Save our Streets

 The Save our Streets campaign, led by English Heritage, is asking people to look at the streets in their locality, and to become more aware of the problem of street clutter. If we want to do something about the problem though, what should we do? Who is responsible for our streets? How can we influence decisions about our locality? How do we let decision makers know our views? And how can we involve young people in caring about their own environment?

 This can make an excellent project for schools to involve pupils in real-life issues in their own locality. We have produced a special Save our Streets booklet for teachers which gives suggestions for activities, based on the campaign, which will meet curriculum requirements in a variety of areas. The audit sheet (on the back cover) may be photocopied as many times as you wish, and may then be returned to your local councillor direct from your class, either as individual replies or as a group.

Cut the clutter!

Many of our streets in towns, cities, villages and rural areas are cluttered with badly thought-out, and often unnecessary, signage, road markings and street furniture. Often these items have been added to over many years, with no-one standing back to look at the overall visual effect this has created. This has resulted in many of us living in and using streets that are overwhelmed by railings, bollards, and signs that may be badly positioned, dilapidated or vandalised, inappropriate for their surroundings or just plain ugly. 

Some streets are an obstacle course for those with disabilities or for parents with buggies. Pedestrians are often second-class citizens, penned in behind railings while traffic thunders past. Clutter detracts from the beauty of some of our streets, and can even contribute to a feeling of neglect. 

But what can we do about this? Often it is not obvious who is responsible for making the decision to install a sign or a bollard, or placing a bench or waste recycling unit. Repairing and cleaning these items, or waste disposal itself, might be the responsibility of different local government departments.

Download the Save our Streets booklet for teachers and get your class involved!

We also have a limited quantity of sets of four A3 posters to give away (see example above) based on project work by pupils with special needs. For a free set please email us at

education@english-heritage.org.uk