OurTimes
N HA E T R MO T A JUS ORD L ND LA
THE NEWSLETTER OF
SPRING 2012
W W W. V I L L AG E S . O R G . U K
IN S I TH UE S IS
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CO M M U N I T Y AWA R D S
BLOOM EST IN W H T R NO
Stockbridge Regen Almost Complete NEW LEISURE CENTRE AND NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE NOW OPEN After years of planning and work with both partners and the local community, Knowsley Council’s multi-million pound regeneration of Stockbridge Village is now complete. As the doors opened on the new Neighbourhood Centre the final pieces of the jigsaw fitted in to place with only final landscaping work to be completed in the coming weeks. Cllr Dave Lonergan, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy & Skills commented: “It is wonderful to see what has been created here and how the area has been transformed in recent years. The regeneration project is testament to the hard work and commitment of all involved - particularly the local community who have supported our efforts throughout and worked alongside us to achieve this.” Vernon Jackson, Chief Executive of Villages Housing, said: “We are delighted that the regeneration of the central area is almost complete. Residents have waited a long time for these new facilities and I know that they too will be excited to use the new buildings to the full.” See page 2 for more information on the new facilities and how you could win a month’s family swim pass for 2 adults and a maximum of 3 children!!
STORIES FROM
STOCKBRIDGE
STORIES FROM
BOTH ESTATES
STORIES FROM
FITTON HILL
N A !! E IZ R P
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Fantastic Facilities RIGHT ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Community Art The new Neighbourhood Centre incorporates internal and external community art works.
The fantastic new Neighbourhood Centre opened its doors on Monday 12th March 2012. The new Neighbourhood This Public Art in Stockbridge Centre, located at the heart of the new village centre, Village was commissioned by Knowsley Leisure & Cultural contains: services in 2011. • 4 court sports hall for basketball, badminton, netball, Boccia, 5-a-side, indoor bowls, events & parties Interior Artworks • Community swimming pool ‘Spirit’ created by UNUSUAL • Fitness suite • 2 studios LTD – Lee Donnelly and Claire Donnelly. This artwork • Steam room & sauna celebrates both the unity and individuality of the • Community café • Sensory room people who live on Stockbridge Village – the people • Police Access Point • ACE youth facility who make up the spirit of the community. Using the These new state-of-the-art community facilities are a welcome addition to the village centre which has already benefited from the creation of a new primary school, children’s centre, library, supermarket and outdoor play facilities. In addition, the health centre has been extended and improved with the inclusion of public art created with the local community.
faces of local people as a starting point they have developed a design scheme that is integrated throughout the interior of the new building, including shower screens, skylight hangings and reception desk.
Exterior Artworks
‘Planted in Stockbridge’ by A range of memberships are available for residents to make Broadbent Studios. These the most of the new Neighbourhood Centre facilities. designs have been integrated into the granite Please call 443 2200 for more information. paving and benches in the Sports / gym opening times new village square. The designs feature a line from a Mon to Thurs 6.30am - 10pm story and images of a plant, flower or tree, which has Fri 6.30am - 9pm special significance to the local residents who told Sat & Sun 9am - 6.30pm their stories. Artist Stephen Broadbent collected these stories from residents and they can be viewed on a N I Pool opening times W dedicated website www.planted.in A ! Mon to Thurs 6.30am - 9pm Fri Sat & Sun
6.30am - 8pm 9am – 3pm
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POTENTIAL DISRUPTION IN STOCKBRIDGE
As final work is completed on the Stockbridge Village To celebrate the opening of the new Neighbourhood regeneration project, some highways works will be Centre in Stockbridge Village, readers of Our Times have the taking place on Waterpark Drive and its junctions with chance of winning a month’s family swim pass (2 adults and The Withens and Leech Croft. These are expected to 3 children max). last 3 to 4 weeks. All you have to do is send your name, address and contact details to Elena Lloyd at the Stockbridge Villages Housing All involved will be working to minimise disruption to office, or email elena.lloyd@villages.org.uk to go in to the the area but there will be traffic measures put in place for the duration to enable the works to be completed. draw. Closing Date is Friday 13 April 2012. Competition only open to Knowsley residents and excludes VHA staff.
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MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes
Take A Fresh Look
Thumbs Up!
Villages Housing is working with Knowsley Council to not only promote the fantastic new facilities to the community of Stockbridge Village, but also to potential visitors and residents to the area. A high profile campaign is being run which encourages people to challenge their old perceptions of the area and… Take a fresh look at Stockbridge Village.
The new Stockbridge Village (Acorn) Children’s Centre has been rated ‘good with outstanding features’ by Ofsted inspectors.
As part of the campaign, some new imagery has been developed (pictured) that will be used on adverts, signs and promotional material.
The report acknowledged how well staff and partners understand the community and that parents who visit are able to take part in exciting activities, whilst building their confidence, relationships and parenting skills. It also found the centre to be attractive and welcoming, offering value for money with well trained and experienced staff.
So keep your eyes open for the campaign that is set to tell everyone about how great Stockbridge is!
Jubilee Party
This year will prove great in our memories, not only because of the Olympics, but because communities will come together to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. As part of the celebrations on Stockbridge Village there will be an exhibition in the foyer of Stockbridge Primary school from the start of June, of photographs taken thirty five years ago when Cantril Farm celebrated the Silver Jubilee. In 1977 Street Parties and other events took place on Cantril Farm to celebrate Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee when she had been Queen for 25 years. These community celebrations included street parties, music from live bands and street theatre. The photographs in this exhibition were taken by George Greene on the day of the street parties in June 1977. There are no records of who is in these photographs or where exactly they were taken. If you lived on Cantril Farm then you might be able to put a name and a place to some of the faces in the photographs. You may even have some photographs of the street parties or mementos of the Silver Jubilee. If so please contact Barbara Murray on 0151 480 1313.
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They found that the centre, which adjoins Stockbridge Village Primary school’s building, was “building a strong and increasingly positive reputation within the community and this has established trust and confidence in the staff, partners and the services it delivers”.
One parent told the inspector: “I think the staff at the centre are great.” Meanwhile, many of the families who met the inspectors described feeling proud of their new centre and their many achievements. Well done to all involved.
Get Energy Fit As part of a drive to help residents get the cost of their energy bills down, a Community Energy Fit programme will train 160 residents for half a day in things to do around your own home to reduce energy use. The programme will also offer 40 unemployed residents a three day accredited City and Guilds training course to improve their employment opportunities in the industry. If you are interested in attending either of these courses please speak to Colin Lafferty, Jane Roberts or Barbara Murray on 0151 480 1313. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes Warmer Homes Means Happier Residents A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN VILLAGES HOUSING AND KNOWSLEY COUNCIL Many of you will know all about the partnership between Villages Housing, Knowsley Council, British Gas, ERDF and REECH to carry out energy efficiency improvements to over 1,000 properties in Stockbridge Village – making homes warmer and cutting energy costs - as part of the CESP project (Community Energy Savings Programme).
What is CESP?
Some residents in Stockbridge Village are already feeling the benefits.
What and where are these Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) located?
Work started on the project in May last year when British Gas and Knowsley Council started work to owner occupier and private landlord properties. Funding and procurement requirements meant that the programme to carry out the works to over 600 Villages Housing properties by our approved contractor, Bramall Construction, could only start in December 2011. One resident who has already had the work done is Mr Jenkins who signed up to the programme after receiving a letter from the council and British Gas. He said: “I didn’t believe it at first so spoke to a neighbour who was taking part and went along to the open day. I signed up straight away when it was explained to me and I realised it would actually happen at the right price – free!” After a survey on his home, Mr Jenkins received a brand new boiler, radiators and external wall insulation. He said: “I thought Father Christmas had come early for me!”
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CESP is an energy saving programme of funding which is available in certain areas described as a Lower Super Output Area (LSOA), and to certain “hard to heat” house construction types. The scheme is aimed at assisting households in fuel poverty (households spending over 10% of income on fuel).
These areas are defined by the government based on areas ranked in the lowest 10% in terms of multiple deprivation. Stockbridge is split into a number of areas which are within these lowest 10%. One section of Stockbridge including Marled Hey does not qualify under this criteria.
Why were other areas not included in the first phase of works?
Due to financial restrictions from our funders, British Gas and ERDF (European Regional Development Fund); Villages and Knowsley MBC were only able to complete works to specific LSOA’s defined as Stockbridge North and Stockbridge South.
What are the intentions for other areas of Stockbridge?
The LSOA defined Stockbridge East as parts of Custley Hey, Pool Hey and the Multi storey blocks. Villages and KMBC are currently investigating plans and financial models to include these areas in a possible second phase of funding via CESP. The Marled Hey area of Stockbridge is not eligible for CESP funding, however Villages and KMBC are investigating alternative funding streams to provide similar energy efficient improvements to non-CESP properties. We will keep all Stockbridge residents informed of any developments. If you require any further information, please contact the Villages Housing CESP Project Team on 0151 480 1313, or if you own your home or rent from a private landlord please contact British Gas Resident Liaison Officer, Michaela Grant, on 07769 543 101.
MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Energising Stockbridge As part of the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) Villages Housing held its first “Energising Stockbridge” event on Friday 24th February. The event was a great opportunity for all residents of Stockbridge Village to discuss their energy concerns with organisations including Knowsley Council, Energy Projects Plus and REECH. The contractors who are currently delivering improvements to over 1,000 Stockbridge Village properties, such as Bramall, Vaillant and British Gas, also came along. Jed Pearson, Deputy Chief Executive of Villages Housing, said, “Villages are committed to helping our residents to reduce their fuel bills. The physical works that are being done under the CESP scheme are just a part of our commitment. This event was an ideal opportunity to give residents advice on how they can make even the smallest of changes that can save them up to hundreds of pounds in the long run. We were delighted that partners such as Knowsley Council, Bramall Construction, the local PCT and REECH were able to come along and support us in giving advice on health matters, recycling and even ways in to employment and training.” Cllr Dave Lonergan, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration Economy & Skills commented: “We are so pleased to be part of the Community Energy Saving Programme in Stockbridge Village that is already bringing real benefits to local residents. This latest event gave us an opportunity to link with Villages Housing to spread the energy saving message even further and give the community some useful advice and guidance about simple steps they can follow in their own homes.”
