A FORTNIGHT-LONG clean-up of one of Oxford’s busiest areas has officially begun.

Led by Oxford City Council, Cowley Road will be subject to a ‘deep clean’, with residents urged to get in touch with officers who will be there for the next couple of weeks if they want to help.

A council-led team will be removing graffiti, stepping up litter patrols, tidying up gardens and carrying out other more extensive cleaning.

Councillor Tom Hayes, who represents St Clement’s on the city council and lives locally, said: “Unwanted graffiti is a huge concern for St Clement’s residents.

“I’m delighted that the council, as well as continuing to clean up public graffiti, is waiving its fee for graffiti removal from private businesses and homes.

“This will help our community to have the lasting deep clean that it needs.”

Dog fouling hotspots will be amongst the problems tackled and the city council will roll out some of its mechanical sweepers for a special blitz of the area.

The public has been urged to get involved and anyone helping could be in line to be given a £50 Westgate Centre shopping voucher if they are picked out of a prize draw.

The drive got cross-party support, with Labour’s Mr Hayes being joined by the Green Party’s Craig Simmons, David Thomas and Dick Wolff.

The city council’s board member for a Clean and Green Oxford, John Tanner, said: “Once again we are focusing our resources to give a targeted area of the city a deep clean.

“The city council does its best to keep the entire city clean but sometimes an area can really benefit from an all-out spruce up with the help of local residents.”

People living in and around Cowley Road will also be able to get advice about the council’s free bulk waste removal service

Other areas targeted by the council include Rose Hill, which was given a council-led tidy in 2017.

As an indication of how much could be taken away around Cowley Road by the city council over the next fortnight, this time last year more than a tonne of fly-tipped and household rubbish was removed.

Officers chose Rose Hill and tackled alleyways and other pedestrian areas to give them a clean.

As part of their work, they also spoke to people from 560 properties on how they could recycle and get rid of rubbish better.

The first of the council’s initiatives started in June 2016, at the Templar Road Estate in Cutteslowe.

When the council launched that, it said it wanted to tackle environmental issues through educational and enforcement rather than just picking up rubbish and then waiting for it to return. The scheme was launched with in front of the Kendall Crescent shops.