Agenda item

The Area Manager will deliver a presentation on the Department’s work in the Beaumont Leys and Abbey Wards.

Ela Krychowska, Area Manager, gave the presentation. The following points were covered during the presentation:

·         There were a few non-deprived areas in the wards, usually on the outskirts.

·         Stock profile – there were very few bungalows and maisonettes in the area.

·         The majority of lets were flats, which reflected the housing stock. Members were informed cottage flats were those that had their own door from the outside and were not in a block.

·         A key achievement to the overall look of the area had been the improvements made to shopping parades.

·         Entrances to flats looked more inviting.

·         A play area and gym had been installed on Langley Avenue.

·         Stains on the walls of properties following refurbishment would be jet-washed off.

·         Community courtyards had received rubberised flooring, sheds had been painted and uPVC doors had been installed. The project was aimed at completing the whole improvement, rather than several small jobs.

·         Budget still needed to be found to improve the appearance of render on parts of Beaumont Leys estate. Officers were looking for a surface that would last a long time, and wouldn’t require a lot of money.

·         Residents have requested more bin stores and bikes stands.

Members welcomed the presentation, and hoped improvements made could be continued across wards. Members asked questions, and received the following responses:

Councillor Connelly confirmed jet-washing equipment had been purchased, and was currently being used in New Parks. A programme of cleaning would be introduced for Beaumont Leys and Abbey Wards. The Chair said Lombardy Rise in North Evington suffered from similar issues with staining from boilers and pipes, as did other areas in the city that were in need of some cleaning treatment.

Ian Craig (Head of Service, Craft Workforce) said uPVC on a lot of houses had deteriorated in colour. The Neighbourhood Improvement Team and One Stop had managed to train a team to clean uPVC, and a lot of the work was based in New Parks. Trying to match the render on properties in Beaumont Leys was proving difficult, and officers were looking at providing additional cladding in some areas.

A small percentage of residents in the two wards could not speak English well or at all. Ela said staff came from a mixture of different groups, and spoke a variety of languages. She added there were no barriers for residents who wanted to report housing issues.

Members were concerned that there was already fuel poverty in the area, and that the bedroom tax was an additional burden. Members were informed that households under-occupying properties would receive advice from the Income Management Team, and that numbers of household under occupying had reduced since the writing of the report.

It was reported that almost half of Beaumont Leys/Abbey Ward area ranked as being in the 10% most deprived in England, and Members asked what measured were being taken to alleviate the issue. Ela informed Members that residents faced different issues, for example, the high proportion of single parents. She said there were various measures in place across the wards, for example, training to get people back into work.

Members noted the significant improvement to the blocks on Thurcaston Road, Abbey Lane and Langley Avenue. They asked for a rolling programme of inspections to prevent deterioration of housing stock.

Cllr Connelly thanked Ela for the presentation and noted that many improvements to Beaumont Leys and Abbey wards were due to Ela’s ambitions. He added that the improvement programme was ongoing, and two years ago £250k per year was allocated for the painting, and now there was money in the revenue budget for the programme. Also, there was funding for a play area in Blue Gates Road and the Assistant Mayor anticipated it would be built within the next financial year.

The Chair thanked the Area Manager for the presentation.