A BROKEN gate has been repaired which a councillor says she hopes will reduce fly-tipping after residents complained about swarms of flies and 'stinking and overflowing bins'.
The gate at Cranham Drive, Warndon, had been reported broken and we featured an article in May about suspected fly-tipping in the communal bin store at the side of the flats.
However, the gate has now been repaired by Platform Housing and is operated by a key fob, meaning the block of flats is now more secure for residents.
Cllr Jill Desayrah said: "It will help stop fly-tipping from outside the block although there's still a lot of rubbish there at the moment."
However, she still says more needs to be done to stop youths from entering the flats from the front gate by climbing over a gap to get inside.
We reported in May how the communal bins were supposed to be locked behind a gate for residents to use. But the keypad was missing which meant anyone could get in.
READ MORE: 'Deadly drop' - children risk lives jumping Cranham Drive rooftops
READ MORE: Fly-tipping in communal Cranham Drive bins causes big stink
Mum-of-two Sarah Mileham, 41, who has lived in the flats for the last five years said in May the access keypad had been gone 'for ages.'
The other concern raised was that young people, gaining entry to the flats from the front, would suffer serious injury if they fell jumping across rooftops.
She said various young people from different groups have been getting inside the flats, managed by Platform Housing, some as young as 10 and others around 13. She estimated the gap between the rooftops was around 7ft with a steep drop from the first floor to the concrete slabs below.
Marion Duffy, chief operations officer at Platform Housing Group, said in a previous statement: “Platform is currently looking for a long-term security solution for the gate at Cranham Drive and is working in partnership with the local police to try and resolve the ASB issues being experienced.”
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