Work to clean Ipswich pavements halted due to hosepipe ban

Ipswich Borough Council confirmed that street cleaning operations would be limited to areas that were a safety concern, leaving one side of Upper Brook Street clean and one noticeably dirty.

Staff from Ipswich council were seen pressure washing the street on Tuesday, August 25 before coming to an abrupt stop later that day.

Only one section of the street was cleaned (Image: Oli Picton)

Anglian Water declared a hosepipe ban for the area on Saturday, July 11, with restrictions on water usage over the last six weeks.

Ipswich council said that the area chosen for cleaning had become an "environmental and safety concern" and that similar areas would be limited to pressure washing whilst the hosepipe ban remains in place.

A council spokesperson said: “The council pressure washed a section of Upper Brook Street on Tuesday because the accumulation of bird fouling, food waste, spillages and trip/slip hazards had caused an environmental and safety concern, resulting in the need for path cleansing at this specific location.

The right hand side of the street was not cleaned (Image: Oli Picton)

"Due to the ongoing drought and need for water conservation, we are temporarily limiting our street washing to such areas. All the council’s other street cleansing activities continue as normal.”

The cleanliness of Ipswich has come into sharp focus in recent weeks with a push to reduce waste and the dirtiness of some of the streets.

Despite some rain over the last week, Anglian Water said that restrictions would be remaining in place.

Prior to the wet weather, a spokesman for Anglian Water said: "A few days of wet weather won't reverse the effects of many months of exceptionally dry conditions."

Suffolk was declared in drought conditions in July, along with neighbouring counties in the East of England.