SWINDON town centre will be given a thorough spring clean next week.

An army of volunteers will pick up litter, wash street furniture, remove graffiti and tend to planters across five days of community activity.

The Keep it Clean campaign begins at 8.30am on Monday. It is hosted by inSwindon BID and supported by the Clean and Well-Maintained working group, which includes representatives from The Brunel shopping centre, McDonald's, Metro Bank, Artsite and Swindon Borough Council.

The operation will focus on different areas of the town centre each day – see map in top right of this page – ensuring the whole business improvement district is covered.

Di Powell, chief executive of inSwindon BID, said: “We’re delighted by the positive level of support we’ve had for the Keep it Clean campaign and look forward to seeing many volunteers join us for our spring clean next week.

“There’s still time to get yourselves signed up, so get in touch with us if you want to be part of a fantastic community project.

“Working in partnership with Swindon Borough Council, we already maintain a clean and tidy town centre to ensure its as welcoming as possible to our visitors

“We want to enhance what we already do by raising the awareness through initiatives such as the Keep it Clean campaign, which falls under our Clean and Well-Maintained business focus for the town centre.

“It’s by working with our partners that we’re able run these campaigns and continue to improve the perception of the town centre.”

The key objective of the BID’s working group is to improve the look and feel of the public space, including bins, trees, plant life, flooring and empty units throughout the area.

The arrival of the BID’s new ‘gum buster’ has boosted the projec. A programme of chewing gum removal will be delivered on a three-week rolling rota by the BID, The Brunel and The Parade.

Rob Faulkner, site facilities manager of The Brunel shopping centre and chair of the Clean and Well-Maintained working group, said: “This is a real community effort to show what more can be done to support the appearance of our town centre.

“The Keep it Clean campaign is not only a ‘tidy up’, its an educational process to show how easy we can all make a difference in the upkeep of the town centre.”

The spring clean takes place from Monday to Friday.

The timings are Monday 8.30-10.30am (meet McDonald’s), Tuesday 8.30-10.30am (meet McDonald’s), Wednesday 11.30am-1.30pm (meet McDonald’s), Thursday 2.30-4.30pm (meet McDonald’s) and Friday 9.30-11.30am (meet Theatre Square).

There is still the opportunity to sign up and get involved. Anyone wishing to o so should email info@inswindon.com or call Rachael on 01793 485523.