A HOUSING estate is shedding its image as a place where no one wanted to live.
Empty and boarded-up houses used to be a common sight on Central Estate, in Hartlepool, but would-be residents now have to join a waiting list.
Statistics show there are 369 Housing Hartlepool properties on the estate.
Three years ago, 28 properties stood empty. By April of this year, that figure had fallen to eight, and now none is vacant.
The turnaround is the result of a partnership between residents and, first, Hartlepool Borough Council and then Housing Hartlepool.
Residents also have a say through a management board.
Liz Torley, a board member, said: "As residents, we understand the area's needs and the issues it faces, so we are in a good position to know what needs to be done to improve the lives of people living on the estate."
Margaret Scott, Housing Hartlepool's manager on the estate, said: "It is all about teamwork, us and the residents working together."
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