It's time to wipe out the Grot Spots which are Breaking our Heart and letting down the 'clean and green' reputation of our District.

As part of the Green Heart of Essex campaign, the Green Heart Clean Team has identified 'Grot Spots' across our District which, if not tackled would fall short of UK national standards for levels of litter and dog fouling. The 'Grot Spot' project aims to improve these areas to the highest Government standards possible.

Over the next 18 months, (from September 2010 - March 2012), the Clean Team will:

1.  Clean up the 'Grot Spot' and monitor the area to maintain clean-ups over a 3 month period

2.  Send in Enforcement Officers on regular patrols to penalise those seen littering

3.  Raise awareness to highlight the issues to reduce further instances of littering.

Cllr Wendy Schmitt, Cabinet Member for the Green Heart of Essex, said: “With this campaign we continue our work to tackle the increasing cost of clearing litter from the district – which we know to be around £1 million a year.  It makes most people’s hearts sink to see local areas looking grotty when so much of the district is clean and tidy. By taking swift action to clean up the rubbish and penalise the offenders, we can start to transform these grot spots into places we can all be proud of.”

Approximately 50 areas have been identified as regularly harbouring a grot spot – they include Marten's Meadows and Station Approach in Braintree and Shaw Road play area and Forest Road in Witham.

- For a full list of litter grot spots click here. 

- For a full list of dog fouling grot spots click here 

View our Grot Spots gallery on our Flick account for a collection of pictures to break your Green Heart!
- Click here to see our Witham Grot Spots
- Click here to see our Braintree Grot Spots

Dropping litter is illegal so, once these areas have been cleaned up they will be regularly monitored by enforcement officers who will not hesitate in issuing a £75 Fixed Penalty Notice to anyone caught dropping litter.  Offenders also risk prosecution in court where they could face a fine of up to £2,500.

The ‘Grot Spot’ areas will gradually come off the list as problems get tackled, with potentially new areas added if identified by local people and council staff. 

If you are aware of a messy area near you that always seems to look grotty, please let us know and ‘see it-report it’ here,  You can even e-mail photos too!