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Residents not only received information on the best ways to reduce energy in their home and reduce their fuel bills, many also received free energy goodies including light bulbs, water saving devices and recycling products. Some residents took the opportunity to get employment and benefit advice from the Tenant Extra Support service (TESS), Citizens Advice Bureau, Knowsley Works and Fusion 21. Flo Lappin is a resident of Stockbridge Village and Energy Community Champion. She said, “I thought the event was a success and a great opportunity to meet many residents of Stockbridge. It’s a chance to get involved in the work that Villages and the council are doing.” Residents also entered 2 prize draws: one from Bramall for a hamper of energy goodies, and one from Villages Housing to win a free home energy monitor worth £40. Flo helped to draw the names of the two lucky residents won the prizes. Margaret O'Sullivan won the basket of energy goodies provides by Bramalls and G Jenkins won the Villages energy monitor. The prizes will help both residents to save energy in their home. At the event a further 20 residents signed up to the home energy audit. The audit will help residents to make some simple changes in how they use energy at home which can save them even more money. If you wish to sign up for a home energy audit or would like further information on how to become an Energy Community Champion please contact the CESP team on 0151 480 1313. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Community Awards & Celebration The Catalyst Group are working with local community groups, Villages Housing and Knowsley Council to organise this year’s Community Celebration which will take place on Friday 27th April in St Albert’s Church Club. Please note attendance is by invitation. The award categories are: • Schools Awards to outstanding pupils in conjunction with local schools • Achievement Awards for Adults and Young People • Community Groups - Good Neighbours - Community Champions • Joseph Lappin Award for Outstanding Community Contribution will be awarded by the judges. Nominations are invited from all residents for the categories below. Ask yourself these questions: • Who are our local community champions? • Do you have a good neighbour who has helped out over the year? • Are you aware of someone who has gone the extra mile for others? • Do you know someone working hard to improve Stockbridge Village? You can nominate in one or more categories for different people or the same person. Closing date: Friday 13th April 2012.
Nomination for Stockbridge Village Community Awards 2012
Group (if applicable) Reason for nomination Good Neighbour (if applicable) Reason for nomination Community Champion (if applicable) Reason for nomination Achievement Award (Arts/Music/Sport/Other) Reason for nomination Your name: Your address: Your email: Your phone: Please note Nominations Will Not Be Accepted Without Contact Details For Person Making the Nomination. Please return all nominations to Barbara Murray at Villages Housing by Friday 13th April 2012. Remember – you have to be in it to win it!
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MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes Community Budget Grants
Catalyst Group
The Catalyst Group meet each month on the second Tuesday of the month in the Craigs Community Centre. The Group alternates its meeting time between 10am and 4pm. At the Stockbridge Village Estate Management Its next meeting Committee meeting held on the 9th March the is Tuesday 10th committee agreed applications from the following April at 4pm. groups: This year the The Knowsley Youth Dallas Cup Squad group were The Knowsley Youth Dallas Cup is a group of 18 consulted by footballers recruited, trained and selected from across Derek Jones in the borough, with the specific purpose of February with respect to the services, facilities and prices representing the Borough of Knowsley in the Dallas that will be in operation when the new Neighbourhood Cup International Youth Football Tournament in Centre opens. Also in February Councillor Jackie Harris Texas, USA. The aim is to provide a unique personal attended the meeting to thank residents for all their development opportunity to squad members support leading to the estate winning the Tilley Award through the American College Education & soccer which recognises innovative crime fighting projects where Scholarship Programme involving discipline, foreign police, community groups and the public successfully work travel, home-stay and many more challenging together to identify and tackle local crime problems. situations. The community budget grant will be used to sponsor a local boy from the estate, Jack McGowan, to travel to Dallas and take part in the tournament.
Roughsedge House Bingo Club To buy a new electronic BINGO machine
In March Phil Hirst gave an update on the works in Little Woods (see page 14) and Jade O’Sullivan outlined the draft report emerging from the recent Youth Survey (see page Cliffs Residents Association Towards costs for equipment and plants for the new 12). Jane Roberts from Villages gave an update on the Energy Efficiency works on the estate and encouraged Gardening club at the Cliffs Community garden. residents to become Energy Community Champions (see page 5). Little Woods Little Rangers Towards cost of a residential trip Are you over 19 years old and a Knowsley resident? for Little Rangers to Silverdale.
Tenants Forum
Towards costs for Community celebration in April.
St Judes PCC
To support Spring Fair.
Stockbridge Intergenerational Girls Group Towards their Annual trip to Alton Towers
For information on how you can apply for a Community Budget Grant of up to £500 call Barbara Murray on 0151 480 1313.
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NEIGHBOURHOOD LEARNING
No previous experience needed. Sign up today! Courses include: • Skills for life • Cooking on a budget • Gardening by numbers • How to use your computer • Making your money go further • Helping your child with their homework and many more, all for FREE! Call your Neighbourhood Champions for further details on 07961 037 742. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Craigz Wayz Newz The Craigs Community Centre continues to go from strength to strength with a stream of community functions and activities. The next date for your diaries is a TRIP TO BURY MARKET WEDNESDAY 4th APRIL - £3 per person. For further details contact Bernie Wileman on 0151 480 7994 or 07841145858 or you can email
bernadine.wileman@villages.org.uk
There will be a STAY AND PLAY session on Tuesday 10th APRIL from 9.30am to 12.30pm for mums and toddlers at the Craigs Community Centre and garden. This outreach session has been organised by Lucy Marsden from the Surestart Children’s Centre and will be great fun – come along and join in. The centre is currently used for meetings by many local community groups including: Association of Stockbridge Village meets the second Monday of every month at 6pm and these meetings are open to everyone living on the estate. If you have any issues to raise about policing, housing or other services please come along to speak to officers who will be in attendance. This is your opportunity to get answers to questions by talking directly to service providers. The Friends of Stockbridge Village have changed their meeting time to Tuesdays from 5pm to 7pm. The group have this message: “Anyone of any age is welcome to come along so if you are interested in volunteering to help out on green environmental projects please come along and make contact with the group”.
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The Catalyst Group meets the first Tuesday of every month, see page 7 for more details.
PARKING
There have recently been a number of issues regarding car parking in the Multi's. Please be aware that all the garages in all of the blocks are in use and access is required 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Residents have recently had to take time off work while others have missed hospital appointments due to residents or visitors parking their vehicles in front of their garages. The no parking signs are there for a reason. Please don't park in front of the garages.
What’s On At The Craigs MONDAY
9am to 4pm
2nd Monday every month 6pm
7.30pm TUESDAY 9am to 5pm nd 2 Tuesday every month Alternating 10am or 4pm 5pm to 7pm 5pm to 9pm WEDNESDAY 10 to 12noon 10 to 12noon 1.30pm to 3.30pm 7pm to 9pm THURSDAY 9am to 4pm 5pm to 8pm FRIDAY 7.30am to 9.30am 10am to 2pm 11am to 12am 11am to 1pm 6pm to 7pm SATURDAY 12am to 2pm 11am to 5pm SUNDAY
Afternoons 2pm to 4pm
Disabled & Learning Disability Association of Stockbridge Village ZUMBA Available until 5pm most weeks Catalyst Group Friends of Stockbridge Village SKITTLES Project KNOWSLEY WORKS - Job Club Literacy and Numeracy courses ASK Alcohol Services Knowsley BINGO Disabled & Learning Disability SLIMMERS WORLD EDDIE - Princess Drive Info & Advice BREAKFAST/LUNCH CLUB Villages EMO SURGERY - Rachel JOB CLUB – Knowsley Works Councillors Surgery 2ND Saturday every month LGBT PAMPERS sessions by notice & appointment Available for parties DISABILITY CLUB MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Tarncliff Demolition As most of you will know, Villages Housing started an investment programme to our multi-storey accommodation in 2008. As a company, we adopted the approach that meant assessing the future viability of each individual block before beginning any of the work. When we carried out the assessment for Tarncliff we could see that the popularity for our multi-storey blocks had increased, but interest in Tarncliff had not improved. Villages also looked into how Tarncliff could be used for different customers, such as the elderly or customers wanting to buy their own home, but these options have not been viable. The financial cost of refurbishing Tarncliff would also have been considerably higher than the cost of refurbishing the other multi-storey blocks.
We anticipate that the demolition will take approximately 24 weeks and so should be completed by the start of August. Whilst every effort will be made to limit the disturbance to residents in the immediate area surrounding Tarncliff, there will be some noise and increased contractor traffic and activity in the area. In order to control this, the following conditions have been agreed with the contractors:
SITE HOURS
Demolition contractors will only be on site between the hours of 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and there may be limited weekend working from 8am until 1pm on Saturdays as and when necessary.
DUST/MUD CONTROL
Taking all of the above into account, the only viable option remaining to Villages Housing is to demolish Tarncliff.
The contractor will use misting water sprays on Tarncliff to control and dampen down any dust. Each vehicle leaving the site will go through a wheel wash procedure to ensure the public highway is kept clean at all times.
Our approved contractor SLOYAN DOYLE DEMOLITION is now on site. The demolition will be by a controlled floor by floor process.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact Tony Smith, Villages Housing Maintenance Manager on 0151 480 1313.
