Residents angry at community wardens axe plan

Council bosses have decided to withdraw the popular community wardens from Kenyon Way who have helped to curb anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

They will be funded by Salford City Council until March 2006, when new Government money will be available to finance community support officers who wear police-style uniforms and have greater powers to patrol the estate. But residents say they feel let down by the decision and cannot understand halting a scheme that has proved to be a huge success.

Cath Hamilton, chairman of Kenyon Way Residents Association, said: "The decision has not been welcomed because the wardens have been a great asset to the estate.

"They do a lot of work with the children during the school holidays which is something the police wont do. We knew the community wardens was a pilot scheme, but we were told that it would be expanded if it was successful, not scrapped. Little Hulton is a deprived area and the new community support officers wont have the same personal touch."

Community support officers are not police officers, but have certain powers of detention and can hand out fixed penalty notices.

Mrs Hamilton said: "The best solution would be to have the wardens working during the day and the community support officers taking over in the evenings."

Four wardens, who wear high-visibility uniforms, have been operating in Kenyon Way until 6pm every evening. Cllr David Lancaster, Salford City Council's lead member for community safety, said: "We are proud of the services the wardens provide.

"That's why the city council is picking up the cost of carrying on that service for another year. We are now looking at the services that we know we need to provide in our communities.

"Police community support officers have greater powers than wardens, and with the Government funding available, we aim to offer this additional community support across the board."