A week of action to improve Middlesbrough’s Hemlington estate has culminated in a fun day to celebrate what had been achieved.
The enhancements to the area were organised by housing group Thirteen along with other organisations including Cleveland Police, Middlesbrough Council’s Neighbourhood Safety Team, Habinteg Housing Association and Linx Youth Engagement.
Over three days the partners worked together to improve the estate and make sure that communal spaces and residents’ gardens were clean, tidy, safe and attractive.
To mark the work that had been carried out, families from Hemlington were invited to join in with fun activities including face painting and a sausage sizzle.
There was the opportunity for residents to have property, such as bikes and lap tops, security marked and there also were healthy heart checks.
Staff from Thirteen baked cakes and savouries and Linx showed young people how to make mocktails as part of the celebrations.
The three days of action started with a bike ride around Hemlington Lake, followed by actions including a clean-up around Blue Bell beck, neighbourhood inspections, litter picks, tidying up grassed areas, trimming shrubs and trees in time for summer, removing old tree-protecting fences, and deploying police road safety cameras. There also were spot prizes for the best-kept gardens.
Anne Goodman, neighbourhood team leader for Thirteen, said: “We spent a lot of time and effort to make sure that the public areas in Hemlington are attractive and welcoming for everyone to enjoy.
“The fun day brought lots of people in the neighbourhood together and was a little thank-you for the partner organisations that all worked together during the week.
“I hope that everyone who got involved had a great time and if anyone wants to helping improve the area even further in the future, we’re always on the lookout for willing volunteers. People can get in touch via the Thirteen website http://www.