Dogs In The Multi Storey Blocks Villages Housing have a clear ’No Dogs’ policy for the multi-storey flats and have recently become aware that there are tenants who are ignoring this policy and have dogs living in their flats. We would like to take this opportunity to remind all new tenants in the multi-storey flats who signed their tenancy agreements after 12th May 2010, that they are prohibited from having a dog living in the flat with them. This is a clear breach of the tenancy agreement and, if proven, will lead to Court proceedings for an injunction to order the removal of the dogs. This may also result in the termination of the dog owner’s tenancy.
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Villages Housing introduced a Dog Amnesty scheme in April 2010, whereby tenants who already owned dogs were required to register them. The period of registering dogs expired on 12th May 2010. Tenants who registered their dogs with Villages, as part of the dog amnesty, are exempt from this section of their tenancy agreement. Villages Housing have taken, and will continue to take, action against tenants who believe that it is alright to have dogs living in the flats in breach of their tenancy agreement.
MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Stockbridge Village Primary School BIKEABILITY
Stockbridge Village Primary has seen an increase in the number of children riding to school since the school opened in September. As an aid to keeping our children safe and working in partnership with Bikeright, the children from year 5 & 6 were given the opportunity to participate in a Bikeability two day training course. Bikeability is the new cycling proficiency programme designed to provide students with the skills and confidence to ride their bikes on today’s roads, additionally introducing them to cycling as an everyday fun activity and healthy and environmentally friendly alternative mode of transport. The initial part of the training took place in the playground area, to carry out bike checks and assessing the children’s riding ability, before going out onto the local roads with the training instructors. 12 children took part in the sessions and not only gained experience but thoroughly enjoyed it. Year 3 & 4 pupils went to Stockbridge Village Space Building to watch a Road Safety play. Mrs Price said, “The children really enjoyed the comedy courtroom production which was very informative but delivered in a comical child friendly way”. Year 2 children have been learning about Road Safety through an interactive Big Book and DVD, which was delivered by Knowsley’s Road safety team. Four 1 hour fun sessions were delivered over 4 consecutive days. See page 11 for information on Road Safety courses for adults
PARENT GOVERNORS
The 4 Governors were chosen from the applications received by the school. Their role is to be ambassadors for the school, a point of contact for parents and to represent the view and aspirations of parents in the strategic development of the school. The Parent Governors are as follows: • Christine Brown • Lexley McTigue • Stephanie Tomlinson • Natalie Gilmore
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SUPER DARREN
At Stockbridge Village Primary we believe that all our children are ‘special, valuable people’ and we were delighted to hear recently that these qualities had been demonstrated superbly by a member of our year 6, Darren Holmes, who was able to give great assistance to his mum who became unwell. Darren kept a level head and called for help from a family friend as well as calling an ambulance and looking after his younger brother. We are super proud of Darren.
LEARNING TO SIGN
Stockbridge Village Primary is involved in a 10 week sign language programme for year 2 children through the ‘HANDS’ project. The programme offers bespoke, tailor-made and age appropriate sessions, which aim to develop learning and awareness of British Sign Language, Deaf People, their communication needs and their culture. Pupils are learning to express their feelings and emotions, build confidence and improve self-esteem. The children have been having great fun learning to sign to the famous Beatle Song. ‘Love, love me do,’ as well as learning to finger spell. Mrs Shaw, class teacher said, ‘the sessions are fun and interactive. We have all learnt so much and I am learning alongside the children. We practice the song we have learnt during the week prior to the next session and the children always amaze me with how much they remember. We are all certainly learning in a visual, kinaesthetic and auditory way.
PCSO VISIT
PCSO’s Sharon and Jenny came into Foundation Stage a few afternoons a week to get to know the younger children within the community. Sharon is often seen playing with the little ones in the water tray, helping in the role play area or reading a story to the children at the end of the day. Sharon enjoys being available at the end of the day to meet and chat to parents. Both the children and the parents have expressed their delight at Sharon being in school. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Christ The King School TERRIERS
Merseyside Police visited Christ the King Centre for Learning in November 2011 delivering a powerful performance in a play written by local playwright Maurice Bessman and produced by Miriam Mussa. “Terriers” is a play to encourage children away from gun crime, it shows the stark reality of becoming involved with gangs and guns and that people die when guns are used. It also shows the devastating impact that guns can have on individuals and their families. The message to students was that “It is not a video game where people can get up and walk away. If someone uses a firearm the potential is that somebody won’t walk away, injuries from guns can have affects that last a lifetime, and a person could end up behind bars for a long time.” It is important to remember that an overwhelming majority of our teenagers are not involved in criminality, guns or gangs. The wider the audience we get this message across to, the more likely we are to prevent some vulnerable young people from becoming involved in events that they can’t control. Villages Housing, Merseyside Police and Knowsley Council continue to work in partnership with local residnets to tackle issues such as gun crime.
MARK GORRY FOUNDATION
For the second year running, Senior Prefects at Christ the King raised money for Clatterbridge Hospital with their “Cupids Carnation” campaign, selling red carnations for Valentine’s Day. Students were asked to pay £1 and write a verse which was added to the carnation, and then delivered to fellow students just in time for Valentine’s Day. More than £200 has been raised for The Mark Gorry Foundation, which aims to raise £1million for Clatterbridge Oncology Centre.
RADIO ONE Radio One newsbeat were at Christ the King to do a live interview with Christ the King students following the “Terriers” play. A number of students were interviewed and asked what they thought of gun crime in their area.
What’s On in Stockbridge Village The Create Together Project is an after school club for challenging children with special educational needs (SEN) aged 5 to 16 years. It also provides respite for parents and carers. It takes place every Thursday in the SPACE Building from 4pm to 6pm
2012 GALA DAY – COMING SOON
This year’s Gala Day will be held in June. Please check out our reception for further details during April and May.
FAMOUS GRAPES RACE NIGHT
SATURDAY 31ST MARCH from 8pm til Late at Village Inn (The Tithebarn) Haswell Drive - To raise funds for the club. Everyone Welcome. Donations accepted for advertising in the programme booklet
Stockbridge Village Community Drama Group meets at
the Space building on a Wednesday 11:30am – 1:30pm. For more information on this free, fun session call Kristy on 0151 443 0333.
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Free Adult Cycle Training – Making cycling viable, safer and better. This scheme is coming to Stockbridge and will commence with courses in the Neighbourhood Centre. It is an outdoor session so come prepared to be out and about on quiet roads. • Saturday 31 March • Tuesday 3 April • Wednesday 4 April • Tuesday 10 April • Wednesday 11 April
MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Work Experience at Villages JADE O’SULLIVAN COMPLETES PLACEMENT
I am currently on a 20 day placement with Barbara Murray, Community Development Worker, at Villages Housing. I have done work experience at Villages as part of my degree, but I enjoyed my placement last year so much, that for my university module this year, I decided to return to Villages.
October – December 2011 During these three months I have worked on capturing the views and opinions of the young people living on Stockbridge Village about the facilities and activities currently in the area. This was done by designing a survey with young people in mind, consisting of questions that would capture their opinions. The questions ranged from what you would like to see in the area and neighbourhood centre, right through to is the young person interested in any training opportunities. I worked alongside the Community Champions and other young people from the area in order to carry out these surveys. The group split themselves into teams of four consisting of two adult community champions and two young people working their way around Stockbridge Village, knocking on doors and asking any young people to spare a couple of minutes in order to fill the survey in. Carrying out the surveys in this way allowed both me and the community champions and other young people the chance to build up their communication and confidence skills and the opportunity to promote the new Neighbourhood Centre to the young people. Villages Housing accessed funding for this work to be done to empower local residents to understand the needs of young people.
January – February 2012 Once all surveys had been completed I continued my placement at Villages Housing. During this time it was my role to input all the information from each survey into “SNAP”, an electronic system Villages uses for analysing questionnaires and surveys. This gave both Villages and me an idea of what the young people would like to see in the area, which ranged
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from activities taking part in the Neighbourhood Centre through to a wide range of work experience and training opportunities.
I also attended meetings with Barbara Murray and other service providers who are looking forward to working with the young people from the area at the new Neighbourhood Centre located at the heart of Stockbridge Village. These meetings consisted of talking about what I had noticed when inputting the information from the surveys. Attending these meetings allowed all organisations to come together and discuss the plans they have for the young people of Stockbridge Village. My placement will be coming to an end shortly and I am grateful to both Villages and Barbara Murray for allowing me to have this opportunity to see how they work as an organisation. I have enjoyed every day of my placement and I’m looking forward to seeing the final results from the survey being implemented at the new Neighbourhood Centre.
YOUTH SURVEY RESULTS The results of the Youth Survey were reported to SVEMC at their March meeting. A total of 394 surveys were completed by families and responses from 596 young people were captured. This survey will give a comprehensive profile and authentic voice of young people living on Stockbridge Village at this time. It shows clearly that the young people of Stockbridge Village are looking forward to the new Neighbourhood Centre and the leisure and youth facilities in particular. They are keen to access services and they have wide ranging ideas about activities that should be on offer. The survey shows that many young people are interested in volunteering and becoming active in their own community and that they want to make the most of any opportunities to gain skills and work. Overall the results of this survey should be useful to all the agencies and partners planning provision of services to young people in the Neighbourhood Centre, more broadly in Stockbridge Village and generally in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. The results will be shared with strategic partners including KMBC. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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A Step Back In Time.... Local historians gathered at Stockbridge Village Library as Knowsley Archives Service presented an illustrated talk plotting the history and development of Stockbridge Village and the land on which it stands, from Domesday through to the modern design of the Estate and on to the present day. Eighteen residents and visitors attended in November, and discovered how ownership of the land passed from the de Lathoms to the Stanley family, who held it from the 15th Century through until the 1930s, when Liverpool Corporation purchased the land from the Earl of Derby for urban development. Participants also found out about the Pye family, who for generations farmed some 38 acres at Stockbridge Farm.
