The Brighton and Hove street cleaning team picked up a national award this evening (Thursday 8 September).
They were recognised for their round the clock work in all types of weather 365 days a year at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) awards in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry.
The association, which also held its annual seminar in Derry, said: “These awards are unique in that they are designed to recognise frontline services that are delivered to local communities by local councils.
“This year’s awards span 21 categories and cover the vast majority of local government frontline service areas.”
The Cityclean team from Brighton and Hove City Council won the Best Service Team award for Street Cleansing and Streetscene Service from a shortlist of six.
Councillor Gill Mitchell said: “This well-deserved award is recognition of the fantastic work our employees do in all conditions all year round.”
The judges took into account the millions of visitors, variety of events and lively night-time economy that all add to the challenges of keeping the streets clean.
They were told how staff are out and about from 5am to 10pm not just in the city centre but across Brighton and Hove.
The association said: “All of the finalists were required to present best practice case studies which showed them all to be frontrunners in implementing innovative ideas that support continuous improvement and adaptation in local services.”
APSE chief executive Paul O’Brien said that he was delighted to see such a high calibre of entries.
He said: “Despite the issues local government faces at this present moment, it is wonderful to see such exciting projects being carried out by so many dedicated people.
“These finalists are a credit to their councils and their communities.”
Cityclean features in a documentary made by ITN for the association, starting at about 27 minutes and 14 seconds.