Langworthy, Pendleton and Seedley SNAP blog
Friday 1 May 2009
Community Payback
Bob Cadwallader, Community Payback officer
Salford's Community Payback team has cleared several tons of waste from land as part of SNAP. Offenders, supervised by Greater Manchester Probation Trust staff, carry out unpaid work as part of their sentences.
Before the SNAP week started Community Payback were able to help on the project by delivering leaflets about what was happening door to door. This meant that delivery of the leaflets did not cost extra money.
During the week the team worked hard to clear away tons of green and general waste from the site of a derelict residential home in front of Kimsing shops. The work included cutting grass, pruning hedgerows and improving road and paved areas.
The team also brushed and litter-picked the pathways between the site and the playground. Unfortunately bad weather made it impossible for the team to paint the apparatus at the children's playground, but the work will be done as soon as this is possible.
Offenders were supervised at all times by the Community Payback team. The team includes myself, colleagues Ken Gee and Chris Oakley and manager Carol Johnson.
The probation project was successful because it resulted in waste land being tidied, made safer and more appealing. The derelict site now looks substantially cleaner and soon the playground will be colourful and improved.
It was also a high-visibility project, the orange Community Payback jackets worn by offenders carrying out the work meant that the public was able to see them making reparations for the crimes they have committed.
Friday 1 May 2009
iBulance
Jennifer Lynch and Anita Coward - Child Action Northwest
Tonight we decided to go out later than Wednesday - we think more young people will be out on a Friday night. Again we met at Chimney Pot Park with the two detached youth workers plus two outreach workers.
We headed over to Buile Hill Park where we were met by a group of young men who had been waiting for us to appear and were desperate to get on the iBulance! The group fully engaged in our services and had fun navigating themselves around our media wall.
We went on to Ambrose Gardens, where there were lots of young people. The youth workers talked to some while others made their way over to the iBulance. The young people getting on were intrigued about it, asking tons of questions - what is it, what can you do, and most importantly, when will you be here again? All the young people getting on the iBulance chose to sign up and use our services, just the response we hoped for!
The iBulance had a real buzz about it tonight - when all the equipment is going, the lights are changing colour and the music is playing young people are really drawn to it. It was a great session and we cannot wait to hit the streets again with this fab resource.
Friday 1 May 2009
Doggy picture booth
Gail Skelly, Ordsall Community Arts
We set off yesterday to draw and photograph Salford's finest pooches. We wanted to celebrate the dog and make sure that everyone knows it's not doggie cool to leave dog poo on pavements or in parks. We hope that by informing residents in this way it will help make the area better for everyone.
We were lucky on the day. The weather was sublime, a perfect April day, blossoms everywhere and the park looking all green and blooming.
We met lots of dogs including - Zoe, a beautiful 12 year old Doberman, who reminded us of the Attac creatures from Star Wars. Percy, 13 and Toby, 7 were sad without Rosie, their playmate who was ill at home. Hopefully she'll be in the park lunchtime Friday so we can take her pic too so she doesn't feel left out. And don't forget Tess, who even after a good hour playing was still chasing pigeons!
The drawings of all the dogs are going to be used to enter the Big Draw. This is an annual drawing project, which for the last four years has won Ordsall Community Arts a prestigious national award.
If you'd like to know about another similar project happening later in the year please send us your email address.
Wednesday 29 April 2009
Home fire risk assessments
Gary Massingham, Fire-fighter, Amber Watch, Salford Fire Station
As part of SNAP we focused on the Langworthy, Seedley and Pendleton area making sure residents in the area know how to keep their homes safe from fire and to make sure that they have smoke alarms which are working properly.
One of the many residents we were able to visit over SNAP was Mr William Royle who wrote the following for our blog.
"I was very pleased to see the Fire and Rescue Service again, they had visited me about a year ago to give me some fire safety advice and fit some smoke alarms in my property, but since getting the front living room redecorated I needed a replacement smoke alarm fitted. They had a look around my home again and tested my other smoke alarms. It's good to see that the fire service are looking out for everyone in the community, even the people that they had already visited. I feel safe knowing that I can count on the Fire and Rescue Service to give advice on fire safety whenever I, my family or my friends, need it."
Lynn Drake was another person we were able to do a home fire risk assessment for.
"My name is Lynn Drake and I have a dual interest in this week's SNAP initiative, not only am I a resident of Langworthy but also I am the local ward councillor.
I had a home fire risk assessment at my home last week. The fire service visited and checked the entire my house to ensure that I was safe. They also fitted smoke alarms - these should last for ten years, which is super as I will not have to remember to change the batteries! We also discussed an escape plan which is essential to ensure that myself and my family know what to do in the event of a fire. As a result I will make sure I always have my keys to hand as well as my mobile phone so that I have a means of calling 999 should I require help in the event of a fire.
I found the check really informative and am very pleased that the fire service are able to spend time in the community as they have a very busy schedule."
Cook and taste
Lesley Sheldon, Health Improvement Worker, Salford Primary Care Trust
The Health Improvement team works with residents in Salford doing activities that help them be happy and healthy. As part of SNAP we organised a Cook and Taste session at the Salford Women's Centre which was a chance for people to learn how to cook a fresh, tasty and healthy meal. 11 women took part.
The meal that we made at the session was Spring Vegetable and Bean Soup, a low cost dish which is suitable for vegetarians. The recipe is easy to adapt as well, to make use of available ingredients. One lady had a strong disliking for both onions and stock cubes so we showed her how she could make it without either of these.