After the presentation, there was an opportunity for people to get together and talk about their own experiences and memories whilst browsing through artefacts, photographs, maps and plans from the Archive collection. One person said, “Being a resident of Stockbridge since 1974 I thought the event was superb. It brought back lots of memories of the old Stockbridge and looking forward to the new when all the present changes happen.”
Stockbridge Library Through Your Eyes Have you joined the new library in the new Neighbourhood Centre yet? It is full of new books and has CDs and DVDs to lend out as well. Call in after you have been to the gym or swimming pool and make good use of this great facility. The Library currently has several courses and activities for residents:
Mondays - 9.30am to 11.30am Credit Union
- 1.30pm to 3.30pm Knowsley Works Fortnightly on Mondays - Chatterbooks Children’s Reading Group, from 3.45pm - 4.45pm aged 8 and over
Tuesday afternoons - Family History courses, Ten Course from 1pm-3pm
week
Wednesday - After Hours Club, Sessions for older children, From 3.45pm- 4.45pm during term time only to play board games and learn crafts. Under 8s must be accompanied by an adult. Thursday 10am -12 - Basic IT/ Computer Skills, Improve your computer skills An Adult Reading Group is to be started soon so please express any interest you have in getting involved directly to the librarians.
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An exhibition celebrating and revealing Stockbridge Village through the eyes of its residents
A group of Stockbridge residents were issued with single use disposable cameras with a view to gathering a collection of personal and honest stories of life on the estate. It was up to everyone taking part to decide what images to capture and how to compose the photographs - the results are being displayed in this exhibition for the first time. The exhibition was opened with a Community Party on 16th February and will run until April, so if you haven’t seen it yet please make an effort to do so at Huyton Gallery until to 14th April 2012. Organised and supported by Knowsley Arts & Heritage Service. Resident, Neil Joseph said, "I attended the community launch for the Through Your Eyes Exhibition with my son David who is ten years old. It was a fantastic visual document of the history and transformation of Stockbridge Village spanning forty plus years. David couldn't believe that the place where he was born didn't always look the way it does now. It was a real eye opener and a great opportunity for older and younger generations on Stockbridge Village to reconnect with our past. " MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes
If You Go Down To The Woods Today... …you’re sure of a big surprise! Little Wood, Stockbridge Village’s community woodland, which lies off Hollowcroft and Boodecroft, has seen a dramatic transformation following physical improvement work funded by grants secured by the Little Woods of Stockbridge Association (LWSA), with support from Knowsley Council and 2020 Knowsley. Over £100,000 was obtained from the Big Lottery Fund ‘Community Spaces Programme’ (managed by Groundwork UK), as well as the Forestry Commission and Ibstock Cory Environmental Trust (ICET). This has been used to re-vitalise and restore Little Wood from a ‘no-go zone’ that it was once perceived to be, into a beautiful and welcoming community woodland space serving the needs of our community. Little Wood was once a beautiful, oak woodland through which an historic highway ran from Croxteth Hall on Lord Sefton’s Estate to Lord Derby’s Estate, that is now home to Knowsley Safari Park. In recent years the woodland has become overgrown and regularly used as a dumping ground by fly-tippers, vandals, and car thieves. The overgrown and vandalised woodland has been thinned out and given a clean bill of health, which is already showing a great increase in the local wildlife now visiting the site. Additionally, the secluded pond, choked with rubbish and weeds has been dredged and opened up to become a key feature of the woods, with a pond dipping platform installed. The woodland has been made much more welcoming and accessible through entrance improvements as well as the installation of over 1,100 metres of new paths. Seating and picnic benches have been installed and new signage and noticeboards are on order to complete the works. George Jewell, Secretary of LWSA has been leading the campaign to get everyone enjoying this historical and natural environment. “As more people get involved in the project and claim the woodland as a place to enjoy walking, learning about nature and relaxing, they claim
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the woods back from the vandals and make it a beautiful place again,” reflects George. It’s not only the adults that are working hard to restore the woodland. Over 25 children forming the Stockbridge Junior Rangers are involved in helping to clear overgrowth and plant wildflowers. Cllr Eddie Connor, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Community and Culture stated: “Knowsley Council is committed to the enhancement of our community woodlands and public open spaces for the benefit of the Knowsley Community. We are delighted to support this project that allows people to enjoy this old woodland as it is revitalised. It is always heartening when a community reclaims space and creates a beautiful environment from a neglected dumping ground.” LWSA are keen to get local residents involved in their local community woodland and recruit more volunteers to help out with looking after the woods. If you would be interested in getting involved, or have any other queries about this project, please do not hesitate to contact Philip Hurst, Green Space Development Officer, Knowsley Council, 0151 443 2482, philip.hurst@knowsley.gov.uk
Citizens Advice Don’t forget the Citizen’s Advice Bureau hold a drop in surgery in the Villages office every Tuesday from 10 am until 12. No appointment is necessary but this is on a first come first served basis. The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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The Village Farm Orchard Project The Squash Nutrition team is back in Stockbridge with a new project ‘The Village Farm Orchard’ from March 2012 until January 2014! This project is the follow up to Café Society programme, which saw 40 residents training in healthy cooking/eating. An enthusiastic core group of 18 participants named themselves ‘The Village Farm Cooks’ – and created free cafes, sharings and public events including the Spring Market held outside the shops in April 2010. The Village Farm Orchard project is all about growing and cooking tasty food locally – focusing particularly on fruit and nut trees. Together we will be planting up several small areas all over Stockbridge with a wide variety of trees including apple, pear, cherry, hazelnut. There will be all kinds of opportunities for residents to get involved in free training, workshops, drop-ins and social events. Join us to try great ways to cook what we grow - it’s going to be delicious! There’ll also be sessions where you can learn how to become a bee-keeper and make loads of tasty honey!!! The project is funded by the Big Lottery Local Food Strand and the Liverpool One Foundation.
This Spring’s include:
training/learning
opportunities
Orchard Taster sessions – Wednesday 7th
March for 4 weeks. Sessions exploring growing, cooking and preserving with a focus on orchard fruits and Spring growing.
Horticulture Course - Thursday 19th April for 6 weeks. In-depth training around growing and caring for fruit and nut trees. Includes visits to community orchards and other community growing projects in the North West. Local Food Cooking Workshops - Wednesday 25th April for 5 weeks. Food preparation/hygiene, Spring and Summer cooking and jamming/pickling sessions Introduction to Bee-keeping - Saturday 28th April for 5 weeks. How to look after bees and hives, Products of the hive, Bee diseases and remedies.
Spring Market - Saturday 26th May - 11- 2pm
Public sharing celebration event - in front of the shops For more information on venues and times and to book into sessions please contact Clare or Becky on 0151 707 7897 or email thevillagefarmorchard@gmail.com
Stockbridge Garden Competition 2012 Gardens will be judged on Tuesday 3rd July.
ENTRY FORM 2012 SV GARDEN COMPETITION
Categories this year will be: *Community Space *Best Garden *Best Vegetables *Best Container *Best Pensioner *Overall Winner
Name
Please return completed form by 22nd June to Barbara Murray, Community Development Officer, Villages Housing Association, FREEPOST NWW1401A, Liverpool L28 3BR - or to the Villages Main office at 16 The Croft
Telephone
YOU DON’T NEED TO BE AN EXPERT - JUST HAVE A GO! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!
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Address
Email Category
MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes
St Jude’s Church Remains Open Sadly on 4th December 2011 Rev Eddie O’Neill retired and left St Jude’s church after serving our community for ten years. In that time many of you got to know him and most will agree he was a lovely Vicar and will be missed very much. Now we have to look forward to the future of our church. Some residents may be under the impression that the church is closing. This is not true. Whilst we are waiting for a new Vicar to be appointed the congregation are working together to keep everything going with the support of St Luke’s and St George’s and St Mary’s, Knowsley. We look forward to the future, but we always need help and support. We have Holy Communion on Sunday mornings at 10.30 and a midweek communion on a Wednesday at 10 am.
Cyclical Work Our cyclical works programme is on a 5 year cycle. The external repair and painting programme for 2012/2013 will be in the following areas: • Dannette Hey • Cremorne Hey • Brandearth Hey • Cartmel Road
Everything is in place for weddings, baptisms and funerals. Please call in on a Wednesday morning at 11 am to make any enquiries, or just to say “Hello” and have a cup of tea. There is line dancing on a Thursday evening at 7.30 pm, and everyone is welcome. The AA still meet on Tuesday evenings at 7 pm. We are having a Spring Fair on Saturday 28th April to raise funds for our church. If you would like to donate something to this please call in to the church on a Wednesday morning.
The phone number to get in touch with us is 07592736 052 Look forward to seeing you.
Prize Draw Winners Recent winners of the Gas Incentive Scheme prize draw in Stockbridge Village were Mr S Manoussaridis, Mr P Wiltshire and Mrs Penney. Congratulations to all our winners! If you want a chance to win £50 all you have to do is allow our contractors access to your home to carry out your annual gas safety check on the first visit.
We will be continuing with the kitchen and bathroom replacement programme, with aids and adaptations and void works. Surveys are now being carried out by our surveyors for works to start by May 2012.
Coffee Morning
Derral McGregor hosted a coffee morning as part of the Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. The event raised a total of £256. Derral would like to thank Pat McGregor, Yvonne, Laura, Janet, Sandra, Ann and Villages Housing for their donation and Parry’s Supermarket for a food hamper.
Inspirational People Villages Housing will again be involved in the annual Juice FM Inspiration Awards. The awards offer the chance for people within the community to be recognised for their truly inspirational acts and achievements. Last year’s awards saw 2 winners from Stockbridge Viilage: Maureen Clunan won Neighbour of the Year Award and Michelle Askew won Boss of the Year. Among the other nominees were everyday people carrying out acts of bravery, to children overcoming illness. Do you know someone who is Inspiring, someone who goes out of their way for others? Then nominate them for a Juice FM Inspiration Award. Go to www.juicefm.com for more information.
