The Street Audits were undertaken at 4.45pm-6.00pm on the evenings of February the 26th and March the 5th 2009

Background

Ingol is a diverse ward. There are high levels of owner occupation, particularly on audit route 1. Some areas are affluent, but 2 areas in particular (reference SOA EO1025260 & EO1025263), Barry Ave area and Tanterton area respectively, are not as affluent. The total population is (2007 figures), 7022.

The Audit areas have a mixture of owner occupied housing, with many flats and family homes belonging to Community Gateway Association There is also a sheltered housing scheme comprising of 40, 1 bed flats, managed by Housing 21, known as Hargreaves Court in Audit route 1. There are 2 other sheltered schemes in the ward belonging to Community Gateway Association. Places for People are the biggest landlord, having a significant number of houses and flats in the Anteroom area.

The audit routes include 3 churches, 2 social clubs, 3 primary schools and 2 community centres. There are 2 main shopping areas on each side of tag lane, made up of small family run business, with a Coop and a Nisa store.

Street Audits Service Providers and local residents think that taking an active role in Street Audits is a practical way of finding out what issues are affecting different areas of a community. The first Street Audits in the area were undertaken on the same routes in the day time, in 2008. The areas have been have been identified by residents who attend Impact Environment Action group meetings. This audit was done later in the day and also on the same route to see what issues are still present since the last audit.

Method

The audit area was divided into 4 with 4 teams. Each team had a note taker and a camera to take pictures to provide the information and photographs included in this report. In February 2009, residents, service providers, the Police walked the chosen routes and identified both good and bad points along the way.

The areas covered were:

• Route 1 looked at the streets and environment between; Whitby Avenue, Dunoon Close, Tom Benson Way Underpass and back up again.

• Route 2 looked at the streets and environment between; Barry Avenue and Creswell Avenue

• Route 3 looked at the streets and environment between; Tanterton Hall Road and New Rough Hey

• Route 4 looked at the streets and environment between; Turnfield Road, Bowling Field, and the area around Ingol Health Centre.

At the time of the audits, the light was just going down and so it gave us a picture of the area later in the day, as the previous audits were undertaken in the day time.

Facilities & signs


There was a bent barrier outside the school that could do with repairing or renewing.

It was noted that since this are was last audited the fence at Holy Family School had been replaced and looked a lot nicer.



Move your curser over picture to see improvements

There was no bus timetable at the bus shelter at the school.

The no smoking sign had been vandalised at the shelter

The shelter could do with repainting.

There was a broken fence opposite Ingol labour Club.

Move your curser over picture to see improvements

There was a missing Number plate outside Dunoon Close, which residents said leaves the postman often looking for the right houses.


Deliveries are often made late as people struggle to find the right numbered house.


A new street sign is needed pointing to houses near 74 Dunoon Close and outside No. 77 Dunoon Close.


Other number plates were difficult to read.


Lighting was fine in this area.


Concern was expressed about dog bins (for example at the Woodland Area in Dunoon Close) not getting emptied.

Footway, surfaces and obstructions




There was a bad pot hole outside Ingol labour Club.


There was some evidence of cars damaging pavements and a curb was broken outside Hargreaves Court.

There was also a raised manhole cover outside Hargreaves Court.





There was some evidence of cars parking on grass verges, for example, outside property at Whitby Avenue and opposite Hargreaves Court.




There were cracks in the paving outside No. 129 Whitby Ave

Aesthetics

The audit area contains some nice areas of green space, which residents on the route say are used for walking. There is a lovely green at Dunoon Close and woodland at the bottom of Tom Benson way, where residents say you can sometimes see foxes and badgers.

There are lots of new trees planted along the audit route, outside Hargreaves Court and they looked nice and have not been vandalized since being planted.

The Park area belongs to PCC and part of the area is managed by the Woodland trust. The area is fenced. There were some concerns about the future of this area; residents say they value it very much.

Residents said they would like to see the Woodland trust Fence painted and there is part of the fence broken near the kissing gate.

There is also a bit of graffiti here.

The street sign pointing to 140-202 Whitby Ave needs replacing.

Along the walkways were metal bollardswhich people liked better than the concrete ones.

There were some problems with litter on the walkway from Dunoon towards Tom Benson Way and residents have asked this to be gated off.

Facilities & signs

Signs for Whitby Avenue and Hornsea Close are either missing or painted over.

Sign Posts missing at Dalmore Road and Dunbar Rd sign bent.

