Two Ashby women are going above and beyond to 'Make Ashby More Fabulous' in an effort to attract more footfall and shoppers into the town centre while also making it a more enjoyable place for local people to visit.

From holding Big Cleans on Market Street to encouraging shops to take better care of their windows and frontages, Kathy Michell and Julia Fraser are on a mission to get more local people involved in ensuring the town is looking its best for residents, shoppers and visitors. 

Kathy and Julia have both lived in Ashby for over ten years, attending the Ashby Women's Institute, U3A and Civic Society and decided to set up the first Ashby Big Clean as part of a 'Make Ashby Fabulous' community group. 

Kathy frequently walks down Kilwardby Street and admires the view of the historic Market Street with St Helens in the distance thinking how lucky Ashby residents are and how important it is to keep the town well looked after and respecting its history.  

She had noticed, as many others had, the increasing shabbiness, weed growth, litter, uncared for buildings and shop fronts etc. As a consequence, she, along with Julia, felt galvanised into action. 

Ashby's Fabulous Cleaning ladies get to work at the sorting office ahead of next weekend's big clean (Photo: Grace Kennington)

They both dressed up as cleaning ladies to give the Royal Mail Sorting Office on Market Street some love, as well as assembled a group of volunteers to carry out jobs. 

In collaboration with Ashby Civic Society, the WI, Love Ashby, Ashby Town Council and other local groups, over 60 volunteers joined together in September to tidy up Ashby Town Centre. 

The team was joined by local Girl Guides and members of the Ashby de la Zouch Castle Rotary Club with a speech from Ashby Town Councillor Murrae Blair-Park. 

Over the hour and a half clean up, volunteers collected more than 40 bags of rubbish from Market Street, as well as sweeping, scrubbing and weeding as they went. Refreshments, courtesy of Zamani's, were welcome at the end of their efforts. 

After the success of the first Ashby Big Clean, Kathy and Julia hope to make it a twice-yearly event plus a monthly community 'get together' for ideas and progress news. 

The Big Clean is not all they are working on. They also are working with shop owners to make frontages more inviting by encouraging them to weed, repaint and clean up any signs and windows.  

They hope this will help to keep the town centre looking neat and more attractive, encouraging visitors to the numerous Ashby events to return to shop and use food outlets.  

They are also encouraging promotion of the Council's unused 150 space car park opposite Ashby school so more people can shop for longer in Ashby for only £2.60 day. Permanent signs have been agreed and will soon be erected by the Council. 

There will also be the introduction of a Best Kept shop award to incentivise businesses to get involved. 

The volunteers collected over 40 bags of rubbish during the first Big Clean Up (Photo: Ashby Town Council)

Kathy and Julia are also working on getting permission for closed/ empty shops to display artwork in the windows. They hope to involve local schools so children's artwork can be showcased throughout the town, giving the empty shops a bit of life while new businesses move in. 

Their moto throughout has been 'keep smiling' and 'persistence, persuasion and perseverance' as they work with local businesses and town and district councils to implement change. 

They hope their work will encourage 'real action' from local people, as a regular community group, rather than people just waiting on action from others (such as NWLDC) to get the town looking nice. 

At the moment, Kathy does weekly work maintaining the garden at the top of Market Street with other members of the WI and collects a whole bag of rubbish on her walk from the bottom of Market Street to the top. 

Ashby Nub News will continue to work with Make Ashby More Fabulous to share about upcoming volunteer opportunities and what they have been working on. 

If you wish to get involved, volunteer some time or find out more details, you can leave written messages in the council letter box, Legion House, South St. 

A meeting at 10am on 17 January at Legion House will to look at progress so far, discuss and plan future action, organise small tasks and set a date for a Spring Clean Up before Easter. 

A representative from each group, plus any individual volunteers, would be welcome. If you do intend to come, please drop your name in the letterbox as space is limited.  

Keep reading Nub news as the outcomes will be posted here.