Earlier on this week in the aftermath of the community clean up on the ¾ estate in Vange, we put up a series of posts based on what we experienced and saw. One of those posts was this one berating Basildon Council over their lack of inaction over a ‘temporary’ fence and the accumulation of rubbish behind it: Action? – https://southessexstirrer.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/action/

Well, lo and behold, as you can clearly see from the image above, the rocky, dodgy ‘temporary’ fence and the rubbish behind it has been cleared! We don’t know what buttons were pressed at Basildon Council to get this issue sorted but it has to be said that pressure from the Vange Hill Community Group (VHCG), facilitated by Basildon & Southend Housing Action (BASHA) with some back up from us here at the Stirrer undoubtedly played a significant part. At this point, we’d like to thank all of those involved, particularly the staff on the ground who physically removed the fence and the accumulation of trash behind it – your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Okay, in the grand scheme of things, getting a fence and the rubbish removed is a small victory. It also has to be pointed out that VHCG facilitated by BASHA shouldn’t have to be busting a gut to get Basildon Council to do what should be a routine part of their job. However, a victory is a victory and collectively, we’re taking this one!

There’s a long way to go on the ¾ estate but things are starting to look up and that’s in no small part down to the effort put in by VHCG. All of this goes to show that if a community group shows the determination to stick at it, they can get results and start to turn things around in their neighbourhood. People power and putting on the pressure gets results. If VHCG and their allies stick at it, for the ¾ estate it can only be onwards and upwards…

Lastly, on our sister blog, The Estuary Alternative, here are some thoughts on what could be done with the newly cleared space: Could there be a pocket community garden here? – https://theestuaryalternative.wordpress.com/2018/02/23/could-there-be-a-pocket-community-garden-here/