SHOPKEEPERS are being encouraged to join in a big Okehampton clean-up on March 10 when the chamber of trade leads the way in smartening up the town.
Chamber member Donald Rooke and his crew will be hiring a steam cleaner to clean up some shop fronts as part of an ongoing maintenance programme for the town centre in conjunction with Okehampton Town Council.
To support the initiative, mayor Christine Marsh said she hoped all shopkeepers would take a look at their own premises and see what they could do to improve them.
'For example, they could check their downpipes for leakages and pull out any weeds that are making the shopfronts look untidy,' she said at a meeting of the chamber of trade last Thursday. 'A general tidy up would make a great difference to our town.'
Cllr Marsh is asking traders to contact her at the town hall if they feel there are maintenance jobs that need doing which could be the responsibility of West Devon Borough Council or Devon County Council.
'We cannot always expect the authorities to do things automatically — sometimes they are not always aware of it,' she said. 'If people want more litter bins, for instance, they should let me know.'
Chamber of trade chairman Ian Bailey agreed: 'If we are going to raise standards we do not want them to slip back — we need to keep the local authorities on their toes,' he said.
Litter bins have temporarily been removed from outside Kevin Coopers in Fore Street to be repainted in the town colours.