A NEW electric street buggy will be cleaning the streets thanks to funding from the Salisbury Business Improvement District (BID).

Dubbed 'Gordon' the new cleaning service is set to launch May and will be run in conjunction with Salisbury City Council.

It follows a six month trial last year which was met with a positive response from businesses.

Steve Godwin from the BID said businesses overwhelmingly wanted areas to the front and back of premises to look cleaner. One of the key objectives of the BID when it was voted for by businesses was to develop a cleaner and greener city.

“We have listened to the voice of businesses, we have experimented with a small service and are convinced that this new service is exactly right for our beautiful city,” he said.

“The service is a scheduled one with a rolling plan of where work should be carried out but also has a large element of response so that if a business opening at 8am in the morning finds a mess outside, the BID ranger operatives can whiz round in Gordon, clean up the mess, and leave the business customer totally satisfied.

“Our operatives are trained and will be able to use the on board steam cleaning facilities and will also have brooms and shovels so they can get stuck into weeds and anything else that they see likely to improve the city.”

In addition cleaners will report issues such as benches which need repainting or broken street furniture back to the BID offices.

The new team will also work closely with Wiltshire Council to make sure the new service does not overlap with the statutory cleaning provision.

Steve added that the service is aimed at making a difference, which is what businesses want, and will enhance other work that is already being carried out.