Appalled visitor calls for town to clean-up its act
Published on 19th April 2007 in News
‘WHAT A SIGHT!’: The view that prompted Mr Chapman to make his appeal to Goole residents.
A York resident wants to see more residents' associations formed around Goole in a bid to rid the town of its 'sense of apathy' and create pride in the town.
Keith Chapman, chairperson of the Nunnery Area Residents' Association in York, contacted the Goole Times after a recent visit to the town, which left him appalled by the amount of litter strewn around.
One part of the town that caught Mr Chapman's eye in particular was the view of the railway tracks from the bridge that links Gordon Street with Bridge Street - the 'Monkey Bridge' - where he saw litter and household furniture dumped alongside the lines.
Mr Chapman is now urging Goole residents to follow in the footsteps of the Nunnery Area Residents' Association in York and join together to form partnerships that will work for a better future for the town.
The Residents' Association is one of many of its kind in York and has had a number of successes since it was established ten years ago. Residents meet once a month to discuss topics that affect their area, and regularly hire skips to prevent litter problems and fly-tipping in the area.
Mr Chapman said: "It only takes a group of residents to get together to change things, and for the council to appoint community advisers to bring about a new communication between the council and the town's people.
"There have been pitfalls along the way, but these have been overcome with patience and guidelines from officers within the council. Every day we see people's quality of lives turned around, whether it is a council tenant or owner-occupier.
"Success has been achieved by neighbours working together to make their area much more pleasing to live in and raising the quality of life for the future."
A spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council told the Goole Times that there were already a number of residents' and tenants' associations in Goole.
The spokesperson said: "The associations are entirely voluntary and the council acts as a facilitator and encourages tenants, but we cannot order them to set up an association and not all estates have such associations. Not all parts of Goole are covered by tenants' associations.
"Likewise, residents' associations are voluntary and exist in some places in the East Riding, but not others. Such associations are more likely to exist where the residents have a common bond of some kind, such as sheltered housing complexes."