Three hundred volunteers will help keep Brighton & Hove clean and tidy this Pride weekend as the council gears up for the city’s busiest celebration of the year.
With more than 300,000 residents and visitors expected to attend, Pride is well-established as one of the UK’s most-popular events, a city-wide celebration of our LGBTQ+ communities and a huge boost to the local economy.
The huge numbers of people taking part does, however, present a significant logistical challenge for Brighton & Hove City Council, which works with Pride organisers to keep the city looking its best throughout the weekend.
Pride organisers will co-ordinate the clean-up of Preston Park, Marine Parade and the parade route, with the council responsible for the rest of the city.
This year they will once again be helped by hundreds of volunteers who have signed up to help at beach cleaning sessions on Sunday morning.
All 300 volunteer slots for the Sunday beach clean were filled within 48 hours of the request for help being published
The council was delighted with the community response and has also now shared details of the extra council resources being deployed over the weekend.
These include:
- An extra 84 large-capacity bins being places across the city, with a focus on the parade route, the area around Brighton Station and on St James’s Street. There will also be additional bins at the park and ride bus stop near Preston Park.
- Three additional dustcarts out after the parade – joining those already usually deployed at weekends – to regularly empty the large capacity bins and collect bags of rubbish gathered by frontline council staff.
- 27 members of council staff focusing on key areas, including The Level, Victoria Gardens, St Peter’s Church, London Road, Preston Road and Kemptown.
- A night shift on Saturday and Sunday to clean streets and clear any debris left over.
- Mechanical sweepers working across both days to thoroughly clean particularly busy areas.
Councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, was confident the resources put in place by the council would keep the city clean and tidy but asked residents and visitors to do their bit by taking rubbish with them.
He said: “A lot of work goes into preparing for Pride and making sure the city looks its best throughout the weekend.
“Our Environmental Services team does a fantastic job every year. The role they play in helping everyone enjoy Pride often goes unseen, but it really does have a huge impact on the success of the weekend.
“The clean-up is a real team effort, with our staff working alongside Pride organisers and the hundreds of beach clean volunteers.
“We want everyone to enjoy themselves, have a brilliant weekend and come together to celebrate our LGBTQ+ communities.
“All we do ask is that people give us a helping hand by using the bins provided or taking their rubbish home with them.
“And if you see our staff during the weekend, please do say hello and thank them for the hard work they do.”
