Episode 1 Call the Council

From rubbish and recycling...

to potholes and pavements...

-Another street down, another street to go.

-..educating our children...

-Fantastic.

-..and caring for the elderly...

It does make a difference

when you see what can be achieved.

..we rely on our local councils to provide a huge range of services.

You may kiss the bride.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In this series, we follow front-line staff

working for Wigan Council in Greater Manchester.

-BANGING

-Oh! Sorry.

Like council offices across the country,

-they're protecting us from hidden dangers...

-Oh, dear.

..stepping in when there's an emergency...

POLICE SIREN

You never know what you're turning up to.

..and responding to residents...

..when they... PHONE RINGS

..call the council.

Coming up on today's programme...

The council's emergency team

swing into action as a massive fire breaks out at a block of flats.

They're very lucky to get out alive and unhurt, aren't they?

Officers help neighbours who are living next door to an eyesore

garden full of rubbish.

You've got to feel sorry for the people living next door,

haven't you, the state this property is in?

And solving a grave problem.

Somebody has actually climbed in there to put flowers on the grave.

A council-run cemetery is given a face-lift.

I'm going to get dirty, believe it or not.

Wigan lies 20 miles west of Manchester.

It's home to over 300,000 people.

The council is the beating heart of the community.

And what was the inquiry regarding, do you know?

It's responsible for running everyday services that

keep our towns and cities ticking over as normal.

OK, thanks for calling the council.

But every so often, it has to deal with the unexpected.

In the early hours of the 14th of June, a massive fire broke

out at a privately owned block of flats in the centre of Wigan.

Around 200 residents had to leave their block of flats, as more

than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze.

I was duty officer for that weekend

and I got a call at approximately 7.30 in the morning, saying

there was a major fire in Wigan and people were being evacuated,

and that we'd be needed to support the fire brigade and the police.

200 people fled their homes as the fire took hold.

The fire was so serious,

Wigan Council's emergency plan was activated.

24 hours after the start of the blaze, key council staff,

like housing officer Michelle Price and her colleague Jennifer Martlew,

are on their way to the scene.

Obviously, this is the building that's had the huge fire.

You can see there, the roof.

It looks in a bad way, so people have had to be evacuated from there.

And you can smell it as well.

No-one is allowed back in the building,

and some apartments may have been completely destroyed by the fire.

They're very lucky to get out alive and unhurt, aren't they?

Not a nice time, is it, for people, definitely?

It's been a traumatic experience for all of the residents.

Wendy Jones was asleep when the fire broke out.

Went to bed about 11 o'clock.

And then was woken to banging on the door, shouting, "Fire,"

and then you could hear the fire alarm going off.

Didn't realise that it was serious until they knocked again,

and as soon as I opened the patio door, you could smell the smoke.

Yeah, it was... It was for real.

The council is now helping Wendy and the 200 other evacuated residents,

feeding them and finding them somewhere to stay.

The first thing we did was open the rest centre adjacent to the

fire, so people had somewhere to go, had food.

We also gave frequent updates on the incident to people.

It was emotional, and the big thing, really, was that everybody was

different. There was so many people, all with different problems and issues,

and trying to cope with that and satisfy people was very difficult.

Residents evacuated their homes 24 hours ago

in only the clothes they were wearing.

Many are desperate to go back in and rescue more of their belongings.

So, if you can go through by room, and then we'll sort of... Is that all right?

Housing officer Michelle is helping residents to make

a list of their key possessions.

Firemen will then bring out anything they can.

OK, what kind of teddy?

It is kind of busy, it is kind of hectic,

but it's helping people, so...

Anything else, any other sentimental items?

-Photographs...

-We've lost everything.

-Have you? You've been told that your...

It's been a difficult day for everyone working at the scene.

And for council housing staff, there are still huge challenges ahead.

Emotionally, the mood is... I suppose it is kind of up and down, really.

Some people have been quite upset that they've lost their flats

and their belongings.

Not a nice time for some people, but everyone is sort of bearing up OK,

being quite strong and focusing on what they can do, really.

It all starts again in the morning, I think, really, and see where people are at then.

Coming up...

I have got a key, but there's no door.

Can the council rehouse residents and help them

rebuild shattered lives?

There's nothing left, they've been devastated,

they can't salvage anything.

So I've lost everything.

One of our councils' key day-to-day jobs is dealing with rubbish.

Most of us have something to say about it.

For my £100 of council tax a month, I'd like to see my

council address the issue of litter in some of the suburbs of the city.

