YORK is set to have one of the biggest spring-cleans in its history next year as council bosses take another look at how the city can be kept tidy.

The summer saw City of York Council launch a clean-up campaign aimed at sprucing up the area in time for its busiest and most lucrative tourist season, with communities, schools and youth organisations asked to play their part.

The month-long drive concentrated on open spaces, back lanes, riverside areas, traffic islands, road verges and street furniture, with 25 separate tasks around the city including litter picks, washing bins down and removing burnt-out motorbikes.

Now Coun Ann Reid, the authority’s executive member for neighbourhoods and housing, is set to approve running a repeat of the scheme next March and April.

John Goodyear, the council’s assistant director for environment, said in a written report: “The mid-summer campaign was successful in engaging with residents and voluntary groups within the narrow window of the campaign period “What became clear during the process was that we needed the infrastructure into which these groups could participate throughout the year.”

The council has a new anti-litter mission statement, which Mr Goodyear said would help “join up the success” of this year’s campaign and encourage more groups to get involved in future.

The document outlines the main challenges to tackling litter, including discarded cigarette ends, old chewing gum, rubbish thrown from vehicles, waste from schools and takeaways, fly-tipping and drug paraphernalia, and how these can be combated and prevented.

It will also aim to encourage residents, businesses, community groups and others to take a role in dealing with litter, raise awareness of the problem and drive home the enforcement measures offenders could face.