Middlesbrough Neighbourhoods Benefit From Revamp

RESIDENTS across Middlesbrough are set to benefit from a facelift which could see hundreds of thousands of pounds injected into their neighbourhoods.

Bosses at Erimus Housing have started pouring cash into homes and the local environment in a bid to boost the lives of their tenants and help the regeneration of the town.

The organisation, which kicked off in November when it took over responsibility for almost 12,000 properties from Middlesbrough Council, has already finished a variety of projects across the town in a bid to improve the borough.

Work already completed follows consultation with residents and includes cleaning alleys and gardening in Pallister Park, painting garages in Beechwood and Easterside and reassuring the elderly by placing dusk to dawn lights in their homes in Coulby Newham.

Removing trees and shrubs as well as cutting back overgrown plants in Marton Grove and Newport started in December and skips were placed in communities to enable householders to get rid of excess rubbish.

But plans to carry out more improvements, including the demolition of a select number of vacant homes, are also on the cards for householders.

Up to £500,000 will have been ploughed into the improvement scheme in the first six months of the organisation.

Tenants and the local community have reacted positively to the work already carried out and have praised plans for the future.

Erimus resident Grace Khurana said: "I think that the skip drive was very successful and beneficial to the residents.

"It has helped to reduce bulk rubbish on the estate and also reduces the workload for council refuse collectors."

Another resident added: "The pruning in Dales Park was a success, it made the environment look a lot cleaner and made the estate more welcoming to visitors and residents."

Future proposals include replacing garage doors in Coulby Newham and converting flowerbeds to parking spaces in Thorntree.

Chiefs at Erimus Housing said the work was already beginning to make a real difference.

Susie Thompson, Director of Housing, added: "It was important that residents could see an improvement in their areas and that Erimus was making a real difference from day one.

"The process is ongoing with new suggestions and priorities being added to the list by residents, officers and board members.

"The project overall has been extremely well received by residents with positive feedback."