RBC has apparently contacted two landlords and 3 Letting agents "telling them to clear the rubbish up. They have done so."

There is a lot of work still to be done to improve: I received a further email from a constituent today deeply frustrated by the situation:

"I can confirm that rubbish has still not been collected - when will this be resolved - it is now at least over 2 weeks since most students have left.  As a Council Tax Payer - this continuous issue has to be resolved as it should not be expected that we should constantly live in an area where there is no respect for the residents and have to look at the eye sores of certain premises being allowed to leave the properties in these states.  I cannot believe that I am the only one to complain about these issues...The Landlord surely must have some civic responsibility in these cases and ensure that their tenants clear up properly and ensure that the environment and health and safety of others is considered.

On the specific issue of making landlords take greater responsibility for reducing waste at properties they rent out, since I raised the issue at the weekend an officer has since written to me to explain what is being done:

"We have agreed to identify repeat offenders and for them to be targeted for follow up by the HMO Team.  As discussed...we are also in the process of producing the next edition of ‘Landlord Focus’ which will be sent out to all landlords on our mailing list.  This will identify and provide advice to landlords on their responsibilities"

Although it is very good that officers are responding quickly and positively to my requests for action I would prefer if a) I didn't have to keep raising the same issues b) residents got the same level of service.

The constituent who emailed me today sent an email to RBC via the website on Monday and is still waiting for a response. This may seem small but this is after in some cases rubbish has sat in front gardens for weeks already.

This is connected with issues around the call centre (which I visited a couple of months ago) and Council attitudes to customer care more generally. The 'back office' does need to become more efficient in some parts of the Council, to ensure residents are getting the best possible service, there is no doubt.

It is worth it though. Particularly when I get emails like the one I got earlier today:

"Daisy - you are a star. Many thanks for this - it just seems that you are the only one who actually does anything!! - I will keep pestering though"

UPDATE:

One of my regular correspondents has replied to offer moral support to my constituent above:

"I have read your recent emails and you are most certainly not alone in these issues! Several of us who also live in the Redlands Ward have made several complaints for quite a time now, and we have also unfortunately experienced the amount of time, Reading Council requires to take action concerning residents complaints! Please keep up the good work"

Amen to that!

The situation was complicated by the fact that the caravan was parked on land owned by Places for People Housing Assocation so sorting the problem out wasn't directly the Council's responsibility. Also apparently the property associated with the caravan is actually sublet to someone who is not connected to the HA making things even more difficult.

I'm pleased to say that after Kirsten and I contacted the Neighbourhood Officer and Places for People, the caravan and it's occupants have now left the estate. In addition all the rubbish that was left nearby has also been cleared.

Potential patients for this centre form part of a highly-mobile and diverse population with, studies have shown, limited access to healthcare, so a walk-in health centre such as this is much needed.

I'm glad to say health inequality has risen up the agenda locally with publication of public health profiles showing that Reading continues to be a very unequal place when it comes to health.

In my view it's a scandal that unlike other areas there is still no full time director of public health attached to the local authority.

Instead we have a 'Healthier Reading Partnership' made up of RBC members and officials, health officals and others which attempts to draw all the strands together but (having sat in on meetings) without spending power it can feel like a glorified talking shop.

Partly as a result of this responsibility for improving public health is shared across many local bodies with little direct accountability for residents - beyond LINKs and the health scrutiny panel which I chair. 

Reading is also part of a big PCT area - one of the largest in the country - and  as a result it struggles to get the financial resources it needs to tackle many health problems and is forced to compete for limited resources alongside neighbours Slough and Newbury.

Back in April I highlighted the gap that exists between communities in Reading in terms of health and the fact that long promised new health centres in Whitley and Battle have still not been delivered by the PCT.

Health officials revealed at a scrutiny meeting I chaired in March that both projects have suffered delays as a result of the recession.

This is unfortuanate,especially, as in the case of Battle the new superstore has been built but the associated 'public benefits' the community were promised have not materialised.

I'm sure Cllr Tony Jones will have a view on this, having actively campaigned for a health centre in Battle for many years.

I've written to Bev Searle at the PCT to see what's happened to these two projects and to ask how much longer communities in these areas will have to wait for better healthcare and better health.

UPDATE:

Cllr Tony Jones has responded on his Blog. Tony has suggested an update on the delayed Battle health & well-being centre project goes on the next HHCC Scrutiny Panel agenda in the autumn which I'm happy to see happen.

The meeting had a good turnout - despite the awful weather. I looked around but couldn't see any representatives from the other political parties, leaving Glenn and I to fulfil the role of 'local politicians' (one of my least favourite titles but there you go!)

