Market Drayton residents who blazed a trail for Shropshire in creating a better living environment on their estate have been sharing their expertise.
The Fairfields Estate was awarded the county’s first Cleaner, Safer, Greener kitemark by the Tidy Britain Group after a sustained effort by householders and leading social landlord, Meres & Mosses Housing Association, to improve the whole environment.
After MMHA staff and a tenant representative ran a workshop on their efforts at a conference in Birmingham, they were approached by Community Housing Group, based in the WyreForest, near Kidderminster, which was looking to find out how the Fairfields Estate experience could benefit its communities.
Keen to share their knowledge, MMHA arranged a visit for a group representing Kidderminster’s Broadwater Estate to see for themselves how the transformation was achieved.
Two Community Housing Group officers and a tenant from Broadwaters were given a guided tour of the Fairfields Estate, after being treated to coffee and mince pies in the estate’s Community Room.
Meres & Mosses Housing Association Managing Director, Jennie Barfoot, explained: “It was great to be able to share the fabulous achievements of the Fairfields residents with another group looking to reach the same standard for an improved community.
“We ensured our guests were given the chance to talk to residents and see examples of exactly what was done to make Fairfields Shropshire’s first Cleaner, Safer, Greener estate. They were very impressed and were grateful to everyone here for their support. I think the visit reassured them that they were on the right track to achieving the kitemark for themselves, so it was a very positive experience all round.”
The Fairfields residents held clean-up days as well as fun days and the process saw the area brightened with new planters which were filled with flowers and bulbs, with the work supported by MMHA.