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Coastal View & Moor News Issue 17
Sewage pipe burst on The Stray
You may remember headlines in a previous issue reporting a serious sewage pipe burst on the Stray at the Coast Road, Redcar. This resulted in tens of thousands of gallons of sewage flooding the main road, which had to be closed for some time and homes being flooded with sewage. It was the second time that this pipeline had failed. But now it has happened again and the pipeline has now burst a third time. Fortunately, due to the quick thinking of local residents, the damage this time has been limited.
It all started when one resident asked Ken Bibby, who’s been involved in meetings with Northumbrian Water and the Council
over this, to take a look at a suspicious damp patch on the Stray. He did and immediately realised that the sewage pipe was about to burst yet again. The ground appeared to be swollen and liquid was oozing through and bubbles emerging. Ken immediately reported this to the Council and to Northumbrian Water. Subsequent excavations confirmed a long crack in the pipeline and the pumps were temporarily switch off whilst the concrete jacket was removed
from the pipe. As there was concern about the back-log of sewage, they tried to resume pumping with only one pump instead of two. This resulted in the pipe bursting completely, sending up a huge fountain of sewage, which spilled onto the Stray where it formed a stream and a small lake near the children’s play area and paddling pool (see photograph).
The section of pipe has now been replaced but residents are concerned that the whole length of pipe work appears to be suspect. They will be campaigning for its entire replacement as a matter of urgency
Coast & Country to tackle unacceptable behaviour
C
oast & Country has signed a public declaration to create a culture
of respect and to tackle unacceptable behaviour.
Chief Executive Iain Sim has put his name to the Respect Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Charter for Housing, which aims to ensure that local agencies tackle unacceptable behaviour and its causes to improve the quality of life for residents. Coast & Country, one of the largest housing and regeneration companies in the North East, has notched up notable successes in overcoming ASB. The time taken to resolve ASB cases has reduced from an average of 89 days in 2009/10 to 52 days 2010/2011. By June this year it was down to 38 days.
Customer satisfaction levels about how Coast & Country handles ASB cases is up from 8.3 out of 10 to 8.4.
Iain Sim said: “By signing up to the Charter, Coast & Country is making public its commitment to providing a high quality ASB service and its accountability to delivering the service to tenants. “Coast & Country already has achieved successes in tackling anti-social behaviour. This new industry-led framework, which can be tailored to meet local needs and priorities, will allow us to further improve the service. “Signing the new Charter will ensure that all Coast & Country tenants understand our determination to tackle the causes and incidents of anti-social behaviour in the areas we serve. “We are promising to deliver the seven core standards in co-operation with partner agencies, including community organisations, the council, the police and other service providers.”
Long-standing Coast & Country tenant Christine Harland, who has experienced anti-social behaviour, has been instrumental in helping shape new ASB service. Christine, who lives in Eston, said: “I know personally how even low-level ASB, such as a dog owner allowing their pets to bark persistently during the night, can effect a person’s quality of life and well-being due
to lack of sleep.
“Coast & Country staff did an excellent job in sorting this out. I felt it was important to put my experience to good use to help Coast & Country further improve its ASB services.”
Mrs Harland liaised with residents, who had suffered ASB, and fed back their opinions to Coast & Country on the service they had received from the housing association.
She added: “Coast & Country has listened to its tenants and enhanced its ASB policies and services based on their views. Significant changes have been made such as residents being able to ring a member of staff at any time of the day to report ASB and one officer being assigned to personally deal with a case from start to finish.” In partnership with independent mediation service provider UNITE, Coast & Country is increasingly using mediation, which is proving a success in resolving neighbour disputes and ASB. The new charter, which is being driven by the Chartered Institute of Housing, the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group and Housemark, consists of seven commitments that Coast & Country has promised to deliver:
• Demonstrating leadership and strategic commitment
• Providing an accessible and accountable service • Taking swift action to protect communities • Adopting a supportive approach to working with victims and witnesses
• Encouraging individual and community responsibility
• Having a clear focus on prevention and early intervention
• Ensuring a value for money approach is embedded in the service
The Charter aims to be outcome-focused rather than process-driven. Its purpose is to improve ASB services.
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