Newcastle-under-Lyme Council Proposes £1.85m Plan to Tackle Street Neglect
A new initiative, Operation TLC, aims to improve local pride through cleaner streets, better public spaces, and community involvement.
By Aisha Mahmood
••5 min read
AI
Generic image of a clean street scene in a British town with red-brick buildings and repaired street signs.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is proposing a £1.85 million plan, Operation TLC, to address issues like broken street signs, graffiti, and neglected public spaces, aiming to restore community pride.
Residents' frustrations with everyday issues such as broken street signs, graffiti, and neglected public spaces are set to be addressed by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. A significant new programme, dubbed Operation TLC, is being proposed with an investment of £1.85 million to enhance the cleanliness of streets and the maintenance of public areas across the Borough.
The proposals, scheduled for consideration by the Cabinet on 20 October, align with the Council’s new 2026–2030 Council Plan, 'Building a Better Borough'. This initiative aims to prioritise local residents, ensure essential services are delivered effectively, and foster a sense of pride in the places people call home. Building upon the existing Civic Pride programme, Operation TLC seeks to unite dedicated Council investment, monthly community clean-ups, local businesses, volunteers, and residents to improve neighbourhoods.
Visible improvements are the focus, ranging from repairing damaged street signs and repainting railings to cleaning benches, tackling graffiti, maintaining public spaces, and enhancing gateways into the Borough. These practical measures are intended to make a tangible difference to daily life.
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"We promised to get back to basics and put local people first. Residents are rightly fed up with broken street signs, weeds, graffiti, litter and public spaces that look tired and neglected. These might seem like little things, but they matter enormously to people’s pride in where they live. People work hard, pay their Council Tax and deserve a Council that works just as hard for them. Operation TLC is about putting £1.85 million of planned investment behind that promise and delivering improvements residents can actually see. We have already backed major investment in our parks and green spaces, including Lyme Valley Park and Chesterton Park. Now we want to take that ambition into every street, estate, town and village across our Borough. Pride in our Borough isn’t just a slogan. It starts at the end of your street, and we are determined to bring it back."
Operation TLC operates on the principle that while the Council has a duty to act, all individuals share a responsibility for maintaining shared spaces. A monthly 'Big Borough Clean Up' will be organised and led by Borough Councillors, offering residents regular opportunities to collaborate on community improvements. Councillors will also be encouraged to allocate half of their £2,500 Community Fund towards ward enhancements, such as new bins, refurbished planters, cleaner bus stops, and repaired street signs. Local businesses will be prompted to maintain their premises and surrounding areas, manage waste responsibly, and support community clean-up efforts.
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"Strong communities aren’t built by the Council alone. They are built by good neighbours, local businesses, volunteers and residents who care about where they live. We already have fantastic people giving up their time to make their neighbourhoods better. Our job is to back them, remove barriers and help more people get involved. The Council will invest and deliver the services people expect, but we all have a responsibility to respect our neighbours and look after our communities. That sense of shared responsibility is how we build stronger neighbourhoods and restore the community pride that makes our Borough special."
Furthermore, Operation TLC will support more stringent actions against individuals who damage neighbourhoods through littering, fly-tipping, and neglect. Approximately 100 fly-tipping incidents are reported monthly, costing around £65,000 annually to clear. The Council intends to utilise its enforcement powers and explore collaboration with the Ministry of Justice’s Community Payback scheme for litter removal and maintenance tasks.
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"People shouldn’t have to put up with graffiti, fly-tipping, filthy street furniture or public spaces that have deteriorated. We are putting the focus back on the everyday services residents expect, making better use of our Streetscene teams and Neighbourhood Rangers, and investing in getting things fixed. We will also press Staffordshire County Council to tackle weeds and neglected highways under its responsibility. And our message to those who dump rubbish, litter and damage our communities is clear: we will hold you accountable. Residents who take pride in their neighbourhoods deserve our backing, not to have their hard work undone by a selfish minority."
The Cabinet will be asked to approve a £1.85 million funding package, comprising £1.6 million in capital investment and £250,000 for staffing and smaller works. This includes £350,000 of capital funding in 2026/27, incorporating existing allocations, followed by £250,000 annually until 2031/32. An additional £50,000 per year for five years will support the operational running of Operation TLC. Residents are encouraged to report issues via the Council's online 'Report It' service to help identify areas requiring attention.
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"Our Council Plan is about building a better Borough, where local people come first, neighbourhoods are clean and safe, and taxpayers’ money is spent on things that actually matter. We are not interested in grand promises that residents never see delivered. We want action on the ground and improvements people can see for themselves. Operation TLC is another step towards delivering that ambition."
