Not so Shameless
I've been to many council estates across Greater Manchester and some of them I have no desire to return to. However this morning I interviewed Mary Armstrong, who lives on an estate in Collyhurst, and frankly I'd like to move in.
Mary and several of her neighbours have turned the area around in the last ten years. She told me it was once a sink estate on the road to demolition. Now it has been transformed and has won a host of awards for the beautiful greenery the community has planted.
It's clear Mary has been the driving force and from her immaculate home she has inspired the turnaround.
Council estates get a bad press and that negative image has been cemmented by TV's Shameless. Many of the ones I've been to are truly dreadful and shame the councils who have let their social housing fall into such a state.
But Mary and her community show what can be done. No wonder she was named Pride of Manchester last year.
Comments
its a shame theres not more people like Mary about, I can think of way to many estates that need a good person to help brighten it up. it takes a strong character to do stuff like that though, i mean if there were rough families on there noones gonna tell them what to do.
Posted by: Susan | October 8, 2008 05:27 PM
"Many of the ones I've been to are truly dreadful and shame the councils who have let their social housing fall into such a state"
Er, is it the councils which fill the front gardens full of crap? Is it the councils which knock over wheelie bins and leave them and torn bin bags lying around? Is it the council whose dogs c*** on the pavement and leave it? Is it the council which abandons shopping trolleys in the street? NO. Council property is lived in by PEOPLE and how it looks, sounds and possibly smells is a product of the people living there, not the people like me who are given the hopeless task of managing them.
Posted by: Rackman | October 16, 2008 10:34 PM