Footway, surfaces and obstructions

Cleanliness - Cigarette Butts were littered around John O Gaunts, this is a recurring issue which has already been reported at PACT meetings.





There are Pot Holes around Cottam Ave and cracks in pavements








Cars are cutting across Clevedon Rd Grass verges and Crosby Place leaving tire marks

Lots of cars have been parking on the pavements.








Dog fouling on the pavements at the garages on Clevedon Road.

A former garage site is in need of improvements.

A pathway is needed to link from the bungalows on Brighton Crescent to Ingol Dip.

 

 

Pathways/roadways are cracked around the area, eg Colwyn Place, Barry Avenue etc

Personal Security

Cans and Bottles inside Wall at Clevedon Rd and beer bottles at Brighton Cres and sometimes on Ingol Dip give feeling that area is frequented by drinkers.



Need for better pathways at Ingol Dip, especially leading to play area from Barry Avenue end.

Generally though, area does feel safe and most residents feel area has improved a great deal over last few years.



Aesthetics

On Clevedon Road, several garden walls were found to be crumbling.





There is an accumulation of rubbish at a property at Clevedon Road and a cooker has been left outside Clevedon Road Flats.




People were positive about the fenced grassy area on Dalmore Road.




Generally area looked nice, but could do with some environmental uplifts to grass verges and roadsurfaces and pavements.

Some homes letting area down as there are some untidy gardens as well as some really nice gardens.




Overgrown hedges are an issue, especially Cromer Place,




There were some problems with litter, particularly in shrub beds at the sides of footpaths.

Traffic

The area is dense and there is a lot of cars/traffic. On this audit route the main issue with traffic was the parking issues (on pavements) and on grass verges (as pictured earlier).

There have also been issues with speeding.

Housing

The audit area has a mixed selection of housing, mainly family housing.

Most of the properties are in good order and a recent upgrade has helped lift the area. However, it is the gardens, fencing and the environment that needs most attention.

There was a gate off a house at Clevedon Rd and fence panels missing on homes on Barry Avenue/Beachley Rd.

 

 

Football hitting the walls of flats near Dalmore Road is a problem. Dirty marks from footballs can be found on the walls of some of the flats.

There is some water damage to the facia of a private block of flats on Barry Ave.

Maintenance and enforcement issues

The main areas of concern with regards to maintenance were flytipping, dogfouling, and parking issues.

A property at Barry Ave is considered to be considerably messy.

Lots of people leave bins out.

There is graffiti on the wall at property on Colwyn Place.

Many gardens were not being maintained.

Road layout and space allocation

The road layout and space for resident parking and pedestrians is sometimes an issue on this route, with people parking in communal areas and on grass verges.

Recommendations:

The findings of the Street Audit suggest there are several ways to improve the local environment and residents perceptions in the audit area, some have cost implications for
various service providers, some may be achieved by working in a different way and include;

• Speeding awareness

• Attention to grassed areas, communal green areas, including better maintainance and prevention measures to stop them being used by cars.

• Improvements to and maintenance of the area known as Ingol Dip.

• Look at realistic solutions to ease the distress of local residents who are affected by kids hitting footballs at sides if flats (This is being looked at as a Britain in Bloom Project)

• Fly tipping and litter campaign and enforcement

• Tenancy agreement reminders-especially regarding garden areas

• Additional litter bins in areas of need

• Dog fouling signs and enforcement

• Improved maintenance of pavements and roads

• Replace missing fencing with hard wearing low maintenance fencing

• Improved tree and shrub pruning

• Address environment with projects similar to Dalmore Rd.

• Replace broken and missing street signs

Facilities & signs


Fencing was an issue with poor fencing between properties and some homes with no fencing.

There was no fencing around the former police house.

The benches are in a poor state










The Play Area at New Rough Hey is in a poor condition and people feel it needs attention










The area at rear of 105 new Rough Hey had a poor raised planting bed in need of improvement









The fence to the Golf Club was in need of repair

 

Street lighting seemed adequate, but with some people saying more street lights generally around the walkways in the area would be a benefit.

Concern was expressed about dog fouling generally and problems of emptying of dog bins.




Footway, surfaces and obstructions


There was a problem with slippy footpaths, such as from Tanterton Hall Rd to Hanover Court and detritus on the footpaths, frequented by older people.

Many of these paths are overgrown with moss and covered with leaves. There was some evidence of cars parking on grass verges and pavements.

