Your GREAT Neighbourhood Charter Hazelhurst
Your GREAT Neighbourhood Charter
At New Charter we would like all our neighbourhoods to be great places to live. We would like them to look great, have great services, feel safe and be a place for both work and recreation.
for 3 years and will be reviewed annually with residents to assess our progress.
It identifies the main issues that affect your neighbourhood and what needs to be done both by us and our partner organisations to To create great communities we address them. We want to focus all would like everyone to work our efforts on making sure you have together to decide how their local neighbourhood should develop and a great place to live so we will be working just as hard with a range of grow in the future and to improve other organisations on some of the on the services they don’t like and wider issues such as employment maintain those that they do. and crime. To make sure this happens we Remember, you are the experts in have produced a neighbourhood what it’s like to live in your plan for each of New Charter’s 32 newly defined neighbourhoods and neighbourhood and you will be our most important partner of all. this one is yours. The plan will run 02
You are the experts in what it’s like to live in your neighbourhood and you will be our most important partner of all.
GREAT place to live... The Hazelhurst neighbourhood is a suburban area which consists of predominately New Charter properties built in the late 1960s and 1970s. Many of the houses and some of the flats have been purchased under the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire scheme. The neighbourhood consists of a mixture of mainly two and three bedroomed houses with a few four bedroomed properties; there are also one and two bedroomed flats clustered in a few parts of the area. There is a privately built development of semi-detached and detached houses built in the 1980’s and approximately twenty very attractive privately built properties located next to the golf course. There are good public transport links with a frequent bus service to and from Ashton town centre, where the railway station, main bus station and the new Metrolink currently under construction; which will link Ashton to Manchester in minutes are situated.
Towards the centre of the area is Hurst Cross which benefits from a selection of shops and a Post Office; residents also have access to a community library situated on Kings Road. Rose Hill Primary School and Children’s Centre is located on Rose Hill Road and is within easy walking distance as is the New Charter Academy, which is quickly emerging as a hub of activity in the north Ashton area. In the higher part of the neighbourhood there is a further small shopping area where the New Charter Neighbourhood Home and Community Hub is located. The Hub is open at various times throughout the week providing access to advice and services for residents and includes a tea and toast drop in on Friday mornings; there is also an active residents group, representing this part of the neighbourhood, which meet here monthly.
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Down your street Here is a map and a list of streets included in your neighbourhood to give you an idea of exactly where your plan covers.
Waterloo & LordsďŹ eld
Smallshaw and Broadoak
Hazelhurst
Crowhill Hillgate, Hilton & Ladbroke
Does your neighbourhood have star quality? We have identified a range of indicators that tell us overall how great your neighbourhood is. These indicators are designed to tell us how much support we need to give a neighbourhood and what specific areas seem to be causing the most problems so that we can target services and resources to improve them. 04
We are using a simple rating of 5, 4 or 3 stars; 5 stars being the best rating, so you can see easily how individual sections within your neighbourhood are performing. Each individual indicator we have used has its own star rating which when combined together produce an overall star rating for your neighbourhood.
The indicators range from the time taken to relet houses to employment and education. You can see them all below with an explanation of what the ratings mean for your neighbourhood.
Anderton Grove
Crossley Crescent
Hazel Avenue
Kinder Avenue
Palace Road
Ashbourne Drive
Edale Grove
Hazelhurst Road
Kings Road
Queens Road
Bakewell Avenue
Gorsey Lane
High Peak Road
Leech Avenue
Rose Hill Close
Bamford Grove
Hadfield Crescent
Hurst Court
Matlock Avenue
Rose Hill Road
Buxton Avenue
Hadfield Terrace
Hurst Grove
Nook Lane
Townsley Grove
Castleton Grove
Hampson Place
Hurst Hall Drive
Old House Terraces Waddicor Avenue
Chippendale Place
Hampson Road
Kenworthy Avenue
Old Road
Wellbank Avenue
% of current rent arrears
Average number of repairs
The neighbourhood has some areas where rent arrears are a problem which means some households may be experiencing money management issues and could be at risk of losing their homes. It also indicates some households may need additional support.
The average number of repairs per property is quite high and indicates that properties do have some issues in terms of maintenance costs and the need to regularly replace components. Property damage is also an issue in some homes.
Average time to relet a property The time it takes to relet a property is generally good across the neighbourhood indicating that properties are generally popular and people who are eligible can move into their new home relatively quickly.