The focus of the meeting was working with the community to improve life on Hexham estate - a big priority for us locally and something we have been actively campaigning to see happen for several years now.

At the meeting there were presentations from officers in the housing and youth services, as well as a presentation from Dave Soper, Community Development worker employed by regeneration agency Groundwork.

There was feedback from the survey the Housing department of the Council carried out recently asking what improvements people want to see, as well as feedback from the South Reading-wide survey carried out by Dave Soper.

It was good to see issues that local people had raised were being listened to by the Council (at last!)and that this feedback was helping to inform what action the Council plans to take to improve things.

A huge amount of work is now being planned by the Council to improve the look of the estate and reduce anti-social behaviour,including:

• In response to complaints about dog fouling: extra dog bins are being installed, a second dog warden is going to be employed by the Council, and there is going to be more use of fixed penalty notices of £75 in South Reading
• Nuisance officers are now holding regular surgeries on the estate
• Street lighting is being reviewed and residents can pinpoint areas which are dark for better lighting
• Wardens will continue to maintain a high level of visibility on the estate - with a whopping 70% of their 'core time' being spent on the estate (very pleased about this!)
• A 'good neighbour' agreement is being developed with residents to improve behaviour
• Clearer information for residents on how to report anti-social behaviour is being developed
• More reporting of graffiti through regular inspections - 32 tags reported since Jan 09
• Litter picking on estate could be increased from once to twice weekly (yes please!)
• Continued use of falcons to reduce pigeon nuisance on the estate
• A landscaping plan for the estate is being developed
• Improvements to ground floor garden areas are planned
• Additional lighting in front of external doors to flat block to improve safety and security
• Redecoration of internal areas and repainting of bin room doors
• Notice boards to be supplied to all large flat blocks

The presentation by Kevin Black of the Youth Service was inspiring. He talked about the range of activities youngsters on the estate are now being offered. Thanks to Kevin, young people are also getting the chance to gain accreditation - recognition for their achievement at sports etc

Given many young people are leaving schools in South Reading without many qualifications it is good they are being given another opportunity to achieve.

Kevin has put a huge amount of time and effort into giving young people things to do on the estate. He explained a lot of the anti-social behaviour that occurs is due to kids being bored and never being given a lot to do outside school.

For years Hexham estate lacked a permanent youth worker able to put time in to the estate - the difference Kevin has made to young people's lives in the area is fantastic. I really hope he stays in the area and continues to develop our young people.

One issue residents did raise in the meeting was the fact that much of the anti-social behaviour on the estate is caused by children under ten - and yet Kevin works with kids between 11-19. I hope that the Council will look at extending the age range of activities and or increasing the number of youth workers.

It was very sad to hear that children as young as five (and even younger) are being left unsupervised on the estate to play even at night. Questions were raised about parents and how they could be engaged to improve behaviour.

Some of the most exciting stuff that has come out of the surveys that were carried out is the need to get local people more involved in what goes on at the Community Centre. One resident at the meeting complained about the Community Centre often being shut during the day and popular activities like coffee mornings being stopped. This is something which has bugged me for a while, but it's been difficult to make changes without more community engageement.

The majority of people who filled out the survey said they rarely visit the Community Centre. This needs to change.The Community Centre is a community facility so it must serve the people who live in the area.

Local people were encouraged at the meeting to come forward with ideas about what events and activities they would like to see started up. I was pleased to see this got a positive reaction from people at the meeting.

There was also talk of starting up a residents association for the estate.I think this would be great and we will be giving residents 100% backing to do this.

At the end of the meeting there was a chance for residents to raise issues: how to get deal with abandoned cars was raised by a couple of people. This is a constant nuisance on the estate. Another resident asked about turning a grassed area by Bamburgh Court into an allotment - hopefully this will happen.

One comment that a resident made at the meeting really stuck with me. She said:

"If you want things to happen and things to change on this estate you have to fight for it."

I would agree with that. I would go further and say if you want the Council or the Police to do things in Reading either as a resident or indeed as a councillor, you have to fight for it as well and not take no for an answer!

One area in which we're still fighting is in our efforts to get a permanent Police office set up on the estate. I asked the question and was told that RBC are still trying to find the right location. This is needed to ensure that we get the Policing we need in North Whitley.

Hexham estate has come a long way in the brief time I've known it. When I got elected in 2006, it became apparent just by walking around the estate and speaking to residents that the Labour councillors for the area had done very little to improve the estate.

Despite negative articles that appear regularly in the press giving the impression Hexham Road is a bad area, talk anyone who spends any time there will tell you that most people who live on the estate are really genuine, lovely people.

