City of York Council joined York BID and over 20 volunteers today, 10 June, to roll up their sleeves and help spruce up York city centre, as part of their rejuvenation days.
This community-powered project is all about bringing a little extra shine to our streets by cleaning and repainting street furniture like bike racks, benches, bollards and more.
Since the York BID led project launched in January 2024, the response has been incredible. Over 300 brilliant volunteers have given up their time to repaint 1,100 pieces of individual infrastructure across 57 different streets.
Before the painting begins, the dedicated BID Street Cleaning Team will prep the area by power washing, cleaning away weeds, and removing stickers and posters.
Council teams helped to tackle the more stubborn bits, and get them properly refreshed.
Sessions are taking place throughout June, and if volunteers can’t make it, they can sign up early for a September session.
Councillor Jenny Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency, said:
I was really pleased to join all the volunteers, council crews and BID team again, this time smartening up College Green. They’ve all done a great job and I’d like to thank everyone who has taken part. Rejuvenation days are a great way to bring communities together and make a real difference to where we live. Together we can all help make York shine”
Carl Alsop, Operations Manager at York BID, said:
Since we started this project, we’ve been blown away by the support and enthusiasm from businesses, residents, and community groups. Over 300 people have already got stuck in and it’s been brilliant to see everyone come together to make our city centre a cleaner and more welcoming space. We can’t wait to see what the next few months bring!”
There are lots of volunteer opportunities through the council to build pride in place, by contacting environmentandcommunity@york.gov.uk.
Sign up now and be part of something special or contact info@theyorkbid.com for more information.