HOW LITTER HITS HOUSE PRICES

Roads scarred by rubbish can knock 12% off a home’s value

A NEIGHBOURHOOD strewn with litter can cut property prices by up to 12 per cent, research suggests.

Food wrappers, cans and bottles dumped in streets can deter housebuyers and dent estate agent valuations.

A serious litter problem could take £29,000 off the value of the average £243,000 house, and £60,000 off a £500,000 property.

Analysis shows that cleaning up litter could be as important as sprucing up the front garden or bringing out a paintbrush – and the Great British Spring Clean with Keep Britain Tidy could be a great place to start.

The Daily Mail, which is supporting the event, hopes to recruit half a million readers to take part in litter-picking events between March 22 and April 23. By last night, a staggering 39,120 had already signed up.

The effect of a tidy street on property prices ranges between 2.7 per cent and 11.8 per cent, according to a report by environmental consultancy Eunomia for Keep Britain Tidy. The report also found removing litter from motorways and A roads alone costs £10million a year.

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: ‘While local councils in England alone spend around £800million clearing up litter every year, the real cost is much, much higher and the price keeps rising as we learn more about the impact our littering is having on our oceans and marine life.

‘Property prices, business investment, communities’ feelings of safety and wellbeing are all impacted by littering, as our research shows. That is why it is so important that, as a country, we clean up our act and the Great British Spring Clean is a great way to take action, make a difference and say enough is enough.

‘The price we are all paying for littering is too high and we can all do our bit to stop it.’

The Great British Spring Clean is the country’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign. In 2018, despite the Beast from the East, more than 371,566 volunteers took part, including more than 126,651 schoolchildren.

Last year the Daily Mail helped to organise the Great Plastic Pick Up with Keep Britain Tidy and more than 20,000 volunteers cleared litter over a single weekend.

Sign up at the website gbspringclean.org and either join a litter-picking group near you – or pledge to take part on your own!