We had a great time. Thank you to everyone involved, including staff at the Salford Women's Centre who made us and the participants really welcome. Everyone said how much they'd enjoyed the session and the food.
Carrying on from the success of the day we're going to be continuing the cooking - we're running a six week course based around Jamie Oliver's ‘Ministry of Food' cook book. Six of the women who attended on the day have signed up for it but there's still room for other people who are interested. You can get in touch with the team about this and other events by calling us on 0161 603 4106.
Bulky waste
Robert Myrtle, Environmental Co-ordinator, Street Cleaning team
I am a co-ordinator in the Street Cleaning team. The team work to improve environmental issues throughout Salford by sweeping the streets and clearing fly-tipping, fly-posting and graffiti.
During SNAP we are doing lots of extra street sweeping and work to remove graffiti as well as the free bulky waste collection, which is particularly popular with residents.
We have already had a really good response from residents in the Langworthy, Pendleton and Seedley area. So far this week the team have collected over 12 tonnes of unwanted furniture, white goods and other large household items. That has included baths, sofas, a toilet, ironing boards - all sorts of things, anything that is difficult for people to dispose of themselves. The only things we can't take are things like gas canisters, asbestos and soil.
Everything we collect is recycled where possible - it is broken down at the recycling depot and all the bits that can be recycled, such as metal, are stripped out.
We really hope that the bulky waste collections, along with the extra street sweeping and graffiti clearance work we are doing, will make a big difference to the area.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Alley gating
Vicky Ryan, Principal Officer, Housing Crime Reduction
Well the weather has held up for us, no rain and even a bit of sunshine! Today myself and Robert Jones have been out and about in Langworthy checking the alley gates south of Langworthy Road. A few of the gates needed realigning, this just ensures the gates can open and close smoothly. We cleaned out a few of the lock mechanisms so now it should be easier for the residents to unlock the gates. Other than that the gates were all in good working order. It also gave us a chance to see how nice residents had made the alley ways. The majority of them had seating areas with lots of flowers and plants, it's great that residents don't just get the added security, but also an outside area where they can relax in the summer and children can play safely.
Monday 27 April 2009
Community clean up
Matthew Reynolds, Operations Manager, Great Places Housing Group, Salford.
Despite Monday's wet and generally miserable weather, our community clean up went ahead. Many thanks to volunteers who came out to help Great Places Housing Group staff on the SNAP clean up. The team went around the Seedley area including Edmund Street, Grange Street and Nadine Street. Focusing on hard to reach areas not possible to cover in routine clean ups, such as narrow footpaths and wedged behind street furniture, the team collected 17 bags of rubbish.
Alley gating
Vicky Ryan, Principal Officer, Housing Crime Reduction
The posts are in on Milford Street and Alisa House Alley Gating Scheme all ready for the gates to go up. Today I just need to pick up the keys for the existing alley gating schemes so that tomorrow our inspections can begin. It's been a rainy day in Salford today so I'm really hoping the weather holds up for us tomorrow.
Smoking Awareness Session
Daryl Weston, Trainee Health Improvement Officer, Salford Primary Care Trust
There is a lot of information in the press and in the media about how bad smoking is for people's health but people aren't always aware of how much support is available locally.
SNAP was a fantastic opportunity to make residents aware of the free help and support that is available to them in their area. We held an awareness session at the newly opened Pendleton Gateway Centre.
To plan for the session we went to the local NHS library to get resources and ideas on how to get people to realise what smoking was doing to them. In the end we went for dramatic shock tactics including a jar of tar. This showed how much tar a smoker would get in their lungs from smoking twenty cigarettes a day over a year. It was really effective in getting the message across.
The session was such a success that we're going to go back to Pendleton Gateway each week over the next fortnight. The centre was a great location, with really friendly and welcoming staff so we're hoping to be able to set up a six week support group there for local residents to help them kick the habit for good.
Police activity
Inspector David Henthorne, Salford Neighbourhood Police Team
I'm Inspector David Henthorne of the Salford Central Neighbourhood Policing team that covers the Langworthy, Weaste & Seedley, Ordsall and Claremont area.
Myself and the team are working hard to make the SNAP week a success, further developing our relationship with members of the community.
As part of the SNAP, we executed two drug warrants on Graythorpe Walk. Two people were arrested for drugs offences and a third was arrested for breach of a court order. The operation went well and highlights our commitment to serve the community to the best of our ability.
27 taxi checks were carried out throughout the area, I am pleased to report that no offences were discovered.
Six vehicles were stopped whilst using the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) device. This device is used to help us check whether motorists have insurance, driving licence, etc. During the day, one fixed penalty notice was issued for driving offences.
Members of the team were out with NCP employees looking for abandoned/untaxed cars. One vehicle was removed as a result.
The mobile police station was operational in the Lower Seedley Road area where we spoke to a number of people about their concerns and issues. The station will be at various locations throughout the week so please feel free to approach my officers and discuss how you would like your neighbourhood policed
The first day of the Langworthy, Pendleton and Seedley SNAP has been a success and I am positive the rest of the week will follow suit.
Friday 25 April 2009
Alley gating
Vicky Ryan, Principal Officer, Housing Crime Reduction
The aim of alley gating is to improve the safety of residents and make residents feel safer in their homes. During SNAP week and the following weeks we will be adding to a list of 35 current schemes in the area with seven more.
We will also be doing inspections on all existing schemes to ensure the gates are working correctly and secure.
It's been a hectic week ensuring that we are prepared to deliver all this during the SNAP week, today keys are being delivered to all residents on the Milford Street scheme, they will be the first gates to go up.
This page was last updated on 23 October 2009
