Tonge Park Residents Association

Tonge Park Residents' Association originally started out as 'Friends of Tonge Park'. During that period we canvassed hard for the park to be updated. We managed to get Bolton Council to reconstruct a new children's playground and a hard surface ball court. Having been successful, we were asked to form Tonge Park Residents' Association. We have about 580 private homes in the association and since that time we have gone from strength to strength. Here are a few projects we have completed so far:

• Pruning and cutting back of trees from around the park. 
• Fencing off the bowling green and making it secure by having gates installed. 
• Sucessfully applying to the Lottery Fund with the help of SRB (Single Regeneration Budget), Pathways, and Commercial Services for money to build a new Veterans' Bowling Club, which includes the facility of a disabled toilet and a new kitchen. 
• Applied to SRB6 for grants to refurnish the club house, which we, the Residents' Association, now share. 

For the future...
 
We are hoping to start a Mother and Toddler Group soon. This will give work experience to a student studying for NVQ or NNEB in Childcare. We also intend to purchase a shredder so that residents can dispose of confidential information and help to deter any criminal activity in the area.

Campbell Community Group
 
Campbell Community Group are very active in the Campbell Renewal area of Farnworth and have been involved in many projects and initiatives since their conception approximately three years ago. These are some of the things with which they have been involved:

• Development of a new play area in the Doe Hey. 
• Fencing around a local bowling green. 
• Development of a wildlife garden. 
• Fundraising and various social events. 
• Campaigning in respect of environmental issues, in particular agains planning for a waste station. 
• Road traffic calming. 
• 'Five a day' health food programme. 
• Clean-up bays. 

Brooklyn Resident Association
 
Brooklyn Resident Association operate in the Halliwell area of the Borough. Over the years they have been involved in many social events and particularly in arranging trips and days out for children. More recently they have engaged a local artist to design a walkway and have also been proactive in establishing a local Home Watch group.

Linda, the group's Secretary says "we are based near to Bolton town centre at the bottom of Halliwell Road in the Halliwell area. The association has been active for around five years now and still has many of its founding members. Brooklyn Street is made up of mostly pre-1900 terraced houses - around 200. The area is multicultural with a high percentage of Asian residents.
 
The streets are poorly lit and although pedestrianised, not everyone sticks to the rules and so many problems arise from this issue. The area has undergone an intensive face lift funded by Bolton at Home and a large Housing Association, who have many properties in the area.
 
Our streets are improving all the time and community spirit is slowly creeping back; it's nice to stop and chat with neighbours instead of just scurrying past as we used to do."

Our motto is "help us to help you".

The key to keeping the association and its work alive is to keep chipping away slowly and things will get better.
 
The Private Sector Customer Panel is made up of many groups like ours. We bounce ideas off each other and we get a little 'pick me up' when things seem to be going nowhere fast. Our aims is to share information, to help each other towards building a better community and to improve Bolton as a whole.
 
Our group members give their time freely when life has so many demands on their private time. It is not always easy and can sometimes get you down and you begin to think is it really worth it? My advice is to keep at it, every little helps and one day when you are least expecting it someone will pop up and say thanks for trying to make things better. These few words will mean a lot and will compensate for the times when you are down. At the end of the day it comes down to how you want to live your life and in what sort of area.

Some of the things we've done...
 
Childrens trips - funded by the Children's Fund
 
Decorative walkway - funded by Bolton at Home and Contour Housing and other grants. Local children were involved in designing the artwork and the walkway is now a key feature for our area.
 
Home Watch - people in the area were simply asked to join the scheme and display Home Watch Area stickers in their windows. Some insurance companies offer discounts to Home Watch areas and safety and protection devices are also available at discounted rates via the local Police or from your Home Watch Coordinator. Did you know you can get steering wheel locks, personal alarms and other home safety devices?
 
Pride Days - these events are designed to encourage people to take pride in their area and to bring the community together. Local residents met with the purpose of cleaning up waste ground and any neglected areas.

The Haulgh Community Partnership
 
The Haulgh Community Partnership have been extremely successful in working with partnership with others to effect huge changes in their locality. In particular they have been the spearhead of campaigns to reduce high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour. They have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this area and some of the initiatives they have been involved in are given below:

• Instigation of a drinking ban in local streets in the Haulgh area. 
• Working with the Police to develop anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) to remove prostitution from the neighbourhood. 
• Again working with the Police to report unlicensed vehicles. 
• Working with BMBC Environmental Officers and others to reduce the illegal dumping of litter from the neighbourhood and the surrounding areas. 
• Tackling graffiti. 
• Working with Police and other agencies to tackle the serious issue of drugs. 
• Working in conjunction with BMBC and the Police to look at the issues around rogue landlords. 

The Haulgh Community Partnership are keen to pass on their experience and expertise in the area of working with others to tackle serious issues that face local communities. If you would like to contact the group, they will be only too pleased to give advice and support. For more information contact The Haulgh Community Partnership website.