Neighbourhood inspections are a chance for everyone to make sure their community is clean and tidy.

You know how your local area should look, and where any problems may be, so by letting Coastline know about them we can get places improved.

The difference they make

When an area is looking good, everyone feels better about it and it’s more likely to be respected. With customers and Coastline working together, neighbourhoods can be kept clean and tidy.

If there are problems on land that Coastline looks after we can see about getting them resolved. Customers’ own gardens should be well kept, so if a problem is identified the tenancy management team will write letters asking for improvements to be made. Most customers look after their gardens – get in touch if you have seen a really good one!

The time you need to give

You can come along on an inspection if there is a one-off problem you would like us to know about. That would only use around an hour of your time. Some of our customers have chosen to join inspections on a regular basis.

How you can join

Contact the Neighbourhood and Involvement Team. We will confirm when the next inspection is taking place in your area, and let the Tenancy Management Team know you would like to take part. Inspections are held throughout the year as shown on the Neighbourhood Inspection Schedule 2012 and your Coastline calendar.

Don’t forget that you can report problems in your area at any time, not just on the inspections. Our Neighbourhood Standards Leaflet gives lots of information about how communities should look.

You can read more information about Neighbourhood Inspections below, or continue to navigate a course through our pages to find out about the many ways to Get Involved with Coastline.

Grading

To help Coastline see how our neighbourhoods are improving we target our efforts by grading areas into the following categories:

• Red – inspected every 4 weeks
• Amber – inspected every 3 months
• Green – inspected every 6 months

Using this grading system means we can spend the most time dealing with areas that have a higher number of problems.

The overall grading of each area is based on neighbourhood inspections from the past 12 months. Feedback to customers is published quarterly in our CoastLines magazine and on community notice boards.

Red neighbourhoods have the following problems:

• litter and waste
• abandoned or illegally parked vehicles
• fly tipping
• bulky items like fridges and sofas left in gardens or on paths
• untidy and unkempt gardens
• overgrown areas and pathways

Amber neighbourhoods may have a few issues, but are in a generally good state:

• some litter and waste
• any abandoned or illegally parked vehicles are reported
• collection of bulky items is arranged by customers
• unkempt and untidy gardens are being dealt with
• fly tipping is reported, with collection arranged
• overgrown communal areas and pathways reported

Green neighbourhoods are clean and tidy places to live:

• the area is tidy, without litter and debris
• all vehicles are taxed and legally parked
• there are no large items abandoned
• gardens are tidy and looked after
• no fly tipping
• communal areas or pathways are open, without overgrown bushes and grass

Please remember that there will always be an element of subjectivity within any grading of neighbourhoods. Once an inspection has been made, an overall rating will be awarded to reflect the whole area rather than single roads.

One example of a neighbourhood being re-graded is Treskewes Estate in St Keverne which has moved to amber from red. There were many issues with untidy gardens in 2010 - during one month the Tenancy Management Team sent 14 enforcement letters. This has improved significantly and in March 2011 just one letter was posted.

If you would like to know more about becoming an involved customer, please contact any member of the Neighbourhood and Involvement Team. You can e-mail getinvolved@coastlinehousing.co.uk, download the application form, call freephone 08082 027728 or our local number 01209 200200.