THE Our Town’s Cleaner, Greener programme is back, with organisers saying it is "bigger and better than ever" for the third year in a row.

The flagship Wigan Council scheme is set to visit every ward in the borough, tidying and cleaning district centres, boosting civic pride and concluding with a waste amnesty on the Saturday morning of the week of action.

Councillor David Molyneux MBE, leader of Wigan Council, said: “Officers really focus in on each area, targeting grot spots, tackling overgrown weeds, and much more.

“During the two Our Town programmes so far, we have covered 18,000sq m of jet washing, cleaned more than 40 grot-spots, removed over 80 tonnes of litter, fly-tipping and debris, and swept more than 60 miles of roads and footways.

“This is all in addition to our usual street cleansing and maintenance works, to really give our district centres a spruce up and boost civic pride."

The Our Town 3 programme, as well as visiting every ward for a dedicated week of action, is set to include another waste amnesty in every ward.

Councillor Paul Prescott, cabinet portfolio holder for planning, environmental services and transport, said: “Over the summer, we held waste amnesties in every ward of the borough and we saw tonnes of waste dropped off.

“While those waste amnesties were held during the week, Our Town 3 will bring a Saturday morning waste amnesty to every ward, enabling those who work on weekdays to take advantage of this free offer too.

“Through our ‘Keep It Clean’ campaign, we are working to reduce littering and fly-tipping in our borough. Part of that is making it as easy as possible for people to get rid of things they don’t want responsibly, and the free waste amnesties and our expansion to our free bulky waste collections have been really well received.

“The time and locations for these waste amnesties will be advertised on the council’s social media page and on Cleaner, Greener Works webpage.”

Our Town 3 is funded by part of the Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation.

The UKSPF has been designed by government to replace the former EU structural funds, with GMCA named as the lead authority for administering the fund in the city-region.

£40.3m will be invested in Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities to support creating space for businesses in city and town centres as well as increasing investment to create attractive and exciting high streets, green space, arts and heritage events across Greater Manchester.