As a private homeowner, my bins get emptied every week

and they don't leave a mess in the street any more,

so that's really good from the council.

I'd like to understand my bin rota, because I clearly don't.

But I'm fine where I live, it is quite a rural area.

I think I get value for money,

I don't have many problems at all, but I'm fortunate.

Rubbish dumped in back yards and gardens

is an ongoing problem for councils across the country.

Local authorities now have powers to prosecute householders

if the rubbish isn't cleared up.

In Wigan, cases of illegally dumped rubbish are dealt

with by environmental enforcement officers like Mark Farrimond.

The garden is full of all sorts of stuff.

He's not been putting his bins out,

and he's been storing black-bag waste, I think, in the rooms.

Today Mark has been called out to an empty property

on the outskirts of town.

The back yard of the house is piled high with rubbish

and neighbours have rung in to complain about the mess.

There is a lot of waste in the property.

I do believe that the people living in the property before

wasn't putting the bins out.

They were storing rubbish in rooms in the property

and it's now all ended up in the back garden.

This is the second time Mark has been called out to this property.

He's already warned the landlord there may be squatters inside

but so far nothing seems to have been done.

There's a hole in the back door, which is still unsecure.

I've reported that to them.

Mark's concerned that the rotting rubbish will create more

problems for people living nearby.

It looks like the contents of the house,

some of the contents have been put out into the back garden.

Once the weather gets warmer, there is going to

be odours coming from that which is going to be flies, insects.

Obviously, the residents won't be able to enjoy the

warm weather outside, because they are going to be affected with this.

It needs sorting out, really.

Householders who regularly dump rubbish in the garden can be

found guilty of a criminal offence and fined up to £2,500.

That might not be the case here but Mark needs to contact

the landlord to find out what's going on.

I'm hoping they'll have done it by the end of this next week.

If they don't do that, then we will threaten to do work in default,

and that will mean that we will get a contractor in to remove

the waste and then bill them for the waste.

Coming up...

Mark returns to the house.

There's glass all over the floor here.

Anybody could cut themselves on that.

Could the situation be about to take a turn for the worse?

Local councils are involved in many of the key moments of our lives...

from the day our births are registered...

to the day our loved ones bid us goodbye.

Andy Bond's job at Wigan Council is about dealing with the dead

and the relatives they leave behind.

As Bereavement Services Manager, I am responsible for the small team

who deliver the funerals

of about 70% of the registered deaths in the borough

on an annual basis

and ultimately to oversee that the service

we deliver is done with dignity and respect.

Another important part of Andy's job is managing

and maintaining the borough's nine cemeteries.

We have hundreds of visitors every day to the cemeteries

and we've got to make sure they feel they're in a well-presented

place and they feel safe and welcomed.

Lower Ince is Wigan's oldest cemetery.

Over the years, parts of it have become badly overgrown.

It's the least visited areas that are affected.

But local resident Brenda Rigby is prepared to struggle through

the undergrowth to get to her grandma's grave.

Last time she visited, she tripped on the weeds.

There are weeds and nettles.

Mothering Sunday, I nearly did myself a mischief.

I'm upset because I think about my grandma

and I would like it to be normal, just so you can walk down,

because I remember with my mum,

I used to come and it was walkway,

you could see, and so nice.

It's a shame.

A shame but, obviously, money is money, isn't it?

It's surprising, once you get into it, you can see the headstones.

Restoring this old cemetery is a huge challenge

for Andy and his team.

Because money has been restricted over the years, the older,

historical parts of the cemeteries are just let to grow,

so you get trees establishing, rhododendrons growing over

and the historical headstones have become inaccessible.

Now, thanks to some extra help from a local church,

this historic cemetery is getting a face-lift.

-So we're better starting on this side, really.

-This edge.

And go that way.

Today, Graham Gifford from the Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-Day Saints is meeting Andy and his colleague Mark Birchall.

Every year, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints, Mormons,

do a day of service.

The people in this area, the members of the church in this area

are going to come to Wigan this year.

So it's the cemetery's turn to get that day of service.

Just watch your footing.

At the weekend, the church volunteers will spend a day here,

mowing, pruning and weeding.

-In relation to headstones that are down?

-Leave them.

-You've got to.

Some of the headstones are broken but the council staff can

only move or repair them with relatives' permission.

When people move house, they tell the gas board,

electricity board, water, telephone. They don't tell us.

So we always struggle to make contact with family members to say

there is an issue or there is something you might be able to do.

Brenda Rigby's grandma is buried in an area which needs

the most serious pruning.

