Streetscape is a service run by Congleton Town Council (CTC) to maintain some of the outside spaces in Congleton. It is a Cheshire East Council (CEC) service which has been devolved to Congleton and enhanced by the Town Council. The other towns of Cheshire East have their service provided directly by CEC. Congleton’s Streetscape service has received good feedback from the townspeople and the team are very proud of their town. CEC still pays CTC for the Streetscape service. Streetscape does not maintain ALL of the outside environment in Congleton, some of this is the responsibility of other organisations, such as CEC itself. The Streetscape team have published a map showing ‘who maintains what’ to help people in Congleton direct their questions to the right person.
Enlarge and download the map here: Congleton Ownership and Maintenance Map
What Services does Streetscape provide?
The services covered by the Streetscape team are:
- General maintenance and grass cutting around the town.
- Minor tree maintenance.
- Hedge Cutting.
- Shrub Pruning.
- Some of the public gardens such as Antrobus St and Moody St gardens.
- Summer and Winter planting in Congleton Park and on Mountbatten Way.
- Maintaining the roundabouts at traffic intersections.
- Planting, maintaining and cleansing Congleton’s 11 play parks. This is a joint effort with CEC.
- Supplying, planting and maintaining the hanging baskets for the businesses and shops – who pay Streetscape for their own baskets – 259 of them!
- Maintaining the ‘carpet bed’ in the park with celebration displays using small flowers and plants.
- Maintaining the Paddling Pool site.
- Maintenance of the Parks’ Bowling Green.
- Emptying on average 160 litter bins a day, also litter picks around the town (including potentially dangerous items like hypodermic needles – which are also reported to the police).
- Maintaining Town Notice boards and ‘Welcome to Congleton’ signs and plants.
- Restoring street furniture such as benches etc. Many of these are not owned by CTC but we maintain them anyway.
However, the following grounds works are completed by CEC:
- Hard Landscaping e.g: maintaining paths, fences, benches and gates in the Park.
- Major tree works.
- Maintenance of sports pitches (football & rugby).
Street cleansing and Grounds Maintenance
We aim to keep Congleton as free from litter and graffiti as practicably possible. We vary the frequency that we clean the streets in different areas due to a range of local factors, including pedestrian, traffic and commercial activity.
Cheshire East can issue fixed penalty notices of £80 for dog fouling and littering. You can help to improve your local environment by taking responsibility for our own litter and disposing of it in the appropriate manner.
Cheshire East and Congleton Town Council aim to:
- Empty town centre litter bins daily and all other litter and dog bins on at least a weekly basis
- Cleanse town centre areas daily and cleanse all other areas on a schedule.
- Attend to fly tipped waste within 24 working hours of a report being received (for waste that can be removed in less than 1 hour, larger deposits may require additional equipment)
- Remove offensive graffiti on council land within 48 working hours
- Remove fly posters on council land within 2 weeks
We maintain the grounds in parks, play areas and open spaces.
This includes:
- Grass cutting
- Small tree maintenance
- Hedge cutting
- Shrub pruning
- maintaining play ground equipment jointly with ANSA Environmental Services
- Flower bed displays
Grounds Maintenance and Cleansing Calendar
Streetscape services are performed in accordance with a yearly schedule. To view the full calendar year of works, see:
Please note: this is an estimate calendar of works for Streetscape which the team aim to work against. However, some things are out of the team’s control, which may delay or bring forward jobs, for example, weather, staff sickness, machinery issues.
Council owned trees
Trees on Borough Council land are managed by various departments within the Borough Council. To report a problem with a tree please use the links below.
Highway
If you wish to report a problem with a tree or hedge that is located on the highway (within the road, footpath or roadside grass verge) contact Highways Service Information Centre.
Parks, recreation and open spaces
If the tree is in a public park, open space or area of formal play email the Environmental Operations Team.
How Cheshire East Council look after our roadside hedges and trees
They aim to cut the Congleton council owned hedges once a year, usually in October. This means they avoid the bird nesting season, which runs from March to September. They might have to delay any work, for example if there is bad weather.
Cheshire East do not carry out routine maintenance to any Council owned trees. They will only take action if the tree is dead, diseased dying, damaging property, blocking signs or lamp columns.
How well does Streetscape perform?
Streetscape has a good reputation for its service levels and quality of work. CTC receives many comments throughout the year from residents to compliment the flowers and plants around the town, from the Park to the roundabouts and the baskets, and about the tidiness of the town. Streetscape contributes to Congleton’s excellent performance and reputation with the North West and Britain in Bloom competitions.
In addition, Streetscape is contracted to perform services outside its immediate remit, for example:
- Litter picking services and tidying such as leaf-clearing in other Cheshire East towns.
- Maintaining the verges and outdoor environment on new housing estates.
- Care home grounds maintenance.
These external contracts provide income for CTC. The team has not to date sought these contracts proactively, but has acquired them by word-of-mouth referrals. For example, a new homes developer asked ‘who maintains the roundabouts in Congleton? – we want them to come and maintain our development’.
What about Sustainability?
A Green Action Plan has been developed for the Streetscape team which involves identifying and implementing environmentally friendly practices and initiatives aimed at reducing the team’s carbon footprint and promoting sustainability in their operations. View the working document here:
For further information on sustainability and the environment, please see Outdoor Environment.
How can I contact Streetscape?
If you would like to report a problem, please complete the form below. If you have any questions or comments, you can contact our Streetscape Development Manager Ruth Burgess, Tel: 01260 270350.
What is next for Streetscape?
We are reviewing the service for the future. Should we be accelerating perennial planting? How can we drive further sustainability whilst keeping the beautiful flowers that people love? Should we be working to get more external contracts and make Streetscape a profit centre for the town? How can we work even better with the community and with other organisations such as Friends of Congleton Park for the benefit of Congleton?
