Clean-up planned after investment is approved

The move follows a £307,000 investment approved in Rotherham Council’s 2025/26 budget aimed at making the borough “cleaner, greener and more sustainable.”

According to a report going before the council’s cabinet on June 9, the funding will help to clean up rural routes and town and village entrances, to while also creating two new performance management officer roles to help track and improve the service.

The number of staff dedicated to maintaining rural verges and principal routes will rise from four to eight, allowing the team to cover more ground across two distinct work periods in the year, Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer.

Alongside their main duties, the expanded team will play a more proactive role in identifying fly-tipping hotspots, sharing intelligence with enforcement officers, and ensuring more consistent litter removal, even in areas with traffic restrictions.

“The borough’s scheduled rural roadside verges are currently litter picked and cut once per year, with splay ends for visibility and safety cut six times per year,” the report says.

“The current rural verge team cuts the verges and litter picks between May and October each year and focuses on 326 roadside rural verges (460km) that require traffic management.

“As a result of the investment, the capacity in this area will be doubled.”

The new performance management officers will support cleaning schemes across the borough, focusing on data analysis, resource deployment, and long-term strategies to reduce littering and illegal dumping.

Start dates for the new roles are targeted for July or August, with full implementation expected by October 2025. A progress update is due to be presented to cabinet in April 2026.

The investment will also cover costs for new vehicles, uniforms, and equipment.