STAFF at Newton Abbot Town Council have been hard at work giving the streets an early spring clean.
Maintenance engineers Harry and Les have been trying out their new Foamstream jet blaster, removing grime, chewing gum and weeds from the pavements in Courtenay Street.
The nifty piece of kit uses a mixture of steam and environmentally-safe chemicals to shift the muck that inevitably builds up in what is usually a busy town centre.
The transformation is quite remarkable with dirty grey walkways replaced in moments by bright, clean surfaces.
‘Thanks to lockdown the town centre is obviously much quieter than normal but when shoppers do return they will notice a fantastic improvement,’ said Town Clerk Phil Rowe.
‘We decided to invest in the Foamstream cleaner as we’re keen as a town council to make sure that Newton Abbot is an attractive destination not only for residents but people living elsewhere too.
‘We know from our research that people living in many nearby towns choose to shop in Newton Abbot and we intend to not only keep them coming in but to attract even more people too.
‘Having a clean and tidy street scene is an important part of our strategy, as will be our events programme that we intend to resume whenever the pandemic allows.
‘One particularly exciting project we’re still working on is a children’s street theatre event that will combine fantasy and history, right in the town centre.
‘We’ve plenty more up our sleeves too such as the return of our carnival and plenty more town centre entertainments.
‘Our essential shops remain open of course and we’d urge residents to keep using them, remembering at all times the ‘hands, face, space’ motto of course.
‘Life is far from normal right now but your town council promises to keep planning for the future and to make Newton Abbot a place to be proud of.’
Other parts of town are set to benefit from the Foamstream magic with ward members compiling a list of priority spots in need of attention.
A video of the cleaner in action can be seen here
