12 Oct 2026
Volunteers from Batchwood Pickers took matters into their own hands on Saturday morning, tackling what residents describe as the last major litter eyesore in New Greens – a fenced-off, council-owned site behind the social club, alongside the well-used Partridge Road.
The clean-up marked a milestone for the community group, whose volunteers have now contributed more than 3,200 hours of litter-picking and community service across New Greens and Batchwood.
The padlocked neglected area was once a green space but was subsequently fenced off by SADC and used by contractors, and over time, it became a dumping ground for waste and discarded materials.
A skip containing accumulated waste caught fire a year or two ago, and although this was later removed, rubbish remained clearly visible through the fencing to everyone passing along Partridge Road.
Residents had asked councillors at the beginning of September for the land to be cleared and for volunteers to be given permission to enter and clean it themselves. They were told the matter would be looked into, but no further response was received.
Rather than leave the rubbish in place, the volunteers decided to find another solution – without entering the fenced-off land. Among the 16 volunteers were around five young people undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, including students from Beaumont School and Roundwood Park School.
The students were presented with a Dutch cargo bike containing an assortment of bamboo canes, industrial-strength adhesive tape, bungee cords, rope, powerful magnets, scissors and other equipment – and challenged to design tools capable of retrieving rubbish from beyond the fence.
Using their imagination, engineering skills and teamwork, they devised a collection of homemade litter-picking contraptions.
Some used sticky tape to retrieve filthy plastic bags. Others attached magnets to long poles to recover metal objects. One particularly ingenious invention used bungee cords to operate an extended litter picker nearly three metres long, allowing its jaws to be opened and closed from a distance.
Within just one hour, the volunteers had retrieved a substantial amount of rubbish from two to three metres beyond the fence, without trespassing on the land.
A spokesperson for Batchwood Pickers said: “These young people were absolutely brilliant. We didn’t tell them how to solve the problem. We gave them some equipment, explained the challenge and let them use their initiative.
“They worked together, experimented, made mistakes, adapted their designs and came up with some genuinely ingenious solutions. It was a wonderful example of practical problem-solving, teamwork and community service.
“That’s what the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award should be about – young people developing confidence and useful skills while doing something genuinely worthwhile for their community.
“But there’s a serious message here too. This is council-owned land, formerly a green space, which has been used by contractors and left in an appalling condition.
“Residents shouldn’t have to invent three-metre-long litter pickers to clear up waste on land for which SADC is responsible.
“The council rightly challenge individuals who litter or fly-tip. But what happens when the mess is on council-owned land and appears to have arisen from the activities of council contractors? Who is held accountable?
“We’ve spent three years encouraging people to take pride in New Greens. Our 130 volunteers have contributed 3,200 hours of their own time and it is recognised by Veolia as the cleanest area of St Albans. We believe the council should show the same commitment by ensuring its contractors leave public land clean and tidy.
“If a resident or business left land in this condition, questions would rightly be asked. The council and its contractors should be held to equally high standards.”
The group believes contractors should be required to clear waste from sites they use, with meaningful contractual penalties where appropriate if they fail to do so.
Batchwood Pickers organise litter-picking sessions every Saturday and Sunday morning from 8am, welcoming residents of all ages and abilities.
The group hopes its latest achievement will encourage more people to get involved – and encourage the council to finally take responsibility for the remaining waste behind the social club.
