'Poover' joins fight against dog mess

SURVEYS asking residents about the things which bother them most in their areas often throw up the same answer – dog dirt.

But in Nottingham the problem will now be tackled by a specially-adapted motorcycle that uses a suction tube to remove dog mess from the street.

The 125cc Honda bike – nicknamed the "poover" by the city council – is just one of the new vehicles that will be used in a bid to make Nottingham the cleanest major city in 2011.

The machine, which Nottingham City Council hopes to have on the streets by the spring, works by spraying dog dirt with a jet of water to loosen it, before it is sucked with up a tube into a 25-litre storage container on the back of the bike.

Nottingham City Council is also restructuring its staff to create seven new City Service Neighbourhood Teams who will respond to local problems quickly and efficiently.

Their priorities will be set by tenants and residents groups and ward councillors, via a supervisor working in each of the 20 wards.

The newly created City Services unit brings together street cleansing, grounds maintenance and waste management to support city cleaning at a neighbourhood level.

Coun Katrina Bull, portfolio holder for environment and climate change at Nottingham City Council, said: "We are dedicated to becoming the cleanest major city in 2011 and this new way of working will help us achieve that goal.

"Cleaner and greener neighbourhoods is what local people care about and our new cleaning teams will be based in the neighbourhoods and will work closely with our Neighbourhood Management Teams to identify priorities across the area.

"There will be greater focus on neighbourhood cleaning and maintaining public spaces, along with community involvement in reporting [aspects] which bring the area down.

"We will closely work with agencies such as Notts Fire and Rescue Service, Notts Police and Nottingham City Homes to focus on [issues such as] litter on the streets, abandoned cars or antisocial behaviour.

"We hope the whole community, as well as businesses in the city, do their bit to help us become cleaner and greener."

The new fleet of vehicles will be displayed as part of an official launch of the new City Service Neighbourhood Teams on Monday, outside the city's Trent FM Arena.