LMH launches Home Office pathfinder

Published by Jean Clarke for Liverpool Mutual Homes in Housing and also in Communities, Local Government

A pilot project aimed at empowering local residents to make their community a safer and more desirable places to live has been launched in Liverpool.

The Home Office’s Neighbourhood Agreement Pathfinder has been introduced at Liverpool Mutual Homes’ (LMH) Westminster Estate in North Liverpool.

The pilot sees LMH, Liverpool City Council, Merseyside Police, the Westminster Estate Tenants and Residents Association (WETRA), and the local Rathbone Youth Outreach group joining forces to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, improve housing and the environment, and engage the wider community.

The launch sees agencies and tenants signing a Neighbourhood Agreement, which commits them to a range of conditions and responsibilities in order to raise the standard of living in the area with the groups holding the other accountable.

WETRA members will become the eyes and ears of the community and the first point of contact for other residents.  Using the support and advice available from the partner agencies, they will be encouraged to initially resolve issues in their neighbourhood.

Under the Neighbourhood Agreement, agencies are committed to providing support, advice and enforcement on issues such as crime and anti-social behaviour, housing block security and repairs, fly-tipping, graffiti, dog fouling, maintaining green spaces and communal yards, and engaging children and young people.

Residents are expected to outline their priorities at monthly ‘Have your Say’ meetings, take responsibility for the behaviour of their family members and visitors, keep diaries of any incidents, and report issues to the relevant agency.

They are also charged with keeping communal areas tidy, controlling pets, organising activities that represent the interests of the whole community, and keeping other residents informed of their work through a quarterly newsletter.

Director of Housing and Customer Services at LMH, Angela Forshaw, said: “The Neighbourhood Agreement is a commitment from a range of agencies and residents to take a united stand against anyone who does not respect their neighbours, environment, homes or the law. 

“It sets out a range of roles and responsibilities to make this possible and really empowers those in the Kirkdale community to take ownership of their neighbourhood and shape it how they want to improve standards with the full support of the agencies involved.

“We have already seen fantastic progress made on the Westminster Estate thanks to the community’s role in the Intensive Community Payback scheme, and this is another really good initiative for residents to take charge and address the local issues that matter to them most.”

Alison Stathers-Tracey, Liverpool City Council’s Head of Community Safety and Cohesion, said: "This agreement will build on the work we have started to improve the quality of service to victims of anti-social behaviour in Liverpool.

“It will enhance and improve working arrangements between different organisations and residents, which is particularly important during this challenging financial period when we have to deliver improvements with less money."

Liverpool North Chief Inspector Shaun Holland, said: "This is just another step along the road of us working with local people to actually deliver on the  issues they think are important.

"This agreement ties us into a partnership with them to make a difference."

Partners who signed the Neighbourhood Agreement included:

Angela Forshaw, LMH Director for Housing and Customer Services;

Maxine Moar, Home Office coordinator for the Pathfinder Neighbourhood Agreement;

Paul Morrison, Liverpool City Council City and North Neighbourhood Manager;

Shaun Holland, Merseyside Police, Liverpool North Chief Inspector;

Members of WETRA;

Representatives of the Rathbone Youth Outreach.

The pilot project supports the work of the North Liverpool Action Team, a new Liverpool City Council led partnership of public, voluntary and private sector organisations that have joined forces to find innovative solutions to dealing with the deep-rooted social problems across Anfield, Kirkdale and County through coordinating, sharing and pooling resources.

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Photograph: From L to R: Superintendent Simon Irvine, Angela Forshaw (LMH), Harry Mooney (Chair of WETRA), Paul Morrison (Liverpool City Council).