A lot of the change on the estate is down to the hard work of people like Kevin Black in the youth service, Dave Soper (Groundwork)and Charlotte Roberts and Tom Martin at RBC. I wrote to them to thank them today for all that they are doing.

We've gone from a situation of having no permanent neighbourhood officer attached to the estate to having Ashley Blackwood in post since January 2009. Ashley is a first rate officer who works really hard.

Why did things start improving? Maybe officers got sick of me, Kirsten and Glenn nagging them to do stuff (!)- whatever, things on the estate are changing for the better.

However, as I said to officers today - the Council has made a lot of promises to local people on the estate about making things better: it's up to us to ensure the Council delivers.

It's also vital that the community takes back power over what happens in their area because without local people on board this campaign will be worth nothing.

Today we read that Reading is one of the 16 worst places in the UK for anti-social behaviour.

The Home Office announced yesterday that government 'ASB Action Squads' will be sent to Reading as one of the areas of the country where anti-social behaviour is not being tackled well enough.

This intervention will be highly embarassing for Labour politicians in Reading who like to claim that crime is falling and problems are being dealt with.

Last week the Lib Dems highlighted news from the government's offical Place Survey which revealed that less than a quarter of people living in Reading have confidence that the Police and the Council together are dealing effectively with nuisance behaviour.

In 2007,independent inspectors of the Council's Community Safety service published a highly critical report of the Labour-run Council's approach to reducing crime.

As the Lib Dem's Safer Communities spokesperson between 2006 and 2009 I have been actively involved in campaigning for a more joined up approach to tackling anti-social behaviour and crime.

ASB continues to be an issue that local people living across Reading are very concerned about and as a Party the Lib Dems in Reading have led the way in campaigning for more effective action to tackle crime problems.

We have campaigned for more Police on the streets in Reading and more funding for Neighbourhood Action Groups to help get their message across and help get local people more involved in reducing anti-social behaviour in their areas.

Cllr Gareth Epps who is now leading for the Lib Dems in Reading on crime and communities issues (as well as being Lib Dem PPC for Reading East) had this to say on today's announcement and plans for a new 'Residents Charter':

"After all the warnings, it really is a damning indictment of Labour's policies in Reading that the Government has designated the borough as one of the worst hotspots in the country.

"We must praise the hard work of all those trying to tackle these problems, and particularly the work of police Neighbourhood Action Groups which have made a real difference.

“The problem, though, is that action in Reading is insufficiently well-targeted and suffers from a lack of resources.

"A problem I frequently find is that communities have simply given up reporting problems.  This happens far too often with Housing Associations in particular - some are good, but too many of them fail to meet their legal responsibility to take action. 

“For this reason I am proposing that the Council draws up a charter, so residents know what they can expect, and Housing Associations can be held to the standards they should be following."

UPDATE:

A spokesperson of the Safer Reading Partnership has responded today, blaming Reading's poor showing on 'out of date data' 

But as I've pointed out on this Blog before, the Council's own annual residents' survey has clearly shown that anti-social behaviour is one of the top concerns people in Reading have.

Their application states they will be able to sell alcohol from 1800 to 2300 and the events can have a maximum of 50 people present.

I find it very strange that a pub with such a terrible reputation (especially when it comes to these sorts of events) and which has had a suspended license for a month can instantly apply for a TEN - and get it! The location of this pub, i.e. a highly residential area, and the types of activities they are trying to run are clearly not compatible. Only the Police are able to object to these TEN licenses on the grounds of Crime and Disorder.

In the past when they tried to host an 18th Birthday party they were allowing under age drinkers into their pub and the event resulted in fighting in the streets - needing police in riot gear stopping the situation!

RBC officers have said:

This is all possible because of Labours flawed 'Licensing Act 2003'.

If residents are concerned by any of the going ons during these two events they can contact TVP's Non emergency line on 0845 8 505 505 or the Licensing Team on 0118 937 3059.

Well, I visited the area yesterday and received more complaints from residents about lack of action by the School. The trees by the fence have got so overgrown that they are blocking some of the streetlights on the Walk. Result - residents are not impressed.

I have written once again to the School requesting that they take action as soon as possible to tidy up the fence area.

I've asked that they increase their monitoring of this area so that residents and I do not have to keep reminding them to cut the trees back etc. Let's hope they get the message this time.

I'm sorry to say dog fouling is still a major problem on the Walk. This issue was raise by virtually every resident I spoke to. They take pride in their gardens and do not take kindly to people who allow their dogs to foul outside their front doors.

