Winton SNAP blog
Saturday 7 February
Community art project
Andrea Parker, Community Development Worker, Salford City Council
The launch of the community art project took place today at Brookhouse Community Centre with lots of families and young people taking part in creating their own individual works of art. Even the Mayor and her consort joined in the fun!
Laura Bailey from Purple Arts and volunteers from Barton Moss Children's Centre were on hand to make sure everything went smoothly and everyone had the materials they needed to create a masterpiece. In the meantime members of the Brookhouse Resident Association kept everyone supplied with much needed refreshments.
The vision is for each decorated piece of wood to be joined together to make one giant totem pole/ jigsaw which will be erected at the entrance to the children's centre. There will be a further two workshops so that even more people get the chance to take part in the project.
This project is a great opportunity to get people involved in their local community and can help divert people away from becoming involved in anti-social behaviour.
Home Fire Risk Assessments
Mrs Carter, resident, Westwood Park
It's so nice to see the fire and rescue service taking time out to come into the community and carry out Home Fire Risk Assessments to try and prevent fires. It is really marvellous that they find time for old people
The fire and rescue service have visited me twice, I knew nothing about fire safety until I had my risk assessment but am very grateful that I now have a bedtime routine. If a fire occurs I understand the importance of closing doors at night to prevent it spreading. I leave my keys in an accessible place close to my front door and have my mobile phone in bed with me, I can escape down my stairs and out through the front door to call 999. If I am unable to leave my flat I can stay in my bedroom, close and block the door to prevent smoke coming through, ring the fire brigade and open the window to shout for help. The fireman told me not to jump unless absolutely necessary to stop me from injuring myself.
I once left a grill pan on unattended in the kitchen and I really panicked but now I am really confident I would know what to do if it happened again - the fireman told me to switch off the power source, call 999 and leave the property.
My father used to be a firefighter in Kidderminster during the war, and it has changed so much. The fire and rescue service are in the community and it is a really good thing. The fire and rescue service do so much more than put out fires and they really are amazing.
Friday 6 February
Summary of SNAP activities
Damian Dallimore, Project Officer, Community Safety team, Salford City Council
I am responsible for organising and coordinating SNAPs. The whole week has gone really well so far and everyone involved in the Winton SNAP has been working very hard to make it a success.
In order to review and celebrate the achievements of the Winton SNAP, we invited the Leader of the Council - Councillor John Merry - to speak to an audience of members of the public, council officers and partner agencies about what had been accomplished so far.
The event at Winton Library was well attended. Brian Wroe - Assistant Director for Community Services - opened the event and spoke about the importance of partnership activity such as SNAPs, the importance of involving the community throughout, as well as the necessity to ensure that the successes be sustained beyond the initial week of action.
Councillor Merry praised the achievements of everyone involved in the Winton SNAP and reviewed some of the key successes, which include:
- Seven drugs warrants executed by the police with five successfully resulting in arrests.
- The discovery of a cannabis farm with over 200 plants.
- Over 200 Home Fire Risk Assessments carried out by the Fire & Rescue Service, with free smoke alarms fitted in homes.
- Over 17 tonnes of bulky waste removed from people's homes, including 22 fridges, 56 television sets, 15 personal computers and 12 washing machines.
- The removal of 75 pieces of graffiti.
- Salford Reds carried out 3 healthy living assemblies in Beech St, St Gilberts and Westwood Park primary schools.
- Three residents have admitted fraudulently claiming housing benefit.
- Walkabouts were carried out on Brookhouse, New Lane and Westwood Park accompanied by a number of partners and elected members. Issues were identified and follow up actions will be taken.
- Over 40 addresses were specifically targeted by City West Housing Trust for tenancy breaches.
- The police and DVLA removed eight untaxed vehicles.
Councillor Merry thanked everyone for their hard work and stressed the importance of a range of services working together to improve the local environment and make areas of the city safer and a better place to live.
