Fight to bring estate better fortunes will continue
Neighbours have spoken of their shock after officers broke down the door of a house in Haregate Road at dawn last Thursday and discovered a small quantity of heroin.
But it is perhaps the shock itself which speaks volumes.
The largest estate in the Staffordshire Moorlands has long been dogged by a poor reputation with high levels of unemployment, teenage pregnancy and binge drinking and low levels of income and qualifications.
Life expectancy, at 73, is four years lower than the average for Leek and the rest of the country.
Families decided to tackle such adversity head on and formed groups such as Haregate in Action and the Haregate Residents Association.
Now the Haregate Community Centre is home to around 40 different groups and people are convinced community spirit has never been better.
They admit there is still some way to go but no-one can doubt the area is moving in the right direction.
Alan Scragg, chairman of the resident's association, pictured, has lived in Haregate since 1944. He admitted he cannot believe the work that he has witnessed over the past two years.
He said: "The difference the volunteer groups have made in such a short space of time has been phenomenal. People bring their problems to us and it is a case of dealing with one issue at a time.
"Gradually we are getting things done and Haregate is a much safer place to live."
The average Haregate household income is just £20,800 – £5,000 below the expected level for people living in the Staffordshire Moorlands to take home.
A third of houses are socially rented, more than three times the norm in the rest of the district.
And homeowners have been further hit by the economic downturn.
A total of 114 people are currently out of work and seeking a job, up from just 58 in July 2007 before the onset of the credit crunch.
Haregate councillor Steve Povey emphasised the importance of multi-agency work to keep the neighbourhood on track.
He said: "The Police Community Support Officers do a really good on the estate.
"Regarding drugs, I think there are problems in other areas of the town such as Wallbridge."
Latest figures show only 36.8 per cent of teenagers living in Haregate gained five or more GCSEs at grades A to C, 22 per cent below the average for the area.
A staggering 1,713 out of an average 4,300 adult population of the Leek North council ward have no formal qualifications.
But youth club volunteer Sonia Johnson stressed it was not all doom and gloom.
The 33-year-old, of The Crescent, said: "A lot of neighbours are involved in raising a community spirit and there is so much more available for children than when I was younger.
"Haregate did have a bad name, even now it seems people are reluctant to socialise over here.
"But you would struggle to meet a nicer bunch of people. I've been here all my life and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."
Mother-of-two Donna Roberts, aged 41, of Abbots Road, admitted people thought she was mad when she considered moving to Haregate 13 years ago.
It is a decision she has never regretted but she called for further police blitzes to ensure problems did not creep out of the woodwork.
She said: "It has been bad in the past but it is certainly a lot better. We all know each other and there is a great togetherness.
"But there is an underlying issue with drugs. It is not just cannabis which is easy to get hold of around here but cocaine and even heroin.
"We need police to have better visibility to help eliminate it completely – I can't remember the last time I saw a bobby on the beat. "
The Haregate estate is looking to lose its reputation as the worst estate in Leek.
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