We all want to see positive changes to where we live ? cleaner streets, less dog mess, fly-tipped rubbish and graffiti.? Our wonderful residents have always gone above and beyond in their efforts to help our fantastic street-cleansing staff in making sure Nottingham is a city to be proud of.

I would encourage all community groups, sports clubs, schools and other groups to consider organising a Big Spring Clean in their area over the coming weeks. I helped kick things off at the weekend at the regular Sneinton community litter pick ? thank you to everyone who came along.

Getting involved is easy. Residents can:

• Visit nottinghamcity.gov.uk/springclean to find a litter pick to join in with near them
• Get a FREE litter picking kit at nottinghamcity.gov.uk/cleanchampions
• Visit nottinghamcity.gov.uk/reportit to report fly-tips, dog mess, broken glass, needles, graffiti and other issues to the council to be cleaned up.

This is a Government scheme being administered by councils that allows eligible households to receive a one-off payment of ?150 this spring to ease the financial strain caused by factors such as the energy price cap rise, which comes into effect in April.

Households that currently pay their council tax by direct debit will see the rebate from April onwards. Households that don?t pay by direct debit are encouraged to sign up to pay their council tax this way, which they can do online here: www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/counciltax.

We will be writing to those households that don?t pay by direct debit to explain what to do to get their payment. We would urge people not to call the council to chase their payment, as it will be made as soon as possible.

Now is the time to plan a street party with neighbours if you want to have one. We need applications for road closures at least six weeks before an event, so the middle of April. It?s free to get your road closed and there?s a handy guide on how to do it on our website. https://nottinghamcity.gov.uk/streetparties