A new action group is being created to help residents fight anti-social behaviour on a Braintree housing estate.

After a meeting with council tenants on the Glebe estate, officers from Braintree Council have highlighted the importance of tenants working in partnership with other agencies when trying to improve neighbourhoods.

They said this was particularly important when tackling vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Residents asked the council for help and the local authority responded by conducting a survey of local views to identify problem areas.

This included individual interviews with each resident in the block of flats.

As part of the new scheme plans are being drawn up to create shared open spaces which small groups of neighbours can feel are their own and several lorry loads of rubbish have been cleared from yards behind some blocks of flats.

The new action group is being fully supported by councillors.

Lead member for housing Eileen Davidson said: "We cannot solve all the problems by ourselves, we have to work in partnership with the local community and other public services.

"The council is committed to a neighbourhood focus which gets people directly involved and helps to bring about real change to improve our housing areas."

Housing manager for the Braintree area office, Don Towshend, said: "Housing officers are determined to help local people reclaim their neighbourhoods so they can have a sense of ownership and a better quality of life."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.