Not only is gardening a great way to make the most of the green South Manchester communities we’re lucky to live in, it’s also great for both your mental and physical wellbeing.
You can stay on top of your garden by doing basic things like mowing your lawn and trimming hedges.
Here are some useful tips:
- Some garden plants can be split to give you more plants for free, and seeds and wildflowers can be sown in Spring and Autumn too
- Trim dead or diseased branches from shrubs to prevent damage.
- Please don’t change your boundary line without consulting with your neighbour and us first
- Make simple bird feeders using recycled materials like plastic bottles
- Always clean and pack away your gardening tools to keep them in good condition
You’re responsible for managing and maintaining your garden.
We may take action if your garden is untidy, for example, when we see:
- Overgrown plants, hedges or lawns
- Unauthorised alterations, for example, car hard standings and removal of hedgerows
- Materials such as car parts, furniture, and white goods stored in gardens, driveways or ginnels
- Animal waste and pet debris left in gardens
We receive many calls about overgrown gardens and understand that maintaining them can be challenging. However, it’s important to remember that garden upkeep is your responsibility.
Overgrown gardens aren’t treated as anti-social behaviour and we’ll only consider taking legal action over an overgrown garden in very exceptional circumstances. Even then, the costs will be recharged to the tenant as detailed in the tenancy agreement.
If you have a concern about your neighbour’s garden generally, our Housing Officers can only ask tenants to cooperate, explain the impact of an overgrown garden on neighbours, and monitor changes. Before calling us, please speak to your neighbour to understand their situation and try to come to an agreement about what’s affecting you directly. Please note that we cannot intervene if your neighbour is a non-Southway tenant; please contact the local authority if it’s causing you a nuisance.
We’re not accepting applications at the moment because this year’s budget has already been fully allocated due to high demand.
If you need help to maintain or work on your garden yourself because you’re older or are living with a disability, we offer a subsidised basic Concessionary Gardening Service with a yearly administration fee of £50.
You must meet the following criteria to be eligible:
- 70 or over and you do not have anyone aged 16 or over living in your home, or any family members living within a three-mile radius
- 69 or younger AND you receive standard level Personal Independence Payments (PIP) or Attendance Allowance, or middle or high-rate
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA), AND you don’t have anyone aged 16 or over living in your home, or family members living within a three-mile radius
You are not eligible for this services if:
- You haven’t signed a Southway tenancy agreement
- You owe more than £450 in rent
- There is an active anti-social behaviour complaint against you
- You’ve applied for Right to Buy or Right to Acquire with the Trust
- Your Gas Service or Periodic Electrical Test is overdue
Application Form for Boundary Reinforcement or Fencing Due to Exceptional Circumstances
You may use the form below to request boundary improvements under exceptional circumstances. Eligible requests may include:
- Replacement of front or rear fencing panels
- Installation of a green boundary at the front or rear of the property
- Replacement of gates
Assessment Process
Applications are assessed by a Housing Officer based on the risk of harm resulting from the absence of a physical boundary. Each case is considered individually. We aim to provide a decision within 20 working days of receiving your application.
Shared Boundaries
If the boundary is shared with an owner-occupied, leasehold or privately owned property, additional checks are required to confirm ownership and responsibility. This may extend the decision-making timeline, as the other party may need to agree to or contribute to the works. In some cases, they may choose to carry out the work themselves and request a contribution from us.
Budget and Scheduling
To make best use of the budget available, this scheme helps pay for one‑off, exceptional works costing up to £1,000. If the work is likely to cost more than £1,000, it may be added to a planned programme of works instead. This can mean it takes longer to be carried out.
Because the budget for exceptional works is limited, approved jobs are often grouped together and sent to contractors every three months to help keep costs down. This means there may be a wait after approval, before the work starts. If the situation is urgent and there’s a high risk of harm, we’ll arrange the work with a contractor as quickly as possible.
Once your request is approved, it will be added to our contractor’s schedule. You do not need to contact us for an update unless you haven’t heard from us after two months.
Tenants Improvements
We recognise the importance of secure boundaries. However, demand for exceptional boundary replacements often exceeds our available budget, and some requests may be declined or delayed. You may apply for permission to install a boundary at your own expense. Permission will not be unreasonably withheld, but we do not permit the removal of established hedges. Unauthorised removal may result in charges for reinstating the green boundary.
Repairs and Removals
All repairs to gates and fencing must be reported to our Customer Hub at 0161 448 4200 or submitted via Your Account. Please note that we may remove boundaries if they pose a health and safety risk. Requests for re-instatement of the boundary will be considered under this process or put forward to a Boundary Treatment Programme.