My colleague Kirsten highlighted this issue and the lack of routine enforcement action by RBC earlier this year. Residents are totally fed up with the lack of action and the fact that some irresponsible dog owners are 'getting away with it'.

I don't think this problem is being overstated by residents. I'm aware that dog fouling was one of the top issues to come out of the recent South Reading Residents' Survey. I'm due to be getting a more detailed briefing about the other issues which were identified from officers soon - should be interesting.

Other issues residents raised with me yesterday was lack of street cleaning and dumping of rubbish around the garages. 

The garage area between Bede Walk and Hexham Road has been a bit of a crime and fly-tipping hot spot over the years and as a result I've spent considerable time over the past couple of years campaigning for more support for residents from the Police and the Council.

It was disappointing to see anti-social behaviour around the alley gates is still going on. Following our successful campaign to improve the security of gates on the estate, kids have now taken to climbing over them and into the alley ways. Kids are also digging up paving stones (!) for fun which could be dangerous.

I've written to officers at the Council about all the issues residents raised with me and hopefully residents will see some improvement as a result.

A meeting is being held at the Community Centre on Hexham Road tomorrow (Tuesday 14 July) at 7.30pm. I called for the meeting as I'd like to see residents more involved in deciding what the Council does on the estate.

It's really important that what residents want is the top priority, not just what Council officers might want to see happen. It's part and parcel of our campaign to improve the quality of life for residents living on the estate. I hope as many residents as possible come along and have their say.

I've just come back from a ward walkabout with my fantastically dedicated ward colleague, Glenn Goodall.

The three of us like to get out and about as often as we can to keep an eye on things and pick up any problems. Today was no different and we enjoyed chatting to residents as we went round.

We were shocked by the awful state some of the streets in the University area were in.

Looking back at the Blog It was exactly the same last year.

We have a constant battle on our hands to ensure that areas of the ward where there are lots of private rented properties are free of rubbish and litter. We report problems where ever we see them but sadly every year new tenants can mean new problems.

Waste management at HMOs and student houses was one of the key areas we focussed on in our scrutiny review of private rented housing. I felt strongly that the Council's current approach to waste problems simply wasn't working.

As a result of our review recommendations being accepted by the Labour administration council policies are being modified to make them more effective, although it could take time for us to see the benefits on the ground.

As I've said a few times things are at their worst at the end of university terms when one set of students is moving out and others are moving in.

Blenheim Road appears to be once again of the worst affected roads. We counted  20 properties on the street where bins were overflowing. 

Other streets we picked up problems included Kings Road, Eldon Terrace, Addington Road,  Blenheim Gardens, Redlands Road, Christchurch Road and Erleigh Road.

As we walked around making a note of problems Glenn and I felt sympathy for those residents who clearly make a lot of effort maintaining their properties and gardens amongst properties where occupants or landlords clearly weren't taking responsibility for managing waste. The state of the street must be very depressing for them.

Common problems we picked up today included bins overflowing,bulky items dumped in front gardens, contaminated red bins and bins blocking pavements.

I have written to the Council with a long list of properties where residents need help managing waste either providing them with an extra wheelie bin or advice about how to manage waste.

We are also asking officers whether where there are multiple bins they can be replaced with single larger bins. Places like Addington Road and Christchurch Road might benefit from this.

This has been done on London Road and has led to a reduction in the amount of bins cluttering up the pavement.

In some cases it is landlords rather than tenants who are at fault. I have asked officers to write to these landlords and remind them of their responsiblities. If this doesn't work we would like to see enforcement action to force people to clean up their mess.

Outside an HMO on Kings Road

As I've said before, I believe the University of Reading should take more responsibility for helping to keep our area clean and tidy. The extra black bin collections which the Council brought in after pressure from us do not come free of charge. Why should the burden fall solely on Council Tax payers?

One of our scrutiny review recommendations was:

"The commitment of additional resources by the University of Reading where appropriate towards the accreditation of student accomodation and environmental improvements in areas with large numbers of student properties, for example sponsoring 'clean up' activities or additional environmental liaison officers"

I met RBC officers recently to discuss how we can make this happen, leading up to meetings I will be scheduling with senior University officals this autumn.

Suffice to say we will continue to campaign to make the University area clean, green, pleasant place for everyone to live.

