In Alderbrook we are working on our own Local Offer and what it means to us. 

Our Neighbourhood Agreement helps us to work for Alderbrook Residents and as such your views are important to us.  If you would like to comment, please do get in touch.

Alderbrook Neighbourhood Agreement

between

Alderbrook Community Association Wealden District Council

Crowborough Town Council

Sussex Police

ESCC

January 2009 Updated 2012

This agreement is signed by:

FredBest Chair

Alderbrook Community Association

Sussex Police

East Sussex County Council

Wealden District Council

Crowborough Town Council

On this day, Tuesday  10^th February 2009

We all have a joint responsibility for ensuring that this agreement works.

Alderbrook Neighbourhood Agreement 2009/2010

This is an Agreement between: 

Alderbrook Community Association representing all residents living in Adam Close, Alderbrook Close, Alderbrook Path, Alderbrook Way, Aldervale Cottages, 1-58 Stonecross Road and Walshes’ Cottages

-            Wealden District Council

-            Crowborough Town Council

-            East Sussex county Council

-            Sussex Police

This agreement shows how residents of Alderbrook are involved in their neighbourhood, in Council Services and through the Alderbrook Community Association.  It sets out those priorities residents have highlighted and the ways in which all parties will work to improve them.

How we arrived at this Agreement

-            Through 3 meetings of the Alderbrook Community Association

-            Through a joint working group made up of Aldebrook CA representatives, Wealden District Council Officers, County and District Councillors and through communications with a Town Councillor and Sussex Police representative and an officer from the County.

-            Priorities were based on those agreed by the working party and identified by the Housing Manager, the Neighbourhood Warden, the Community Association and all residents through the CA survey.

This agreement will be monitored by the Community Association at their monthly meetings and reviewed every six months.

Part One – Roles of all partners to this agreement

Alderbrook and the Community Association

Alderbrook Community Association was formed in February 2008 to represent local residents in the Alderbrook area of Crowborough.  It is run by a committee of 12 residents who were elected at its Annual General Meeting.

Its aims are set out in its constitution and are

a)                to promote members rights and the maintenance and improvement of housing conditions, amenities and the environment in general

b)               to promote social activities for all members.

c)                to uphold equal opportunities and work for good relations amongst all members of the community.

The committee has open meetings, which are held monthly on the second Tuesday of every month at 7pm at St Richards Church Hall, Fermor Road. All residents are welcome

The association has representatives on the:

• ·        Wealden Residents Action Group (WRAG)  - an umbrella group of residents groups in the Wealden district who comment on housing and neighbourhood policies and service provision
• ·        Wealden Compact Working Group – A working group that develops a district wide agreement with Wealden District Council
• ·        Crowborough Neighbourhood Police Panel

Achievements so far

√              A five a side football team for young people from Alderbrook - training weekly – weather and light permitting.

√              Clear up days that involved Committee members in the first instance and then on the second occasion, they were joined by WDC Officers and Sussex Police. On the second occasion larger items were removed and a total of 4 skips, 1 grabber lorry and 2 trucks were filled! Residents were very appreciative.

√              Day trips to Drusillas, Woodlands, Batemans and to Aladdin the Pantomime at Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall. The transport was paid for by the Association as was the tickets for the Pantomime with £5 contribution being asked of each person attending.

√              Arranged two Christmas Parties, one for over 8's at the Football Club and one for under 8's at St Richard's Church Hall with a visit from Santa.

√              A regular weekly Youth Club for over 11's held at the Crowborough Community Football Ground on Wednesdays.

√              Lobbied for the publishing of a three-year summary of major repairs for Council homes.

√              Parking bays installed in Stonecross bungalows by working with ESCC and WDC

√              Quarterly walkabouts with the Housing Officer, local Councillors, ESCC and the Warden that have identified areas needing attention - i.e. overgrown hedges, broken drains, poor condition of kerbs and roads.

√              Engaging with young people – we have Youth meetings to discuss the needs of the young residents. Following on from this we have identified a need for the Adam Field Play Park to be upgraded and have secured the Town Council's support with them provisionally earmarking £53,000 for this purpose.

