Garden Tool Hire refers to a service which is administered by the Trust in partnership with the Housing Department of the Council. The estate, not surprisingly, sprawls across a very large hill. There are the better part of 4000 households most of which have large gardens and hedges. The cost of buying electrical tools to cut grass and trim hedges is a problem for many people on a low income. So we have a scheme which enables tenants (as it is run through the Housing Dept owner occupiers cannot access the scheme but this is something we would like to make available to all) to hire equipment free of charge save for a returnable deposit.

The scheme has made a great difference to improving the environment.

While not strictly relating to the lower level household improvements made by the scheme, the importance of cutting hedges can be illustrated by the photograph below. This was taken after the Council responded to a request to cut back brambles and other plants which had encroached onto the path on Gors Avenue making it almost impossible to walk along, certainly by parents with children in buggies. Afterwards there is plenty of space and the area feels safer and is far more accessible all round.