So this is the area I'm a bit more concerned about.

Fortunately, it's one of the places where the volunteers

will be working on clean-up day.

-There's some fabulous graves down there.

-Yeah.

It would be good to uncover them again

-and just make it available for the public.

-Just open it up.

It's a massive area, isn't it?

It can only be improved. It can definitely be improved.

It's now fingers crossed for fine weather

and a big turnout at the weekend.

They are all volunteers. They can't be forced to come.

It's up to them to decide on the day

but I've a sneaky feeling this might be a good one.

Brilliant.

Coming up...

The volunteers prepare to do battle in the undergrowth.

I don't think Wigan Council believe that we could achieve this.

And a council officer goes head-to-head with

a slab of concrete.

It keeps me in trim, doesn't it?

I'm not getting any younger.

A massive fire has ripped through a six-storey

block of flats in Wigan town centre.

The council's emergency plan has been activated

and staff are working alongside the emergency services to help

the 200 residents, who have had to be evacuated.

Emergency fire helpline, Lee speaking.

Just a bed.

The council has set up a special hotline.

What they're doing tonight, they're going out to look

at the fourth floor, which is the most heavily damaged.

They are looking at possibly demolishing the whole fourth floor.

The residents initially were shocked and it was coping with that shock.

We had requests such as, "I've lost my mobile-phone charger,"

and things which you wouldn't have thought was important to people,

but it was initially to them.

But as the incident went on,

they then started to ask where should they go,

what should they do.

We will be able to give them answers to that.

48 hours after the blaze started,

fire crews are still damping down.

Many evacuated residents have spent a second night in local hotels.

At the rest centre,

council staff are serving up breakfast to the homeless.

It's a case of rallying together and making sure that we give support

to our residents, which really, really is high-priority

and that's basically... Our day job was stopped and it's hands to the

pump and make sure that we are looking after our local community.

Firemen are assessing the damage as residents wait

anxiously to find out when they can return to their flats.

Wendy Green was out of town when the fire broke out.

I didn't find out about it until my brother rang me on the morning

and said, "Your flats are on fire, get back."

It didn't look too bad at the time.

It was the back of the building that was on fire

and I thought I might be OK...

..I might be able to salvage some stuff.

But then they came back later on in the afternoon

and the front of the building had gone as well.

Wendy rents a flat in the most damaged part of the building.

My apartment's on the top floor, it's over the top two floors.

It's a duplex apartment.

Where you can see the badly damaged bit at the top,

I'm sort of second one in.

Then the green bit that's exposed at the top,

that would be my balcony and living area

and kitchen behind that.

I can see, just looking at it from here, how badly damaged it is.

I've lost everything.

Everything's gone. I've got nothing.

I'm wearing donated clothes.

Thank you.

No, it's been a big shock.

Furniture, pots and pans, bedding, things like that can all be

replaced but it's the sentimental stuff that can't be.

I had a box brought up to me by my son only last week

with Mother's Day cards in and photographs of the kids,

my parents' wedding album.

They're no longer here, that's all I had of those, that's gone.

Erm, I lost my nan a few years ago

and I had a box with her belongings in.

That's gone.

I've got memories but that's it.

Everything else has gone.

It's becoming clear that at least 50 flats

are fire damaged beyond repair, including Wendy's.

Council staff are on hand to give advice about emergency housing.

I've got a key but there's no door.

No door on it, OK.

Could you give the key to us just in case, if that's OK?

Yeah, that's the front door.

There are difficult times ahead but Wendy

and her neighbours are grateful for the support

they're still receiving from the council team.

You don't realise how kind people can be until

something like this happens. Everybody's mucking in together,

everybody's helping each other and it's amazing.

You find out who your friends are.

-INTERVIEWER: It brings out the best in people?

-It does, yeah.

The fire service is pulling down the top storey of the block,

which includes Wendy's flat.

Tonight she'll stay with friends but the long-term future is uncertain.

I'm sort of in limbo at the moment.

My priority now is to find somewhere else to live.

Coming up...

Wendy searches for a new home.

-Nice to see you again.

-Take a seat.

-Thank you.

And can the council help other Wharfside residents

rebuild their lives?

I don't really want to be here.

It's...

It just brings that night back.

The council has had calls about rubbish in the back

yard of an empty house.

There's going to be odours coming from that, which is going to

be flies, insects, so it needs sorting out, really.

Neighbours are fed up with the mess and now squatters may have moved in.

There's a hole in the back door, which is still unsecure.

