Campaigning for Improvements to Hexham Estate
Since 2006 I, along with my colleagues Kirsten Bayes and Glenn Goodall have actively campaigned for improvements in Hexham Estate to improve the quality of life of residents.
It is very satisfying to see that the estate I first visited in 2005 has been completely transformed after the work we did to get the Council to tackle longstanding problems and issues.
These included problems of anti-social behaviour, vandalism, and graffiti that contributed to an overall atmosphere of neglect.
But what is even more satisfying are the results of the Council's second Residents Survey of the estate which shows a significant improvement in satisfaction levels of people that live there - up from 53% in 2008 to 83% in 2011.
The local campaign we started all those years ago was necessary because when we first got involved in local politics the three Labour councillors for the area failed to champion the needs of residents in the area, and Labour Town Hall bosses at neglected the estate for years - to the huge frustration of many local residents.
Decent Neighbourhoods Fund
My experience as a ward councillor for Hexham estate led me to campaign for better estates in Reading and coin the phrase'decent neighbourhoods, not just decent homes'.
Countless conversations with residents fed up with the state of their area led me to understand that the way estate looks and feels is as important as the way a property looks on the inside.
My campaigning led to a change in Council policy - refocussing spending on investing in improving estates not just meeting government targets.
I was driven to launch this campaign after I saw for myself the problems inherent in Labour's focus on meeting Whitehall targets meant that issues that caused big problems for residents on Hexham estate went unsolved, including:
- Serious anti-social behaviour and drug-dealing leading to security fears in flats
- High number of burglaries as a result of weak security in alley-ways
- Mini-moto nuisance on Bede Walk
- Abandoned cars and rubbish repeatedly dumped on the estate
- Parking issues
- Little or no greenery
In 2008 we succeeded in getting the then Labour-run Council to launch the first ever survey of local residents asking them what they would like to see improved.
Hexham Improvement Plan - Nagging works!
In 2009 a Hexham Improvement Plan was launched by RBC - including a range of steps designed to to improve the quality of life for residents. When I quizzed officers about why after years of ignoring the area the Labour administration finally agreed to take action.
Officers confirmed to me the Hexham Estate Improvment Plan was launched as a result of our nagging - which just proves why ward councillors are important.
Had we not made a fuss week in week out about problems on the estate the Labour administration would have done nothing.
And recent experience of the new (old) Labour administration confirms not much has changed in this regard!
We have worked closely alongside Ashley, Charlotte and Tom in the Housing Team at RBC to ensure the voices of residents are heard in all planned works.
Listening to Residents - Taking Action
As local councillors we survey residents regularly to find out what they think and what action they would like us to take on their behalf.
It seems this was new to the Labour administration as Hexham estate residents were not asked their views once before 2008!
The results of the first Residents Survey in 2008 conducted by the Council confirmed what we had been saying for two years: residents wanted to see action on number of areas and led to a huge range of improvements across the estate to parking, landscaping and block security.
Officers surved residents this May and the findings show the improvements we led have made a real difference to residents:
- Residents are much more satisfied overall with the Hexham Road estate as a place to live now as opposed to 2008.
- There is a clear positive upward trend in residents saying the Hexham Road estate has got better over the past 2 years.
- More people feel safe living and working on the estate than they did 2 years ago.
In each subject area asked there is a very clear positive upward trend in conditions/living environment in the past 2 years on the estate for:
- ASB
- Vandalism
- Kids hanging around
- Landscaping
- Bin Areas
- Litter picking
- Graffiti
5. There has been a big increase in the numbers of residents living in flats who are satisfied with the condition of the block they live in.
6. Over the past 2 years there has been a large increase in those who say the cleaning has got better. This is on top of the survey result in 2008 when 70% of respondents said the cleaning had improved in the 2 years prior to that.
7. Those living in flats say there is a clear upward trend in conditions in the block in all of the areas asked:
- Vandalism
- Security
- Graffiti
- Painting/Decorating.
The future
A public meeting is planned and we are looking forward to hearing from residents more details about changes they want to see in the area.
One area that does needs looking at is the Community Centre. It is grant funded by the Council so should be somewhere residents feel they can go to and use regularly.
The survey indicates that this is a very under-used resource by local residents. The Council needs to investigate what is behind this as there are not many venues for local people to use nearby.
This year the Lib Dems fought to ensure £400,000 investment in estates via the Decent Neighbourhoods was safeguarded despite needing to make savings across the Council's budget.
This decision means that investment in Hexham Estate and other estates will continue during 2011/12.
Shamefully, Labour councillors all voted against this.
Given Labour's lavish pre-election pledges and the savings they will have to make to balance the Council's books next year there remains a big question mark over what Labour councillors will do in the future to fund further improvements on the estate.
Their record when it comes to Hexham estate is not good.
If residents want to see further improvements and investment on Hexham and other estates our advice is simple: stick with the local Lib Dem team as ours is the track record of delivering for local people.