By Rob Gooding, Community Organiser
Rotherham Federation and Council staff including Asim, Sophie and Jess held a joint meeting with residents of Wharncliffe on Thursday 30th January 2020 to discuss problems in the area and how Rotherham Federation and the Council could help residents improve their estate.
I joined Jess and Tanya on a leaflet drop and door knocking exercise to raise awareness of the upcoming meetings and to take feedback from residents who could not attend the official meeting. Residents had numerous concerns which were later raised in the meeting on their behalf and a small amount of fly-tipping was reported. There was a second leaflet drop the following week running up to the door knock, this led to an attendance of 14 residents all with severe concerns regarding repairs, drug use, ASB, crime and litter. We kept the meetings as informal as possible by providing a buffet and refreshments.
A main concern that was raised from residents is that the Community Centre in the flats had closed and been turned into a single bedroomed flat and that Community Police do not patrol the area like they did when the flats were first built.
A few residents were interested in forming a group to tackle the issues raised. They asked us to arrange a second meeting on Thursday 13th February 2020 where further options could be discussed and where the residents would like to see the group go.