Following our inaugural group meeting back in 2002 we undertook a series of estate walkabouts to help identify the specific problem areas within the estate and to identify any requirement for environmental improvements within the estate. During this process we took care to listen to the voices of local residents, and took on board their wishes and views as part of this initial assessment.
The first funding grant we applied for was to Awards for all (England) for a grant of £2,500, which allowed us to continue environmental improvements around the estate which had already been started by Sandwell Council. We used this money to replant areas of the estate, helping to reinforce the image of our estate as cared for and inviting.
Following on from this initial success, we began to investigate other ways we could provide help and support to those living on the estate. Many of our local residents being elderly or vulnerable, we wanted to specifically help reassure these people and make them feel secure in their own homes. As part of the process we worked with the local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme to provide door security chains to such people. Working in partnership with the local Housing Officer on this initiative, who arranged to have the chains fitted.
As part of the ongoing commitment to improving the general environment of our estate, we again worked in partnership with local Housing Officers to provide a number of skips for our tenants and residents to dispose of unwanted garden rubbish and household goods. This initiative has proved to be extremely popular across the estate, and at the time resulted in a very quick and positive improvement to the estate. The result of this popularity being that we have repeated the exercise since on several occasions.
As a follow on to this piece of work we then arranged for extra litter bins to be provided around the estate to help ensure we can keep such problems to a minimum.
Part of the ongoing success of our group we feel is directly attributable to the strong working partnerships we have forged with many local service providers. A good example of this can be seen when concern was raised locally about the lack of adequate fencing to prevent children etc gaining access to a nearby railway track. The potential of this situation to end in tragedy is only too clear, and the group worked closely with the local Langley Neighbourhood Office, local Councillors and the Police Service to make a direct request to Rail-Track to rectify the situation. As a result, fencing has now been erected to ensure access cannot be gained to the trackside at the affected location.
One of the projects we are most proud of has been the development of a local community garden for the benefit of part of the estate. This was completed in May 2005 with a £3,000 grant from Awards for All (England), along with an additional £2,500 grant from Living Spaces to carry out clearance and landscaping work on the estate. This project has been a key element in revitalising the sense of community spirit in our neighbourhood, and got everyone involved for the benefit of each other, converting a derelict patch of land which had become an eyesore to all, into a place for recreation and leisure during the summer months.
As we have illustrated here the impact and improvements we have made as a group on both our estate and the local environment has been achieved at very minimal financial cost. The positive effects we have experienced though we hope will continue for many years to come.
