ANOTHER RIVERSIDE HEATING FIASCO

Stobart`s Volvos

rev and roar... `in
tune` with
tenants`

protests!

t

The revs and the roar of  Eddie Stobart`s trucks managed to drown out everything as they were put through their paces at the  weekend`s annual Stobart truck fest . The fest was a roaring success, a great  day`s entertainment for thousands at Carlisle Airport, particularly  the Eddie spotters.

For  these Stobart enthusiasts, the revs and roars of the huge Volvos and Scanias was pure music.

Surprisingly, there was another roar not  so far away. It was very  much like the roar of the engines of one of Eddie`s trucks. This  roar -  at  the neighbouring village of Crosby on Eden - also drowned out everything round about.

But this roar was far from entertaining. There was no “pure music” about it. This roar was a menace And it is still a menace.... as it has been for four years.

This roar is so much of a menace that environmental health officers  have been  brought in because of the possible damage to health.

This roar is caused by  large air source pumps fitted to boilers in  Riverside Housing Association homes in the Garth, Crosby on Eden. The roar of these pumps is the equivalent of the roar of one of Eddie Stobart`s trucks, declared the  environmental health officers.

The officers added, according to one Crosby tenant, that it was the loudest sound they had ever recorded in a house.

This roar is one shocking aspect of the  Riverside story in Crosby on Eden. There are also the rocketing energy  bills. One tenant was paying £70 a week at one stage. Now, with the  monstrously-expensive  boilers switched off for much of the time, the bill  is £30 a week.

The Riverside story in Crosby on Eden is a replica of the equally shocking Riverside story in Longtown where the energy bills of up to £4,000 a year just cannot be afforded by tenants. So in winter they freeze in their homes.

The   boilers, which as well as being insufferably– loud are dodgy.They were installed and maintained by cowboy workmen, say the tenants who  also complain about   an inefficient  and ineffective Riverside administration tackling the problem.

The shocking Riverside story at Longtown has been exposed in this blog  by Carlisle Tenants and Residents Federation activists  over a period of two years. The scandal Is also being  highlighted by two other community  activist groups, Longtown Action for Heat and Cumbria Riverside Action Group. 

Carlisle City Council is also involved through an investigation of tenants` complaints by the Leader, Councillor Colin Glover.

Now  all of these concerned organisations must come together  and give urgent attention to the suffering tenants of Crosby on Eden.

The cries for help of these suffering tenants are  very loud. 

As loud as the  roaring boilers  in their homes and the roaring engines of Eddie Stobart`s Volvos and Scanias.

CarlisleTenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.

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LABOUR`S ELECTION BRINGS NEW HOPE

Corbyn points 

the way to

taming a 

bossy

regime

Jeremy Corbyn(left), racing even further ahead in the Labour Party leadership race, now has  the Carlisle branch of the party helping him on his way.

That Carlisle support for Corbyn in the election of a new leader raises interesting questions.

Carlisle party members are now wondering how  Corbyn`s policies, if he ever becomes prime minister, could  reverse previous Labour policies which their branch supported more than a decade ago.

These policies have remained controversial ever since.

Particularly controversial was one which split the local party and proved disastrous for the city in the opinion of many people.

That policy was the privatisation of the city`s l6,000  council houses, built  with taxpayer`s money over a period of more than 100 years, an outstanding record of social housing the city should be proud of.

The privatisation was pushed ahead by  John Prescott who was then Tony Blair`s community secretary. But many Carlisle Labour Pary members were against privatisation.

Crucially, these members were persuaded to change their minds  and  vote for  privatisation out of loyalty to the Blair government.

That persuasion is thought to have been enough to ensure the privatisation  went ahead. The houses were sold at bargain prices to the Liverpool based Riverside Housing Association.

The privatisation  gave carte blanche to  Riverside - which in reality is  a giant property development organisationt - to set about closures of  much needed sheltered housing,  to set about the abolition of local tenant and community groups and to set about dodgy  building projects such as the disastrous Longtown solar panel scheme.

In  every one of these policies, no one  could properly hold Riverside to account democratically because all democracy had been swept away under a new bossy regime .

Today, that  authoritarian Riverside regime is threatened by Jeremy Corbyn and his policies...to allow councils to build council and social housing and allow more longer tenancies, together with  rent regulation and rents linked to average local earnings.

Corbyn said recently: “It has become clear that when housing provision is left purely to market forces, most of our young people simply cannot afford to get a foot on the rung of the market’s so called housing ladder.”

His policies  could be the wish list of almost any one of these young people.

Jeremy Corbyn`s policies  are now also on the wish list of most members of Carlisle Labour Party. It is a massive turnaround for the local party from the time 12 years ago of  Riverside privatisation.

And as we all now know, Jereny Corbyn`s  policies look likely  to be on the wish list of most  Labour Party members  throughout the country.

The many Carlisle critics of Riverside say they are not there yet in changing  things at Riverside.

But  they are now on  their way.

CarlisleTenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.

DALE END COMES ALIVE AGAIN

The park that

had gone

to the dogs

They said the park had gone to the dogs....it was neglected and unattractive to visitors and  to the people living nearby.  The park had  in fact literally gone to the dogs and the mess the dogs left behind. The dogs  and  their owners had  taken over and the park  had gone into a steep decline.

Jenny Cray

But  Jenny Cray  and a group of friends have led the way to  creating a greatly restored Dale End Park (above). Its  popularity is returning as the best place to view one of the top beauty spots in Carlisle... the meandering River Petteril  and  its lovely valley.

It is also again becoming a vibrant recreational area.

Jenny and   her friends are  all dedicated to make their  local area, Petteril Bank,  a better place to live anl  are also dedicated to making  whatever changes are needed to achieve  this. And they are backed to the hilt by their two local councils which are impressed with these local initiatives.

How did it all happen?

First, the group- members of Carlisle South CommunityAssociation  and Friends of Dale End Park with Jenny as chairman- had to fight the blight of dog mess. Jenny believed that dog owners will  never behave responsibly until  they can take pride in the area they live in.

 So  Jenny and her friends set about making that happen by creating a better Petteril Bank environment. And that included a better environment  in Dale End Park.

A blitz on dog mess  started and then Jenny approached Petteril Bank School  for help. Teachers   got children to  design posters in support of the dog mess blitz .And  the posters (one is on the right) were set out in the park.

But Jenny did not stop there. She became a poster girl herself. She  linked in with the city council to have  posters of herself displayed on city refuse vehicles, urging an end to dog mess  all over the city.

Last year, Jenny and her friends enjoyed an important milestone  in the improvement of the park with the opening of a new £80, 000 children`s play area. It was a colourful day too.... a local woman brought along a feast for everyone at the opening  to enjoy.

For 32-year-old Sunjeela Zeba the day had coincided with the Muslim Eid Festival. So mother of two  Sunjeela and her friends prepared lots of traditional Bangladesh Eid Festival dishes and brought them along to the play area opening for everyone to enjoy.

Later that year, soccer pitches were created in the park

This week. another important stage was reached in the park and Jenny and her friends  were there to discuss plans for a new BMX track for children up to 12.

Joining the discussions  with helpful  friendly advice from the  two councils were Jonathan May, Site Management Team Leader of the city council`s Greenspaces section, and Niall Mcnulty, Area Engagement Officer of  the county council`s Area Support Team.-

The  BMX track  will go alongside the sparkling new play area for toddlers  and a multi-use games area for  teenagers installed a  few years ago.  The  new track  is costing £20,000 and is expected to be  completed by the end of the year.

Carlisle South Community Association and Friends of Dale End Park are part of CarlisleTenants` and Residents` Federation which publishes this blog.