Treat Your Street – coming to an Ilfracombe street near you soon!

Ilfracombe in Bloom is enjoying quite a comeback in its 40th anniversary year and has launched its new Treat Your Street scheme to get more people involved and brighten up different areas of the town.

There has been a fantastic response since its launch, with a small army of orange-clad volunteers turning out on Sunday mornings to tidy and clean up forgotten roads, alleys and byways in the town – and to have a laugh and plenty of fun while they do!

Above: The Treat Your Street volunteers on one of their Sunday morning clean up sessions. Credit: Rachel Hadley/Steve Trebble

In a statement on behalf of the Ilfracombe in Bloom committee, vice chair Rachel Hadley and chair Steve Trebble said: “Ilfracombe in Bloom is celebrating its 40th year, bringing fresh energy.

“We have noticed that many streets have become neglected, so with our growing gardening club members and our new plot of land — to be used as both a composting centre and nursery — we launched Treat Your Street.

“The idea is simple - join us for our organised street cleans, or take a 10-minute pledge to look after the space outside your own home.

“Alongside this, larger-scale projects such as the Ilfracombe war memorial renovation, new stanchions and additional High Street planters are showing how the voluntary power of community action can transform our town and bring back real pride in Ilfracombe.”

Above: The Treat Your Street scheme has been tidying up Ilfracombe, one street at a time. Credit: Rachel Hadley/Steve Trebble

The group recently invited Ilfracombe County Councillor Sara Wilson, who represents The Green Party, along to one of their Sunday sessions and she was impressed by the enthusiasm from volunteers.

Cllr Wilson said: “I’m so thrilled to see that after 40 years Ilfracombe in Bloom has a new lease of life and is growing rapidly in membership.

“There is a huge appetite in Ilfracombe to get practically involved in making our town look clean, weed-free and welcoming and Ilfracombe in Bloom have tapped into that energy.

“I’ve joined them on a Treat Your Street clean recently and what a cheerful and hardworking bunch they are, and so friendly to new members. It's a great way to make new friends and show you care.

“As a county councillor people tell me our town needs to look smart and I completely agree - Ilfracombe has a fantastic amount to offer and we want to express pride in where we live and have it look its best.”

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Cllr Wilson said while she wished such work could be carried out more by local councils, the reality was there just isn’t enough money due to councils never receiving enough from the government to keep up with the cost of services.

She added: “The only alternative lies in community action. And so huge credit to Ilfracombe in Bloom for bringing people together to make a difference, and also for having ambitious plans for exciting future projects. Ilfracombe is full of good news stories like this.’’