Sometimes it’s the basics that matter.
By Dave Oldham, Tony Sutton and the Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey Team - Nottingham
Originally published by East Midlands Liberal Democrats
Although there are sometimes bigger issues that need addressing in an area, the basics matter to residents.
Over the past months we have been active in the Wollaton Park and Lenton Abbey (WELA) ward sorting out the basic things that we have seen or residents have told us about. We say over the past months but we never really stopped.
Whilst there could be improvements made in the way the council actively manage their workload, they can't be everywhere. This is where community activists such as us come in to help.
Sewerage Flooding
One of the residents in our area had been suffering with significant flooding outside his house, which also included sewage from the drains. After contacting the council to sort out their part and Severn Trent to get the sewage leakage stopped the job was mainly sorted. In cooperation with the Neighbourhood Management Team we have also got some work done by the Wollaton Park team to try and sort out the rest of the flooding.
Blocked Drains
The council has limited vehicles to clean out gullies in the city. There is no active plan to keep these gullies clear and the council just reacts to reports. We have reported several blocked road gullies around the whole of the area to try and sort out localized flooding in the recent heavy rains. Woodside Road in Lenton Abbey still has serious flooding though during heavy rain. We have been trying to get the council to do something about this for a long time.
Dreaded Potholes
We have got the council to sort out several of these. One of the worst cases was on Hawton Crescent where the pothole was getting bigger and bigger, a resident reported it, he chased it up to be told it had been fixed. It hadn't been repaired and the road was breaking away. We contacted Highways and got the road fixed properly.
Other Basic jobs.
We have also reported a CCTV camera not working, and abandoned bicycle, broken street lights, road markings that needed repainting and street cleaning required.
Out and About
The team in WELA has been out and about talking to residents to find out what matter to them at the local level. We will continue to be there all year around and keep in contact. We will continue to do our best to serve the residents of Wollaton Park and Lenton Abbey.
If you want to come and help us please get in contact.