Under the Royal Borough's 'Love Plumstead, Hate Litter' banner, the streets have seen pavements jet washed, shop fronts spruced up and a major crackdown on all forms of enviro-crime.

Proud of where we live

Residents and businesses are doing their bit for the campaign which aims to build upon the civic pride and community spirit in Plumstead to revitalise the area and boost its economy.

Given the success of the action, which is to continue, the Council is rolling out the campaign to Woolwich, Greenwich, Eltham and Abbey Wood so its other high streets can benefit from similar measures.

Clearing waste and catching fly-tippers

As part of Plumstead Task Force 489 tonnes of waste has been cleared from fly-tips around Plumstead High Street between April 2016 and October this year. In a bid to reduce fly-tipping businesses have been reminded their waste must be removed by a licensed carrier.

So far this year:

• 87 inspections have been carried out at businesses
• 34 environmental notices have been issued
• six £400 on-the-spot fines have been given
• 63 fixed penalty notices have been issued for offences including fly-tipping, littering and failing to provide correct documentation.

Under the on-going Operation Stop It action Council and Police officers have been pulling over drivers to net unlicensed and untaxed vehicles and those suspected of being used for fly-tipping.

Keeping the streets and shop fronts clean

A total of 47 community protection notices have been served to get owners to tidy up rubbish-strewn front gardens or rid privately owned land of debris and graffiti. Breaching a notice is a criminal offence which carries a maximum fine of £2,500 for individuals or £20,000 for groups.

The Council has introduced stringent street cleaning and rubbish removal regimes and regular deep cleans with a high powered jet washing machine. Businesses have been working with the Council to spruce up their shop fronts and remove large amounts of untidy signage. Where required, enforcement notices have been served to ensure compliance.

All high streets to benefit from similar measures

Councillor Denise Hyland, the Leader of the Council, said: "It's great to see all the hard work by residents, businesses and the Council's targeted work making a difference in Plumstead High Street. Due to the success of this campaign we have begun to roll it out to all our high streets so they can all benefit from similar measures.

"We want to work with residents and businesses to make all our town centres cleaner and tidier so they can be places people can really feel proud of and enjoy spending time in."

Help by disposing of your rubbish responsibly

Councillor Jackie Smith, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Environment, said: "We are pledging to do all we can to keep our high streets clean and rubbish free and we hope everyone will play their part as well. People can help by always binning their litter and ensuring their waste is disposed of responsibly.

We are also urging people to report any rogue landlords of overcrowded homes as these can be a source of overflowing bins and fly tipping."

Councillor Sizwe James, Cabinet Member for Transport, Economy and Smart Cities, said:  "We have some fantastic businesses in Plumstead High Street and we want to do everything to support them to help them thrive.

"We want to make sure they benefit from the major regeneration of the area including our scheme to transform the listed Plumstead Library into a multi-functional library, leisure, culture and sports centre."

The Love Woolwich, Don't Litter campaign is to be fully launched in January with signs reminding people to bin their litter. Many businesses have already backed the campaign and pledged to up their efforts to encourage their customers to bin their litter responsibly and keep their premises clean and tidy.