P.E.P.

What's it all about?



There can't be many on the estate who haven't received leaflets telling them about the Priority Estates Project (or P.E.P. for short) -- whether double-sided glossies, or single sided, and photocopied on dark red or lilac paper -- but who on Earth are they? And what's it all about? I went along to one of the public meetings (Tuesday 4th February) to find out more.....



Arriving ten-to-seven, and finding no one but me and the two PEP presenters (Brian Leigh, of Chell Heath's Estate Management Board; and Ian Powell, PEP Senior Project Worker), I though it was going to be a one man audience, but I needn't have worried. Came ten-past and we had a full complement of fourteen. Not perhaps many out of the several hundred probably invited (there having been eight meetings to date, each covering a different section of the estate), but it was about three-quarters the number expected (if the seating was anything to go by), so not bad.

They started their presentation by telling us just who PEP were. The Priority Estates Project, describing it as a "non-profit making, independent housing consultancy", brought in by the City Council to find out just how much involvement in managing their estate we wanted.

P.E.P. History

Well, we, and the residents of Abbey Hulton, Blurton, and Meir Heath too. In fact, 11,000 out of the Council's housing stock of around 25,000.

"We were then told what Housing Management meant."

We were then told just what Housing Management meant. And then told it wasn't as bad as it sounded!

  1. Rent collection
  2. Arrears recovery
  3. Maintenance
  4. Tenancy Allocation
  5. Repairs
  6. Staffing
  7. Estate budget
  8. Capital Projects (e.g. improvements)
  9. Consultation
  10. Monitoring

Rent collection and repairs, for example, means just having a Neighbourhood officer where rents could be paid and repairs reported (This would probably be on Devonshire Square). Arrears recovery would probably just involve deciding the policy, and offering debt counselling to those who couldn't keep up their rent payments. And, after 3 years of Estate Management on Chell Heath, still have no formal Estate Budget worked out, but haven't gone bankrupt yet!

But would an Estate Management Board work on Bentilee? One present, County Councillor Idwal Bowen seemed to think not, challenging so many of the PEP presenter's talk that some there left the meeting, wearied by the discussion. But he did reveal some interesting points....

Chell Heath, the only Estate Management Board in the city (and only the third in tthe country) didn't just get an EMB -- they had £15Million pumped into the estate. Not, even in the opinion of the PEP presenter, likely to happen on Bentilee. Indeed Ian Powell was quick to point out that the money pumped into Chell Heath had nothing to do with PEP directly, but was mainly due to the efforts of the local residents applying directly to the government's Dept. of the Environment (who back PEP!).

Neither is the money which has been pumped into Galloway Rd,
Thornhill Rd, and Gilliat & Fullwood Walks.

This money came from the "Estates Action" scheme, which has nothing to do with PEP.

An Estate Management Board is also NOT the only option open to Bentilee residents. There are four in all: 1) A Tenants Liaison Committee, which can advise the City Council but not force it to take any note of them; 2) A Housing Subcommittee, with more influence, but narrower brief; 3) the EMB; and 4) a Housing Co-operative, where residents take over the whole job of the Council's Housing Dept., but also take on all the responsibility for whatever goes wrong. This last option was more or less dismissed by the meeting as requiring too much time, energy, and commitment to be practical.

It would however be true to say that the Estate Management Board seemed to be the favoured idea, with the Chell Heath Board member, Brian Leigh, arguing that having a Neighbourhood Office in itself was sufficient reason for considering the idea.

Considering it, we surely are, but what do YOU think? Do write and tell.

If the mag survives this issue, we may even come to you to find out.....

Copyright the Bentilean 1999

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