People living on housing estates across Brighton and Hove are being asked to take part in an “environmental improvement survey”.
The idea behind the project is to get as many council tenants and leaseholders as possible to say what they would like to see happen to improve where they live.
The project is focused on council estates because any changes will be funded with money allocated for land owned by Brighton and Hove City Council’s housing department.
But anyone can take part in the short online survey, with a council-employed “field officer manager” due to handle the results.
Suggestions for improvements could include better recycling options, removing graffiti, putting in benches or play areas or organising community clean-ups.
The survey is open until Monday 15 July and is due to be followed by public meetings with council officials and councillors in the community.
Any projects that are agreed will be considered by “an estates improvement board”.
But some residents’ representatives have criticised the lack of publicity around the consultation. They spoke out at a series of housing panel meetings this week.
Just 90 posters were printed, with all other publicity confined to the council’s website.
Reps at the Central Area Housing Panel said that there were 150 blocks of council flats in Brighton and Hove and even more noticeboards.
Sloane Court rep Tony McCoy asked about paper forms. He said: “Sloane Court has 40 flats with 48 people and only two of us have computers.
“I had never even heard of this and had not been told about it. I will look to see if there is a poster on the noticeboard.”
He said that most residents in Sloane Court were “sight impaired” and asked if scheme managers could go around and explain it to residents.
The council said that its customer service teams could fill in the survey forms over the phone if people called 01273 293030.
Green councillor Siriol Hugh-Jones, who chairs the Central Area Housing Panel, was concerned that most of the publicity was not going out until three weeks before the end of the consultation.
To fill in the survey, go to www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/hsng-eims.
I tried some searches on the BHC website no results where found, I also searched the news site nothing, so either the officials responsible for publicising this are not up to scratch or they wish to keep request’s for funds to a minimum. Some of the consultations announced by the council appear to be little more than window dressing. So thanks for publishing the link