√              Held a Community Open Day for residents to come along and meet the Committee and members of the local council, WDC officers, the Fire Service and Community Transport.

√              Regular Newsletters delivered to 300 homes by Committee Members.

√              Built up a good working relationship with WDC Housing Officers/Town, District and County Councillors/Sussex Police and liasing with them on any issues raised.

Alderbrook Community Association’s Commitment to you

Contact Details

Chair, Fred Best can be contacted on 07901 594480 at 96 Alderbrook Close -email besty.boy54@aol.com

Secretary, Jo Stonebrook can be contacted on 0771 261 1209 - email joanne.stonebrook@btinternet.com

1. Crowborough Town Council

The Town Council deals with play areas, provision of dog bins (but not the emptying of them), first approach about overgrown private hedges, bus stops and shelters, parks and town matters.  The Community Association with the support of WDC have worked with the Town Council to apply for funding for play facilities from ESCC Play Pathfinder Funds.  Councillor Peter Cowie, Town Council Chair of Sport and Recreation has worked closely with the Community Association – attending their meetings and consulting over the type of play equipment required.

Town Councillors – Crowborough East Ward

Our Town Councillors are Cllr Sandra Timms 01892 654989 or Sandra.Timms@btconnect.com  and Cllr. Julian Salmon 01892 668130.   The Town Council has recently pledged to commit £53,000 to develop the Adam Field play area from their 2009/10 budget.

Wealden District Council

Wealden DC is the landlord through its Housing Department.  They also deal with leisure facilities, planning and building control, noise, community, emptying dog bins, fly tipping, abandoned vehicles, removal of bulky refuse, replacement of signs, street sweeping and refuse collection.  Below we have identified key people or departments for the Community Association to work with.

The Housing Department

The Housing Officer

The Housing Officer for Alderbrook is Samantha Astbury and she covers the northern end of the district from Forest Row to Frant and all in between, including the Alderbrook Estate in Crowborough.  She can be contacted by telephone 01323 443366 or by email samantha.astbury@wealden.gov.uk

The Housing Officer's role is to ensure that each tenant adheres to their tenancy conditions and to help and advise tenants where necessary on matters relating to the tenancy, the property and to advise on neighbourhood issues.

Sam works with other agencies, which includes the Community Association to help improve situations in households and neighbourhoods.  Samantha tries to attend the Community Association’s monthly meetings or sends a briefing regarding any queries that she has responsibility for.  She also attends joint walkabouts with the Association on a quarterly basis.

The Estate Warden

Nick Redman, is employed by Housing to help look after the Council housing estates in the northern end of the district from Forest Row to Frant and all in between, including the Alderbrook Estate in Crowborough. He delivers a frontline service dealing with daily problems such as minor anti-social behaviour, rubbish removal and abandoned vehicles.  Nick can be contacted on 01323 443269 or email nick.redman@wealden.gov.uk.

The Tenant Involvement Officer

David Gibson currently supports and advises all residents associations in Wealden including help with funding applications, campaigns and activities.  If you would like to be involved, please contact David on 01323 443370 or email david.gibson@wealden.gov.uk.

Grounds maintenance

Grounds maintenance is currently delivered by the Council’s in house team.  This contract is to be reviewed in 2009.  Currently the service is managed by Paul Ridley and monitored by the Housing Services Manager, Chris Stephens.  You can contact Paul Ridely on 01323 443427 or email paul.ridley@wealden.gov.uk

Please see more details on this service in the next chapter.

District Councillors

District councillors covering Alderbrook are currently Cllr Sylvia Tidy and Cllr Jane Clark. Councillors represent all residents in their ward and you can approach them with any issues or views that you have individually. You can contact them on:

Councillor Sylvia Tidy on 01825 733151 or cllr.sylvia.tidy@wealden.gov.uk

Councillor Jane Clark on 01892 655050 or cllr.jane.clark@wealden.gov.uk

They currently have a close relationship with and support the Community Association and will attend their meetings when invited to do so and help find answers to issues raised.

