Recently I wrote about the shocking state of the Gibbs Green estate. I have raised the matter with housing officers.

Here is the response I’ve had:
Dear Councillor Phibbs,

Thank you for your enquiry received on 30th April 2015 regarding fly tipping on Gibbs Green estate.

On Gibbs Green there is an established free bulk drop off point for the residents of the estate, where they are encouraged to leave their items for disposal to be collected by Serco on a once weekly collection. Any items left dumped across the wider estate will also be moved to this point by the caretaking team for Serco to collect as arranged.

Officers recognised that this area has become an eyesore, and working with the resident representatives have put forward an improvement funding bid for consideration by the new resident led ‘Investment Panel’ which is due to meet in June. The panel will be presented with plans for improvement to this area along with other estates’ improvement bids. We anticipate the panel will approve this bid, and that a small enclosure will be constructed there later this year to contain the items.

In the interim, the caretaking team is aware of the need to keep the bulk within the area organised and tidy to improve the look of the area, and discourage flytipping.

We will update the resident group on the outcome of their bid once the panel has completed the award process.

We will carry out a borough wide programme of re-signing open space with legally enforceable warning signs once the way forward has been agreed on housing’s enforcement strategy which is currently under review.

We hope this answers your enquiry. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Sharon Schaaf

Head of Estate Services

Housing Services

Housing Department

That’s all well and good. But now let’s see some action.