COULD a street cleaning action group be on the cards for Holsworthy?

Paul Crum, of Bude Rubbish Action Group (BRAG), said he is willing to help the town council get the ball rolling. Paul attended the full meeting of Holsworthy Town Council on September 4, to give a presentation about the work he has done in his home town of Bude, with a view to spread his group’s message and start something similar in Holsworthy.

Paul said: “I started about 18 months ago. The aim is to stop rubbish getting into our seas. Everyone gets together and cleans up the streets, old and young alike.

“There are several beach clean groups around, but the rubbish originates from the land. We try and catch it at the source before it makes its way to the beach.”

Paul said BRAG’s ethos is ‘education in the community’. He said: “That is a pillar on which to work from.”

Teaching the younger generation is at the forefront of Paul’s work through BRAG and he has helped a number of local schools in the Bude area set up their own initiatives to help curb the rubbish seen on the street.

He said: “I have come to tell you how you can spread the message and get people involved here. I know I wouldn’t go to a place a second time if it was littered with rubbish and I doubt you would either.

“There was once a lot in the news about Keep Britain Tidy, but that stopped and there has been a 30 year gap where education has been lacking — if we can teach people, especially young people, not to litter we can try to stop it.”

Cllr Nigel Keneally asked: “Have you spoken to Holsworthy schools yet?”

Paul said he hadn’t, but he was keen to speak with any youth groups in the area including schools, youth clubs and the Girlguides and Scouts, as examples.

Cllr Toby Johns said, as a school governor, he would be happy to help introduce Paul to members of staff at the local primary and secondary schools to kick start a conversation.

Cllr Johns said: “The school has heads of houses who have been running clubs around sustainability. They are quite keen on their renewable projects.”

Paul said he would be very grateful for an introduction. He believed it of paramount importance to encourage young people to think ‘I shouldn’t drop that’ or ‘I can just pick that up’ as they are the ones who can educate others in the future.

Town clerk Vanessa Saunders said she was very proud of the local children who have already shown a keen interest: “The youngsters who use the skateboard park have asked for a recycling bin to be placed in the park for them. They are probably between the age of ten and 15 and it’s great to see them being proactive and mindful of the environment.”

Paul was delighted to hear the young people of Holsworthy were already showing an interest.

Cllr Pete Shepherd asked if grant funding for the proposed project would be available.

Paul said he had previously applied to ‘Clean Cornwall’ for funding, which he used to purchase essential equipment like litter pickers, hi-vis vests and bags as well as paying for insurance.

He said the funding is out there and it had helped having contacts on Cornwall Council. He said if he were to help Holsworthy set up a group it would be beneficial to have contacts at Torridge District Council.

Mrs Saunders said the council had their own set of litter pickers and vests which might be a good start: “Torridge District Council have also offered us one of those street clean boards that allows members of the public to take a bag and a picker, collect rubbish then return it.”

Paul said these were a good idea in premise but in his experience items often ‘go walkies’, but he said he would be willing to come back to Holsworthy in the future and help set up a group, similar in structure to BRAG, that could be run by local people with his initial guidance.

He was thanked by councillors who were keen to take him up on his offer and see if a group would be suitable in Holsworthy.