Brushing up the Borough begins with a bang!

In a pioneering project, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council have teamed up with Together Housing to improve services and help communities feel empowered to take pride in their neighbourhood.

Last week, from Monday 28 October to Friday 01 November, a brand-new pilot was launched with Together Housing on the Ashworth Estate in Blackburn. The pilot, called ‘Brushing up the Borough’, saw teams from the council and Together Housing come together to clean up the area, allowing residents to get the best out of services and feel pride in where they live.

The Neighbourhood and Environmental Services teams from Together Housing worked with the Council’s Highways and Environment teams to do jobs such as grass cutting, fence repairs, painting the play area, litter picking, street cleaning, grounds maintenance, drainage and gully cleansing and street light repairs.

The idea came from Wensley Fold Ward Councillor, Executive Member of Development and Growth and Deputy Leader of the council, Quesir Mahmood, who wanted to create a partnership between the council and the housing association to jointly address resident queries and help them be able to take care of their area going forward.

The pilot proved very successful, with evident changes to the area. The council’s street lighting team totally replaced three different light columns and changed the photocells on several others around the Estate, which control when the light comes off and on due to the daylight it receives. This means that the streetlights now work more efficiently, saving energy. The green spaces team mowed all grass verges and cleared a large row of brambles which made a huge difference to the overall look of the area, and the cleansing team litter picked and swept the roads. The drainage team also attended to ensure gullies and drains were clear of debris. Finally, the fly tipping team removed bulk items and any abandoned bins.

Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council said:

I’m so pleased to see this partnership between the council and Together Housing come to fruition. We as councillors are passionate about helping residents, and what an excellent way to kick off the project by being able to help the residents of Wensley Fold where my deputy, Councillor Quesir Mahmood is ward councillor.

There was an evident change in the overall look of Ashworth Estate before and after the project, and I do hope that residents found it beneficial and can continue to maintain the Estate with its new look.

I look forward to seeing ‘Brushing up the Borough’ taking place in other areas in the borough soon.

Michelle Allott, Executive Director of Operations at Together Housing said:

It’s been fantastic to see how useful this week has been in making communities better for residents and we are eager to turn this pilot project into a regular way of working in and around the borough.

Taking pride in our community is something all residents should feel, and ‘Brushing Up the Borough’ has provided another way of making that happen.  The simple act of bringing together two organisations to work in one place at one time has already strengthened the long-standing relationship we have with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.

Residents from the Ashworth Estate will now be surveyed to understand what they found to be most beneficial, and the hope is that the learnings will be used in other ‘Brushing up the Borough’ projects going forward, with a focus on making a difference in the long term.

The council and Together Housing will continue to work together to identify other areas that could benefit from the project.