Tidy Bratton take litter picking to the next level thanks to new grant

The village of Bratton will be even tidier this summer, thanks to new funding from the Westbury Area Board.

From picking up wine bottles and beer cans to sweeping up leaves and twigs, the Tidy Bratton group volunteers work diligently, whatever the weather, to keep their streets clean. The group has also ‘adopted’ roads and footpaths to litter-pick more easily and routinely ensure salt bins are filled.

But volunteers face one major problem. They struggle to transport heavy equipment – such as wheelbarrows, brushes, rakes and shovels – to the village centre each time they meet.

Coordinator of Tidy Bratton, April Tarling, said, “All of this equipment lives in my back shed, but I can’t get it up to the village easily anymore. We have a community orchard group and other volunteer groups who like to borrow things, so we thought it would be much easier to have everything where people can reach it.”

Tidy Bratton appealed to the Westbury Area Board for a potential grant to assist them in their work. In February, the group was granted £772.50 to buy a dedicated storage container, with Bratton Parish Council agreeing to fund the other half of the cost. April thanked Graeme Morrison, a community engagement manager for Warminster and Westbury, and Wiltshire Councillor for Ethandune, Suzanne Wickham, for their assistance in the process.

Cllr Wickham said, “There are so many fantastic voluntary organisations across the villages. Tidy Bratton are one of them; they’re so well organised and meet frequently, hence their success in the Best Kept Village Awards. That’s a result of their hard work.”

In 2022, Bratton was judged to be the ‘Winner of the Winners’ (known as the Laurence Kitching award) at the Best Kept Village Awards, while in 2023 it was deemed to be the ‘Best Kept Large Village’ in Wiltshire.

It is hoped that the storage container will mean even more people get involved with keeping Bratton tidy. In recent litter picks, volunteers have collected abandoned coffee cups, crisp packets, wine bottles, vape packets and – on a layby on Westbury Road – two soiled nappies.

April added, “The posties notice what we do the most; they say it’s a really clean village. We’re lucky to have a really dedicated group of volunteers. I have a mailing list of over 40 people and put call-outs each time we meet. Sometimes we have schoolchildren who join us or our own grandchildren, they love it.”

“We also have a really good relationship with the Duke Inn pub. We keep their forecourt and car park tidy, and they very generously provide us with teas and coffees for our refreshments.”

Anyone can join the Tidy Bratton Group. The dates are advertised on posters around the village, as well as by email to everyone who has asked to be included on the mailing list.

The next meeting will take place on Saturday 29th March at 10am. The Tidy Bratton Group will meet at the Duke Inn as part of the ‘Great British Spring Clean’ event and aim to clear the through roads of litter thrown from cars, as well as clearing leaf and twig debris.

To find out more, email apriltarling@hotmail.co.uk.

Pictured: April Tarling (far left) and Wiltshire councillor Suzanne Wickham (fourth from right) with the Tidy Bratton group volunteering in the village