Resident ‘hates’ living on his estate despite efforts to improve it

Chris Leigh moved to Cabul Close in 2007 and believed that the estate was well maintained until 2010, when he started to notice issues.

The 41-year-old saw that weeds were starting to grow around the estate and that trees were left untrimmed.

“Back in 2012 I used to go out with bin bags and brushes, and I would spend a couple of hours a week brushing the path and the car park and pulling the weeds,” he said.

“I was sick of driving in seeing it look a state.”

Chris, who is a private resident on Cabul Close, tried to contact Torus, the housing association that maintains the estate about the issues.

Due to the act that he is not a Torus resident, Chris has found it hard to report issues to the housing association.

In 2017, Chris also found that a gate on the estate had been left open, which has allowed fly tipping to take place on the estate.

Chris says that the gate was left open for over three years, as he tried to find out whether it was Warrington Borough Council’s responsibility, or Torus’.

“It lets people drive on and fly tip, so we always have piles of rubbish up there, the estate is overgrown with weeds and the walls in the car park are falling down,” he said.

“I’m not asking for much, I would just like it to be clean.”

Rubbish has also been left on the estate (Image: Supplied)

Chris once spent five hours brushing the area with a neighbour, collecting seven bin bags of dirt in the process, but says the estate is still unkept.

“If I had known it was going to get nowhere, I wouldn’t have bothered,” he said.

“I have literally wasted hundreds of hours.

Chris now says that the state of the area now makes him wish he could move out of Warrington.

“I hate living here,” he said.

“Obviously I know there are far worse places to live, and I know there are far worse things that can happen, but your home is your sanctuary.

“If I had the money to move I would have already.”

Chris has spent hours trying to maintain the area (Image: Supplied)

Chris has complained to Torus about the estate numerous times, hoping that the issue would be resolved.

“We can confirm we received a complaint pertaining to environmental issues on this estate and understand the frustration they can cause,” said Jan Calland, housing services director at Torus.

“The complainant has been informed we are currently dealing with the aspects of their complaint we have responsibility for.

“Several repairs have now been completed on the estate and an inspection of trees in the area has confirmed the lower branches and debris have already been removed to provide clearance for vehicles and pedestrians as per our tree management programme and policy. The complainant has been provided with an update.

“As a result of the issue with the gate being left open, we have contacted Warrington Borough Council (WBC) and they confirmed it is a highways gate and, as such, their responsibility.

“Enquiries are being made by WBC to install a more robust securing mechanism to ensure it can be locked to help prevent access being gained when not in use by a resident.

“Regarding fly tipping, Torus takes this issue seriously and we continue to work closely with partners including WBC to enforce action against any perpetrators of environmental crime.

“Neighbourhood Officers regularly monitor this area, and residents are encouraged to report issues, use appropriate methods to dispose of their bulky waste, such as using the Council’s Bulky waste collection scheme or visiting a Community Recycling Centre, more information can be found at torus.co.uk/waste.

“Whilst some of the issues raised in the initial complaint fall outside of the remit of Torus, we have directed them as appropriate and continue to liaise with partners, the resident has also been signposted accordingly to take forward those concerns.”