East Sussex County Council

The County Council deals with planning, education, youth services, social services, roads and transport, libraries and the environment.  Below are the departments we have identified to help us with our priorities.

Transport and Environment Department

Simon Marchant, Construction Engineer at East Sussex County Council at the Western Area Office in Ringmer met with the Community association to discuss problems with parking and with speeding.  Simon kindly helped us with the parking bays in Stonecross Bungalows.  This department can be contacted on 0845 60 80 193.

Grounds Maintenance

The grass verges are cut by ESCC through the Western Highways office on 0845 60 80 193.  They cut verges, roundabouts and traffic islands in built-up areas (urban areas). The current policy is to cut grass in urban areas five times a year but they do not remove the grass cuttings nor clear litter before cuts.

County Councillors

Councillors covering Alderbrook are currently Cllr Sylvia Tidy and Cllr Richard Stogden. They can be contacted on

Cllr Tidy - 01825 733151 cllr.sylvia.tidy@wealden.gov.uk

Cllr Stogdon - 01273 481576

Sussex Police

Your local Neighbourhood Policing Team is Crowborough and the Neighbourhood Specialist Constable is Steve Etherington who coversCrowborough Town, Wadhurst, Rotherfield, Mayfield, Frant, Withyham and Groombridge.  The Local PCSO is Ruth Parnell who can be contacted on 08450 60 70 999 Extension 27426.

With crime levels low in the area Steve and Ruth enjoy the challenge of assisting residents and local agencies with issues that matter to them.  For all non-emergency calls dial 0845 60 70 999 - Only in the event of an emergency dial 999. Please note that all calls are recorded for policing purposes. The above two numbers should always be used to report any new crimes or incidents. However, if you’d like to leave Steve a message regarding an existing matter or pass on information you can do so either by calling 0845 60 70 999 Extension: 17638 or emailing: Stephen.Etherington@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Please bear in mind, however, that during particularly busy periods Steve or Ruth may not be able to respond to individual queries for a few days.

Co-ordinating the Crowborough Town, Wadhurst, Rotherfield, Mayfield, Frant, Withyham and Groombridge team is your dedicated Neighbourhood Specialist Sergeant, Howard Nevill. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the team you can email Neighbourhood Specialist Sergeant Howard Nevill.howard.nevill@sussex.pnn.police.uk

The Community Association works in partnership with Sussex Police and Ruth Parnell attends our Community Association meetings when she can.

Clued Up

Clued-up.info based in Crowborough, East Sussex is an Information Shop for young people aged between 11 and 25 years. They provide advice and information on any subject. These include education, training and employment, sex and relationships, family problems, justice and equality, health, housing and welfare, money, sport, leisure and travel, mental health and depression, bullying, alcohol and drug awareness, as well as counselling and liasing with other agencies on your behalf. If we don't know the answer, we guarantee to find out for you!

Clued up work with the Community Association by running the Youth Club every Wednesday at the Football Club, 6pm – 8pm.  There is a weekly charge of £1 with refreshments available to purchase.

St Richard’s Church, Fermor Road

The Community Association works very closely with community based church, St Richards.  We arrange joint parties and hold all of our meetings in the Church Hall.  Representatives of the Church attend our meetings and are the heart of the community.

Crowborough Athletic Football Club

We also work in close partnership with the local football club where we hold our Wednesday Youth Club.Part Two – Our Priorities

Residents together with the partners of this agreement, have identified the following as being a priority for the forthcoming year:

1. Grounds Maintenance – identified in residents survey.

More Information to residents about grounds maintenance to allow them to monitor the quality

Grass cutting in Alderbrook is covered by both East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and by Wealden District Council (WDC) on behalf of the Housing Department.  The map appendixed at the end of this agreement shows those areas covered by WDC and those by ESCC.

