Action on litter in two of Exeter's parks

Exeter City Council and Exeter College are joining forces in an effort to combat the problem of littering in Northernhay Gardens and Bury Meadows Park.

The council and the college have been tackling the issue which they believe is caused by a small minority of young people who fail to behave responsibly.

Council staff regularly engage with people using the parks, asking them to put their rubbish in the bins provided.

The college already stresses in its induction programme the responsibility its students have to the wider community, and follows this message up at regular intervals. However,  both the council and college recognise that a minority of young people continue to ignore this message, to the annoyance of local residents and other parks users.

Now it has been decided to operate joint patrols of council and college staff aimed at identifying precisely who is causing these problems.

If the situation doesn't improve there will then be formal action involving council enforcement staff and the police, with details of offenders being shared with the college, so that if their students are involved, they can take suitable disciplinary action on top of the fines imposed for littering.

Cllr Keith Owen, Lead Councillor for the Environment, Health and Wellbeing, said: "I am very pleased that Exeter College has agreed to work with us in this way to help tackle this problem. Exeter is a beautiful city and we wish to do all we can to keep it that way."