BASINGSTOKE and Deane Borough Council and housing associations operating in the borough look set to form a closer partnership in a bid to resolve problems for residents.

Last Wednesday, members of the community, environment and partnerships committee held a meeting with representatives at Sentinel Housing Asso-ciation and Sovereign Housing Association to discuss how the partners could work together to keep footpaths, garages and green spaces around the borough maintained.

In addition, the chairman of Dummer Parish Council, Julian Jones, and borough and Tadley Town Councillor David Leeks, attended the meeting to raise concerns from parish councils in the borough.

Cllr Leeks told the meeting: “We do have problems with housing associations. The clerk has had difficulty getting hold of anybody and when she does, it is about getting hold of the right person.

“There is a lot of shrubbery in Tadley which is owned by Hampshire County Council, Basingstoke and Deane and housing associations.

“The footpaths are getting narrower and narrower because the shrubs are getting longer and longer.”

Cllr Jones added: “I think we need to have a clear understanding of who is responsible, whether it is the responsibility of the housing associations or the borough.”

During the meeting, all the partners agreed to share data about the land that they own, to carry out work to see if a single point of contact for residents to call with problems could be created and to see if volunteers in local communities could carry out maintenance work.

Kevin Hartshorn, assistant director for asset management at Sentinel, said: “It was a constructive meeting. We’ll be working with the council and other partners to explore how we can share our knowledge and resources to provide a seamless service to the residents of Basingstoke and Deane.”

Luke Bingham, Sovereign’s regional director for Hampshire, said: “It was a very useful and productive meeting. Using our Geographic Information System, we have mapped all of our land and have clarity on land ownership and what we are responsible for.

“We are now keen to explore how we share this data with our local authority partners, and so deliver more effective neighbourhood management for our communities.”