SOCIAL housing tenants were able to speak to experts at an action day in Radcliffe.

Access to information on housing issues, crime prevention, employment and mental health were on the agenda at the Community Action Day in the Abbey Close Estate.

Six Town Housing, who manage housing stock on behalf of Bury Council, hosted an information trailer with members of Bury Council, Bury College, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Overall staff spoke to 75 members of the community, with 43 of these taking time to fill out a community survey.

The details of the survey will be used to formulate an action plan to improve the look and feel of the area moving forward.

Adam Greenhalgh, business manager at Six Town Housing said: “The event was a way to meet with local people and find out what they see as the urgent issues are on their estate.

“It also provided us with an opportunity to refer some of the attendees we spoke to on to different services that may help improve their quality of life, such as our Steps To Success employment programme.

“One particular success story of the day saw an individual who saw a referral to the Citizens Advice Bureau due to financial hardship find out that they actually qualified for an additional £68 per week.”

Patricia Harvey, a tenant in Ampleforth Gardens, said of the event: “Everybody was involved, all the staff were helpful and it felt very informative. It was lovely to see everybody taking a hands on approach and tackling issues head on. There was a really nice atmosphere.”

On the day staff also cleaned walls and guttering, and installed a new large planting box on the estate.

GMFRS community safety team leader Ross Hopkins, who took part in the event said that the action day had prevented an eviction taking place, three tenants were made financially better off and two arrests were made by GMP in connection with a recent burglary.

“Overall, this type of event gives us the opportunity to meet members of the community and promote our safety messages, along with some great outcomes on the day from other agencies,” he said.