Tenancy turnover This shows that on average people who move into the neighbourhood tend to stay in their homes for a reasonable length of time although the length of stay varies across the whole of the neighbourhood. It also indicates that people are not as happy living in some parts of the neighbourhood as they could be with some choosing not to stay in the long term.
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% of live antisocial behaviour cases The neighbourhood experiences a significant number of antisocial behaviour or neighbour nuisance cases. This indicates that while residents treat each other with respect there are a number of incidents that do occur that have a negative impact on people’s ability to relax and feel secure. Neighbourhood satisfaction People’s general satisfaction with the neighbourhood as a place to live is good but there are some factors that spoil their experience and affect their enjoyment of the area. Crime People in the neighbourhood experience high levels of crime and vandalism in relation to similar neighbourhoods in Tameside. This means that people do not feel as safe and secure as they should living in and walking around many parts of the neighbourhood. Health The neighbourhood has some issues with people’s health and disability levels compared with similar neighbourhoods in Tameside. This could indicate that more people than usual may have mobility problems of one sort or another, need some long term medical support in their homes and perhaps feel quite isolated.
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Employment The neighbourhood has relatively good employment levels compared with similar neighbourhoods in Tameside. Education and skills The neighbourhood has poor levels of educational attainment and skills. This indicates that it may be difficult for people to access the training they may need to help gain employment or develop their existing career prospects. Household income The neighbourhood has relatively good family income levels compared with similar neighbourhoods in Tameside. Access to services People in the neighbourhood have access to some shops and services from near to their homes. This indicates that it can be difficult to shop for more than essentials or access a good range of advice or support in or close to the neighbourhood itself.
Neighbourhood overall star rating Overall the neighbourhood is a good place to live but it does experience some problems that affect people’s quality of life on a day to day basis. The main aim for this neighbourhood is to identify the right activities, services and initiatives that will help address the specific issues that stop it being as good a place as it could be. 07
Local knowledge: Auditing your neighbourhood While the indicators show us useful trends and point us in the right direction we need more local knowledge to identify some of the specific issues we need to address. To gather this information we have conducted a neighbourhood audit asking the people who live and work here to identify what they think the issues were.
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What our Neighbourhood team told us Antisocial behaviour is a big issue in some parts of the neighbourhood especially with youths congregating around the shops and flats causing nuisance. There is also a problem with neighbourhood disputes and inconsiderate behaviour which seem to occur in particular parts of the neighbourhood including a number of incidents of harassment towards ethnic minority families. Also more lower level issues particularly in summer relating to children playing football or games in the street and people drinking alcohol in gardens, causing disruption. Whilst the frequency which people move in and out of the neighbourhood is slightly higher than usual, overall there are no problems letting properties, with demand staying relatively steady. Residents new to the area tend to have more problems settling in, in some parts of the neighbourhood. There are environmental issues that affect neighbourhood appearance in respect of a number of areas of open land being overgrown and some garage sites which are in poor condition. Some areas of the neighbourhood experience problems around the poor condition of fencing for gardens which also affects neighbourhood appearance. Some communal areas would also benefit from additional fencing or natural boundaries.
Parking is a particular problem in some parts of the neighbourhood and dog fouling and control of dogs is also an issue in some areas. There are also significant issues around garden maintenance in relation to a number of properties which affects street appearance quite negatively. The Neighbourhood team work closely with the residents group who are very active in the area and this helps substantially in delivery of services. However New Charter would like to see increased resident feedback from the Palace Road area which no longer has a formal residents group in place.
The New Charter Neighbourhood Home and Community Hub is felt to be providing a useful base for many activities, meetings and links to external agencies and partner services. 09
What you told us On average the residents we consulted rate the neighbourhood 8 out of 10 as a place to live. So while people are positive about the area there are still some quality of life issues that people think need to be addressed. Some of the best features residents identified about living in the neighbourhood were: the local community, friendly neighbours, good bus routes, good access to local shops and amenities and it being generally clean, quiet and pleasant. The issues that people identified about living in the neighbourhood were: antisocial behaviour particularly from young people, some noise from some properties during the summer, dangerous driving, the level of litter and the lack of facilities for children. People raised specific issues with us about:A lack of children’s play areas and facilities The need for more support services for children The condition of roads and pavements in winter Confusing road signage in some areas Football traffic causing significant congestion Empty shops having a negative impact on neighbourhood appearance The need for a full time community facility A lack of visible policing The need for larger refuse bins or a more frequent refuse collection More broadly people saw the lack of access to employment, banking services, adult education, childcare, benefits advice and drop in clinics as issues which had a direct impact on the neighbourhood.
