Angel streets are now smelling of roses

Streets at the Angel are smelling of roses now Angel Business Improvement District has unleashed its cleaning machines to swoosh the pavements down with environmentally friendly fragrant detergent.

In a unique project – the first in Britain – Angel BID has leased two pavement washing machines to simply wash down streets in the BID area on a rolling programme initially six days a week, as part of its pledge to local businesses to make the Angel cleaner for their customers.

“Whatever the weather, it will quite literally be smelling of spring flowers every week at the Angel, as the streets get a spring clean all year round, “ says Angel BID director Christine Lovett, working in partnership with Islington’s cleansing contractors ICSL Accord.

“We asked businesses what extra services they wanted to see when a business improvement district was set up and they said one of their top priorities is a cleaner Angel to attract more customers and make them want to come back, so that’s what we’re delivering.”

Made in Denmark – world famous for its pristine clean streets - the Powerflex machines are concentrating on the worst affected streets with the highest amount of visitors. They are jet washing the pavements, litter bins and particularly areas around bus stops and pubs which are most affected by dirt and grime in the BID area.

The busiest areas are cleaned at their slowest times, with Chapel Market being washed on Mondays when it’s closed in preparation for the week’s opening on Tuesdays. The project, which includes leasing the latest street washing machines and drivers covering six days a week, is costing the BID £86,000 a year.

Angel BID was established in April 2007 after a ballot of 339 local businesses returned an overwhelming yes vote. Its three main pledges are to make the Angel safer, cleaner and brighter.

Already there’s less crime in the area with shoplifting in the area having been cut by 45% by the Angel Police Team – a squad of seven officers dedicated to reducing retail-associated crime and anti-social behaviour in the BID area, which is funded by Angel BID, with contributions from Islington Borough Police and Islington Council.

BIDs are a new form of local town centre management where businesses in a geographically defined area choose and fund extra services to improve their trading environment.