Councils And Housing Chiefs Failing Tenants - Deprived areas are not receiving proper environmental services

People living in Scotland's most deprived areas are not receiving the environmental services needed to keep communities clean and tidy. A study by Glasgow University and the Joseph Rowntree foundation said that local authorties were not meeting the street cleaning, and waste collection demands of poorer communities.The study said that deprived neighbourhoods were more difficult to maintian and more prone to environmental problems due to high-rise buildings, large open spaces and higher population density. Run down housing schemes in Scotland are struggling against problems like graffiti, fly-tipping, litter and the poor maintenance of public spaces. The study points out that local authorities are failing these communities by not routinely deploying sufficient resources that are needed to tackle the rising environmental problems of inner city areas.
The research showed that residents in these areas are increasingly becoming resigned to the poor qualiuty of their envrionment, as they watch their communities being systematically run down due to council neglect.
The researchers suggest that local authorities should routinely target enhanced services - such as more frequent street cleaning - towards deprived neighbourhoods as a way of re-energising residents, helping to kick-start further improvements and begin to reverse the cycle of decline.
It's a decline that has been too long ingnored by those in national and local government, as they have let our communities fal in to their current state of disrepair.
This can be seen in cities like Glasgow, where whole schemes have been left to go to ruin by the bodies put in place to maintain them.
As a result of the Scottish Executive's muich heralded Stock Transfer in the city, which was won on the promise of of improving the cities antiquated housing stock, the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) has left some of its tenants living in deplorable conditions.
GHA claim that iut is improving housing in Glasgow, but that is only if you are oje of the lucky ones.
As part of their regeneration plans they have earmarked whole streets of tenements and high rise blocks for demolition.
However they have not declared when many of these buildings will be coming down.
Instead they have left tenants in these homes without any promise to improve the conditions they are forced to live in.
As tenants move out of these houses they are not being replaced with new ones. GHA are boarding them up and leaving them to rot - it is not unusual to see a tenement building with five out of the six houses in a close lying empty, while tenants are left marooned in the remaining occupied flat.
These houses have become targets for vandalism and arson attacks, as all community spirit in areas becomes buried under the uncut gardens and litter.
The mantra og GHA seems to be, if they're going to be demolished then why worru about the conditions people are forced to live in.
However, it has not stopped them continuing to deman upwards of £220 per month from tenants for the privilege of staying in these condemned properties.

[Scottish Socialist Voice, Issue 241, 11th-17th November]