Welcome to your Bolton and Bury Community Newsletter.

The Neighbourhood Officers covering this patch are Stephanie Jones, Steve Cave and Avery Santoro.

They’ve each provided an update from their area below.

Bury, Whitefield and Prestwich

Pendle (Brierfield), Rossendale (Bacup) and Nelson

Hello everyone,

At Irwell Valley Homes, we want you to live well in your home and community. With that in mind, I am planning a community day for September. Watch this space! I will send you more information soon about what that will involve. 

Estate visits

I have now carried out my neighbourhood inspections in Bury, Prestwich, Bacup and Briarfield and have noticed that fly-tipping and excess waste continues to be an issue in all areas. I understand that disposing of excess waste can be challenging, given that general waste bins are collected every three weeks and recycling bins every two. However, ensuring rubbish is placed in the correct bins can really help manage bin space and stop waste from piling up. 

Your local authority website has info about which bin should be used for each type of waste (such as cardboard, plastics etc) Please take a look to familiarise yourself and together we can build a cleaner environment:

Bury and Prestwich: Click here for recycling info

Bucup: Click here for recycling info

Brierfield: Click here for recycling info

If you need extra support with disposing of your waste correctly, please get in touch with me. You can contact me via email - Stephanie.Jones@irwellvalley.co.uk

Do you want to move? Consider a mutual exchange

If you would like to upsize or downsize your home, have you considered taking part in a mutual exchange? If your current home no longer suits your needs, whether it’s too big or too small, there are options available to you.

This includes Mutual Exchange or MEX – a way for social housing residents to move homes by swapping with another social housing customer.

We continue to hold our internal transfer list, but mutual exchanging offers another option to explore - particularly when wait times for a transfer can be long. For more information about the process, click here.

Community drop-in at Bury Healthwatch

Don’t forget, I will be at Bury Healthwatch on the last Wednesday of every month from 11am until 1pm to talk through any concerns you have or support you might need. You don’t need an appointment – just pop in and have a chat with me!

Or you can email me at any time - Stephanie.Jones@irwellvalley.co.uk

Bury - Radcliffe

Hi everyone,

I wanted to introduce myself – I’m  Avery, your new Neighbourhood Officer for Radcliffe.

I am passionate about housing and have a wide range of experience in the sector. I have been a Neighbourhood Officer at Irwell Valley for four years and have worked in housing for over 12 years, covering everything from tenancy management and lettings to repairs and specialist support. I’m really looking forward to working in Radcliffe and getting to know you all!

I understand that it has been a frustrating time while you haven’t had a Neighbourhood Officer in place, but I want to reassure you that over the next few weeks I’ll be working hard to address any concerns and get things back on track.

Join me for a neighbourhood inspection

I’m aware that some areas have been dealing with increased issues with fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour and to tackle this neighbourhood inspections will be starting again. My first one will be on 10^th July from from 11am-3pm starting from Central Avenue. I’d love you to join me. You can show me any issues and help me to focus on what matters most to you. If you would like to come along, drop me an email - avery.santoro@irwellvalley.co.uk

New monthly drop-ins

I will also restart monthly in-person drop-in sessions. You won’t need an appointment—just pop in and have a chat with me or another member of the team if you’ve got any concerns or if you’re looking for some support from us.

Local events and activity days

Longer term, I really want to bring back that community spirit with local events and activity days where neighbours can meet, connect, and feel proud of where they live. To make that happen, I’ll be working with local groups, the council, and other partners—but I also want to hear from you! If you’ve got ideas or want to get involved in organising something, please get in touch. I’d love to work with customers to make these things happen.

I’m looking forward to meeting you all and please do reach out if you need support.

Breightmet, Burnden, Halliwell, Heaton, Horwich and Westhoughton

Hi all,

Anti-social Behaviour

Fly-Tipping

Wesley Mews Gardening

Here to help

Your Neighbourhood Inspections

We completed our first Neighbourhood Inspections of 2025 in January and have the next ones planned on the following dates:

Steve

Avery

July 10th -11am-3pm starting from Central Avenue

Steph

July 8th - 11am-2pm starting from Chester Street.

If you’d like to join us, please drop us a line or leave us a message via Live Chat on www.irwellvalley.co.uk or by calling 0300 561 1111. We’d love to see you then!

Grounds Maintenance Update

We're here to support you

Remember, we’re here to support you. Your Neighbourhood Officer is your go-to person for any issues related to your tenancy or community.

They carry out regular community check-ins to ensure communal areas are clean, safe, and well-maintained. They will pick up any tenancy or neighbourhood issues.

You can contact your Neighbourhood Officer by emailing:

Stephanie.Jones@irwellvalley.co.uk

avery.santono@irwellvalley.co.uk

steve.cave@irwellvalley.co.uk

Kind regards,

Steph, Avery, and Steve