Ashfield District Council have pledged to spend £5 million to improve frontline services.

And boosting the environment by attacking everything from litter to graffiti, weeds, dog-fouling and damaged pavements is a key element.

Now a Hucknall-specific charter has been produced, setting down priorities for the town and the service residents can expect from the council.

There is no hiding place with targets of one day for the removal of offensive or racist graffiti and fly-tipped rubbish on public land, two days for clearing a litter build-up or significant dog-fouling and five
days for dealing with abandoned vehicles.

Also included in the charter is a removable card that features a hotline number – 0800 1838484 – that residents can call to report environmental or highway problems.

The charter, which is printed on 50% recycled paper, says the top environmental priority for Hucknall is tackling litter and anyone found dropping rubbish will face a £75 fine or court.

Other top priorities are preventing overflowing litter-bins and keeping grass and weeds under control.

Extra areas pinpointed are preventing flooding, keeping street-lighting maintained, general maintenance, making sure signs are up to scratch and recycling rubbish.

Edd de Coverly, Ashfield's head of neighbourhood services, said: "We have tried to set out what the public can expect from us very clearly.

"We want to push ourselves and we want to do our level best to achieve our ambitions.

"We will be reporting back to area partnership groups about our performance because we want to be much more transparent to local people about how we are getting on with the services we provide.

"We are saying we want to achieve the targets. There may be some factors, from time to time, that complicate what is achievable – things like rubbish being dumped on a private road.

"But we want to solve problems and make people aware of what we are trying to achieve."

A roadshow was held in Hucknall last month to herald the launch of the
charter andto introduce neighbourhood teams charged with cleaning up the streets.

Bags of rubbish were dumped on Market Place to illustrate the challenge faced every day.

Mr de Coverly flatly denies that the targets are too difficult and that the council are setting themselves up for a fall.

"I am confident in the ability of our teams," he said. "We have excellent teams who are highly motivated and want to make this work.

"It is easy not to put your head above the parapet, to stay within your comfort zone and not challenge yourself.

"But our intention is to make ourselves available and I'm sure that if people work with us, we will make this work and we can deliver an Ashfield everyone is proud of."