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MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Skip Dates The Skips will be sited on Thursdays, early morning, and removed around lunch time or when they’re full. Please note the skip service cannot take fridges, freezers, gas bottles or tyres, and these are not to be used for commercial waste. For removal of these items phone Knowsley Contract Services on 0151 443 2400, or Oldham Council on 0161 770 6644. The council may charge you to remove these items. Thank You. If people need help to get heavy items into the skip, there is usually a member of the landscape team at the skip to stop fly tipping who will also assist residents with heavy items.
STOCKBRIDGE VILLAGE
FITTON HILL 22 March and 31 May
Snipe Road & Bankfield Drive (grassed area at the junction)
22 March and 21 June
Car Park on corner between 33 / 34 The Spinney
29 March and 7 June
Dowry Street (on the car park)
29 March & 28 June
To rear of 180 Round Hey
5 April & 5 July
5 April and 14 June
St Cuthberts Church, Tanners Fold (in the grounds of the Church)
Car park adjacent to 11 The Grove Dannette Hey
12 April and 21 June
Sportsmans Drive (in the parking bay on the left)
12 April & 12 July
Car park to rear of the Barley Mow
19 April & 19 July
19 April and 28 June
Reins Lea Avenue
Car park opposite 8-10 Plumtree Close
26 April
Rosewood Close
26 April and 5 July
Southcroft (grassed central area)
3 May
Cliffs Car Park
10 May
Car Park to rear of 328 Boode Croft
3 May and 12 July
Wildbrook Crescent (car park to front of Nos 59-85)
17 May
Car Park adjacent to 135 Boode Croft
10 May and 19 July
Rosary Road (opposite No 66) (grassed central area)
24 May
Car park opposite cul de sac Hollow Croft
31 May
17 May
Woodpark Close (to the side of No 60)
Car park opposite 93 Custley Hey/ 64 Woodfarm Hey
7 June
Car park adjacent to open space Marled Hey
14 June
Car park 3 /4 Spruce Grove
24 May
Fold View (on the grass across from The Ace)
Contact Details Fitton Hill Address: 2 Fircroft Road, Fitton Hill, Oldham, OL8 2QN Tel: 0161 633 4060 Fax: 0161 628 5920
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email: info@villages.org.uk Website: www.villages.org.uk
Stockbridge Village Address: 16 The Croft, Stockbridge Village, Knowsley, Merseyside, L28 1NR Tel: 0151 480 1313 Fax: 0151 480 5189 MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD WINTER 2011
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There’s No Such Thing... AS THE DOG POO FAIRY!!! Villages Housing is determined to protect our residents from this terrible disease by working closely with residents to encourage responsible dog ownership. To this end we
This is Aimee. Aimee is only two years old and was happily playing in her local Manchester playground last year. She fell & put her hand in dog muck. Moments later she wiped her left eye with her hand, transferring some of the faeces to her face.
will be providing Poop Scoops and bags FREE to tenants who are committed to helping us to improve our estates. By
Her mum, Suzanne, was just feet away but was too late to stop her child catching an infection which has now claimed most of the sight in that left eye. Suzanne cleaned her child's eye at once then took her home and bathed it, but within 48 hours it was clear the infection had worsened.
‘committed’ we mean that you will buy cheap nappy bags to use when the free bags are used, and put the dog poo in the bin! To claim your free poop scoop, please bring identification to your local Villages Housing office that proves you are a Villages tenant. We need to protect our children by clearing up dog mess on the street, in sand and soil, in our gardens and especially on communal grassed areas.
Aimee was diagnosed with the disease toxocariasis normally passed on to humans by dog or cat poo infected with roundworm and this in turn can lead to blindness. gt Ba
Did you know that dog fouling is an offence? If That fleeting moment in the playground now poo – any you do not ‘Bag it and bin it’ you can receive an r ubb ish bin ill do haunts Suzanne, while her Aimee's damaged £80 fixed penalty notice or up to a £1000 fine if eye sees only dark shapes. Suzanne says, "Aimee's condition is the consequence of just one thoughtless prosecuted. dog owner - how can I explain to a two-year-old that Remember, there’s no such thing as the dog poo fairy! Bag she will be unable to see out of one eye ever again?" it and Bin It! t ha
Office Closure ANNUAL STAFF CONFERENCE
Villages Housing’s Annual Staff Conference will be held on on Wednesday 25 April 2012. Staff from both offices meet to share their expertise and experiences to address the most pressing challenges of the day. Therefore, our offices at Stockbridge Village and Fitton Hill will both be closed all day on
Wednesday 25 April 2012.
Emergency calls only will be accepted by our contractors: • KHT (Knowsley Emergency Day to Day repairs) Tel: 0151 290 7375 • Liberty Gas (Emergency Gas repairs - Both estates) Tel: 0330 333 8394 • Jackson Lloyd - Mears Group (Emergency Fitton Hill day to day repairs) Tel: 0845 389 7247
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Zero Tolerance ABUSING STAFF IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
At Villages we are very proud of our excellent relationship with the vast majority of our customers. However we have recently seen an increase in physical assaults on our staff by tenants or visitors to their property. It is a condition of our tenancy agreements that tenants and their visitors, must not behave (or threaten to behave) in a violent, menacing, threatening or abusive manner in our offices or any other place towards our staff or contractors. We will not tolerate abuse to our staff and we will take action against any customers who are reported to have abused our staff physically or verbally or who allow visitors to their property to act in this way. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Help Us To Achieve Our Goal!! Are you looking for ways to make a real difference in your community? Want to learn new skills and work as part of a team? Then read on...... We are a team of tenants called the Tenant Scrutiny Panel, who work with Villages Housing Association to improve services. We do this by: • Scrutinising a specfic area of the business • Questioning Villages’ performance information and policies • Interviewing staff and contractors • Speaking to lots of tenants to collect their views about Villages’ services • Inspecting and checking services • Meeting Villages’ Board and Senior Managers to request they make changes to benefit all tenants. We are looking for more tenants to join us. In particular we are looking for people who are willing to.... • Give about 2 to 3 hours per month of their time on a regular basis • Work as part of a team • Work on behalf of their community • Keep an open mind • Participate in training sessions and learn new skills. No previous experience is needed; we are more interested in the skills you can offer e.g. an enquiring mind, ability to work as a part of a team, computer skills. We are particularly interested in hearing from the young people who live in our community. In return, you will receive the following support: • Training when you join and on an ongoing basis
• Help with out of pocket expenses • Assistance with travel arrangements • A ‘buddy’ who will help you when you first join Being a part of our panel brings many rewards, including: • Real opportunities to make a difference in your community • Experience and skills that may help you to gain employment or pursue formal qualifications • Increased confidence in your skills and ability • Opportunities to meet and work with interesting people • Opportunities to attend national conferences and meet tenants from other housing organisations • Villages HA will also provide references for panel members seeking employment or entry to full time education. Fred Jones is the chair of the group. He said, “Although the Scrutiny Panel involves a lot of work for members it is very rewarding to be able to make a difference to the services that Villages tenants receive. We have been provided with support and training throughout the process, from forming the panel to writing our first report on repairs last year. If you are interested in getting involved we can arrange for you to discuss further with members before you decide to commit.”
Want to find out more? Contact your local Community Development Officer for an informal discussion. If you want to apply for this exciting opportunity, please complete the following form and return it to Villages
Housing, 16 The Croft, Stockbridge Village, Knowsley, L28 1NR
you.
We will then get back in touch with
Name....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Address..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... I am interested in joining the Scrutiny Panel because ........................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes
BLOOMING MARV
BRITAIN IN BLOOM
Britain in Bloom is one of the longest running and best known environmental competitions in the United Kingdom. This year the Royal Horticultural Society encourages volunteers to copy Prince Charles and plant wildflower meadows.
Hundreds of thousands of volunteers take part in this gardening competition every year and it has become the Britain’s largest environmental campaign. This year the Royal Horticultural Society has handed out bags of ‘arable weeds’ like cornflowers and poppies to plant on verges or in parklands as part of a new drive to be more sustainable. Each year over 200,000 volunteers devote 4.4 million hours to projects that benefit the wider community. Trees, shrubs, plants and bulbs are planted in their millions, miles of graffiti is removed and tonnes of rubbish is cleared, while over 30,000 acres of public space is cared for because of Britain in Bloom. The Wild about Wildflowers Scheme will see the equivalent of 50 acres of wildflowers sown over 48 hours, during the weekend leading into National Gardening Week from
April. Villages will be planting wildflowers during this week.
16th to 22nd
The fashion for wildflower meadows was sparked by the Prince of Wales’s garden at Highgrove and unstructured native planting is central to the most eagerly anticipated gardening event of the year, the opening of the Olympic Park. This is an opportunity to help wildlife like bumblebees and butterflies that need flowers like ox-eye daisies and buttercups.
NORTH WEST IN BLOOM North West in Bloom is the voluntary regional organisation that runs the competition in Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Since 1964 communities from across the North West have demonstrated their ability to create and maintain attractive environments that benefit residents and visitors alike. The aim of the competition is to encourage the improvement of our surroundings through the imaginative use of trees, shrubs, flowers and landscaping. It also aims to achieve a litter free and sustainable environment. This links directly to the four key aims of the Royal Horticultural Society which are the basis of the judges marking scheme when they visit the estate:
• Horticultural Excellence • Environmental Friendliness
• Community Involvement • Sustainability
This year for the first time both Villages’ estates will be entering the competition.
WE NEED EVERYONE TO HELP US WIN GOLD BY LOOKING AFTER THE AREA AROUND POOP-A-SCOOPS ARE FREE FROM VILLAGES HOUSING - GET YOURS NOW!
