Your Neighbourhood - Our Standards

This page tells you about the services that RBH and our partners provide to make sure your neighbourhood is maintained to a high standard.

Community Caretaking Team

How can you help

Estate Inspections

Grounds Maintenance

Play Areas and Kick Pitches

Trees

Useful Contacts

Community Caretaker Team

RBH have a team of Community Caretakers who are responsible for keeping our estates clean and tidy. All our Caretakers wear RBH uniforms and have identity badges.      

If you live in a low rise flat our commitment is that we will ensure all internal communal areas are cleaned at least once every 14 days. Our high rise blocks have dedicated Community Caretakers and a more intense cleaning programme is in place.  For specific details of when your block will be cleaned please check the local service standards via your Housing Office or block notice board.

Internal Communal Areas include the following:

• Entrance halls
• Staircases and stairwells
• Walkways and landings
• Lifts
• Refuse chutes, chute rooms and bin stores

Community Caretakers will:

• Clean and disinfect
• Sweep
• Mop, strip, buff and polish floors
• Remove graffiti
• Clean communal windows and walls
• Maintain and clear blocked refuse chutes
• Litter pick and provide assistance on the removal of bulky items.

Community Caretakers are also responsible for the external communal areas that RBH look after.  This includes drying areas, forecourts, seating areas, parking areas and garage sites.  These areas will be kept tidy through litter picks and sweeps and the team will undertake basic pruning of shrubs as required.

The Community Caretaker team respond to a wide range of neighbourhood issues from checking the security of empty RBH properties to minor maintenance of fencing.  Community Caretakers are available to help tenants, visitors and contractors. If they cannot provide an answer or solution to a problem they can tell you where to get help

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How you can help

We know that clean and tidy estates mean a lot to our residents but we cannot do it on our own.

• Ensure you dispose of your rubbish correctly and do not drop litter.
• If you have any bulky items that need removing ring the Environmental Management contact centre on 0845 226 1800.
• Keep your pets under control and clean up any mess they make.
• Let us know if you are aware of any neighbour who is dumping rubbish.

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Estate Inspections                       

RBH undertake regular estate inspections to make sure our estates are clean and tidy and to identify any environmental issues.  RBH welcomes any tenant or resident who would like to join us on a walkabout.  You have the opportunity to influence how we deal with issues and can talk to us about what you think is good about your neighbourhood and what is causing concern.

Housing Officers will keep a record of any issues raised and will let you know what action has been taken.  We also invite other partner agencies such as the police or our grounds maintenance contractor so they can discuss issues first hand.

Each of our estates is formally inspected four times a year.  Find out when your next estate inspection is taking place.

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Grounds Maintenance

RBH have a service level agreement with RMBC’s Environmental Management Team to provide a ground maintenance service.  We have agreed that the following standard should be provided, on RBH land:

Grass Cutting:	Grass will be cut up to 20 times per year between March and October with the grass swept or blown back, onto the lawn, to mulch down.  Grass will be kept at between 25 mm and 75 mm.  Strimming will take place 4 times per year.
Edge Trimming	The edges of grassed areas and shrub beds will be re-cut once a year during the autumn or winter, as required.
Shrub beds	Shrub beds will be pruned annually in line with good horticultural practice and the shrub beds will be raked out, forked over and the soil cultivated.  Shrub beds will be litter picked fortnightly
Rose beds	Will be maintained on 5 occasions during the year from pruning in Mid to late March  to cutting back in September. (further details from any RBH Office)
Hedges	Hedges will pruned twice a year in June and September taking into account the preservation of wildlife habitats.
Weed control	Weed spraying will be carried out twice a year during March to May and July- August.  Any areas that are missed will be revisited.

This schedule may be affected by weather conditions.

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Play Areas and Kick Pitches

RMBC environmental management are also contracted to undertake a weekly visual inspection, and 6 weekly technical inspection of the play areas and kick pitches on RBH estates. 

Play areas and kick pitches should be litter picked and swept weekly.

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Trees

RBH have a service level agreement with RMBC Environmental Management to provide a tree management and maintenance service.  We have agreed a three year planned maintenance programme which is designed to ensure that the condition of all trees is inspected and routine maintenance carried out, according to budget, and agreed key priorities.

Emergency maintenance will continue to be undertaken outside this programme.

Key Priorities for Tree Work:

1. Dead, dying or diseased trees on RBH land
2. Communal areas managed by RBH
• Priority 1 – clear for services
• Priority 2 – Pruning to improve light, TV and Satellite reception
• Priority 3 – Other
3. The same priority will then apply to trees in front gardens and lastly trees in back garden.

Any agreed work is subject to budget availability.

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Useful Contacts

Contact us

Other useful contacts:

Bulky Items	Environmental Management	0845 226 1800
Dog fouling	Environmental Management	0845 226 1800
Dog Warden	Environmental Health	0845 121 2971
Street Lighting	Highways	0845 121 2979
Abandoned Cars	Greater Manchester Police on	(0161) 872 5050
Household rubbish disposal sites	Chichester Road Rochdale Springvale, Middleton Peel Lane, Heywood	643871 (0161) 653 5271 364956
Abandoned Cars	Greater Manchester Police	0161 872 5050

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