Thursday 5 February
Community Payback
Bob Cadwallader, Visibility Officer, Community Payback team, Greater Manchester Probation Service
The Community Payback team have been working in Winton this week to support SNAP activities. Community Payback is a scheme run by the Probation Service and involves offenders doing compulsory, unpaid work to "pay back" to the communities they have offended in. All projects combine hard work and the chance for the offender to develop important life skills. They help to reduce the risk of re-offending and so make our communities safer.
This week, the team has been working on the canal bank at Old Fold, close to Parrin Lane and just near the bridge into Monton. They have cleared away undergrowth from under trees, cleared and cut back bushes and shrubbery in the area, swept up broken glass and cleared the area of litter. The team spent a great deal of time painting over graffiti which had blighted the area. They have also done work to improve the path through the area and made it much more user friendly for people walking in the area.
Residents using the path have commented on how pleased they are with the work. One local was so pleased they wrote and told us:
"It looks absolutely amazing, I use the path to go to and from work and the path has been made visible again. It is truly a breath of fresh air and a lot safer. Your team has done excellent work".
We are now looking at ways of working with partners to improve the area further, perhaps by doing some more permanent repairs to the path.
We want to make unpaid work more widely available across communities but we can't do this without your help! We need to know about projects you think we could work on. For more details about the type of projects we can undertake and to nominate a project for us to consider, check out the Probation Service website.
Healthy living assemblies
Tom Haworth, Rugby League Development Officer, Salford City Reds Foundation
Over the SNAP week the Salford City Reds have been delivering our healthy assembly programme at Beech St, St Gilberts and Westwood Park primary schools. Seb and I have been allowed to take over a whole school assembly where we talked to pupils about healthy lifestyles and respecting others. It's important that we get out to local schools and get them interested in sports and team activities as it creates a diversion from the mischief kids can get up to when they get bored!
We introduced them to the club and the foundation's activities and then we showed them a short DVD of the Salford City Reds first team in action. However, the kids didn't get off that lightly as Seb and I insisted on a bit of audience participation, in the form of fun drills involving rugby balls. Even the teachers got involved!
All the assemblies culminated in a certificate presentation to high achievers at the school, who were awarded with complimentary family passes for an upcoming first team fixture at the Willows.We also distributed team posters, fixture cards and flyers to the rest of the school.
Wednesday 4 February
Bulky waste collection
Robert Myrtle, Environmental Co ordinator, Salford City Council
This week I've been involved in SNAP week in Winton and have been busy organising the various people and teams to co ordinate an effective approach to:
- remove all bulky items and white goods e.g. fridge/freezer/ washing machine/cooker
- get rid of any graffiti
- clear fly tipping in the area
- sweeping streets with the mechanical sweeper to clear pavements and channels in the roads.
Today I attended a morning briefing session at Brookhouse Community Centre to ensure the smooth running and supervision of the teams on the New Lane / Bridgewater Estate. My main responsibility has been monitoring the efforts of the street cleansing teams in the area to ensure high standards are met and to discuss any issues arising from local residents.
It's good to see that residents have made a conscious effort at leaving items out for our refuse collection team, which has resulted in over 5 tonnes of waste being collected in just one day! The combined weight of all items collected all week so far is a very impressive 17 tonnes!
Reducing anti-social behaviour
David Walsh, Senior Manager Anti-Social Behaviour, Salford City Council
My job is to tackle anti-social behaviour in the community and preparation for this in the Winton area started just after Christmas and went on throughout January. Officers from City West carried out a number of estate inspections in the Brookhouse, Westwood & Alder Park and New Lane areas last month, with a view to finding out what problems and issues could be targeted during SNAP week.
During previous inspections City West discovered a number of problems. These included overgrown and untidy gardens, rubbish dumping and litter, graffiti and other issues at individual properties such as unreported repairs and breaches of tenancy. As a result, they drew up a list of areas and addresses to target during SNAP week including 28 locations of fly-tipping and 73 incidents of graffiti in the Winton neighbourhood.
41 tenancy visits have taken place to resolve problems with rent arrears, untidy gardens and poor property or balcony conditions throughout Winton. In the case of successful visits, officers have given advice and support. However, in a couple of cases City West have had to issue notices for suspected abandoned properties and in one case, a failed access visit has become part of an ongoing possession case. A further 16 visits are planned in the Brookhouse and New Lane areas as part of SNAP week.