UPDATE:

I've received an email from a constituent living in the area who writes:

"To be honest I am fed up with living in a Slum and below list properties that have rubbish on the ground and not in their bins which is an eye sore and not hygienic. I cannot say that all of these properties are student lets but believe most of them to be and cannot expect that the bin men will be clearing this up this week again.  Therefore how long do residents of Reading have to put up with this.  The University should contribute towards the costs of cleaning up areas of where there is a high student population... Could the Council not enforce a register of all landlords and the properties they hold to ensure that they take some responsibility in the properties they own to endeavour that the local Residents (Council Tax Payers) do not suffer any more."

I receive emails like this most weeks which goes to show the level of public anger that exists at the state of some roads in the University area.

His reply came shortly after I blogged that the Labour government had gone quiet on empty homes since the May local elections.

Mr Austin says, in his letter which I received today:

"Thank you for your letter...I am pleased that you found the seminar hosted by my predecessor, Iain Wright MP, useful. The seminar was well received...I too am keen to tackle the problem of empty homes and to encourage local authorities and local communities to do more to reduce the number of empty homes across the country. In particular, I am keen for local authorities to make full use of this power if appropriate."

He goes on to say:

"I will be working closely with officials to consider what further action the Government can take to help encourage local authorities to tackle empty homes in their area and to address any barriers preventing them from taking action."

I'm delighted that Mr Austin has, belatedly, joined the campaign for action on empty homes.

I have been actively campaigning locally since 2006, prompted shortly after my election by a call from the Empty Homes Agency to draw my attention to the poor record of Labour-run Reading Borough Council on this issue.

A quick check on UK Parliament website TheyWorkForYou.com reveals that Mr Austin has only mentioned the issue of empty homes once since entering Parliament in 2005.

The first and only time he discussed the issue was one month ago - following his appointment to CLG.

Locally, Labour councillors backed measures to reduce the number of empty homes only after being embarassed into action by a highly successful, long-running local Lib Dem campaign.

Before this they were virtually silent on the issue despite apparently winning awards over a decade agofor their work in this area when Cllr Tony Jones (then a Labour councillor) was responsible for housing in Reading.

Only a few weeks ago he slammed the lack action from Labour on this issue which has led to an increase in the number of empty properties across the Borough.

It must be particularly galling for him after the success he enjoyed in this area a few years ago.

The main reason for the higher than average number of empty properties in Reading has been the fact that for years there was no strategy or resources to tackle the build-up of empty homes. 

I will be keeping a close eye on what the government does next on this issue to see if Mr Austin's words are backed by action.

I must admit I was disappointed that his officials only sent me a copy of minutes of the seminar I attended, rather than anything like a detailed action plan.

Locally, I will continue to lead the campaign for action to ensure that Reading Borough Council is doing everything it can to reduce the number of private properties currently lying empty in the town.

A few weeks ago I wrote to Ian Austin MP, new Minister responsible for empty homes to find out what progress had been made on this issue nationally since the seminar I attended in April along with other empty homes campaigners.

After I sent the letter I received a message from my friend and campaigner David Ireland, Chief Executive of the Empty Homes Agency:

"Thank you for copying me in to your excellent letter to Ian Austin, coincidently I had just written a similar letter to John Healey [housing minister]. One of my board members collared him last night too, but he (Healy) was dragged off for a briefing from Richard McCarthy on empty homes before he said anything.

Lets see if either of them respond. The government have hung their whole response to empty homes on that seminar and the foreword Margaret Becket did for our guidance, so I'm not letting them just drop it as a one-off."   

Needless to say I haven't heard anything back from the Minister yet: I'll be on his case soon if I don't hear anything. It took CLG three months to send me the minutes of the meeting held in April so I won't be holding my breath.

I sincerely hope that the government has not lost interest in doing something about empty homes, so soon after then Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett backed calls for action earlier this year.

I was very sad to read earlier this week in Inside Housing that financial support for the excellent Empty Homes Agency, a charity, has also been cut.

This the worst possible time for the Labour government to be neglecting to do everything it can to help actively encourage local authorities to reduce the number of empty private rented homes in their area.

Particularly when we know that demand for low-cost, affordable housing has never been higher in our area.

We heard last week at the HHCC Scrutiny Panel meeting the number of empty homes in Reading has risen almost 10% since February while at the same time the number of people contacting the council to apply for a council housing has more than doubled.

The facts as they stand are stark:

• As of May 1 2009 there were 489 private sector homes in Reading that had been empty longer than 6 months

• There are currently around 4,000 people registered on the council's housing waiting list

My Lib Dem colleagues and I will continue to campaign for action to reduce the number of empty homes in Reading and to improve access to affordable housing.

It's good to know also, that although nationally Labour may be letting us down on this issue, Lib Dem housing spokesperson, Sarah Teather MP, has said publicly that getting action on empty homes is one of her top three priorities.