Residents on a Salford housing estate have pledged to keep their neighbourhood clean as part of new initiative to boost community pride.
According to Housing News:
More than 150 residents living in Higher Broughton, Salford, have signed a community charter promising to litter-pick their garden, path and pavement in front of their home once a week.
The initiative is part of the Sweep Broughton Clean project launched by social housing provider Salix Homes to clean up the estate and encourage people to take pride in their community.
It comes after a major community clean-up launched by Salix Homes to tidy up the area which is plagued by fly-tipping, littering and anti-social behaviour.
An army of volunteers from Salix Homes, Salford Council and Salford Youth Offending Service have joined residents to help clear the area of fly-tipped waste including old mattresses, sofas and broken TVs dumped on the streets and alleyways.
So far more than 350 bags and eight skip loads of rubbish have been cleared from Dixon Avenue, Rigby Walk, Rigby Street, Rialto Gardens, Basten Drive, Bennett Drive, St Asaphs Drive, St Martin’s Drive and Hartis Avenue.
The volunteers have also overhauled a community green area on the corner of Rigby Street and Dixon Avenue, which had become a hotspot for anti-social behaviour, with regular reports of youths starting fires, taking drugs and causing a nuisance in the area.
The old shrubbery has been ripped out and the rubbish has been cleared away to make way for new pathways and planters to create a pleasant green space for the whole community to enjoy.
Sue Sutton, director of customer and neighbourhood services at Salix Homes, said: “We launched Sweep Broughton Clean to help tackle fly tipping on the estate, which was becoming a growing problem. Residents were fed-up of people using the area as a dumping ground, so everyone has really pulled together to take back the streets and generate a bit of pride in their community.
“Now the area is looking clean and tidy, people want it to stay that way, so we are delighted that 150 people have already signed our Community Charter promising to do their bit to keep the neighbourhood clean.
“Not only are people benefiting from the environmental improvements, but a lot of residents have said they have met neighbours they’d never even spoken to before and now they really feel like part of a community. This project has enabled people of all ages, from all walks of life, to come together with one common goal – to make Broughton a great, clean and safe place to live.”
Tenant Brenda Holland, 69, who lives on St Asaphs Drive, says the Sweep Broughton Clean project was making a real difference in the community. She said: “It’s made a big difference, lots of people have got involved and we’re hoping it’ll help keep the estate nice and clean now.”
The community clean-up will continue throughout the year with a different road tackled every week. The Salford Youth Offending Service has also pledged to maintain the new-look community green.
Anthony Coop, reparation co-ordinator at Salford Youth Offending Service, added: “The aim of this project has been to reduce crime on this area of land which had been plagued with anti-social behaviour including drug taking and people setting fire to trees and bins.
“We have cleared 80 bushes and re-landscaped the whole area and it’s been transformed from a hot spot for criminality into a fantastic community green space that can be used by everyone.”