Environmental Enforcement Officer Mark Farrimond

is in charge of the case.

Today he's going back to the house to check

if the waste has been taken away yet.

I've contacted the people who own it now and I'm going back to see

if they've cleared the yard out, which I've asked them to do.

So we'll have a look to see what maintenance has taken place.

I gave them a deadline of a week to get it done.

I'm hoping that it's been sorted out.

Looking at that, nothing's being done,

because I can still see the mattresses in the back garden.

Disappointment for Mark.

The back yard looks even worse than before.

The only thing that's changed is the back door.

The hole that was in the back door has been sealed up from the inside.

So I'm not sure who has done that, obviously,

but I need now to get in touch with the owners of this property and

find out now what is their timescale,

because it's gone on too long.

Looking at this, you know, the state of it, the rubbish that's here,

and the hot weather we've just recently had,

I don't think they're looking after the residents that live here

and the neighbours that live next door to it.

It's time to check out the front of the house.

Looking at this, looking at this,

the front window's recently been smashed.

The condition of the property has deteriorated even further.

It needs boarding up and made safe.

That's a hazard to any children, even.

There's glass all over the floor here.

Anybody could cut themselves on that.

There are all-too-obvious signs that someone's been inside the house.

The house is absolutely full of rubbish.

The waste in here is going to be affecting other residents

and it's annoying, looking at it. It's in a right state.

In fact, I can actually see one of my letters there.

So they have been receiving letters,

because it shows they've been opening them.

That door is hardly secure.

No-one is answering the door.

It's time for Mark to think about his next move.

You've got to feel sorry for the people living next door,

haven't you, the state this property is in?

It's part of a row of terraced houses

so it's paramount it gets sorted out as soon as possible.

It needs really something done today.

So that's what I will be pushing for.

Mark's heading back to the office to make some urgent calls.

With the rubbish mounting up and broken glass on the pavement,

he wants action as soon as possible.

I'm ringing from Wigan Council Waste Services.

It's Mark Farrimond.

I'm ringing from Waste Services at Wigan Council.

Mark's now managed to get hold of the company

that manage the property.

It's time for some tough talking.

I'll be honest with you now, right? This has dragged on too long.

The property is in a real bad state and this is a serious matter now.

I'm concerned now that we need to get this glass cleaned up,

at least to get something made safe with that.

OK, thank you. Bye. Bye.

Coming up...

Can Mark get the rubbish problem sorted at the house?

Or will he have to take the case further?

If the waste has not been removed, I'll have to serve notice.

The super depot is the HQ of Wigan Council's Environmental Services.

Hundreds of officers leave here every day to empty the bins,

clean the streets and carry out essential repairs.

Today, Drainage Investigation Operative Tommy Robinson

is preparing for a heavyweight job

that will put his strength to the test.

You'll see the muscles kick in.

Council tenant Baback Armoun has a big problem.

A massive raised slab of concrete in his back garden.

The slab sits on top of a raised drain.

Baback's children like playing on it

and he's worried they could get hurt.

The reason I called the council was that top was a little bit high.

My children usually play on it and sometimes they fall down from it.

Besides that, it's not nice-looking.

Tommy knows it's a job that will test his physical

prowess to the limit.

Mostly the jobs are really about using your brain.

This afternoon, this job's more about using brawn.

Tommy's going straight to the back yard

to find out what needs to be done.

This is the main drain.

If the main gets blocked up, this is one of the manholes they'll

come to, to clear it, basically.

The kids have been playing on here.

As long as we get this down to a minimum height, where

they can actually walk on it without falling off,

then my job's done.

Anyroad, I'll get cracking.

Literally.

Tommy has to bring the slab down to ground level.

Shifting a huge slab of concrete is going to be a massive challenge.

First, there are four layers of brickwork to demolish

and remove from the site.

It keeps me trim, doesn't it? I'm not getting any younger.

Like I've always said, there's eight hours in a day, fulfil it.

Do your job, and you'll always have a job.

Time for a tea break and a chat with Baback about work in progress.

So once I've got that back course off coming round...

Will it be level, Tommy?

Level with this ground?

Like that.

Perfect, thank you.

Cos you've made me a brew. You didn't give me any biscuits,

but you made me a brew.

Baback's taken the hint.

-There you are, Tommy.

-Biscuits.

-Biscuits.

Biscuits are what's needed to build Tommy's strength...

The smell of it.

..despite the overpowering stench from the open drain.

Nothing puts me off biscuits and food.

Not even a...

touch of the old, er...

..raw sauce.

