Cleaning up an estate - does anyone know of it happening and how to get started. Is it possible to get investment into a housing estate?

[Vibing]

Hi
I bought an ex council house about 5 years ago or so. Houses near my sons school are out of my price range and this house came up. With a drive and a garden back and front. And 2 mins from school - perfect.

There were some local shops on a green nearby that have been knocked down and cleared with a mobile phone mast erected. Since then the green has become a flytipping spot.

The street got me down anyway as some people dont care if there rubbish is blowing around but equally theres some that do.

It gets me down and I cant afford to move. My sons have now flown the nest.

So if I cant move. I want to see if theres anything I can do?

Has anyone got any experience or know if its possible to get investment into a rundown area. Or at the least get it cleaned up?

I remember a tv program about a lady in London who managed to get investment into her area. This was a good while ago though and a different time. cant remember her name though

Street cleaning or a lack of needs reporting to your local council. They'll also be interested in flytipping as they can bring enforcement action against offenders.

Re investment it'll depend on who owns what but contacting your local Councillor to highlight your concerns would be a good starting point.

Ah thank you @CCLCECSC
Its unfamiliar to me, excuse my ignorance. Is a councillor the same as a local MP?

Its called people power. You get out and start cleaning it yourself.

Buy and plant flowers, eventually other people will join in.

No. Look on your council website to see the for the councillor for your area. It will tell you how to contact them.

Im on with it.

Flytipping reported and councillor emailed.....

Get yourself a social media account, post a few videos of you cleaning up, give the location, get your local paper involved, people will support you.

Others will come to help, the more you do, the more others will do.

It's very unlikely that your local Council will have any spare money although they are responsible for clearing the flytipping. Regeneration money used to come from the EU but people voted to bin it and Sunaks continued to cut services which is part of the reason the whole country looks like a massive tip. Try to energise willing neighbours. it's very depressing to have a grotty neighbourhood, I'm sorry for you. In my experience, adding greenery and flowers helps a lot and vandals tend to leave it alone, fingers crossed. Good luck.

Yes, use social media or actual flyers to try to get together some neighbours to do a litterpick, which might become a regular thing -- we do it in my neighbourhood.

If graffiti is an issue, one thing that's worked well here is getting street artists to paint large scale murals (which around here, seem to get left alone, even when there's a large white space on the painting at ground level which would seem perfect for taggers).

You can start a local litter picking group and post on Facebook the area you're cleaning and when. Sundays are usually popular. Your local council will often provide bin bags and litter picker tools and tell you where to leave the bags, you ring up and the refuse dept collect.

You could start a residents association. Get your local councillors involved. There are grants that can be applied for for regeneration. Takes a lot of work though.

Apparently Keep Britain Tidy organise a Great British Spring Clean every year, in March. Get organising!
Keep Britain Tidy

Another thought.
You need lots of bodies to help with a clear-up. The youth of today keep telling us that they are concerned about eco-matters and the environment. You live 2 minutes from a school.
Can you see where I'm going with this ...

Are there one or two other local people who feel the same?

You could get together and organise yourselves as ‘Friends of the Green’ or a residents association.

Councils tend to take you more seriously as a group.

Report fly tipping every single time. Does your council use the LoveCleanStreets app? You can photograph graffiti, bad litter, fly tipping etc and report it straight through.

In our area someone started a litter picking campaign. Once a month the council deliver bags, litter picker poles, gloves, and people blitz the area for an hour or two. It’s quite social.

You could get all this going on NextDoor or a local Facebook group?

Does your area have a community council? They are normally good at getting funding for projects. I'm sure your local councilor will be able to tell you if there is one.

Oh Im loving these ideas.....
I was speaking to someone today aswell that said the church they go to were looking for ideas of how they can be of benefit to the community too.

I love that it just happens to be the 'Keep Britain tidy' week in March too and someone said about the school nearby...

The flytipping pile over on the field has already been removed. I will use this thread to keep me on with this. See how far I get with doing something.

Please anyone
if you have any more suggestions or ideas or know anything.....

The field that has the flytipping is too big to do planting possibly. I wouldnt know where to start. I contacted the local councillor and one of the questions was to ask, what plans if any have they for the field.

Definitely get the council involved with litter picks as they will often come and take the waste bags away afterwards.

Contact your local probation office, ask for the unpaid work/community payback manager or project co-ordinator. They are usually looking for projects, graffiti removal, park clean ups, grabbing work. If the council or a non profit can provide materials like paint if needed , they will provide tools and supervised man power

Our council lets volunteers run litter picking sessions and they provide the equipment and pick up the rubbish. Look to see if your council do the same and Maybe look at getting the rest of the estate on side to do a community litter pick

We've been slowly planting up the odd overgrown areas along the street that Durante belong to anyone - the verge either side of a road leading to a block of flats, a corner plot etc. A woman joust put the word out on the street WhatsApp, asked for a few donations and if anyone was willing to help dig out and plant and over a few weekends did a bunch, and are now replanting a few after winter. Takes someone who's willing to put the energy in to organise people.

Is the remaining social housing on the estate still council owned or is it run by a housing association? Sometimes HAs have funds for community support and/or access to other resources designed to help build local communities.

Not similar area but my rural local area like most is covered in litter. Council have no funded etc, I set up my own local litter picking group. A local company donated litter picking equipment, council supply bags. I contact a specific number for collection of waste after a pick. I started by contacting my local councils waste department for help. It’s mainly me, my kids and a few others. It’s very satisfying cleaning an area up.

You will likely have a Council for Voluntary Service or other support body for community orgs and charities nearby. They can help you get started with setting up a group, funding, lobbying etc. Good luck, I wish I had a neighbour like you!

I found making my front garden and the area around my house and road nice made others get involved.

If you join local sites like NextDoor or InYourArea you may be able to rustle up some volunteers. Well done!

What would you like to happen with the green? Is it maintained, grass cut etc? Would you like trees planted?

Could you organise a monthly community event that takes place on the Green? Maybe a pot-luck lunch or coffee morning with local bands providing some entertainment? People tend to value things more (and thereby look after them) when they are involved in them.

Where I am we have a community cleanup team; volunteer litter pickers; they're phenomenal, we have a community gardening group, a group that organises community events.
It's being bold and bringing people
together, there is a lot of funding out there.