services dedicated to keeping the upgraded street scene in peak condition.”

SITA UK’s Colin Owen heads up a cleansing team that provides Broadmead and the city centre with a range of services to maintain the high standards.

Colin says, “Street cleansing typically starts at 4am in the morning and doesn’t stop until 9pm. With shoppers being attracted to the wide range of retail units there is no let up on the cleansing front, the job requires constant and close attention seven days a week.”

Over 20 people work tirelessly as part of the SITA team so that when the city wakes, all evidence of the day and night before has already been efficiently cleared away. Dedicated individuals carry out a comprehensive schedule of activity that includes hands-on sweeping, cleaning and washing as well as the use of specialist equipment.

Throughout the day, litter is swept from the pedestrianised areas using brooms and operator controlled sweeping machines. The streets and furniture are washed with bins not only cleaned but deodorized and sanitized.

Retailers are encouraged to contact the SITA cleansing manager directly when graffiti is noticed, so that the jet wash team can attend to it as quickly as possible. The team also regularly deploys a machine to tackle chewing gum. Receptacles for plastic, cans and glass bottles are emptied regularly by the team and the contents taken away for recycling. SITA also offers a service to businesses requiring a trade waste service.

Councillor Gary Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety, said: “Bristol has so much to offer as a destination and we must continue to promote it at every opportunity. By managing and marketing the city we can drive the visitor economy forward and ensure a consistent first-rate experience for all visitors and our residents.

“Cleanliness is an important factor and our standards are set at a high level. We are delighted that visitors are noticing a major improvement and we look forward to maintaining and further improving our high standards in the future.”