Keep Swindon Tidy blogs

Bridgemead

26th June 2024

One of our biggest challenges yet. How did we deal with years of neglect at Bridgemead?

A pile of rubbish bags collected in the grounds of the Oasis, topped by an Oasis bottle

Oasis series

Our series of blogs on the Oasis documents the awful condition of the site and surrounding land, the excellent work that helped clean up the area, and the failure of the current privatised system to provide for the public and environment.

Part 1: Oasis to rubbish dump and back again, 15th March 2021.
From public to private and back again. How the Oasis went from vibrant community space to mismanaged dump and how the local community have stepped in to restore the space. Warning, obscene levels of rubbish!
Part 2: The importance of public open spaces, 1st May 2021.
Local open spaces campaigner Josie Lewis understands the importance of such spaces for our health and well-being. That includes litter / pollution.
Part 3: Slide away... into decrepitude, 17th June 2021.
Who cares to maintain the Oasis and its grounds? It's not the borough council or Seven Capital. Despite both being informed of issues with litter, neither has taken responsibility and nothing has changed.
Part 4: Neglect, 26th July 2021.
Describes the clear neglect of Seven Capital, the leaseholder of the Oasis. They have contravened the terms of the lease by failing to look after the building and grounds despite being informed of the terrible state that they're in.
Part 5: Care for the Oasis a mirage, 18th September 2021.
Empty words, a broken contract and abysmal public service. The Oasis continues to be treated like a dump. Public scrutiny is required to understand how the interests of a private equity firm have come before the public's.
Part 6: Oasis desecrated, 18th February 2022.
Neglect of the Oasis site by the public, borough council, and Seven Capital continues. It's in an awful state. Instead of being looked after, trees and other greenery have been demolished. This at a time of ecological crisis.
Part 7: Open letter, 21st January 2023.
With consistent neglect from the supposed guardians of the Oasis, Swindon Borough Council and Seven Capital, we wrote an open letter to them both with the aspiration of cleaning up the site.
Part 8: Responsibility, 28th May 2023.
After a meeting with Seven Capital on the 1st March 2023, they have finally taken responsibiltiy for maintenance of the site, as stipulated by the lease. New bins and regular collections are in place. That has enabled a significant improvement in how the site is treated. It is much cleaner.
Part 9: Architects of austerity, 24th November 2023.
The awful situation in which the new Labour administration of the borough council find themselves emanates from deception and a corrupt national government. Hence we wrote to both local MPs to state the case and suggest remedies.

Gorse Hill Ecoheroes

6th January 2023

Gorse Hill Baptist Church Ecoheroes help Keep Swindon Tidy by making some great signs!

Blackberry Alley

30th July 2022

Over the years, we've cleaned the alleyway between Savernake Street and Hythe Road many times. Nothing was changing, so we decided on a more radical approach, deep cleaning, engaging with the local community, and instituting a variety of measures to encourage people to treat the space with more respect. It's working...

Sustainable travel event

30th July 2022

Keep Swindon Tidy were invited to take part in a litter pick as part of a sustainable travel event in Badbury Park. The day brings up many important issues such as sustainable travel, unsustainable housing development, and the damage caused by plastic in soil.

Rivermead series

A focused effort to clean Rivermead after years of flytipping and heavy littering, and introduce measures to stop it reoccurring.

Rivermead: cesspit to nature haven, 27th April 2022
We started cleaning the Rivermead site in January 2022 and are still there 4 months later. Heavy flytipping and toilet waste from lorry drivers have been prominent issues.
Rivermead: addressing the issues, 29th July July 2022
We work with West Swindon Parish Council to try and prevent the heavy littering and flytipping returning at Rivermead.

TK Maxx litter picks

28th July 2022

Heavy littering and flytipping over many years desecrated an area of woodland and spilled over into surrounding areas. Our work is to clean and transform the space.

Local Treasure

26th July 2022

Abdul Abbas is a refugee seeking asylum in the UK. Separated from his family and unable to work, he volunteers to help clean up Swindon town centre.

A sign reads, 'Canal Community Garden. Planted by the community for the community. Please help yourself and feel free to water the plants in dry weather.' The sign is erected in a raised flower bed with beans just starting to grow around poles.

Canal path series

Our series of blogs on the canal path, including Cambria Bridge, documents some of the ongoing work to improve the area.

Canal path transformation, 12th June 2021.
We regularly litter pick along the old canal path. How has a community project helped to keep this area tidier?
Cambria Bridge part 1: Poor waste facilitation continues, 27th June 2021.
After many years of rubbish being dumped at Cambria Bridge, a disgruntled resident took matters into his own hands. A lack of facilitation has been a key factor.
Cambria Bridge part 2: Waste facilitation, 22nd August 2021.
As some within the borough council point their finger in devolved responsibility, we point back. Adequate waste facilitation is required.
Cambria Bridge part 3: Litter magnets, 28th April 2022.
The roots of littering and a solution...
Cambria Bridge part 4: The simple life in bloom, 26th July 2022.
The activities of the new Cambria Bridge Community group, part of Growing South Swindon Community, are helping to further transform Cambria Bridge and the canal path.
Canal path mural, 17th February 2022.
"Our energy spreads and is shared across our landscape." How can a mural help to clean up an area?

Plastic tree guards

6th May 2022

Plastic tree guards are commonly littered and often not removed from trees. How do we avoid this?

A day at Shaw Ridge

29th April 2022

We spent the morning cleaning flytipping out of a beautiful area of woodland. Litter picking with Shaw Ridge Primary School in the afternoon.

Irresponsibility is a drain

10th September 2021

We regularly litter pick in areas close to the town centre. Have you ever looked in the drains?

Littered cigarettes on a path / grass verge

Death by cigarette butt

8th September 2021

Around 6.5 trillion cigarettes are bought each year around the world, 18 billion a day. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world. In England they constitute 68 per cent of all litter. Health impacts of smoking are now commonly understood. But how about the environmental impacts of cigarettes?