Action day at Angel Meadow

Dennis Irvine, RBH Caretaker, Sharon Holden, PCSO, Gaynor Emerson, Heywood Community Safety Officer give out advice to tenants

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) has hosted an Action Day at Angel Meadow flats in Heywood.

Staff from Rochdale Borough Council, RBH, the Fire Brigade and Greater Manchester Police spent the morning knocking on more than 200 doors, offering a range of advice and practical help. The Fire Brigade were able to carry out risk assessments to alert tenants to fire hazards in the home. They also fitted and checked 45 smoke alarms, booked in several appointments to fit more over the coming week and worked on developing escape routes with residents.

Mick Cryer, Community Fire Safety Officer said: “It has been a while since Fire Service staff have visited Angel Meadow and we have used this action day as a lever to call on all the tenants to help them prevent fires breaking out and to help improve their safety. This is particularly important in multi-storey blocks like Angel Meadow. “

Gaynor Emerson, Heywood’s Community Safety Officer at the Council, was equally impressed, she said: “It has been great to come into the community, seeing people you would not normally see to help them with home security issues. We have also had a great take up of our purse bells and panic attack alarms.”

GMP’s Community Beat Manager, Shahid Shah, added: “Knocking on doors gave us an opportunity to let people know about ways they could contact the Police and also for people to meet their local officers and PCSOs and alert us to any issues.”

Information stands manned by the partners provided leaflets and guidance on burglary prevention and household insurance, whilst partners from the council’s environmental management team explained what help they could offer with recycling and removing waste, so that this did not accumulate in communal areas. They also issued recycling bags and were able to tell people more about a pilot scheme to recycle paper, operating on one of the blocks.

Peter Bamford, Local Housing Manager, concluded: “This has been a great example of partnership working. By working together, we have brought a host of services right into the heart of the community, which will help everyone live safely and securely.”