Case Studies
Working towards a cleaner, safer and greener Erdington, Birmingham
Last updated:
30/05/07
Summary
The Castle Vale Community Housing Association (CVCHA) and the Witton Lodge Community Association (WLCA) are based in the District of Erdington in north Birmingham. From the surveys they carried out with residents over several years, they knew that local people wanted their green spaces to be better managed and for litter and the cleanliness of local streets to be tackled. They also knew, from their work in local communities, that although statistics showed the crime was falling, people’s perceptions about crime and the fear of crime remained high. Research told them when public spaces are well managed and appear well-looked after, people’s fear of crime as well as actually levels of crime, improves. So, in 2006, they embarked on a project designed to tackle the twin problems of making the area look more cared for, and bringing down crime.
They started by looking in more detail at how the Council was managing street cleaning and green spaces. They found that the increased mechanisation of street cleaning had had the effect of distancing local residents from the people doing the job. Teams had been contracted in from other areas to do the work, rather than one person working all the time locally. WLCA and CVCHA understood fpeople providing the service: they no longer knew them or recognised them as they went about their work. It also became clear that residents no longer understood who was responsible for the work.
Who was involved?
Local residents, Castle Vale Community Housing Association (CVCHA) and the Witton Lodge Community Association (WLCA), Birmigham City Council (Kingstanding District)
What happened?
The project was run as a problem-solving process. They set up teams of local residents and people working for the organisations involved in street cleaning and the management of green spaces – and they got them talking to each other.The local Regeneration Officer helped by running a series of workshops. These were designed so that people could raise constructive questions and work through the issues together. For example, discussions with the Council enabled residents to understand how contractors were used for greenspace management and to examine the contract schedules for their work. This better understanding meant that local people could suggest improvements to the way contractors carried out their work. As a result, everyone involved in the discussion had a better understanding of budgets and how to meet local people’s needs: one suggestion, for example, was that dog litter bins should be emptied more often.
The project also organised visits to other local authorities and relevant organisations so that the teams could see how similar problems were being tackled elsewhere. One visit took them to Landlife in Liverpool, where they saw how wildflower areas could replace some areas of mown grass. Another went to Southwark in South London where they saw how local neighbourhood teams were taking responsibility for improvements through running small budgets delegated to them from service providers.
What was the result?
Outcomes for the Council included:- The area in which the project took place was chosen by the Council as one of the first neighbourhoods to have an underground recycling facility
- The annual maintenance schedule is being redesigned
- The Council is considering alternatives to mechanised street cleaning
- Anecdotal evidence suggests that people’s fear of crime is decreasing and that people are commenting on the improvements in the look of the area.
- Some Council staff were quite defensive when they began working with the local residents, but their relationship has become much more positive through working together on the project
- For the first time, two way communication has grown between local people and the Council, based on a deeper understanding of one another
- The Council now sees residents as an asset and is approaching the community with ideas
- Residents have learnt an enormous amount about the way services are planned and run and have had an opportunity to feed into discussions about these.
- Through the visits, local people have been able to see how it is possible to take action and that they can make a difference to where they live
- Through the dialogue at workshops with the Council, local people have been able to contribute directly to decisions about services in their area
- A small number of local people are playing a very active and direct role in the project and related work. One resident is now monitoring Council doorstep recycling collections and approaching the Council to tackle problems, at the same time as encouraging other local people to get involved in recycling
- The community has seen that their Local Authority can be responsive
- More residents are becoming aware of the project and its work, and to understand that it is in their own hands to take action
- Local residents involved in the project have begun to identify work that needs to be done to change cultures and behaviours in relation to street cleanliness and greenspace
- The Local Authority feels that the communities in Perry Common and Castle Vale are open to trying new things and that there is a system in place that allows this.
Why did it work?
The key success factors identified by the project were:- The ‘underlying rules’ of the neighbourhood teams, which were based on always being positive about other people and praising people when they were doing good things. Fundamentally, all participants were expected to treat one another with mutual respect. In particular, they have worked hard to recognise and praise the ‘unsung heroes’ – those local people who contribute consistently and constantly
- The project had a public awards ceremony to recognise local successes, which has had its own positive knock-on effects. Residents who visited the Council’s depot to give out certificates there were stimulated by discussion during their visit to ask to go out with the street cleaner to learn more about their job. A Cleansing Services staff member who was given an award, felt that his work finally being recognised after many years.
- The ‘go see’ visits were really important in showing people other ways of doing things
- The fact that the project was funded by the Home Office was a positive factor in promoting the project, in particular to Council officers and Councillors. It also contributed to helping to keep local people involved, as they could see their work being recognised by the Government and the project provided a way for their learning to be shared by others.
Barriers and how they overcame them
The residents felt it was initially a challenge to get the Council to work with them on equal terms.Besides this, the only other barrier was pressure of time. The project recognises that it takes time to bring about change in people’s attitudes and behaviour, but they can see progress being made.
With hindsight
The project thought that they may have been over-ambitious about what they could achieve in the timescale. It might have been helpful to start targeted awareness-raising with the community about attitudes to street cleanliness and greenspace earlier on.
The most significant thing about this project has been…
“… the development of mutual respect between active local residents and officers of our service providers achieved by working through problems together.”
More information
The Whitton Lodge Community Association in Perry Common has been working as a Guide Neighbourhood to provide help and support to other neighbourhoods and residents associations.
Contacts
- Linda Hines
Resident Guide
c/o Sycamore Court Extra Care Scheme
46 Buxton Road
Perry Common
Erdington
BIRMINGHAM B23 5GA
Tel: 07960 386 252
Email: linda.hines@blueyonder.co.uk
