Children can’t play knock-and-run or stare into homes, say Blackburn housing chiefs (From Lancashire Telegraph)

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Children can’t play knock-and-run or stare into homes, say Blackburn housing chiefs

9:30am Saturday 1st October 2011 in News Photograph of the Author By Sam Chadderton, Reporter

FURIOUS Some of the parents and children who have received letters

RESIDENTS are furious at a housing association for laying down a number of rules telling them to get their children under control.

Parents in Apple Close, Blackburn, are being told they must sign an agreement to stop their youngsters participating in a number of outlawed activities on the estate following a series of complaints.

Great Places Housing Group wants to stop children playing noisily after 8pm, walking on people’s lawns, looking through windows and letterboxes, dropping litter, and playing knock-a-door-run.

It said it was responding to problems with anti-social behaviour over the past 12 months.

The majority of residents have condemned the letter and have said they will not sign.

Apple Close resident Carl Harris has five children aged 14 to two-years-old.

He said: “Rather than the housing association asking everybody’s views, they’ve just done it.

“I’m worried that the next step could be eviction if we don’t sign the agreement.

“It is ridiculous. There’s no issues at all. Children are children and if someone came to us with an issue we would resolve the situation. Yet the agreement they want us to sign also stops us from approaching people.

“It is such an over-reaction. The close has been full of families with young children for years, if people can’t understand that they should look for somewhere else to live.

His wife Caroline, 35, said: “On the one hand they are asking us to be community spirited but on the other they are victimising our children.”

Mother-of-three Shguftah Patel, 38, said she was ‘furious’ with the lack of consultation.

She said she knew of only one resident who had complained.

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“We’ve not had any contact from the police about unruly behaviour,” she said.

“We don’t want to sign it, but we are worried that if we don’t we could lose our homes. And if we do sign it and a child is reported for one of these allegations will we be kicked out anyway?

“I’ve told the housing association to give me a lead and I’ll put my children on it and reel the back because they seem to want us to treat them like dogs.”

The rules include: *My children do not trespass on other residents front doors, driveways, lawns.

*My children do not stare through residents’ windows or letterboxes.

*My children do not swear at other residents when told to move away from property.

*My children do not bully, swear or hit other children .

*After 8pm children playing out must be mindful of others and keep the noise down.

*My children do not play knock-a-door-run.

Residents * Speak to parents of children causing nuisance.

* However, if they don’t feel comfortable contact Great Places.

* At no time should they swear/shout at children.

Apple Close residents compared the response from the housing association to the lack of action when they lodged a complaint about a man accused of child sex offences being re-housed in the small, family community.

Mrs Patel, who has a 10-year-old son and two girls aged nine and five, said: “They didn’t protect us or our children then.

"What happened to working in partnership? We are all working parents and do not have time for these petty things.”

Guy Cresswell, director of housing at Great Places said: “Over the past 12 months, there have been problems with anti-social behaviour around Apple Close/Apple Court in Blackburn.

“Many of these incidents have involved some children from Apple Close using inappropriate language and threatening behaviour.

"These incidents were reported to our staff by several residents.

"As a result, we have been working in close consultation with all residents to resolve these issues.

“In September, several neighbours got together and drafted their own neighbourhood agreement in an effort to sort out the problems “After discussions with our staff it was felt that Great Places should come up with a neighbourhood agreement which could be sent to all residents.

“This was a reiteration of the tenancy agreement they had already signed with us.

"The agreement was sent out last week and some residents have already signed and returned it to us.

"If residents do not want to sign, we will discuss their concerns individually and continue to do all we can to make Apple Close and Apple Court safe and happy places to live.”

Comments(61)

sineaters says...
10:07am Sat 1 Oct 11

if your kids are not feral scum then there's no need to worry