AN initiative to make streets cleaner, greener and safer will begin in April.

Area committees will be set up in the Redcar and Cleveland borough, and will consult people about the cleanliness of their streets, and the attractiveness and safety of their areas.

The committees will be made up of borough councillors, residents, parish and town councils, community organisations and businesses.

Leading the initiative will be Simon Dale, who will take up his post as Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's director of area management in April.

He is leaving his post as Stockton Borough Council's head of direct services.

The cabinet member for environmental improvement, Councillor Barbara Harpham, said: "Area committees will be a new, imaginative way of working.

"The days of being able to know your local council workers will be back.

"Council taxpayers will have a say in how their money is spent in their area through these new committees, which are being set up specifically to take local decisions on local issues."