Your community

Your neighbourhood

We know it’s important to live in an area you’re proud of. We aim to provide high-quality services and create better places to live.


Our neighbourhood services cover a wide range of activities, all designed to make your local area safer and cleaner.

We work closely with partners such as local authorities and service providers to keep your communal areas clear of environmental hazards and litter. Our grounds maintenance and communal block cleaning services also ensure buildings are clean and green areas are well-maintained.

Our mobile estates officers keep your local areas maintained day-to-day. We have three officers, who visit their assigned estates each day to pick up litter, report any issues and generally monitor the area. You can find information about your mobile estate officer on noticeboards in your area, or if you get in touch with us we can ask your officer to visit you to say hello.

The best way for us to find out about your area is for you to let us know your thoughts! You can contact us at any time or find out how to get involved in inspecting and improving your neighbourhood here


Reporting problems with your local area

If you see anti-social behaviour, crime or vandalism in your area, please report it to us. Crimes should also be reported to the police by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency. 


Tree maintenance

To make sure that our neighbourhoods are safe, we carry out some works to trees. We carry out this type of work for public safety and to prevent damage to vehicles or properties. We will also carry out works if a tree blocks street lights, road signs or traffic lights, or if pruning will benefit the health of the tree or its surrounding environment.

We aren't responsible for the maintenance of trees to reduce leaf or seed fall, sap, aphids or bird droppings. We also won’t carry out works to trees because they are blocking light or swaying in the wind, or to help improve your television reception. We may also refuse requests for other reasons that aren't related to public safety. 

Please be aware that we also avoid pruning trees as much as possible from March to late August as this is bird nesting season and it's an offence to harm or disturb nesting birds.


Fly-tipping

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, and an issue we’re keen to tackle. Find out more about what fly-tipping is, and how you can help to reduce it, below. 

What is fly-tipping?
Fly-tipping is the act of illegally dumping waste in a public area. This includes putting your unwanted items outside your house for passers-by to collect, leaving things outside a charity shop or leaving items for a scrap metal collector.

Fly-tipping not only spoils the look of your area, but also damages the environment, creates a health risk and costs money to clear.
 
Is fly-tipping a crime?
Yes, fly-tipping is a serious criminal offence, punishable by up to 12 months in prison or a fine of up to £50,000.
Your local authority will carry out criminal investigations into fly-tipping that has been reported on public and private land, and will seek prosecution where possible.

As well as the general public, organisations are subject to laws about disposing of waste. Builders and tradespeople are required to have a licence to carry waste or use a licensed carrier to remove waste from their jobs. If you employ a builder to work on your home you must take reasonable steps to check that they are disposing of your waste correctly.
 
How should I dispose of unwanted bulky items?

The best option for disposing of your bulky items such as furniture and appliances is to, wherever possible, recycle, rehome or reuse your unwanted items. Here are some ideas for how you can dispose of unwanted items:

- Dispose of your waste for free at a Household Waste Recycling Centre. Find your nearest waste recycling centre in Hertfordshire here.


- If you cannot get the item(s) to a recycling centre, you can use a bulky collection service for a fee. You can find out more about this service in Watford here.

- You can rehome your items, either by selling them on websites like Gumtree or eBay or giving them away for free on websites like Freecycle

- You can also donate your items to a charity shop. Here are a few organisations local to Watford who might be interested:

How can I report fly-tipping in my area?
As well as disposing of your own waste responsibly, you can report fly-tipping to help tackle it.

If you see items that have been fly-tipped in your area, please report them to us by calling 0800 218 2247 and to Watford Borough Council, so that people who are caught can be prosecuted.
What is Watford Community Housing doing to reduce fly-tipping?
As part of the Safer Watford group, Watford Community Housing is working with Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner and Veolia to create cleaner community areas.

We also run campaigns, create signs, give advice on disposal and occasionally run events such as clean-up days to discourage fly-tipping.