Eastleigh is bidding to become a shining light for other councils throughout the country when it comes to community safety and dealing with rubbish.

Members of the borough's policy and review committee will be told tonight that Eastleigh has made two bids to become a Beacon Council - a scheme central to the government's agenda for modernising local government.

Up to 40 Beacon Councils will be selected in the first year as centres of excellence with the aim of highlighting good practice and innovation, and giving other authorities a lead.

Successful applicants will be announced in November and will hold beacon status until April 200l.

Two bids have been forwarded by to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions concen-trating on the borough's successful waste recycling and minimisation operation plus its initiatives to make the town centre a safer and more attractive place to work and shop.

Council leader Keith House told the Daily Echo: "We know that many councils across the country have bid to become Beacon Councils and that the government is likely only to select a very small number for the first phase. But we are very hopeful that we will be one of them."

Pointing to the borough's twin-bin system of refuse collection where recyclables are separated from other household waste, Mr House said other initiatives such as increasing the number of bottle banks had formed a package of measures which had made Eastleigh a market leader and trailblazer in waste minimisation and recycling.

He said: "With over 42 per cent of our waste being recycled we believe we are probably the best in the country."

Mr House said initiatives to prevent crime and disorder in the town centre - including crimebusting CCTV cam-eras, a walkie-talkie net-work for shops, panic points and town centre management scheme - had been a success.

"The council has taken a lead as the enabler and then linked businesses with the police and other agencies to make the town centre a more attractive place to work and shop.

"Each council selected for beacon status will be eligible for a grant to contribute to the cost of holding up to six open days and towards other ways of spreading best practice.''

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.