Walks to check state of streets

Every street in Cannock Chase with a council house will be examined at least twice a year for problems.

Housing chiefs at Cannock council held a series of pilot walks on council estates during 2007 in a bid to deal with issues raised by residents.

Now the Estate Walks scheme is to be expanded across the district with tenants being invited to join council officers on the walks to point out problems. Small groups of tenants accompanied by housing staff stroll around their local areas to see what state the place is in.

The project aims to restore tenants' pride in their local neighbourhood.

From this year the council says it will ensure every road which has a council-owned dwelling will be walked at least twice a year. In areas where there is a high concentration of council homes there will be eight to 10 walks ever year.

The walks are organised through the housing department's Estate Management Team and during the summer over 15 pilot walks were carried out.

Nigel Haywood, tenancy services manager, said: "The most encouraging thing is a real willingness on the part of some of the tenants to remedy problems we have identified, such as tidying up a garden or removing a pile of rubbish.

"The pilot estate walks have shown that most tenants take a pride in their home and they can be assured that they will have less cause to complain as the housing department will be checking every road to ensure that everything is as it should be."

To help get the project up and running the council is inviting council tenants to take part in a walk by contacting the estate management team on 01543 462621, or email at EMTeam@cannockchasedc.gov.uk.

The Estate Management Team will contact tenants who have expressed an interest at least a week before the walk takes place.

Tenants who don't want to go on the walk can contact the team.