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Some of the best features residents identified about living in the neighbourhood were: the local community, friendly neighbours, good bus routes, good access to local shops and amenities and it being generally clean, quiet and pleasant. 11
What other organisations told us There are quite significant health issues in the neighbourhood compared with the rest of Tameside particularly in terms of higher mortality and higher rates of stress and mental health issues due to poor access to the right kind of health services and non-healthy lifestyles.
A need has been identified for more intensive family support services for a number of households who are experiencing problems.
Crime is seen as a significant issue with various forms of antisocial behaviour, violent crime and burglary being the principle concerns and a lack of crime prevention measures in place raising levels of vulnerability to crime.
Access to mainstream services and amenities can be variable due to the location of the neighbourhood; some drop in services via the Neighbourhood team help to mitigate this.
Access to training and subsequent employment disproportionately affects young people in the neighbourhood with a number of agencies identifying poor links to training providers and poor preparatory support. A variety of agencies thought that young people in the neighbourhood also suffered more generally in terms of access to a range of facilities and support services. It was also felt that more work in these areas would have a positive effect on youth related antisocial behaviour. Agencies thought there could be problems for residents more generally in terms of loss of income as part of the Government’s welfare reform.
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The neighbourhood suffers significant problems with traffic volume and road safety.
What we saw together: Shuttered shops on Hazlehurst Road and the poor condition of the area around them really impacts negatively on neighbourhood appearance Poor condition of roads visible in many parts of the neighbourhood Poor cutting of grassed areas
Fly tipping on garage sites and communal land Communal areas linked to blocks of flats overgrown and untidy Poor lighting and lack of security on the pathway on Palace Road Poor appearance of some individual gardens
High level of litter in Hadfield Crescent and Palace Road
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What do we need to do to make this a greater place? The aim of this section is to identify the activities needed to improve the quality of life in the neighbourhood based on what we have established and what you have told us. It’s effectively an action plan which shows what needs to be done in more detail.
Neighbourhood and community management
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What?
Why?
When?
Increase physical officer surveillance in the neighbourhood enhanced by CCTV surveillance in antisocial behaviour (ASB) hotspots in or near to the flats.
To reduce incidents of ASB in the neighbourhood and reduce property turnover in affected areas.
September 2013
Adopt a targeted approach to hate crime and harassment of minority families through increased surveillance and joint working with the Police.
To improve the quality of life for affected families.
October 2013
Work with the Police and the Community Safety team on target hardening, surveillance of nuisance and congregation in communal areas and develop a more general policing plan targeting more serious antisocial behaviour, disturbance and burglary.
To reduce levels of vandalism and increase feelings of security for customers who feel vulnerable to crime by developing a long term crime prevention strategy to ensure a consistent policing approach.
May 2013
What?
Why?
When?
Develop a neighbourhood wide Home Watch group with support from New Charter.
To increase the level of surveillance in neighbourhood and therefore increase the feelings of security and empowerment against crime.
June 2013
Undertake a review of the current facilities and activities for young people with Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (TMBC) as well as the need for additional general community facilities, activities and services and assess the potential community venues are available.
Identification of a broader range of facilities for young people is needed to improve their quality of life and that of the community more generally.
January 2014
Increase the range of activities, advice and drop in services from other agencies at the Hub.
To increase and improve residents access to advice and drop in services within the neighbourhood.
May 2013
Work in partnership with TMBCYouth Services and New Charter’sYouth team to develop diversionary activities with young people through outreach activities and activities at fixed locations.
To reduce the level of antisocial behaviour from youths by providing positive activities and link youths to other services.
August 2013
Increase the activities of TMBC environmental patrollers targeting dog fouling.
To reduce the level of dog fouling in the neighbourhood.
June 2013
Work with TMBC to review the refuse bin service in the neighbourhood generally with residents.
To improve neighbourhood appearance and the quality of life for residents.
June 2014
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What?
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Why?
When?
Undertake a joint review of childcare and early To improve the quality of children’s years provision with TMBC teams. support services in the neighbourhood and increase households ability to work full or part-time.
July 2014
Work with partners to increase the signposting Improve the health of residents in the of customers to health advice and services; neighbourhood and the support that they including Mental Health Services. In addition receive and is available to them. work with Primary CareTrust to look at the provision of HealthVisitor Services to young families.
