Your Neighbourhood Matters Scrapbook of Achievement - Coventry ...

Your Neighbourhood Matters (YNM) aims to improve the quality of life for people living in sixtargeted areas by making them greener, cleaner and safer.The new scheme covers six areas of Coventry – Hillfields; Spon End and Lower Coundon; EastBell Green; Edgwick and Paradise; Stoke Aldermoor; and Willenhall and Willenhall Wood.YNM brings together local people with service providers and allows themto have their say about how services are developed and delivered.Residents know what is wrong with the services delivered in theirneighbourhoods and the programme recognises that they often havegood ideas about the ways in which they can be improved.Through the YNM project, local people are encouraged to work with partner organisationssuch as Coventry City Council, Whitefriars Housing Group, Groundwork, the CommunityEmpowerment Network, Coventry Voluntary Services Council, West Midlands Police and theHeart of England Community Foundation to understand what services are being delivered intheir neighbourhood and to have a greater say in how these are delivered in the future.

During the first year of the project, a number of successes have been achieved that havemade a real difference to the people living in the six targeted neighbourhoods. These arenot always major changes but often relatively minor projects that have a considerableimpact on the day-to-day lives of the people who live there.This scrapbook aims to record some of these achievements to give a flavour of the diversework it carries out.For more information about the Your Neighbourhood Matters programme, contact yourlocal Neighbourhood Management office.Edgwick and Paradise and East Bell Green024 7678 5910Hillfields024 7629 4429Spon End and Lower Coundon024 7678 5940Stoke Aldermoor, Willenhall and Willenhall Wood024 7678 5555

Following consultation between WhitefriarsHousing Group and residents living in flatson Purcell Road, the Your NeighbourhoodMatters programme funded a spring cleanwas given to the exterior of the apartmentblock. Pigeon mess was removed fromwindows and walls and spikes installed todeter birds from returning. Balconies werealso given a new lease of life with panelsreplaced.The Neighbourhood Management team,along with Groundwork and theNeighbourhood Wardens, took part in thisawareness raising event to publicise YourNeighbourhood Matters in Carey Street andneighbouring roads. As well as the chancefor adults to learn about the programmeand express their views, children had thechance to take part in a range of activitiessuch as face-painting and playing thedidgeridoo!

The Neighbourhood Management NorthEast team joined forces with Groundworkto offer healthy food advice as well asconsulting children and parents on whatthey think of the neighbourhood. It wasone of a number of events at the schoolto raise awareness of the YourNeighbourhood Matters programme andto engage with the local community.Groundwork and the Neighbourhood Managementteam joined forces with Foleshill Children’sServices to offer a range of taster sessions forpeople of all ages. The event helped to open awindow of opportunity for people wanting toimprove skills across a range of areas.Your Neighbourhood Matters has helped to fund a joint operationinvolving more than 20 partner organisations aimed at making thearea a safer, cleaner place to live and work. Called Operation Blue Ribbon, it is tacklingspecific issues raised by residents in Edgwick and Paradise by visiting the area on randomdays and evening in high profile crackdowns.

Youngsters from across theneighbourhood enjoyed a range ofphysical activities thanks to the RisingStars support and partnership trip. Theevent was organised bythe Neighbourhood Management teamand West Midlands Police.After listening to concerned residentsabout the state of fencing along AwsonStreet, the Neighbourhood Managementteam were able to repair and improvethe look of the street thanks to YourNeighbourhood Matters funding.• Community briefings to raise awareness of the programmeand obtain residents views.• Representatives from Neighbourhood Management,Groundwork and Whitefriars along with NeighbourhoodWardens visited five streets in the Edgwick area topublicise the programme• Using film as a consultative tool, the Peace House andGroundwork were able to reflect community views of lifein the Paradise area.• A community safety event identified the needs andconcerns about service provision in the neighbourhood aswell as offering the opportunity for service providers toengage with the community about current provision.• Re-planted thr beds close to Broad Street Heath Centreto improve the local environment.

