Earlier today I spent a productive couple of hours in the sunshine knocking on doors and speaking to constituents in Newcastle and Corbridge Road with my lovely ward colleagues Glenn and Kirsten. I picked up quite a bit of casework relating to RBC housing, I'm sorry to say. Some tenants living in flats on Newcastle Road reported long waits for central heating upgrades - a problem residents in Hadrians Walk East also reported to me back in December. I nagged the Council to sort this out with some success and it looks like I'll need to do it again. With the freezing weather continuing the Council's housing department really must make sure all tenants in RBC properties have access to central heating.
The other issue that kept cropping up was damp. Damp in kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms. This is not pleasant for people. One tenant pointed out huge cracks in his ceiling. I reported all of these issues to the Council for attention - I was just sad that some tenants have been living with these problems for many years.
I asked one tenant on Newcastle Road what they thought about RBC cleaning services and their response was: "what cleaning service?". As Lib Dem housing spokesperso on RBC I am campaigning to ensure RBC tenants get value for money, good quality cleaning services - particularly as Labour are planning to charge tenants extra for the service later this year. The feedback I am getting from tenants is that RBC needs to do much better.
On Thursday evening I attended a meeting of the Whitley North Neighbourhood Action Group which covers part of Redlands ward. It was good to meet Inspector Rob Murray (who has taken over from Kevin Sinfield) and other members of the North Whitley Police team at the NAG meeting. We discussed anti-social behaviour problems that are recurring on Northumberland Avenue and what can be done to tackle this.
Issues raised by residents at the meeting included motorbikes being ridden on the estate (an ongoing issue), parking and burglaries. There appears to be a problem of some tenants not locking alleygates. I have asked RBC to write to residents reminding them to secure gates to help keep their properties safe. A couple of years ago I campaigned to make sure all the alleygates on the estate had working locks.
We'll be chasing the Council and Police for action and getting back to residents in relation to all these issues - because we care deeply about improving the quality of life of all the people who live in our ward.
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