We will return to some of the properties where we failed to gain access over the next few days.
As part of an environmental improvement scheme to help reduce fly-tipping in the area, City West have provided better bin facilities for residents in several blocks in the New Lane area. Home visits have been made to all residents on the block, with information and advice on how to correctly dispose of rubbish.
We have also issued a number of warnings to young people caught drinking alcohol under age and causing a nuisance. This means that if they are caught again we can look at taking stronger action such as asking them to sign a formal agreement not to misbehave again.
We recognise that whilst we have taken some positive steps to deal with anti-social behaviour this week, problems may still occur once the SNAP is over. We will continue to take strong action on anti-social behaviour, but it's really important that people report it to us in the first place. If you see or experience any inappropriate behaviour, make sure you report it to us in confidence on 0161 909 6544.
Alleygating, Sutherland Street
Louise Averill, Principal Officer, Housing Crime Reduction team, Salford City Council
The gate and fencing are now up! Some residents have phoned to request an extra key. They are all very pleased and happy with the gates and feel safer already. It's great to know we can make a difference to the residents of Salford in feeling safer not only in their own home but in their community. I'm now off to get photos of the gates and carry out the post inspection. I have also made a note in my calendar to evaluate the success of the scheme in 6 months time.
What's great is that one of the residents told me thanks very much on behalf of all the residents, that it will make a big difference to the area.
If you would like information about alleygating please contact our team on 0161 604 7720.
User comments
"I write to convey my great delight and relief when I saw that the gate had finally had been installed. As you know the access has been used as a route for wrong-doers for many years. There is often a great deal of anti-social behaviour at Winton Park and the said access has an accessory to that as it has been used as an escape route for hooligans. Closing off the escape route will make it easier to police. In addition there will be peace of mind for many residents which helps to regain pride and confidence in the area that they live. People will feel more relaxed and happy to live in Winton; indeed at times people thought the only option was to move to a different area. Thank you once again."
Gill Hickman, resident and secretary of Friends of Winton Park Awareness Group - 06/02/09 - 9.55am
Tuesday 3 February
Brookhouse estate walkabout
Rob Gleave, Tenancy Management Officer, City West Housing Trust
I am one of three officers responsible for tenancy management in the Winton area. My job is to be a key contact for tenants with queries about their housing and local anti-social behaviour issues.
Today I was involved in a walkabout as part of Winton SNAP week.
We undertake walkabouts regularly to help identify problems residents may be having and work with the relevant organisations (for example the police or the council) to help resolve them. We identify and help with things such as untidy gardens, fly tipping and graffiti, as well as looking at any possible environmental improvements that could be made in the neighbourhood.
The walkabout today covered the Brookhouse estate (Buckthorn Lane, Lodgepole Close, Pyrus Close and Robinia Close). Walking around the estate was useful: as well as meeting residents and asking them about their concerns, we came across a number of things…
As it's against the law to have an untaxed car on the road, the police took away a vehicle with an out-of-date tax disc. In another part of the estate, cars had been regularly parking on a communal grass area which was not only unsafe for the people living there but had created an eyesore of the land. A public notice will now go up to inform owners of vehicles who park on the grass that they may be prosecuted.
We also found problems with the position of the CCTV cameras near Barton Moss Primary School - they were unable to turn a full 360 degrees to see everything going on in the vicinity. There was also graffiti and overgrown tree branches on Lodgepole Close, which the environmental team at the council will be tidying up later in SNAP week. These issues and others are now with the relevant organisations to be resolved.
I enjoy getting out and about in the area, it's a great opportunity to look at ways to improve the neighbourhood. It's our job to work with the community and to help make the area safer, cleaner and a more pleasant place to live.
User comments
"excellent summary of a productive week"
Anonymous - 05/02/09 - 9.26am
Alleygating, Sutherland Street
Louise Averill, Principal Officer, Housing Crime Reduction team, Salford City Council
Great news - the snow has cleared and the contractor is on site erecting the gates. The work should be completed by the end of the day.
