Salix Homes should sort Rainsough out
Last night I attended a meeting of the committee of Rainsough Tenants and Residents Association. These meetings are often frustrating, because Rainsough is unfortunately placed right on the border with Salford, thus blurring the lines of responsibility for action between Bury and Salford. Although all the people who live there are officially Bury residents, half the houses are owned by Salford, as is the estate’s biggest eye-sore, a derelict block of shops on Chapel Road. Since Rainsough people don’t vote for Salford Councillors, Rainsough is right at the bottom of the priority list, and it’s not very fair.
Last night’s meeting was particularly annoying because Salford Council and their “arms length management organisation” Salix Homes are refusing to give a decent response to tenants’ and residents’ reasonable requests to tart up the shops as a temporary solution before we finally decide what to do with them. They won’t even provide a few tins of paint, and instead we’re going to have to go begging to B&Q.
The whole idea of Arms Length Management Organisations, or ALMOs as they’re known, has done little to improve things for tenants. As far as most are concerned, they’re still Council tenants, and despite the best efforts of Councils and ALMOs, most people really aren’t sure who to call or what the difference is between the two bodies. And this can lead to a fair bit of official buck-passing too, as Councils and ALMOs blame each other for the increasingly desparate situation a lot of tenants find themselves in in terms of nuisance neighbours and minor maintenance.
It’s not all bad, as the new roofing and kitchens in local Council homes demonstrates. But when it comes to the little environmental things that can cheer up an area, like tins of paint and waste bins, it does seem a lot harder to get the wheels in motion with an ALMO than it does with a Council. I only hope that Salford Council and their ALMO see sense and realise that a few tins of paint can really make a big difference to local people in Rainsough.
Rick
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