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MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes
ELLOUS ESTATES STOCKBRIDGE VILLAGE: GOING FOR GOLD IN 2012!
Stockbridge Village first entered North West in Bloom in 2005. Seven years later the estate intends to enter over twenty green environmental projects to the RHS Neighbourhood Awards category for community led initiatives. In 2010 the estate achieved a Bronze Award in the Urban Community category and in 2011 a Silver Award was achieved in the same category.
Therefore, given that this is an Olympic year it makes sense for Stockbridge Village to really strive for a Gold Award. Mike Worthington, Head Landscaper at Villages Housing, said: “The landscape team have been doing what we can to improve the estate, ready for the North West in Bloom judges visiting. We have put up new hanging baskets, we’ve been replanting the central rasied borders at The Croft car park and we have been working in the woods at Doctor’s Croft building and installing bat and bird boxes, and litter picking. We will start planting wildflowers across the estate in April. So lots to do!” Barbara Murray, Community Development Worker on Stockbridge Village says: “Many of our residents have been actively involved in Stockbridge in Bloom for many years and they have played a crucial role in the great successes we have had to date. This year though is special for everyone as the new Neighbourhood Centre will certainly gain us points for sustainable regeneration. Also it is vital that the whole estate get behind the effort this year helping to keep the place clean and tidy, litter picking and planting up communal areas for the benefit of the whole community and we need everyone to talk up our estate as there are so many points awarded for community involvement, we need you to help this be the best year yet for Stockbridge in Bloom!” For further information and to get involved call Barbara
barbara.murray@villages.org.uk
on 0151 480 1313
or email
FITTON HILL: A FRESH START Residents of Fitton Hill are taking a leaf out of the Stockbridge book and have decided to enter North West in Bloom for the first time in 2012. There have been extensive environmental works on the estate over the last couple of years so it is now time for the community to start sprucing the place up too! The whole estate will enter the Urban Community category and several projects will be entered into the RHS Neighbourhood Awards.
Lisa Fowles, Community Development Worker on Fitton Hill says: ”There will be hanging basket work shops and lots of opportunities for residents to get involved. I would ask everyone with green fingers and those interested in their immediate environment to join in and get involved. We need people to get behind Fitton Hill in Bloom to help us make an impact in this prestigious competition!” For further information and to get involved call Lisa on 0161 622 6894 on or email lisa.fowles@villages.org.uk
YOUR HOUSE, KEEPING YOUR GARDEN TIDY, DOING YOUR BIT AND LITTER PICK!!! KEEP OUR ESTATES GREEN & CLEAN!!!
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MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes New Starters
Staff News
DIANE HUGHES Diane is the new PA to Vernon Jackson, Chief Executive of Villages Housing. She will also support the Board and Senior Management Team. Di used to work at BAE Systems and her background is in media; she used to work at Saatchi & Saatchi for 10 years as a Personal Assistant, Production Assistant and TV producer. Diane is qualified to teach Asthanga Yoga.
Recent Leavers MICHELLE ASKEW
Michelle Askew, who was Villages’ Supporting People Team Leader, left us after 8 years on Friday 23rd December. Michelle has gone on to follow her dream to become a full time foster carer. We wish her the best of luck with her new life.
STACEY STANTON
Hannah joined Villages at Fitton Hill on 15 November 2011 as a Trainee Customer Service Officer. Having very quickly settled in, she helps tenants over the telephone and at reception by logging repairs, answering queries and taking rent payments.
Congratulations to Stacey, temporary CSO in Stockbridge, who got married to Danny on 11th February. Stacey will be leaving Villages at the end of March to join her new husband on his army base in Chepstow. Since the wedding Stacey and Danny have found out that they are expecting their first baby in October! We all wish her the very best for the future.
After studying Art and Design at college for 3 years, Hannah experienced work in a residential care home and as a receptionist in an art studio.
JACKIE CONN
HANNAH ROGERS
Hannah has enjoyed every minute of her time at Villages and hopes to pursue a career in housing after her placement ends in November 2012.
JAMES LATHAM James is the Project Surveyor for the External Wall Insulation and Central Heating contracts. He will be looking after the works on site and dealing with any technical issues that arise. Some of you may know James as he previously worked in Villages' Fitton Hill office. He is a bit of a 'would be' guitar hero, and has played in a few bands in the past.
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Other News
Congratulations to Jackie (nee Bradley) who got married on 17th February. She won’t have much time to adjust to married life, as Jackie and her husband Martin are also expecting their first baby on 27 May. We would like to wish them both the very best.
REBECCA HESTER
Rebecca Hester returned to her role as Customer Service Officer at Fitton Hill on 12 March, following maternity leave. Rebecca will initially resume in a part time capacity for the first six months.
MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes
Tenants’ Forum Meetings At Villages we want to work closely with our tenants on all issues affecting the community. The Tenants Forum is one way that you can get involved in helping Villages Housing improve their services, influencing community development activities and helping to organise events for the benefit of all residents.
JOINT TENANTS FORUM
The Tenants Forum meets regularly and invites as many people as possible to get involved. Members of the Tenants Forum are offered training opportunities to take up if they choose to do so.
23RD APRIL IN FITTON HILL Transport for Stockbridge Village members will leave the Croft at 10.30am and lunch will be provided for all members before the meeting.
STOCKBRIDGE VILLAGE TENANTS FORUM
30TH JULY IN STOCKBRIDGE VILLAGE Transport for Fitton Hill members will leave the Oldham Office at 10.30am and lunch will be provided for all members before the meeting.
The Stockbridge Tenants Forum meets the first Monday of every month in the Boardroom at Villages Housing, The Croft at 1pm. The Forum is keen to encourage and welcome new members to come along to meetings to find out what it involves. Future dates are as follows: 2nd April, 7th May, 4th June, 2nd July - No Meeting in August - 3rd September, 1st October, 5th November, 3rd December
FITTON HILL TENANTS FORUM The Fitton Hill Tenants Forum usually meets in the Villages boardroom, however on Wednesday 11th April 2012 the meeting will start at 3pm in Villages shop, then we’re back at the office. Meetings are as follows Wednesday 13th June 2012 3pm, Wednesday 8th August 2012 3pm, Wednesday 10th October 2012 3pm, no meeting in December 2012.
The Joint Tenants Forum meets quarterly and alternates the meeting place between the two estates. Future dates are as below:
22ND OCTOBER IN FITTON HILL Transport for Stockbridge Village members will leave the Croft at 10.30am and lunch will be provided for all members before the meeting. Contact Barbara Murray for Stockbridge Village 0151 480 1313 or Lisa Fowles for Fitton Hill on 0161 633 4060 for further information.
You Said... We Did YOU SAID
YOU SAID
We want to see what the newsletter would look like if Fitton Hill and Stockbridge Village stories were separated.
We don’t really understand the KPI Tables, and don’t want to see them in Our Times.
WE DID
WE DID
We are trialling this new format in this edition. As you can see we have now split the stories up by estate and corporate information from Villages Housing. If you have any comments to make about the newsletter, good or bad, please contact Elena Lloyd on 0151 480 1313 or email Elena.lloyd@villages.org.uk
We have now stopped publishing the KPI/ Performance tables in the newsletter. But for those of you who want to know how we’re performing, they are still available on our website www.villages.org.uk and in each of our reception areas and on communal notice boards.
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MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
OurTimes
FUN PAGE
Diamond Jubilee Celebrations for HM Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years on the throne, will take over the country from 2nd to 5th June 2012. Only one British monarch has ever before celebrated a diamond jubilee, and that was Queen Victoria in 1897.
Recipe VICTORIA SPONGE Why not celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee with your very own tea party? No tea party is complete without a Victoria Sponge, named after Queen Victoria, who is our Queen’s great grandmother.
Ingredients
225g/8oz butter or margarine, softened at room temperature 225g/8oz caster sugar 4 medium eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 225g/8oz self raising flour milk, to loosen
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. 2. Grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper. 3. Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. 4. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract. 5. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency. 6. Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula. 7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 8. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack. 9. Sandwich the cakes together with jam, lemon curd or whipped cream and berries or just enjoy on its own.
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Crown Craft
Here is a very regal crown which is fun for kids to make and wear.
YOU WILL NEED
• A strip of gold card 10cm wide and long enough to go around your head with a few cm’s to spare. • Cotton wool balls
• PVA (white) glue
• Gems
• Stapler or double sided tape
INSTRUCTIONS • Cut triangles along one length of the card, to about ½ the width. These are the spikes at the top of your crown. • Paint a stripe of glue along the bottom of the crown and stick on a line of cotton wool balls. • Decorate the spikes with gems. • When the crown is dry join the ends together with staples or double sided tape and wear proudly!
Sudoku Corner
Fill the grid with numbers 1 to 9 so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9, without repeating any numbers.
1
7 6 9 2 4 2 9
8 9
9 7
6 3 3
8 3
3 4
4 1
7 5
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Funding Opportunity Do you run group/project?
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community
The Co-operative Membership Community Fund is a grant scheme that helps local communities throughout the UK. Since the initiative started in 1997 thousands of clubs, community groups and self-help organisations have benefited and by the end of 2012 they will have donated £15 million to thousands of community projects. Community groups, voluntary groups, self-help groups, community charities and local branches of national charities are eligible to apply to The Co-operative Membership Community Fund. Grants can be used to fund anything from equipment to event costs, rent or fixtures and fittings, sport or computer equipment.
A Farewell Note
Many of you will know that Denise Bruwer, senior librarian at Fitton Hill Library has moved on to work at the library in the Chadderton Wellbeing Centre. Before she left Denise asked that we pass on this message to all of the residents on Fitton Hill.
