Enough Homes for those that Want to Return to West Ward

Dear Sir,

After reading all the constant information posed through social media, meetings, letters and house visits about the West Ward regeneration (much of the information being repeated weekly by Arun Chandrun in the Newton News) I feel compelled to write a response.

The estate that Livin want to regenerate was not built for long term occupancy. Since my 8 years living here I have seen a decline in the area. I love my house and have made many improvements over the years, and wish I could pick it up and move somewhere else.

There are lots of issues with the houses, I’m told many have mould and the general maintenance needed to keep them going is high. The area itself is suffering from a lot of antisocial behaviour of which I’ve often witnessed e.g children swearing at me, throwing stones at the houses etc.

I encourage people to walk around the estate – you’ll see broken windows, rubbish dumped, graffiti on the walls – do you really think this is going to improve? How feasible do you really believe option 2 to be? Can you see all homeowners being willing and / or financially able to pay for roofs etc?

It’s time people need to start making their minds up for themselves and think of long term and not just short. First of all, these houses are worth very little at the moment, in fact people can’t sell because of the reputation of the area. What will the estate look like in 10 years, what about 20 years? It’s just going to get worse. You don’t want to think in a few years time, ‘I wish I’d taken the chance given by Livin’.

Then think about who will inherit your house, will it even be worth inheriting? If you speak to Livin, you can get assurances to what will happen and at least work with them to bring an improvement to the area. This whole debate about who can return to the estate is quite clear – everyone who wants to return CAN! This has already been stated numerous times – there may well be less houses built than what is already here but not everyone will want to return – research the turn-over of social housing estates!

Plus many home owners will naturally sell and move elsewhere so YES there will be enough properties for people who WANT to return. If there are more home owners who want to return then there will be more properties to purchase built – if there are more tenants who want to return than the ratio for houses to rent will be greater – the maths is simple!

Organise a consultation with Livin and state your preference – they can make the necessary arrangements should option 3 go ahead.The decision is yours and the people of the Western Estate. Just ask yourself, do you really want to listen to propaganda or make your mind up for yourself? In addition, I urge the town and county councillors, as well as our MP to listen to all voices on the estate (you are after all elected to represent the people – not just a group of people) – not everyone is opposed to option 3 – for many the option of progress and modernisation appeals. The prospect of beautiful new accommodation with private gardens and driveways to raise families in will quite naturally be desirable to many.

A concerned resident.