The final bricks have been removed.

It's the moment of truth.

Can Tommy shift the concrete slab?

He's done it.

He can now prepare the opening to the drain at ground level.

The concrete slab goes back down

and Tommy cements in a new manhole cover.

How nice does that look?

He's pulled it off.

The slab has been re-laid.

Tommy heads for home and a well-earned rest.

Baback's children can now play safely in the garden.

It's a lot safer for the kids.

I'm happy with it.

Another satisfied customer.

An historic cemetery in Wigan has become so overgrown,

many of the older graves are almost impossible to get to.

No, it's a shame.

A shame, but, obviously, money is money, isn't it?

But a group of church volunteers are joining forces

with the council to give it a face-lift.

There's some fabulous graves down there.

It's the day of the big clean-up.

This is my elite A-team, this.

You know, this is the equivalent of the local SAS unit.

Graham Gifford from the Mormon church is fighting with

a gazebo in the cemetery grounds.

You just keep hold, Alan. Keep hold, David.

His prayers for good weather, and lots of volunteers,

appear to have been answered.

The car park is filling up.

This is the area we're doing.

These here.

They've got a tough day ahead.

This overgrown cemetery needs some heavy-duty pruning.

You can see, there is graves in there.

Somebody's actually climbed in there to put flowers on a grave.

Somebody's left flowers in that area.

That makes it even more important

that we clear this area,

so that people can come quietly and visit ancestors.

Time to get down to business.

The volunteers hack their way into the undergrowth.

It is kind of difficult to know where to start.

I feel like it's so exciting, you know, and the sunshine is so good.

I just enjoy it. And to help others, that's really good.

It's going good, we've been cutting down so much trees, as you can see.

It's coming along really, really well, actually.

Mid-morning, and Bereavement Services Manager Andy Bond has arrived,

dressed to impress.

When we get volunteers in, we don't want them

coming to do our work, we want to work with them, alongside them.

Obviously, my normal attire is shirt and tie, sat at my desk.

I'd look a bit silly today.

So we've raided the stores and I'm going to get dirty,

believe it or not.

I'll get stick for this, for the forthcoming few months.

But it's worth it.

Graham and the team are well ahead.

They've already cleared the first section.

The old gravestones are gradually emerging back into the light.

We're almost finished in this area.

If you remember, we would now be stood at the edge of where the trees were.

I went and parted some branches for you to see these flowers

that were on that grave.

Just look how far back they've gone from here.

Just look at all these old graves.

I knew this was going to be a good project.

I knew this was going to be a project worth doing.

The volunteers are doing an incredible job,

helping to save the council and Wigan taxpayers

a tidy sum of money.

There has been studies done where

volunteer time is valued at £10 an hour.

So if you look at the 150 people here

and they do five hours apiece, that's quite a chunk of money.

That's happening in our cemeteries that we couldn't facilitate

on the resource we have available.

We've got the heavy-lifting gang in now. Come on, let's go for it.

By the afternoon, the volunteers have reached the most overgrown

area of the cemetery.

Don't these lads know how to clear shrubbery!

Don't they just!

It's great to be able to provide a service like this.

So...

I'm really, really pleased with the progress we've made, as well.

I don't think Wigan Council believe that we could achieve this.

So...

It's good news.

It is.

Everybody's happy and smiling and chopping wood and bringing it over.

We are uncovering some really,

really big, historical Victorian headstones.

Fundamentally, the job's a good 'un.

At the end of the day, the team have done 750 hours of work between them,

transforming this historic cemetery for the people of Wigan.

They've worked hard, they've uncovered loads.

-It's a stepping stone for us, we can continue to do stuff.

-Yeah.

Come on, let's go and wave them off. Let's go home.

Thanks to the volunteers, Brenda Rigby,

whose grandma's grave was hidden deep in the undergrowth,

is now able to make her way there safely to pay her respects.

I'm pleased. Absolutely pleased,

because some of these I've not even seen myself after all these years.

I am glad. I am glad.

Complaints have come in to the council about broken glass

and piles of rubbish outside an empty house.

You've got to feel sorry for the people living next door,

haven't you, the state this property's in?

The Waste Services Department has told the landlord

to get it cleaned up.

This has dragged on too long and this is a serious matter now.

It's a drizzly, wet morning in Wigan.

And Mark Farrimond's first job of the day

is a return visit to the house.

This rain, this fine mist,

some of the locals call it Billings rain.

I'm not sure why that is and it's not hammering rain,

but you still get wet through without really realising it.