June 2013
Consistently signpost and refer customers and To increase opportunities for customers their families to employment advice and gaining employment. income advice services, working with New Charter’s Great Opportunities programme and other partners to develop work experience placements for long term unemployed.
April 2013
Work with the Community Safety team and TMBC to review the need for and possible options available in relation to traffic calming.
To Increase road safety and reduce speeding in the neighbourhood.
October 2014
CleanCare to continue to target litter in identified areas.
To improve the appearance of specific streets experiencing litter problems.
April 2013
Develop a strategy to improve the upkeep of green areas with Green Charter and residents. This includes the development of publicised schedules and service standards and will include working withTMBC and use of Community Payback scheme where appropriate.
To improve neighbourhood appearance, increase usage of green spaces and raise customer satisfaction with environmental services in these areas.
August 2013
What?
Why?
When?
Work with a number of organisations and stakeholders on initiatives identified in their plans that will help improve the neighbourhood.
To improve services and maximise input into the neighbourhood from other service providers.
November 2013
Work in partnership with shop owners and New Charter’s Development team to improve the appearance of shutters, shop fronts and general areas.
To improve the appearance of the neighbourhood.
September 2013
To reduce levels of vandalism and increase feelings of security for customers who feel vulnerable to crime by developing a long term crime prevention strategy to ensure consistent policing approach.
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Tenancy What? Increase the use and targeting of mediation services in neighbour disputes.
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Why? To reduce neighbour disputes and improve neighbour relations.
When? April 2013
Establish a network of existing residents to To help new residents to settle in and welcome and befriend new residents and their create links to the community and families. neighbours.
September 2013
Increase tenancy and neighbourhood enforcement on activities that affect quality of life e.g. noise nuisance and pet ownership with a focus on garden maintenance.
To improve the quality of life for the majority of our residents as well as identifying and reducing unacceptable conduct.
July 2013
Set up gardening tool hire service and a gardening club for all residents in the neighbourhood.
To increase access to advice and equipment to maintain gardens.
June 2013
Continue to deliver the Key toYour Door programme for customers up to 35 in terms of ensuring their readiness for tenancy and to identify any support required.
To reduce potential for lifestyle clashes and unsuccessful conduct of tenancy.
April 2013
Apply targeted fast track enforcement for serious ASB perpetrators with targeted resources from New Charter’s Tenancy and Support Services team.
To quickly remove disruptive residents, improve the quality of life for other residents and protect demand for properties.
March 2013
Make targeted calls to customers with rent arrears to address the arrears and signpost to advice services.
To reduce the arrears in the neighbourhood and to reduce the number of customers whose home is at risk due to debt issues.
April 2013
What?
Why?
When?
Signpost and refer customers who may benefit To reduce the number of evictions for from the help of New Charter’s Welfare non-payment of rent and provide more Benefits Advice team. help and advice on managing finances.
March 2013
Continue with the regular housing surgery and To make it quick and easy for residents to drop in ‘tea and toast’ sessions in the Hub. access services and ensure neighbourhood issues are dealt with.
January 2013
Provide increased support to identified vulnerable customers and link them to specialist support and advice services as well.
To help identified customers successfully manage their tenancies and reduce lifestyle clashes with other residents.
April 2013
Neighbourhood team to carry out quarterly neighbourhood inspections (open to residents).
To provide regular monitoring of street level appearance and visible issues.
March 2013
Target customers who may be affected by welfare reform and provide advice and support.
To increase awareness of potential issues and help reduce debt and/or financial problems caused by welfare reform.
January 2013
We aim to... Improve the quality of life for the majority of our residents as well as identifying and reducing unacceptable conduct.
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Home What?
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Why?
When?
Improve appearance, security and appeal to households of identified properties that are more difficult to let.
To improve neighbourhood appearance, reduce nuisance in shared areas and improve demand for properties.
March 2014
Work with TMBC to improve neighbourhood signage.
To help visitors and deliveries find addresses easily.
January 2014
Undertake a review of local play facilities provision in consultation with residents.
To ensure children have well placed safe places to play.
October 2014
Undertake a review of fencing and boundaries, including a review of fencing to communal areas.
To assess if existing fencing is adequate in terms of security and appearance and identify any specific work needed to clarify boundaries..
September 2013
Produce improvement plan options for refuse collection storage and enclosure of remaining areas vulnerable to fly tipping close to the blocks of flats.
To improve the quality of life for residents and general neighbourhood appearance around blocks of flats.
October 2013
Develop the improvement programme for current garage sites.
