Applause for volunteers as waste shifted from Penn Fields
HEAPS of rubbish and abandoned belongings threatening to engulf a community were tackled by a troupe of volunteers.
Churchgoers made it their mission to spruce up the area and called on their neighbours to help battle the mounting piles of waste.
It was the second year the community clean-up, led by Wolverhampton’s Lea Road Community Church, took place in Penn Fields.
Reverend Dr Sue Walker said: “Penn Fields is an interesting and diverse area.
“The project was about encouraging everyone to collaborate to improve our physical environment.
“The way the community came together to make Penn Fields a cleaner and healthier place to live showed we can all make a contribution to this area, which we all share in common.”
Groups who united in the tidy-up included Roma people from Eastern Europe and Christians from the Lea Road church, as well as Hindus and Muslims who live in the area.
They cleared away abandoned settees, chairs, wardrobes, tables and mattresses, along with old bedding and ruined garden furniture.
One garden was also filled with shattered window frames, broken wooden fencing and rubble, Dr Walker revealed.
She said residents moving away from the area often leave rubbish behind, adding: “Our area has a particular problem with bulky rubbish which accumulates on the streets and in people’s gardens. This is partly due to incidences of fly-tipping.”
Firefighters joined the cause, taking their cadets along to help cart rubbish away in a skip and give streets a much-need sprinkle with the hose.
They were also met with rounds of applause from residents, who appeared from their homes when they spotted firefighters sprucing up the front of houses.
Dr Walker said the fire service and police officers did sterling work, adding: “This year there was more community involvement than ever before. It was humbling to see people coming together and working hard to improve the environment.”
The clean-up day took place in July after a team from the Black Country Near Neighbours hub helped bring different community groups together.
Near Neighbours director Paul Hackwood said: “These events are what we are about. We bring people together across their differences so that they can have a positive impact in their communities.
“We want neighbourhoods to be places where people feel safe and secure and where that security comes from the positive relationships they have with their neighbours. Communities that work together stay together.”
Residents, who hope to plan further neighbourhood projects, are set to unite again at for a community celebration at Lea Road Community Church at 6.30pm on December 14.