Yeah, it's a bit grim up north today in Wigan.

It looks like something has happened, because I can see there is

a gate on the back of the property which I've never seen before.

And they've made some sort of attempts to secure it as best

they can for the time being.

There is a couple of mattresses there, a bed base.

They were in the garden, so whether they're going to be taken

away by somebody else, I don't know.

The outside of the house has been sorted out

but what about the back yard?

The back yard has been cleared up.

You can actually see the soil

and bits of shrubbery that were in the garden.

Erm, it's been completely cleared.

So that's a really good result.

There's even a polite note for Mark on top of a rubbish bag.

"Back in morning."

So they're obviously going to come back for this

and the other residue left, the mattresses, the bed and bed base.

At least they're being responsible.

It's time to check out the front of the house.

The last time I came, the front window was all smashed in.

There was a big hole here.

There were shards of glass like sharks' fins, basically,

sticking out, which was a danger, and some glass on the floor.

At least they were health and safety conscious

and carried out our wishes.

What about the inside of the house?

I can see into the property through there

and it's absolutely clear, there is no waste in there whatsoever.

The whole job's been done, which is very important.

That's that, really, now.

It looks like Mark's repeated calls for action have finally

paid off and the council's job is now done.

They've obviously listened to what we've said and acted on it.

It may have taken a little bit longer than we wanted,

but we've got the end result and that's what matters.

I'm sure the residents will be pleased now,

because it was in a horrendous state.

Yeah, I think it's a win-win all round for everybody, really.

Neighbours called the council

and, thanks to Mark, the house is ready for someone new to move in.

Fire has destroyed homes at a block of flats in Wigan town centre.

Many of the residents have lost absolutely everything in the blaze.

Furniture, pots and pans, bedding and things like that

can all be replaced, but it's the sentimental stuff that can't be.

We've got memories, but that's it. Everything else has gone.

Today, a week after the blaze broke out,

work is under way on fire-damaged homes.

A third of the 120 flats have been saved, but it'll be months,

even a year, before the rest are repaired or rebuilt.

Lisa Caffery, a council house lettings officer, is on site,

helping people who need new homes.

A lot of people have lost all their belongings, you know,

they feel that they have to start afresh and, obviously,

as Wigan Council, we're there to help in every way possible.

I believe we've helped 10-15 residents, but that's still ongoing.

One of those residents is Wendy Jones.

Today, she's come back to salvage a few belongings

from her fire-damaged flat.

It's been badly damaged by water from the fire hoses.

She's keen to start a new life in a new home.

I feel relieved that I'm getting my stuff out now,

but I don't really want to be here.

It just brings that night back.

Across town, Wendy Green is also looking forward to a new start.

A week ago, she looked on as her fire-damaged flat was demolished.

She lost almost everything she'd ever owned in the fire.

-Hello! Hiya, nice to see you again.

-How are you doing?

-Thank you.

Today, Wendy is picking up the keys to a new privately rented flat.

Thank you very much for your help, all of you ladies,

-you've been amazing again.

-No problem at all.

-You've done a great job.

-Best of luck in there.

Thank you, I hope I get a bit longer in this one.

LAUGHTER

See you, bye-bye. Bye.

'I'm feeling more positive today - a new start, new keys, a new place.'

I'm feeling more human again now. It was a bit rough last week.

Ah!

Home, sweet home! Another one.

Start again.

-Right, Wendy, here's your flat. Do you want to come through?

-Thank you.

Wendy Jones is also moving into a new flat today.

She's being rehomed by the council in the town centre.

-Smaller bedroom.

-Smaller bedroom.

This'll feel like home a little bit, won't it?

I feel a lot better now that I know I've got all my things

out of the old apartment and I can now start

to get everything in order and start to settle in my new home.

-Thanks very much, Wendy, nice to meet you. Bye-bye!

-Bye!

It could take a long time for the residents of Wharfside

to recover from the trauma of what happened,

but, thanks to the council,

they've taken the first steps in the right direction.

A few more weeks and it'll be like I've always been here.

Like their colleagues nationwide, council officers have been

dealing with the everyday and the unexpected...

..talking tough to get a local eyesore cleaned up...

I'll be honest with you now, right? This has dragged on too long.

It's got in a really bad state.

..working with volunteers to transform a local cemetery...

They're enjoying what they're doing

and the ultimate benefit is our cemetery looks much better.

..and helping the homeless make a new start after a devastating fire.

I've got my new home. And anything, I know they're just a phone call away.

They've worked hard to help their residents

when they called the council.