Residents and schoolchildren from a South Shields estate have been having their say on a new plan aimed at improving their quality of life.
They were joined by representatives from the Council and its partners at a "future steps" event held to develop a new Horsley Hill Estate Neighbourhood Action Plan.
The event, at Sea View Primary School, started with the partners signing an agreement that commits them to completing all of the actions in the new plan.
Children from the school then gave a presentation outlining their thoughts on the estate and how they would like to see it change.
And residents worked alongside representatives of the partners during informal workshops designed to identify new actions that will benefit the estate.
Leader of South Tyneside Council and Horsley Hill ward member, Councillor Iain Malcolm, said: "The Horsley Hill Estate Neighbourhood Action Plan is about improving the quality of life for people on the estate, and nobody knows more about what needs to be done to achieve that goal than the people who live there.
"We organised this event so that we could bring together residents, local children and all of the partners involved in delivering the plan to work side by side to identify the challenges that the estate is facing today.
"Once we identified the challenges, we were able to start drawing up a list of actions aimed at addressing each of them."
The Sea View Primary event was organised by the Council's Area and Neighbourhood Working Team.
This is the second Horsley Hill Estate Neighbourhood Action Plan; the original was launched in 2005 and, four years of partnership working later, all of the actions have been completed.
The results are impressive.
Total crime on the estate has fallen by 54 per cent, criminal damage is down 48 per cent and burglary by 72 per cent - all this since the plan's launch in 2005.
Councillor Malcolm, said: "The completion of the original plan is something to celebrate, and the results speak for themselves. Its success has made a real difference to people's lives, and I'm really looking forward to pressing ahead with the fresh plan so that we can work together to take on the new challenges that the Horsley Hill estate and its residents are facing today."
Councillor Eileen Leask, a member of the Horsley Hill Partnership Board and Vice Chair of the East Shields Community Area Forum, added: "This was a really positive event and it was wonderful to see that everybody who attended was united behind a joint aim to make the Horsley Hill estate the best it can be. We all have a role to play in this, and what is certain is that we are so much stronger when we all pull in the same direction.
"The estate is improving fast and I the new plan will help us to build on the momentum we have gathered."
The partners that have worked together to deliver the Horsley Hill Estate Neighbourhood Action Plan include South Tyneside Council, South Tyneside Homes, Northumbria Police, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and Horsley Hill Residents' Association.
As well as the fall in crime, the plan has contributed to other achievements including:
- a fall in the percentage of 16 and 17-year-olds classed as not in education, employment or training (NEET) from 22 per cent in 2006 to 0 per cent.
- a rise in the percentage of people who are satisfied with Horsley Hill as a place to live from 46 per cent in 2005 to 70 per cent in 2008.
- a fall in the number of empty homes on the estate from 67 in 2005 to only five, recorded earlier this month.
To find out more about the Horsley Hill Estate Neighbourhood Action Plan contact the East Shields Area Team's Rachel Gibson on (0191) 424 7164 or Joanne Ormston on (0191) 424 7678.
Caption: Councillors Eileen Leask and Iain Malcolm Work with Horsley Hill Residents' Association vice chair, Lawrence Fox to develop the new Horsley Hill Estate Neighbourhood Action Plan. They are joined by South Tyneside Homes Director, John Musson, Mick Nielsen of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Dot Harrison of Horsley Hill Community Association and Chief Superintendent Mark Dennett of Northumbria Police.
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