So that all residents know what to expect, the following service standards apply:

ESCC

• ·       

WDC – Please note that this is to be reviewed in spring 2009

Grass Cutting:

• ·        The site is checked and cleared of all rubbish prior to cutting
• ·        Grass cut 9 times per year between March and Autumn
• ·        Grass around obstacles is trimmed immediately after mowing
• ·        Grass cuttings swept from paths
• ·        In areas with bulbs, grass will not be cut until 6 weeks after they have flowered and died

Weed Control

• ·        Areas to be weed killed include 15cm away from walls, fences, hedges and trees and also footpaths and hard areas around grass

Pruning

• ·        Trees are pruned where instructed
• ·        Shrubs and roses are pruned annually
• ·        Hedges are pruned

Beds and borders

• ·        Borders are visited 7 times per annum
• ·        Planters in car parks maintained

Ditch Maintenance – Rear to Alderbrook Way

• ·        Trimming of vegetation which interferes with the flow of water and removal from site

How the Community Association and residents can be involved

• ·        Inspecting grounds maintenance and reporting any problems with service delivery or standards to Paul Ridley on 01323 443427
• ·       
• ·       
• ·        An annual meeting between Paul Ridley, Building and Estates Manager and the association
• ·        Quarterly walkabouts to monitor grounds maintenance with ESCC and WDC present when invited
• ·        Contact Fred Best on 07901 594480 at 96 Alderbrook Close, or email besty.boy54@aol.com

1. Litter, rubbish and recycling

Litter and bulky refuse has been prioritised as an area that needs solutions.  All parties to this agreement ask all residents to help with this problem.  Please make sure that you and your household do everything to keep Alderbrook litter free and never dump large items.  There are currently five litter bins in Alderbrook.  Recycling bins have also been identified as a priority for residents

How the Community Association and residents can be involved

• ·        Everybody to make sure litter is not dropped
• ·        Walkabouts every three months with the Housing Officer and neighbourhood Warden
• ·        Twice annual Clear Up days by the Community Association
• ·        Partnership working with the Community Payback Team
• ·        Further approaches to the football club to accommodate recycling bins

1. Estate Improvements

The following issues have been identified jointly by the Association, the Neighbourhood Warden and the Housing Officer:

• ·        Redundant planters in the car park area between 76-78 Alderbrook Close and in Alderbrook Way rear of 23-25.
• ·        Insufficient lighting in car parks
• ·        Poor surfacing to car park entrance
• ·        Insufficient car parking for residents
• ·        Provision of a notice board for the area
• ·       

How the Community Association and residents can be involved in solutions

• ·       
• ·       
• ·       

1. Provision of Recreational Equipment reducing anti-social behaviour

Residents identified low level anti-social behaviour and poor facilities for play and young people as a priority in the survey.

How the Community Association and residents can be involved in solutions

• ·        The Community Association have raised over £60,000 to develop youth activities such as the Wednesday clubs for over and under 11s, the football team, youth representatives on its committee,
• ·       
• ·       
• ·       
• ·        Police will attend estate walkabouts when invited
• ·        Police to provide main contact and details
• ·        The Community Association and residents to access the Neighbourhood Police Panel

5. Bus Service – the problem.

The bus service has been identified by residents and the Community Association as a priority.

How the Community Association and residents can be involved in solutions

Lobby and work in partnership with the Town Council and the County Council to take issues up with the bus companies and to develop community transport

6. Major Works for Residents

The following is planned for the Alderbrook area:

NB Subject to the approval of the 2009/10 Business Plan by WDC

Part Three - How we will make sure this agreement makes a difference

We will monitor this agreement and the action plan in the next section at the monthly meetings of the Alderbrook Community Association.

The action plan and this agreement will be reviewed in January and July each year and it will be revised annually.

Any complaints or disputes will be taken to the Wealden Residents Action Group liaison Group quarterly meetings for resolution.  They have the power to recommend independent mediation or arbitration to resolve disputes.

Complaints against any of the agencies can be made using their own complaints procedures.

Complaints against Alderbrook Community Association should be made directly to the Chair of the Association.  Wealden Council will support the Association to deal with complaints effectively.

Part Four - Action Plan 2009 – 2010