“I cannot tell you how sad I am to be leaving. When I arrived here ten years ago I would never have realised how connected I would be to such a warm community of people. So with a sad farewell I bid you all the best and hope you enjoy your new neighbourhood centre and make good use of the library. A special goodbye to the children and young adults who came regularly into the library, don’t forget me or my sayings”. Denise was one of Villages Neighbourhood Champion’s at our Annual Tenant’s conference in October last year in recognition of her hard work and commitment to the people and community of Fitton Hill. We wish Denise the very best of luck in her new role and take this opportunity to welcome Karen Roberts back to Fitton Hill Library as senior librarian; Karen is a local resident and has previously worked at Fitton Hill Library for a number of years.
The criteria for the community fund grant states that: Community Fund grants, between £100 and £2,000 are awarded to community, voluntary, or self-help groups to run projects that meet the following criteria. To be successful, a group must: • Carry out positive work in the community and a project must: • address a community issue • provide a good long-term benefit to the community • support co-operative values and principles • ideally be innovative in its approach. For more information, to read terms and guidance and to download an application form then visit
www.co-operative.coop/membership/ local-communities/community-fund
Story Group
Do you enjoy writing? Do you enjoy poetry and stories and think…I could do that? If so Fitton Hill Story Group is currently looking for new members. All residents are welcome and there are no barriers to experience and ability. The group meet on the third Monday of each month between 1pm and 3pm in new premises at Fitton Hill Library in the brand new Neighbourhood Centre on Fitton Hill. The dates of the workshop sessions are:
16th April, 21st May, 18th June, 16th July, 20th Aug, 17th Sept, 15th Oct, 19th Nov, 17th Dec Some of the group’s work was recently published in a book called “Games Gone By” which was produced by Rochdale based company Cartwheel Arts, who run the story group sessions, and published poet John Siddique. If you would like more information about the group or its sessions, contact Emma Melling of Cartwheel Arts on 01706 361 300, visit their website at www.tellusanotherone.org, Facebook page: Cartwheel Arts, or on Twitter @cartwheelarts MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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New Gas Contractor The current 5 year contract with Premier Energy Solutions to carry out the gas servicing and maintenance to Villages properties at Fitton Hill is due to end March 2012. Using a tender process, we have used this opportunity to see what other companies can offer to Villages and our tenants. We invited many businesses to give us a price and tell us what quality of service they could deliver. The successful company for both estates is Liberty Group. They are based in Kirkby, Knowsley and also have a site local to Fitton Hill in Oldham Centre. With vast experience in gas servicing and maintenance, they work with other social housing estates in the area. This means that Premier Energy solutions will no longer carry out servicing and heating repairs after the end of March.
APPOINTMENTS All tenants who are due a gas service will be sent a letter from Liberty to arrange an appointment to carry out the annual gas service. The appointments are in 2 HOUR SLOTS and operatives are available:Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays: 8am - 6pm Thursdays: 8am - 8pm Saturday Mornings: 8am - 12pm Any breakdown issues can be booked through the Fitton Hill office on 0161 633 4060. You will receive a new 'out of hours' emergency contact number in the coming weeks.
THE NEW CONTRACTOR WILL START 1 April 2012 AND CONTACT DETAILS WILL BE SENT OUT TO ALL FITTON HILL TENANTS OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
3StyleSports
Over the past few months 3StyleSports have been delivering football inclusion sessions on a Friday night in the Fitton Hill area. These sessions have been a great success with over 30 participants taking part. The children have been learning many new skills and taking part in games in a fun and safe environment. As a reward for the children's dedication and support for the inclusion sessions, 3StyleSports arranged friendly matches against various teams in the local area and around the North West. During the February half-term holiday, 3StytleSports teamed up with Greenhill Community Football Club to arrange a mini tournament held at Khalid’s Sports Centre in Greenacres. The 3StyleSports/Greenhill mini tournament was held with teams from Glodwick, Coppice, Hathershaw and Fitton Hill with a view to aiding cohesion within the local community and it did just that, with teams showing the upmost respect and sportsmanship. 3StyleSports and Greenhill showed off with some cheeky football skills that wouldn't go unnoticed in front of a crowd of 50,000 supporters. All teams played some lovely football which just added to the already fantastic atmosphere. On the day both sets of players were a credit to their community. 3StyleSports coach Andy Williams said "The days been great for the guys, everybody's enjoyed themselves and there has been some good football on show. These guys did their community proud and are a credit to coach. Everybody here today played a big part in making this tournament a success" If you would like more information about the Friday night session in Fitton Hill please contact 07985581199 or email freestylesports@hotmail.co.uk
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What’s On in Fitton Hill The People’s Carnival
Dates: Sat June 23rd and Sun June 24th Venue: Oldham Town Centre (Saturday) and Alexandra Park (Sunday) Website: www.oldhamcarnival.org.uk Tel: 0161 284 3826 (10am to 1pm Mon-Fri) Keep an eye on local press or visit the website for more details. Admittance free of charge.
Daisy Nook Easter Fair
Daisy Nook Country Park, Tameside Thursday 5th April - Saturday 14th April Free entrance, prices of rides available on arrival.
Tame Duck Race at the River Tame in Uppermill
Sunday 3rd June Bringing a weekend of activity celebrating Whit weekend to a close, visit Uppermill and watch or take part in the annual duck race on the River Tame. Visit www.saddleworthonline.co.uk for more information
Lets Go For a Walk!
Join in for a great way to have fun and get active around Oldham’s parks and countryside. Walk your way to a healthier lifestyle and join Oldham Community Health Services at Alexandra Park for approximately 3 mile walk around the park via Glodwick Lows Every Thursday, 10am start
e-watch
e-watch is a database created by Oldham West Neighbourhood Policing Team. Join e-watch and you can be informed by email, or phone about local crime issues, crime reduction advice, appeals for witnesses and other specific information relevant to where you live or work. You can also receive the monthly newsletter. If you have any information about crime in your area, the e-watch system will allow you to reply to the messages from the comfort of your own home! To report crimes or incidents in an Emergency dial 999. To register or to find out more, send an email to oldhamwest.npt@gmp.police.uk. Please include your name, address and telephone number.
Fitton Hill Garden Competition 2012 The Fitton Hill In Bloom competition is open to everyone who lives within Fitton Hill, whether you own your own home or rent a property. This year’s categories are: • Best Pensioner Garden • Best Container Display • Best Garden • Best Communal Garden • Best Vegetables *New for 2012!* Judging will take place Thursday 5th July Please complete this form and return to Lisa Fowles at: Villages Housing, 2 Fircroft Road, Fitton Hill, Oldham OL8 2QN.
ENTRY FORM 2012 FH GARDEN COMPETITION Name
Address
Telephone Email Category
Closing Date: Monday 25th June
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OurTimes Top Of The Class
Digging For Health
St Martins School on Fitton Hill has been celebrating fantastic GROW AND TASTE results in this year’s SAT’s tests. Grow and taste is a food growing and healthy eating Congratulations to the very course with 6 weekly, 2 hour sessions. The course is for proud head Diane Wright, her anyone who wants to learn more about how growing team of staff and all of the your own food can help you to eat more healthily. The children for the outstanding improvement which has seen course involves practical healthy eating and food every 11 year old pupil achieve at least the expected grade growing activities. (level 4) in this years Maths and English tests. This is in comparison to result of just 57% of pupils achieving this This course: • Is free level in 2008. • Is for adults living in Oldham Mrs Wright said “Pupils, parents, teachers and governors • Will be repeated throughout the year have all worked extremely hard and the impact of this • Will be run across Oldham at various venues fantastic team work has been amazingly improved results • Can take up to 12 participants at a time in 2010 and 2011 of which we are all incredibly proud.”
Yet Another Win! Fitton Hill’s very own Andrew Lofthouse, taught by Grand Master Kevin Lloyd at Siam Muay Thai Camp at Earl Mill on Fitton Hill, has started 2012 in fantastic fashion adding another victory to his collection by beating the Portuguese Champion, Rodnald Santos in Lisbon. Andrew has also had another victory to celebrate. On the 26th February, at a venue in Stockport, he defeated Rene Stark from Germany. Andrew will be travelling to Bilbao in Spain in late April for another International fight. Grand Master Kevin is currently in negotiation for Andrew to compete against a top-ranked Thai fighter on 1st of July at Bowlers in Manchester, and we have been promised that this is a fight not to be missed with a possibility of it being filmed live on the internet and television. As many of you will already know Andrew has successfully been named as one of the official torch-bearers for the Olympic games and as a reward for his efforts and hard graft he will carry the torch on a 300-metre stretch as part of its 70-day relay on the road to this years’ games. Good luck Andrew in all of your forthcoming fights.
GROWING FAMILIES
Growing Families is a free 6 week course for parents or grandparents with their children, to learn healthy eating tips and recipes and take home a plant each week. Remember all members of the family are welcome. For further information or to book a place please contact Hannah on 0161 621 7128 or email Hannah.williams3@nhs.net
COOK 4 LIFE
Do you want to learn how to cook healthier foods on a budget? The Cook 4 Life free course runs for 8 weeks and you’ll learn about different health topics each week. • Try new foods and cost-effective, healthy recipe ideas. • Learn more about cooking on a budget. • Tips on getting your 5 a day • Learn about healthy cooking methods. For more information or to book a place please contact the Health Improvement Service on 0161 621 7128. MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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Community Budget Grants At December 2011 and March 2012 Fitton Hill Estate Management Committee meetings the following groups were awarded funding from Villages Community Budget: Villages’ Scheme Managers received funding to hold their annual Christmas Party for the over 55’s on Fitton Hill. The Ace Public House on Fitton Hill proved to be a popular venue and those attending were treated to entertainment provided by Holy Rosary School Choir, who as always had everyone singing along and getting in the Christmas spirit, local singer Ian Maclennan and a table magician who certainly got more than he bargained for when he tried to get the better of some of our residents! A hot lunch of Meat and Potato pie and Cheese and Onion pie went down a storm and made sure that everyone was warm and toasty on a cold December day. Add to this a quiz, prize bingo and free prize raffle and you had the recipe for a fantastic day which was enjoyed by all. Feedback from those who attended included: “Fantastic day!”, “Looking forward to 2012’s do”, “Wonderful day from all involved, many thanks!” Baby Boogies were awarded £251.27 to provide instruments, activities and equipment for their music and play sessions. The Eden Project received £505 to contribute towards three fun days within the estate during spring months. Inspire craft and art group were awarded £432.84 to purchase material and equipment for their sessions. If you are a member of a community group and would like more information about applying for funding from Villages please contact our Community Development Officer, Lisa Fowles on 0161 622 6894.
