Volunteers wanted for a tidy-up of Bedford Square on Saturday 24 October

Volunteers are wanted for a tidy-up of Bedford Square, which looks out over the bandstand on the seafront, on Saturday 24 October from 10am to 1pm. The Eventbrite page, from the council’s Tidy Up Team, says: “Help us to improve Bedford Square with the Bedford Square Garden Group.”

The plan is to edge the lawns, weed the square and pick up litter. All tools and equipment are provided. It is open to adults aged 18 and over, and doors are at 9:50am.

The listing says it has been some time since the last organised activity in the square. “This is the oldest of the Brighton Squares and it is important that this heritage is maintained,” it adds.

Building started in about 1801 and the square was finished in 1818 with 42 houses, according to Tim Carder’s Encyclopaedia of Brighton. The garden covers 0.45 of an acre and became corporation property in May 1887.

The group’s listing on the Brighton & Hove Green Spaces Forum³ says it wants the garden to become a pleasure garden and a community hub, and less of a place that attracts antisocial behaviour.

The council’s Tidy Up Team also takes regular volunteers for clean-ups in public spaces across the city. You do a short training session, then at least 15 minutes of clean-up a week, and the council’s liability insurance covers you.