Roger and Anne are two of the longest serving members of Wensley Tenants & Residents Association. They are both proud of the pioneering role they’ve played as being the first tenants who moved onto Wensley estate (from the back to backs in Attercliffe) in 1976 when the houses had just been built. At that time, Roger and Anne were another couple who’d been moved with all their neighbours onto Wensley. Over the lat 31 years, they’ve watched how the estate has changed, how children have grown up, how the tenants have changed, and through it all, they’ve tried to remain involved in a range of voluntary activities on the estate.
In 1995, Anne came onto the committee as the treasurer and, two years later, Roger joined her as the chairman/person of the TARA (Tenants' and Residents' Association). Working closely with Gladys, Roger and Anne have campaigned for the replacement of all the central; heating on the estate in 1998 after it was failing; have helped organise and carry out the major clear up on the fields in 2003; been involved with the only Wensley Street festival that took place in 2005 – along with Green City Action, that subsequently has become the Fir Vale Festival – and two years ago, worked to re-open the community centre that had been badly damaged by fire.
Neither Roger and Anne are getting any younger and frequently their work is completely invisible – but it is exactly this contribution that tenants associations need to retain their ability to fight for the interests of the estate.