Neighbourhood agreements have considerable diversity in their origins, scope and purpose. However, few have covered the range of services covered by the The Foxwood Community Action Group (FCAG). Now this resident-led group is set to take responsibility for policing alleyways on their York housing estate in a bid to cut crime.

The Foxwood CAG was set up to tackle problems ranging from unemployment to high crime rates on York’s Foxwood estate in 1998.

Foxwood is a mixed tenure area of 1,362 properties. The estate grew from a nucleus of local authority properties twenty years ago, with more recent private and housing association development.

The group is in the process of raising funds to seal off 11 alleys, at a cost of around £1,000 each and is taking sole financial responsibility for restricting use of the alleys, or snickets, as they are known locally. It is negotiating with the city council and tenants either side of the alleys to decide the best form of control.

It is planned that the alleys will be gated at each end, allowing access to residents only, to prevent them being used as escape routes from crime scenes and congregation areas for young people.

Foxwood CAG has already spent £3,000 on resident surveys, advertising and planning applications for the proposals. Five alleys will be sealed off by the end of the year. There are more than 80 alleys on the estate and FCAG member Eve Jackson said that the group hoped to see one in every four closed over the next five years.

“There’s a lot of youth crime on the estate and younger kids are getting involved now as well. There’s a lack of facilities for kids here and that’s something we’re trying to address,” Eve said.

A recent three-year evaluation of the development of a ‘neighbourhood agreement’ on a mixed tenure estates focussed on Foxwood and concluded that such agreements can effectively develop dialogue between residents and service providers, but residents may need continuing – if modest – support. Foxwwod CAG certainly seem to have culled support and respect.