A team of staff from Coastline Housing joined forces with officers from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and Cornwall Council’s Anti Social Behaviour Team to carry out a Respect walkabout in Helston.

The event was a proactive attempt to find out about, and combat, anti-social behaviour and other neighbourhood issues within the town.

A team of around 10 people, working in pairs, called at between 80 and 90 homes in the area, speaking to residents about how safe they felt in their neighbourhood, and whether there were any major problems regarding Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).

Mark Scherer, one of Coastline’s Tenancy Management Coordinators, organised the Helston walkabout and was pleased with the results. He said: “People were keen to talk to us and were generally quite positive about their neighbourhoods. The main issues raised were parking problems, cars driving too fast in narrow streets and teenagers congregating in play areas.

“Ideas for improvement were to provide sleeping policemen to alleviate speeding and to provide more parking or restrict non-residents from parking in neighbourhoods by implementing parking permits.”

Coastline will be taking these ideas to the Highways Agency, the local Police and local schools at a multi-agency meeting arranged for next month, to discuss them further.

Mark added: “Generally people were happy with their neighbourhoods and very few complaints were received, but it’s important that we are proactive and are seen on the streets as a presence committed to combating any Anti-Social Behaviour problems that do arise.”

The walkabout, in the central area of Helston, was one of several being carried out across the district as part of Coastline’s work to help implement the Government’s ‘Respect Agenda’.
The Respect Agenda is an initiative designed to challenge the causes and effects of anti social behaviour. It seeks to support families, improve school attendance, strengthen communities and take effective action against offenders.
Social housing providers such as Coastline Housing are seen as key to the successful implementation at a local level, helping to creating a culture of respect within its neighbourhoods.