Chelmsford residents name new street care vehicles
Meet Dustfree Springfield, Anglia Dustin and Vac Sparrow – Chelmsford’s newest street-cleaning vehicles.
Named by residents following a Love Your Chelmsford competition, the new high-tech vehicles are part of Chelmsford City Council’s investment in services that matter to local communities and will support efforts to maintain a clean and attractive environment across the district.
Names unveiled at celebration event
Back in June, Chelmsford residents were invited to help name the new street care vehicles. They suggested 128 fun, creative names, and many took inspiration from local connections. Ten of the best were shortlisted, including Dustbin Hoffman, Moulsham Sweep and Orlando Broom, before the three winning names were chosen.
After much deliberation, the winning names were decided: Dustfree Springfield, Anglia Dustin and Vac Sparrow!
To celebrate their success, the competition winners were invited to Freighter House, the council’s waste and recycling facility, on Thursday 29 October to see the newly named vehicles. Councillor Simon Goldman, Cabinet Deputy for Cleaner Communities, who helped select the winning names, joined for a tour of the facility before presenting a prize and certificate.
Cllr Simon Goldman testing out Anglia Dustin, one of the council's new road sweepers.
Street sweepers Dustfree Springfield and Anglia Dustin are compact vehicles equipped with robust brushes and pressure-washing systems, while jet tanker Vac Sparrow uses powerful water jets and vacuum hoses for deep cleaning.
The three new vehicles will now join the fleet to help keep Chelmsford’s streets clean.
Councillor Simon Goldman, Cabinet Deputy for Cleaner Communities, said:
““We received some brilliant suggestions, and choosing the winners was no easy task. The creativity of Chelmsford residents certainly made us smile.
Cllr Simon Goldman, Chelmsford City Council's Cabinet Deputy for Cleaner Communities
“As well as bringing a bit of character to the fleet, these vehicles represent our continued investment in delivering high-quality frontline services that residents can see and benefit from every day.”
Keeping Chelmsford clean
Keeping streets and public spaces clean and tidy helps to make Chelmsford an attractive place to live, work and visit. Well-cared-for neighbourhoods also give communities a sense of pride in their surroundings.
The investment in new vehicles will support the everyday work of Chelmsford City Council’s Street Care team and the new Street Care Rangers service. Launched in July, the service carries out small-scale environmental and maintenance tasks, as requested by parish councils, ward councillors and members of the public, to keep neighbourhoods clean, safe and welcoming.
Street Care Rangers’ tasks include:
Vegetation cutting and general tidying of footpaths
Basic maintenance of parish seating
Cleaning street name plates and ‘welcome to’ village signs
Painting village gates and structures
Although this work falls outside Chelmsford City Council’s statutory obligations, the council allocated specific funding in its 2026/27 budget to introduce the service. This followed the withdrawal of the Highway Rangers team, previously provided by Essex County Council.
Three vehicles named by Chelmsford residents have joined the council's fleet to help keep the streets clean.
More information
Love Your Parish Days are the best way for parish councils to benefit from the Street Care Rangers service. The days are available to all parishes within Chelmsford district, and requests can be submitted to Love Your Chelmsford.
It’s also possible to request the service of Street Care Rangers directly through the Chelmsford City Council website via our Report a Street Problem page.
