A campaign to clean up the streets of Aberdeen has secured the support of a major retailer.
John Lewis has signed up for Aberdeen Inspired’s “cleaner streets” initiative – part of its civic pride campaign.
Staff at the George Street store will show they take as much pride in their external space as they do in their shop floor by carrying out regular checks to ensure the pavements are litter-free.
They will also keep an eye out for anything that needs attention, such as broken slabs or missing bins, and report these to Aberdeen City Council.
It is hoped other city centre businesses will follow suit and get involved in the project.
Aberdeen Inspired’s civic pride campaign was launched earlier this year with the aim of inspiring change and driving improvements in the city centre.
It has gained the support of several businesses, including the Balmoral Group which announced a six-figure cash injection.
Rob Holder, head of branch at the city’s John Lewis, and a director of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “As John Lewis celebrates its 150th birthday it seems timely that we look back to the high street of the past – when shopkeepers would open up every morning with a sweep of the street outside their door.
“While we may not be sweeping every morning, we can certainly play our small part in ensuring we have a clean city in which to host visitors and residents as well as those who work in the city.”
Susan Bree, Aberdeen Inspired chief executive, welcomed the news, saying: “This is one of the many plans we have which will supplement the activity already being undertaken by the council to build a sustainable and bright future for our city.”