 

There were muddy paths in front of 105-112 New Rough hey.









The flags in front of the NISA are cracked and uneven, with residents saying people often fall over in this area.

There were some cracks in the surface of paths and bricks coming up around tree beds

Aesthetics

The area looked in need of improvement. The look and feel of open space was poor. The fencing looked unsightly, with homes missing fencing and with existing fencing in need of replacement.

Residents said they would like to see the open space improved, and suggested that the area of open space next to 146 new Rough Hey could be a potential project for Britain in Bloom.

The area in front of the shops needs improvement, with the NISA store having a temporary sign and spikes around the top of the store.

However, there are so many shrub beds in need of attention; a more holistic view is needed of the whole area in terms of upgrading the environment.

The area’s plant-life has been poorly maintained and looks very unattractive

There were some problems with litter, particularly in shrub beds at the sides of footpaths.

 

Some tenants/owners were not looking after their gardens. There were also problems with the gardens at empty properties, with rubbish accumulating.

Traffic

The area is dense and there is a lot of cars/traffic. On this audit route the main issue with traffic was the parking issues as much of the area consist of Closed avenues.


Housing

The audit area has a mixed selection of housing, mainly family housing. Most of the properties are in good order.



However, it is the gardens, fencing and the environment that needs most attention.




Maintenance and enforcement issues

The main areas of concern with regards to maintenance were poor grass cutting and shrub bed care, litter in shrub beds, poor maintenance of the play area, and litter in shrub beds.

Many gardens were not being maintained and there were some issues with dog fouling.


The site around the shops is in a poor state.


















Road layout and space allocation

The road layout and space for resident parking and pedestrians is sometimes an issue on this route, with people parking in communal areas and on pavements.

Personal Security

This area was audited in early evening. Although the team felt safe and local people were very friendly, the area does need a face lift, particularly in terms of environmental quality. This would help make the area feel safer.











There was some graffiti on the fencing by the paths leading to the NISA.




Some lighting improvements were suggested in front of the Nisa shops and along the footway to Hanover Court.

Recommendations:

The findings of the Street Audit suggest there are several ways to improve the local environment and residents perceptions regarding personal safety in the audit area, some have cost implications for various service providers, some may be achieved by working in a different way and include;

• Additional or improved lighting in areas of need (especially walkways)

• Improvements to and maintenance of the green spaces available in the audit area in consultation with local residents. This was by far the biggest issue in Tanterton.

• Fencing upgrades needed to homes in this area.

• Improvements in graffiti reporting and removal

• Additional litter bins in areas of need

• Dog fouling signs and enforcement

• Improved maintenance of pavements
and roads/walkways (detritus)

• Improved tree and shrub pruning

• Landscape former Pub Site owned by PCT

• Improve aesthetics around Shops, potential Britain in Bloom Schemes?

Facilities & signs


Street lights are set out at every 50 metres. Apparently one of the lights on Turnfield is on all of the time
.
There is a bent sign on the lamppost outside 29 Bowlingfields.

A broken bench can also be found outside this address.






Turnfields



Concerns were raised about bushes and trees blocking out light.










Most of the benches in the area are dilapidated from vandalism and not fit for purpose.













Many of the paths are overgrown with moss, this is a big concern as they can become extremely slippery. Rotting leaves and detritus also make the paths slippery as well as bringing down the appearance of the environment.







Footway, surface obstructions


Many of the grass verges in the area show signs of deep tyre tracks and puddles.














Many residents are using the pavement to park their cars on 67-92 Turnfield.




























There is an overgrown tree between Turnfield and Bowlingfield and there are several larger branches and other garden waste left over from recent maintenance of the area, these are trip hazards.

















Landscaped areas are poorly maintained.

Aesthetics

The general aesthetics of the area are very poor, bushes and trees have not been well maintained and the grass verges have been damaged by cars.












Many of the properties garden fences are damaged and have slats missing.













Many of the paths and pavements have cracks and are overgrown with moss.

Recommendations

• Improve the environment – better ..   maintenance

• Landscaping projects around the area

• Improved footway maintenance

• Measure to protect the grass verges

• Improved paths

• Renew benches and provide more of  them

• Upgrade the play area

Impact wishes to thank everyone who took part in the Street Audit This Report will be sent to all relevant Service Providers, a St Audit Review of the area included in this report will take place in 2010 to see what improvements have been achieved.