They started life as communal green areas built into council estates during the 60s and 70s. But in recent years the small open spaces that are dotted around the Castleton Court and Charleston Court estate areas close to Tyldesley town centre had become something of an eyesore. Overgrown, untended and the target for fly-tippers, it was fair to say that what started out as a good idea was beginning to make life miserable for those Wigan and Leigh Housing tenants who lived close by.
It was clear something needed to be done…
Wigan and Leigh Housing (WALH) Atherton Area Housing Manager Joanne Makin explains: “These small open areas started life being full of plants and shrubs and back when the estate was first built, but over the years people’s lifestyles and pastimes have obviously changed and these area no longer fulfilled any useful purpose. They were also being abused by a selfish minority who would use them to illegally dump rubbish and we’ve had reports of everything from carrier bags to sofas and old mattresses being left for others to clear up.”
The WALH area team had begun to receive a fair number of complaints about the eyesore areas from tenants, who quite simply, wanted them gone. Concerned tenants also contacted their local ward councillors and thanks to a real team effort things began to happen. Councillors agreed to use their Brighter Borough funds to help finance an improvement scheme and the council’s Leigh Building Services team along with local firm JJH Building Contractors, made sure the make-over happened.
Out went the old planted areas to be replaced with clean new paved surfaces and easy to maintain grass verges, which will now be taken care of by WALH’s maintenance programme. Speaking on behalf of his ward colleagues Cllr Robert Bleakley says:
“We listened to the tenants’ concerns and came down and saw the problem at first hand. It was extremely unsightly and would have only got worse over time. We were only too happy to help and the end result looks fantastic. In fact it’s been so well received that we are now looking at other areas of the town to see what else can be done.”
The entire transformation took eight weeks to complete and cost a total of £14,000. And if you ask the estate’s caretaker Andy Grundy, it’s money well spent.
“The difference is unbelievable,” Andy says. It really has brightened the place up and it’s amazing to think it happened so quickly.
We’ve had loads of positive comments from the tenants who are already finding life a lot more agreeable now that those awful grot spots have gone!”
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