Railings are a Real Success

Railings are a Real Success

Crumbling garden walls and overgrown hedges are being replaced as work goes on to dramatically improve the Langley estate in Middleton. Using money from the Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Fund, new walls and railings are replacing old walls and unsightly hedges to brighten up the whole estate.

One couple delighted with the work are Bill and Mildred Shaw of Rowrah Crescent, two of the first residents to benefit. They are home-owners who have had the privet hedge around their front garden dug up and replaced with smart new railings. 

Bill said, "I am really pleased with the work. It makes the front of my property and the whole street look much better.

"Also, because the privets have been removed, it's less work to keep it looking good and means that people walking along the street don't have to walk around overgrown hedges."

The fact that different parts of Langley will have different styles of walls and railings will break the large housing estate into smaller areas with their own identity.

Work to improve the boundaries of people's homes on Langley is aimed at making the estate more attractive to improve the demand for housing.  This is only one of a number of things that are being done to make Langley a more popular place to live. The Council, the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, Bowlee Park Housing Association and Lovells are also working together to:

• Demolish derelict buildings
• Refurbish some homes
• Build new homes
• Provide more parking spaces - either in people's front
• Gardens or on greens,
• Reduce crime. 

In the summer, the Oldham and Rochdale Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder
will submit a new bid for more HMR money for Langley and other neighbourhoods in Rochdale and Oldham boroughs.  If it is successful, the money will be spent from April 2006 to March 2008 in areas where opportunities to affect the housing market arise and after talking to residents who are directly affected.    

To find out more about Housing Market Renewal come along to a drop-in session at Middleton Civic Centre, Fountain Street on Thursday 26th May from 2pm - 6pm, prior to the Middleton Township meeting.