Thornton Heath’s own version of DIY SOS saw volunteers roll their sleeves up to make over the land in front of Thornton Heath’s bus garage.

Dozens of volunteers turned out over a weekend earlier this month for a clean up and weeding weekend at the bus garage on London Road.

Organised by Thornton Heath Community Action Team in conjunction with management at the Arriva bus garage, bus workers and local people joined forces to tidy up the space – bagging up dozens of bags of garden waste.

The council’s Street Champion Team, led by Tracey Bellamy, dropped off equipment and organised the picking up of all the rubbish.

The green waste was taken to Factory Lane recycling centre and will be composted. The bus garage project is part of a long term plan to improve the appearance of the frontage and create a bus garage garden where staff can sit and enjoy the surroundings during their breaks. The improvements will include painting the railings and brightening up the space with planters and wild flowers.

Vice-chair of THCAT Andrea Perry, a garden designer, is in the process of drawing  up plans to landscape the area  which THCAT alongside bus garage staff will work towards over the next few months. The aim is also to make the forecourt cleaner and greener, and lovely to look at as people pass by.

THCAT operations manager Peter Lawrence said: “This work epitomises the ethos of THCAT in turning places that look tired and neglected into areas     

                             that look beautiful.”