Dear Neighbours,

I am pleased to announce and invite you to take part in our community clean-up and spruce-up - based on your feedback - for Saturday 26th April 2014.

I have coordinated with Lambeth Council, who have a team that work with residents called Community Freshview.  http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/parking-transport-and-streets/street-and-road-maintenance/community-freshview-guide

They have been very cooperative and supportive of our initiative and have committed to providing the following:

• 2 skips - Friday drop off, Monday pick up  - one for green waste, one for other
• Tools for gardening and picking up waste
• Bags of woodchip for the gardens
• Waste bags
• 1 or 2 Wheels barrows
• Paint and brushes and cleaning fluids and rags
• Bucket and soapy for cleaning
• Some gloves for protection
• Brooms and brushes for sweeping up waste
• Some additional outside tables if needed
• Some refreshments

I think that if there are enough of us we could give our area a great facelift.

The areas that could be improved that I have identified, just suggestions - and welcome your input and feedback are:

•  Weeds, dead wood twigs and branches in and around the park area to be removed, especially around the perimeter
• Rubbish in the streets and park, some of which is quite long standing, to be removed
• The Gardens in the children's play ground could do with some weeding, trimming and relaying of woodchip between the plants
• The gardened areas at the end of Maplestead could also do with some care and maybe woodchip
• Weed the soiled areas under trees planted in streets, and add woodchip
• The area outside the shop on the end of Maplestead could do with a good sweep and some rubbish removal
• Some of the bollards have not been painted or could be touched up
• The entrance railings and posts to the park on the paved causeway could be repainted
• Maybe, if people are so inclined, a trim and tidy up of our own gardens fronts - no offence to be taken here, completely at owner/occupier discretion - but there is a skip for green waste to help.

Please put some time aside for this event if you can, I am sure when done, it will have been very worthwhile, something we can be proud of and a great way to muck in with our neighbours. If we want, we could even do it again...

I know some of you cannot be there for Saturday 26th because of work, but the skips at least will remain until Monday, so if you have some time and feel like doing a bit of cleaning or whatever on the Sunday,then I am sure that there will be more to do.

Please take a look at the flier I have put together. I plan on getting these printed off, thanks to those who volunteered to distribute, I will be in touch next weekend.  Some of you also volunteered to provide some snacks and refreshments - thank you very much, having a couple of tables where we can congregate and take refreshment will be one of the most important parts of the day - this is after all, an event by the community and for the community.

Now we just need good weather!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Kindest regards

Mark Dennis