Tenants to be offered caretakers

Estate caretakers were introduced in Penhill last year and have proved such a success that Swindon Council is preparing to extend the scheme to other areas.

Caretakers have looked after high-rise council blocks for several years but this is the first time they have been paid to patrol low and medium rise buildings across a wide area.

Their main job is to keep communal areas clean and tidy but as their role has developed they have also found themselves getting rid of graffiti, chewing gum and anti-social behaviour.

Getting to know residents and helping strengthen their sense of responsibility and respect for the area in which they live has become a crucial part of their work.

The council charges tenants £1.50 a week for the privilege of a roving caretaker and feedback suggests they are quite happy to pay for the service.

Bernie Brannan, the director of housing at Swindon Council, said customer care was just as important to the job as cleaning equipment.

"The caretakers can be sent out into the estates to pick up on potential problems," he said.

"The presence of a regular cleaner gives residents a name and a face they recognise, rather than just the council."

Les Hosegood, the head of landlord services at the council, said relying on residents to maintain their own communal areas did not always work.

He said the estate caretakers were not just picking up litter but forging links with the community and gaining people's trust.

"Because people have seen the improvements to their environment they moderate their anti-social behaviour and think twice about dropping litter," he said.

"Out of all the new initiatives over the years this service has received the most favourable responses from tenants."

John Tucker has been an estate caretaker looking after a small area of Penhill for nearly 10 years.

Since last June he has been involved with the new pilot scheme which, for the first time, covers the whole of Penhill.

He and four other caretakers, including his son Terry, now look after 330 flats in 100 blocks.

"Some of the flats are nice but some need to be swept up with a mop to make them respectable," he said.

He clears up anything from dumped furniture to chewing gum and oil spillages.

"We have a good understanding with the tenants and we ask them to help themselves," he said.

"We get the odd few who don't really do their bit but the majority do care."

John, 46, who lives in Penhill, said the area's council blocks had been transformed since the project started.

"In the first few months it was really hard, going into blocks that had never been cleaned before," he said.

"But now the difference is appreciated and I get people thanking me all the time.

"It looks much better around here and I think the whole of Swindon could do with people like us."

Over the next few weeks, council tenants in the Parks and Walcot areas will be sent questionnaires asking them if they want to join Penhill in taking part in the scheme.