IT'S?time for a clean-up! An increase in litter in Tavistock has sparked an initiative aimed at clearing up the area, beginning with the town's waterways.

Town resident John Warne recently contacted Tavistock Town Council to ask for support for a 'Tidy Tavy Day'.

Mr Warne said: 'Back in the 80s, when we had the Tavistock Civic Society and Tavistock Enhancement Group, we used to organise an annual Tidy Tavy Day on a Sunday afternoon — we could expect up to 100 caring citizens to meet at the Guildhall car park with their own brushes, dustpans, sticks for spiking litter etc, to work as a team to tidy areas of the town they felt needed attention.

'Sadly, these days there is no Tavistock Civic Society or Tavistock Enhancement Group to organise such a day, so I am willing to try to organise another at the earliest suitable date.'

Mr Warne said he recognised that these days, health and safety considerations had to be taken into account when organising such a venture.

'In the light of this, I am minded to focus now only on clearing litter out of the beds of the River Tavy and the particularly badly littered Tavistock Canal,' said Mr Warne.

'So, if there are enough public spirited people, including youth groups such as the Scouts and Guides, willing to join me at their own risk to help tidy these areas, I will gladly work towards organising a few hours on a Saturday or a Sunday to do that.'

Mr Warne said he would liaise with South West Water, which is responsible for the canal.

'We shall need to ensure that water flow is reduced in the canal to make our task less risky and easier and we will aim to clear the canal bed all the way from the Meadows to Crowndale.' 

Members of the town council's properties committee backed the proposal at their recent meeting — Cllr Ted Sherrell said it was 'a splendid idea' and Cllr John Sellis said it was the sort of initiative that the council should endorse.

The full council last week agreed to back the move, and support it by providing a vehicle and some manpower to take away the collected rubbish. The date for the tidy-up has yet to be arranged.

Anyone wishing to join Mr Warne in tidying the River Tavy or the Tavistock Canal should contact him by email at [email protected]">[email protected] He will respond with details of the arrangements being made.

l HEDGEROWS in the Tavistock area are to be the subject of a litter pick, which is due to be organised by the town's county councillor.

Cllr Debo Sellis said she 'loathed' litter and she was keen to see something done to clear hedgerows around the town.

Cllr Sellis told last week's meeting of Tavistock Town Council that in future, there would be less cutting of hedgerows by the county council, due to financial restrictions.

And she applauded the move by town resident John Warne, who is spearheading a 'Tidy Tavy Day' — starting with Tavistock Canal.

Cllr Sellis said she wanted to organise a litter pick, to take place before the hedgerows were next cut, so that any litter hidden beneath foliage would not be 'macerated'.

'I have invited Mr Warne and his "Wombles" to join us on that. It's about team-work and getting the community involved. The council does a really good job with litter and there are also a lot of volunteers around that will continue to do the good job they do off their own bat,' she said.