Foxwood Residents Association on item 6. Housing Annual Report

Our Association has made previous representations about the need for more effective neighbourhood management of street-level public services. We hope that this report is a step towards addressing those issues that have been raised on previous occasions. We are aware that not all matters of concern related to HRA-funded services, but judgments are made by tenants on the quality of Council services provided across the whole neighbourhood.

A principal area of concern is the maintenance of public open spaces. While grass cutting so far this year has been improved, there are still multiple problems with weeds and hedges overgrowing and obstructing public footpaths.

People judge an area by what they see.

There are continuing issues with anti-social behaviour. We have had no response to a request for improved CCTV coverage in the area or for better lighting on local snickets.  The Council also didn't spend any of its (already modest) estate improvement budget in the area last year.

It is fair to say that the Association has found it challenging to get the Council to respond to issues concerning safety, road repairs, footpath obstructions and more. There has, for example, been no strimming around street furniture which gives the area a neglected appearance.

Even requests for the garage blocks to be painted and signs cleaned were ignored

The housing department also ended its decades-old financial support for independent tenants' organisations like ours. Consultation on major issues like the timing of the modernisation programme has therefore been poor.

We now want to see significant investment to improve the appearance and safety of local estates. It has been over 30 years since we last saw a comprehensive environmental uplift programme in the area.

We want to see routine maintenance work on infrastructure such roads, footpaths, verges, signs, boundaries, hedges, weed growth, grass cutting, garage areas, snickets, car parking areas etc

The whole estate now looks neglected, and the Council needs to invest some of its £30 million HRA surplus in improvements to the environment in Council housing estates across the City.