Healthy Neighbourhood Inspections
Hi, I’m Cllr Lynne Schuller and if you haven’t met me yet, I’m the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estates, which means that I am the councillor responsible for most things related to housing.
Each month, through this blog, I’ll be sharing with you just some of the interesting areas that I am able to be involved in. One such is our Healthy Neighbourhood Inspections (HNI). We carry out at least one HNI per year in each area. I’ve been a councillor since 2019 and in my area, Harworth Ward, I’ve always tried to get along to our HNI, and so should you. Here’s why.
The Inspections are a done for a few different reasons.
· They are a good way for us to look at the overall area and check if there are any outside repairs needed.
· They pick up any overgrown gardens, parking issues and graffiti, etc. alongside other issues sometimes pointed out by residents.
· They have a number of different staff from different departments allowing them to see first-hand where work is required and say what can be done to make improvements.
· They are shared with local councillors, who can join the inspection to share your views and have a chat with you whilst they walk around.
· They are open to residents, being able to share their views; what it’s like to live there.
What happens on the HNI?
The local Housing Officer plans the HNI, date, time and meeting point. They invite officers from other departments including refuse, ASB, parks, environmental health, repairs and local police to join. A walk-around the area is undertaken – so comfy shoes are needed – and each officer records any issues that are found for their area. It’s a good way of looking for problems and sharing a way of putting them right, with referrals being immediate. It’s not too formal as the officers like to make everyone feel comfortable to be there.
I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a number of HNI, in a number of areas this summer such as Retford, Worksop, Clarborough, Mattersey, Carlton and Harworth. I will continue to get along to any that are planned. It’s good to have local representation, sharing local knowledge and being able to support residents who need to speak with local members.
How do I find out where they are?
We post a list of the HNI on our Website. We also share upcoming HNI on social media. The reason we do this is it allows you to look out for your local HNI and perhaps catch the officers if you have anything to talk about. We also like to see residents come along to the walkabout. We are really keen on listening to people and working with you to make things better.
To find out when your HNI is happening please visit the healthy neighbourhood inspections page.
Last Updated on Friday, January 23, 2026