Residents living in Pioneer House had raised concerns about thestate of the car park serving the multi-storey building.Whitefriars Housing Group, thanks to funding from YourNeighbourhood Matters, was able to resurface the area and allbays were remarked including creation of visitor unloading bays.Lighting in the car park was also improved.The Your Neighbourhood Matters programme includes thecreation of the Neighbourhood Involvement Fund - a smallgrants scheme that can issue awards ranging from £250-£10,000 managed by the Heart of England CommunityFoundation. St. Peter’s Community Centre received £9,489.50 toestablish a Community Network Forum to represent the diverserange of communities, groups and organisations in the area.The Hillfields Readers Group was also a beneficiary of a grantfrom the Neighbourhood Involvement Fund. It received a grantof £1,950 to fund the NOW Reading Project.• The setting up of a Neighbourhood ArtistsNetwork through the Coventry Asian Arts andCultural Forum.• Support for the Coventry West Credit Union inthe area by helping the interpretation ofpublicity literature to encourage more members.• 40 local organisations and Service providersengaged in developing a prioritised action planfor neighbourhood improvement action steeredby the Hillfields Neighbourhood Partnership• Local volunteers supported in deliverycommunity consultation and business planning tosecure the future of the Hillfields City Farm

Two consultation events were held on the Spon Endestate to get the views of residents and serviceproviders in the area involving NeighbourhoodManagement, Groundwork, Whitefriars, WestMidlands Police and Neighbourhood Wardens. Arange of entertainment and activities for childrenin the area was laid on as a database of residents’views of the area was compiled.Your Neighbourhood Matters is helping to support acommunity-led initiative to bring to life a rich part ofCoventry’s 1,000 year history. Black Swan Terrace is a rowof medieval buildings which can trace its history from the1400’s. A future phase of the project includes the creationof a weaver’s cottage and a medieval garden, where plantsneeded for the dyeing effects for the workers were grown.Your Neighbourhood Matters is creating a group ofvolunteers to support the garden project.• After consultation with residents, awall outside Milestone house whichhas become a focal point for anti-socialbehaviour was removed• A community office has been openedin Black Swan Terrace to publiciseachievements of the YourNeighbourhood Matters programme inthe area as well as providing an accesspoint for Spon End and Lower Coundonresidents to engage with them.

Three empty properties on The Moorfield hadbecome a target for anti-social behaviour and hadbecome un-lettable due to its appearance the levelof fly-tipping in the gardens. As a result of the YourNeighbourhood Matters programme, the gardenswere cleared, windows and doors boarded up,making a real difference to residents living nearby.Following a walkabout by residents and service providers, thegroup identified garages off The Coppice that were a hot-spotfor anti-social behaviour which had also become a dumpingground for waste. Thanks to the programme, the rubbish wascleared and the empty buildings demolished to the delight ofresidents living close by.• Residents joined representatives frompartner organisations - includingNeighbourhood Management, WhitefriarsHousing Group, Neighbourhood Wardens,Groundwork and West Midlands Police - ina walk around the estate to identify waysthe area could be improved.• An environmental clean-up was held withresidents to remove litter that had built upon certain parts of the Stoke Aldermoorestate.• Summer Fete Consultation Event

After consultation with local residents, afence that had been fallen into disrepairwas identified for improvement in terms ofsafety as well as being an eyesore. As aresult of the Your Neighbourhood Mattersprogramme, the fencing was replaced byWhitefriars Housing Group.• A launch event to raise awareness of theYour Neighbourhood Matters initiative withresidents and partners.• Setting up of the Tooth Homework Club• A partnership approach to the clean up ofStrawberry Field• A walkabout with residents to identify issuesand areas needing improvements• Creating a YOM steering group for Willenhall• A series of Your Neighbourhood Mattersinitiative partnership meetings.

For more information about the ‘Your NeighbourhoodMatters’ Programme in your area contact:Edgwick and Paradise and East Bell Green024 7678 5910Hillfields024 7629 4429Spon End and Lower Coundon024 7678 5940Stoke Aldermoor, Willenhall and Willenhall Wood024 7678 5555