18 July 2008, 08/163
Crime-ridden empty garages turn green!
Tenants who live in flats in two
Skelmersdale areas are enjoying cleaner, safer communal areas,
thanks to a new recycling initiative.
West Lancashire District Council
has turned derelict garages at Blakehall and Beechtrees into
recycling and waste storage points for the residents living
above.
It all came about because in the
Digmoor area, over a third of garages have been empty, many of them
for several years, and as a result have attracted trouble. Also,
because the voids can have a real impact on the general look and
feel of the surrounding environment, the Council’s challenge has
been to reduce the number of empty garages.
In an innovative twist, the Council
thought it would be a good opportunity to improve recycling rates
in the area at the same time by piloting the conversion of one
garage in each of 9 blocks into recycling and waste storage points
for the tenants living above.
Now the communal areas are tidier
and residents of these blocks have been visited by officers from
the Council’s Estate Management Team and Street Scene Section to
explain how the new waste system operates and to encourage them to
recycle.
Cllr Val Hopley, Portfolio Holder
for Housing, said: "Removing and redeveloping these garages has
really improved the look and feel of the Digmoor area. As a result
of this fantastic initiative, the internal communal areas are now
free of waste, resulting in a cleaner and safer environment for our
tenants."
Cllr Paul Greenall, Portfolio
Holder for Street Scene Management, added: "Recycling rates have
also been improved thanks to this venture and it has reduced the
crime associated with vacant garages, therefore improving the
quality of life for residents of the flats."
The initiative was funded through
the Safer Stronger Communities Fund to make Digmoor, Moorside and
parts of Tanhouse cleaner, safer and greener.
Related
information
> Recycling
> Refuse
> Waste and Recycling