Monday 2 February
Environmental crime
Hannah Raikes, Environmental Crime and Arson Reduction officer, Salford City Council
This week I'm in Winton meeting and liaising with various people and establishments to co-ordinate an effective approach to managing environmental crime and reducing incidents of bin theft and arson. My job is to reduce the amount of wheelie bins stolen and burnt out. This has been a huge problem in Salford as people target bins that have been left on the pavements after collection day. Opportunists steal the bins and set them on fire, creating a serious risk to themselves and other residents.
Today I was out on patrol of the Brookhouse Estate as part of the Winton SNAP - everywhere was white and covered in a blanket of snow, making it difficult to see any bins, let alone anything else! During the day, I spoke to residents and told them of the importance of bringing in their bins after bin day and making sure that they are not stored near to windows and doors. This can be a serious risk as it could increase the spread of fire in the building and restrict the exits for the occupants. Today there were a few bins left out as it was garden waste collection day. Often I speak to residents directly about bringing in their bins and after I explain the impact, they understand.
I also spend time educating school pupils of the dangers of arson and how bin thefts can be avoided. As I have previously worked with the schools in Winton, I kept an eye out for the bin stickers that the pupils produced to raise awareness of bin thefts.
For my work to be successful I have to rely and work with other agencies and parties in Salford, including the police, fire and rescue service, and the general public. Without the co-operation of the public, progress would be limited and a lot harder.
If you have any questions about what I do, or would like to provide any information about wheelie bins, arson or environmental crime, please contact me.
Policing in Winton
Sergeant Tom Martin Salford South Neighbourhood Policing Team, Greater Manchester Police
I've been eager for the SNAP week to take place for sometime and myself and the rest of the Salford South Neighbourhood Policing team are raring to go. Winton has a very strong community feel and I hope this week we will continue to develop our strong relationship with residents in the area.
Today our mobile police station was placed on Brookhouse Avenue between 12pm and 8pm to give residents the opportunity to ask our officers questions or to let them know of any issues that may effect them on a daily basis. This is a great way to meet your local bobby and to help influence how you want your neighbourhood policed.
Officers have also been offering to register valuables on the free online service immobilise.com. It's an easy to use national database that police can access and compare against items that have been found or recovered from suspected criminals.
The mobile police station will on Brookhouse Avenue between 12.00pm and 8.00pm until Wednesday. It will then move to the Netto Car Park on Liverpool Road on Thursday between 12.00pm and 8.00pm and Friday between 7.00am and 5.00pm. Saturday will see it located at the Brookhouse Estate, Buckthorn Lane between 11.00am and 6.00pm. We hope to see you there.
Alleygating, Sutherland Street
Louise Averill, Principal Officer, Housing Crime Reduction team, Salford City Council
The gates were due to be erected today but on hold until the snow clears, hoping tomorrow is better! Although Rob still has to brave the elements to deliver the keys!
Friday 30 January
Alleygating, Sutherland Street
Louise Averill, Principal Officer, Housing Crime Reduction team, Salford City Council
The Housing Crime Reduction team work closely with Greater Manchester Police and the council's community safety team to identify areas that could benefit from increased security measures. It's really important that crime and anti-social behaviour is reported to the police so we are able to use recorded crime figures to determine where additional security measures are needed in the city.
Currently, Sutherland Street in Winton is to benefit from a new alleygating scheme. This was requested by residents due to high crime and anti-social behaviour levels in the area. The alley way was being used as a congregation point for drinking and nuisance behaviour, and as an escape route following criminal activities.
After ongoing consultation which included securing the gating order (this allows us to restrict the public right of way over the alleyway) and obtaining planning permission, the gates and infill railing were ordered.
I'm back in the office today after picking up the keys for the gate at Sutherland Street. Next task is to write the letters that will be hand delivered to the residents - all 56 of them, ahead of SNAP week next week which is sure to be a busy one!
This page was last updated on 23 October 2009
