This update brings you all the latest discussions that have taken place in our recent Community Voice meeting, which is a group of tenants who represent people in your area.  

We understand the importance of listening and learning from you and keeping you up to date with crucial matters affecting the Stockbridge Village neighbourhood. We work together to take action and signpost to partners when it’s helpful.  

We want you to have your voice heard and be a part of influencing what happens in your home and in the community. 

Let’s dive into the essential updates from September’s Community Voice as we continue to work together to positively impact your lives.  

Lawrence MacIntosh, Chair of Community Voice 

Tackling anti-social behaviour 

We want you to feel safe in your neighbourhood and the Community Voice meetings are a great place to raise any concerns you might have. ForHousing representatives at the meetings will take these on board and work with partners to take action.  

There was widespread agreement at the meeting that better CCTV is needed to protect local shops and ensure they don’t close down. We will provide an update on when this will go ahead as soon as we know more.  

The sale of The Ploughmans has fallen through, and concerns were discussed about anti-social behaviour and the potential fire risk to the homes at the back of the building. We’ll update on progress at the next meeting.  

Working together as a community is the best way for us to reduce anti-social behaviour in our neighbourhoods. 

Complaints of excessive litter at the back of Stockbridge Primary School and near Subway were also discussed. ForHousing has notified the council that there are no bins near the school, and we will keep you posted on what happens next. It was noted that some tenants were seen litter picking and we are grateful for your support in keeping the neighbourhood tidy.  

One member raised that it would be good if the ForHousing website could be used to report fly-tipping as there is a button to ‘report something in your community’ but suggested it would be good to have something specifically on fly-tipping. ForHousing is looking into this. 

The group is in the process of getting new posters from the council to remind dog owners to keep their dogs on leads. There is also an opportunity for dog training through The Dogs Trust here.  

Making a positive contribution to neighbourhoods 

We talked about what there is for young people to do locally and that there is going to be a consultation on the estate to find out what kind of activities young people would like. ForHousing currently supports local youth clubs and delivers the Play Streets project; we’re always keen to hear the view of young people and are exploring what other activities and facilities are needed in the area.  

Play Streets is open to anyone in Knowsley, but one member did raise the need to prioritise Stockbridge Village residents, which ForHousing is following up on. 

The Employment Service, funded by ForHousing, is available to all tenants over 16-years-old and is currently supporting six people in Stockbridge Village. Alicia from ForHousing is available at the library on Thursdays and is looking at working with Knowsley College and the Skills Centre. Meadow Park offers work experience for those over 16, and discussions with them are planned soon too.  

Food poverty was raised as a major concern in the community. The Community Hub have seen a huge increase in demand. The Food Club, supported by ForHousing, is open every Tuesday from 12pm to 2pm and every Thursday from 10.30am to 12.30pm at the Community Hub, The Croft, Stockbridge Village, L28 1NR. If you would like to volunteer or find out more, visit www.bighelpproject.com. A huge thank you to the volunteers at Food Club – your support is crucial.  

It was great to hear how there’s been a lot of demand for ForHousing’s Community Fund, which supports local projects benefiting the community, and how we can now see the money going to good use. You can find out more and apply for funding here.  

To date, the Community Fund has supported 15 projects in Stockbridge, awarding a total of £7,500 between April – September 2023.  

One beneficiary of the fund has been Zumbini – a program designed to promote cognitive, social, fine/gross motor skills, and emotional development for children ages 0-4, through music and dance. Through the funding, more equipment for the sessions has been purchased and allowed teacher Kerry to offer parents six sessions free of charge.  

We also discussed some interesting local projects. Heart of Glass has been successful in its application to the Arts Council for £26,000 to fund the painting of a mural. The project is keen to involve local people, you can find out more by contacting Annie MacLean on 0787 280 7955 or email communities@forhousing.co.uk   

The “Understanding Our Communities” project will map out the strengths of the local community as seen by the local community.  The project will use the Community Voice’s extensive contacts to help identify less heard community members. The aim of the project is to really understand the resources available within Stockbridge and understand what the community really value. The hope is that it will not only map out what’s already available but also support members who are less involved, to get involved and understand what the community needs. 

Keeping homes in good repair 

One member raised that the repairs responsibilities section of the website needs to be made better to help tenants navigate it more easily. ForHousing advised that a new repairs reporting page is now being designed.  

Listening to your views and acting on them 

We are actively recruiting new members to the Community Voice, so if you are interested in representing your local community and working with ForHousing to make improvements, please get in touch here. At ForHousing we want to understand what matters most to you. We really appreciate people giving their time and input to groups like these so we can listen and learn.  

The Community Voice is an important forum, bringing together tenants, partners from the community and ForHousing to make a positive difference. 

We’ll continue to share future updates with you. Do spread the word about the tenant newsletter with your family and friends, they can sign up for it here.