Fitton Hill Rangers - received funding to contribute towards the cost of pitch hire for training, purchase of match balls and a sports first aid kit for match play. Fitton Hill Bulldogs received funding to contribute towards the cost of pitch hire for training sessions. Treelanders, a group of residents from Treelands Nursing Home, received funding to purchase equipment and tools to create raised beds for residents with green fingers to grow vegetables and flowers. The nursing home is very keen for members of the community to get involved and help them. Do you have the skills they are looking for? Do you have any spare time which you can offer? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’ then please contact Cassy Nield at Treelands Nursing Home on 0161 626 7173 for more information. Friends of Medlock Valley Community School and Medlock Valley Community School received funding to take 72 pupils from year 2 to Tatton Park to have a ‘Victorian Christmas Experience’ where they spent the day visiting a 'mansion' and 'farm' setting, dressing as they would in Victorian times, eating food typical of the era and having a full living history experience. Skills Swap Shop were awarded £500 to fund a trip in December for older residents to this years pantomime, Cinderella, at Oldham Coliseum.
Job Seekers Did you know that you can now find information about local apprenticeships and job vacancies in Villages office on Fitton Hill? There is a file available on the front desk in reception which is updated on a regular basis with information from JobCentre Plus and other local employment agencies; please feel free to come in and have a look. If you would like to be added to a mailing list to receive regular update of vacancies please contact Lisa Fowles, Community Development Officer on 0161 622 6894 or email lisa.fowles@villages.org.uk MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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A Big Weekend for Oldham OLDHAM CARNIVAL AND OLYMPIC TORCH
Three events will make June 23rd and 24th Oldham's BIGGEST weekend of the year and ensure fun for all Oldhamers this summer. The Peoples Carnival Weekend Saturday June 23rd in the Town Centre (Family Fun Day) and Sunday June 24th at Alexandra Park (full programme of events including the Parade in the Park) is already set to be a big'un. But this year, sandwiched in between the two, will be the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Oldham (Sunday morning). It'll all add up to be a great family, fun-packed weekend. Book it in your diary as 'Not to be missed'.
BIG CHARITY WEEKEND
The Carnival is always a big opportunity for local charities, community groups and non-profit organisations. Booking space for a stall, gazebo or marquee, on Alexandra Park, Sunday June 24th is completely FREE. It’s a chance to recruit members or supporters, raise money and/or increase awareness of your cause. And it’s easy to apply on the people’s carnival website with no fuss! This year Villages will be submitting an entry into the Parade in the Park at Oldham Carnival. Once again we will be working with Fitton Hill Junior Youth Club and also Wildbrook Community Allotments to develop a theme and complete the parade. Come along and join in the fun, it is guaranteed to be a fantastic weekend, especially as we will have the honour of the Olympic torch visiting Oldham at the same time.
Results of FHEMC Elections
An election for two tenant members for the Fitton Hill Estate Management Committee was undertaken in February. The two successful candidates are Robert Brooks and Larry Dawson. The Chair of FHEMC, Professor Peter Brown told Our Times , “The Committee welcomes Robert and we are looking forward to working with Larry for a further three years. My sincere thanks go Glynn Palmer who has been a very valued member on the committee for the past three years and has worked extremely hard to promote Villages reputation in Oldham”.
ROBERT BROOKS "When I heard I'd been voted onto the FHEMC, I was both surprised and delighted. I would like to thank all those who voted for me. I can only promise to repay the faith you have shown in me, by giving my utmost to represent all tenants within my remit and hopefully be instrumental in helping life on Fitton Hill to flourish and give all residents peace of mind and pride in where they live."
LARRY DAWSON
“I would like to thank you most sincerely for my re-election to the Estate Management Committee. I will strive to serve all the tenants as I have done relentlessly over the past 6 years. Yours with gratitude once again Mr Larry Dawson.”
Help To Buy Your Own Home
Plumlife offers working people who can’t afford to buy a home outright, the chance to fulfil their homeownership dreams with the help of government-backed HomeBuy (home ownership) schemes. They have been appointed by the Homes and Communities Agency to administer all the schemes available in Greater Manchester.
If you work and earn less than £60,000 per year – you might be able to apply for one of the first time buyer schemes on offer. Priority is given to armed forces employees and social tenants but there are plenty of opportunities for other workers on lower and middle incomes. For more detailed information call 0161 447 5050 or visit the website on www.plumlife.co.uk MORE THAN JUST A LANDLORD SPRING 2012
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School’s Out Programme There will be soft drinks and cakes/biscuits on The February half term holidays once again sale but you are asked to bring your own food saw young people of the area being able to and something to sit on. take part in free fun activities provided by the Fitton Hill and Hathershaw Community Face painting and a bouncy castle will be Group Network (CGN). Activities were available for the children and there will be a spread out across the area to give as many prize tombola and raffle plus the opportunity to young people as possible the opportunity buy plants for your home. to get involved. On the lead up to the Queens Diamond Jubilee Activities included Dodge Ball at the Touch celebrations in June; the Oldham Carnival and of Klass gym, Street Dance at Earl Dance also the 2012 Olympics there will be a range of centre, Arts & Crafts at Villages Community special fun filled activities that you could get Shop, Rugby at Hathershaw College, Chess involved in so again watch out for those too! at Fitton Hill Youth Club, and Football & These may include Street or Garden parties, Cricket at the Honeywell Centre. Those who Arts & Craft sessions, sporting events etc. attended had a thoroughly wonderful time and as always the activities were well attended by The CGN would like to thank all those who contributed young people from the estate. and volunteered to another successful programme. If anyone would like to get involved as a volunteer please WHAT’S NEXT? contact Lisa Fowles at Villages on 0161 622 6894 or email As part of the very popular ‘Schools Out’ programme at lisa.fowles@villages.org.uk. Villages are once again working with the Community Group Network and Wildbrook Community Allotments to provide arts and crafts sessions at the allotments on Wildbrook Crescent. In the February half term holiday the Fun for All Ages Group met to challenge each other to ten-pin bowling at The activities will be held at the allotments on: Hollywood Bowl in Ashton-under-Lyne. The teams split so Tuesday 3rd April 1pm – 3pm we had a mix of young and older people playing against Thursday 5th April 1pm – 3pm each other and they soon got down to business proving Tuesday 10th April 1pm – 3pm who could be the best. This trip was funded by a Thursday 12th April 1pm – 3pm community budget grant from Villages. On Thursday 5th April there will be Despite a number of the young people an Easter Egg hunt in the grounds loosely ‘cheating’ and always having of the allotments where all ages are welcome to join in! The hunt will be held between the guard rails up so they wouldn’t get a gutter ball, one of the team managed 2pm and 2.45pm. Activities will include Easter egg to defy all odds and bowl a gutter decorating, card making, basket making to name a few. ball….don’t worry your name is safe, These sessions have proven to be very popular in the but you know who you are!! past and space is limited so you need to book early! The teams were evenly matched and there was no clear Contact Lisa Fowles on 0161 622 6894 to book your winner at the end of the day. Everyone who attended said child’s place. they had a great time and would love to do the activity again in the future. This activity was the group’s last with Liz the Youth Worker from Integrated Youth Services as she is moving on to work in Sholver with a new group of young people. Goodbye Liz, good luck in your new area and thank you for your hard work on Fitton Hill over the last couple of years.
Fun For All Ages
Villages and Wildbrook community Farm are inviting you to join us on Saturday 2nd June between 1 and 3pm at Wildbrook Community Allotments on Wildbrook Crescent for a family picnic in the grounds to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
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AN TH RE MO T A JUS ORD L ND LA
THE NEWSLETTER OF
W W W. V I L L AG E S . O R G . U K
IN IS TH UE S IS
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FUN FOR ALL AGES
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Fitton Hill Neighbourhood Centre Open For a full programme of events log onto www.gooldham.com
The new £2m Fitton Hill Neighbourhood Centre is now open– with facilities available for the whole community to enjoy. The new venue, next to Medlock Valley Primary School on Fircroft Road, will be a base for a new state-of the-art library and youth centre.
The venue boasts a central open area with a coffee bar, dance and activity room, computer access and an arts and crafts room. The young people can enjoy their own space which is accessible from both sides of the building and offers the opportunity to watch films, read books, play games and take part in activities.
The facility opened its doors on Monday, February 27 for the first time and already a packed programme of activities is planned. Local residents have been involved from the start of the project and their input has helped shape the neighbourhood centre.
To compliment a wide-ranging selection of books, ebooks, CDs and DVDs the library also has a number of board games, toys and soft play activities for younger children to use.
Young people from the old youth centre have been involved in choosing colour schemes and furnishings for their new building and are keen to move in. The youth centre will be open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights to offer a range of provision including senior and junior youth clubs and intergenerational projects.
Library IT provision has been increased with 16 public access computers - 10 more than in the former library on Fir Tree Avenue – being made available. The library will also be equipped with self-service facilities.
STORIES FROM
STORIES FROM
STOCKBRIDGE
FITTON HILL
STORIES FROM
BOTH ESTATES