To improve the management, security and appearance of garage sites and improve parking availability.
September 2013
Review the parking provision for customers on identified streets.
To identify any additional parking spaces required and the potential options if additional provision is identified.
July 2014
What?
Why?
When?
Introduce fencing and hedging to a number of communal locations. Use the Green Charter tree planting programme to support planting work by residents in some of these areas.
To improve the appearance of the neighbourhood, provide better definition to communal areas and decrease casual littering or damage.
April 2014
Review the number of repairs issues in the neighbourhood.
To identify if there are any underlying issues in term of buildings, components, design or usage that need to be addressed.
April 2013
To ensure children have well placed safe places to play. 21
Involvement and empowerment What?
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Why?
When?
Increase the support for the existing residents group.
To ensure continued working in close partnership with groups of knowledgeable customers on neighbourhood issues.
March 2013
Provide New Charter support to look at developing a Residents Association in the Palace Road area.
To enable consistent working with residents from that area on their particular issues.
June 2013
Ask interested customers to be street representatives whose role will be to report any issues they or other residents are concerned about in their street or the wider neighbourhood. The Neighbourhood team will also contact the street representatives once a quarter to check progress and provide support.
This will provide a way for customers to report any issues to staff and to have them addressed promptly. This will also help improve the day to day service.
June 2013
Develop customer inspections on key customer identified issues.
To increase customer led monitoring of issues by getting the ‘customer eye’ view.
May 2013
Develop a community agreement with residents on what the community believes its values are how people should treat each other and what is acceptable behaviour.
To improve community spirit in the neighbourhood, reduce inconsiderate behaviour and low level nuisance.
May 2013
What?
Why?
When?
Set up a neighbourhood facebook page.
To encourage a different type of dialogue between residents with each other and with staff. This will help with regards to reporting, supporting and discussion.
May 2013
Support and promote time banking and volunteering activities with residents and community organisations.
To build community cooperation networks, July 2013 increase community spirit and self-help; this will improve intergenerational contact and relationships.
Hold weekend community information events or fun days 4 times a year and hold seasonal activities at Easter and Halloween.
To improve the neighbourhood appearance and increase community spirit, building positive relationships with neighbours and increasing the community’s knowledge of what services and opportunities are available.
April 2013
We aim to... Enable consistent working with residents from that area on their particular issues.
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What next? Great progress we hope!! Work has already begun in your neighbourhood on the various actions outlined in Your Great Neighbourhood Charter as well as in our other 31 New Charter neighbourhoods. We would like the Great Neighbourhood Charters to mark the start of a new phase of activity aimed at ensuring that all our neighbourhoods are the great places that we all want and know they can be. We will be reviewing the Charter frequently this year and we will keep you updated on the progress, you will have the opportunity to be involved in this so please watch out for advertised activities or requests for feedback. However there is no need to wait until then‌ if after reading this you have any questions comments or suggestions or if you would like to get more involved in helping us identify what we could achieve in your neighbourhood please contact us and give us your thoughts. You can do this by ringing 0161 331 2000 or contacting us via your preferred method, we can also arrange for someone to call and visit you in your home if you would prefer, we would really like to hear from you.
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Neighbourhood Fact File Here are some facts and figures about the people and properties that make up your neighbourhood which we thought you may find interesting.
Number of properties owned by New Charter =
747
Properties by type
Houses
526
Flats
221
Black Minority Ethnic
4.94%
55+
16.72%
18 - 25
14.13%
Under 16
28.56%
Number of residents =
1621 25
Final Thoughts We hope that over the next three years through the actions outlined in your Great Neighbourhood Charter we will really make a visible difference to your neighbourhood, making it more attractive for those living or thinking of living in it and improve resident’s quality of life. We think the key to success will be to continue to work together with you to achieve this.
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Contact us Main switchboard: 0161 331 2000 Emergency housing & repairs calls: 0800 027 0828 If you need an emergency repair during the following times: - Before 8am and after 6pm Monday to Friday - During weekends and Bank Holidays Antisocial behaviour helpline: 0800 027 0522 (24 hours a day)
@ contact@newcharter.co.uk www.newcharter.co.uk newchartergroup
Home and Community Hubs 2 Henrietta Street, Ashton 9 Albert Street, Denton 12 Clarendon Street, Hyde 63 Grosvenor Street, Stalybridge
Head office:
New Charter, Cavendish 249, Cavendish Street, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7AT
@newchartergroup
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Resource Housing Reg. No. 2111