ISSUE NO.8 WINTER 2023
ANNUAL REPORT 2022-23 How well did our services perform?
PREVENTING DAMP AND MOULD Spotting the signs and the best actions to take
MEDIATOR OF THE YEAR
Golden Lane resident Sarah wins national award
HOUSING REVIEW from...
LIAM GILLESPIE
Head of Housing Management
Dear resident, Welcome to issue 8 of @home, our twice-yearly magazine for City of London Housing residents. In this issue, you can read about the exciting projects to build new homes on York Way and Sydenham Hill Estates. We have over 900 households on our Housing Register who need a suitable home, many of whom may be living in overcrowded conditions, or temporary accommodation. These two developments will deliver 201 much-needed new homes for social rent, including some 3 and 4-bed properties. There will also be new facilities for our existing residents to enjoy, such as community rooms and children’s play spaces. We have also included our Annual Report for Tenants in this issue, covering 2022-23. You can read about how the Housing Service performed in key areas like repairs, rent collection, complaints and estate services.
As part of the Resident Focus Project, we are changing the way we report on our performance and will publish information to residents much more regularly in future. Damp and mould are major issues in UK homes and the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in 2020 has led to legal changes, which strengthen the rights of tenants if their landlords do not deal properly with reports of damp and mould. If you notice any damp or mould problems in your home, please report it to our Repairs Team immediately via the online form, or using the contact details on the final page of the magazine. To receive email updates from the Housing team, and get our monthly @home resident newsletter, please sign up to our mailing list here. I hope you enjoy this edition of @home. If you have any feedback, or ideas for future content, please let us know using the contact details below.
WHAT’S INSIDE?
MEET THE TEAM!
An interview Area Manager, Marie Rene
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The Resident Focus Project
4
Sarah O’Connor wins Mediator of the Year
5
Climate Action: City on track to hit Net Zero by 2027
6
New Developments on our estates
7
Annual Report for Tenants 2022-23
8-9
Preventing damp and mould in your home
10-11
We sit down with Marie to find out her highlights and challenges What is it, and what’s been done so far Dave from Calm Mediation tells us about Sarah’s work Find out how the City is cutting emissions
Over 200 new flats for social rent are being built on our estates Performance statistics from all areas of Housing & Property Services What causes damp and mould, and best steps to prevent
What is Awaab’s Law?
12
Community Safety
13
How to get involved
14
Recipes on a budget
15
Key Contacts
16
New regulations are in place for social landlords regarding damp in homes Victim support and female genital mutilation And can you complete our 2024 themed crossword? Store cupboard staple, peanut butter chicken Helpful contact details for City of London Housing
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Who are the people behind @Home magazine and newsletters?
Liane Coopey
Emily Grant
Rebecca Southin
Kelly Tang Contact the team at home@cityoflondon.gov.uk
AN INTERVIEW WITH
MARIE RENE
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Resident Focus Project The Resident Focus Project aims to improve the customer service we deliver to residents, via the implementation of recommendations determined in our 2022 review. Monthly updates and further resources are shared in our monthly @Home newsletters and on our website.
32 recommendations to be implemented
11
8 new Service Standards have been completed
Welcoming Zoe Gayle, our new Service Improvement Manager
Zoe will be moving into her new role shortly, she is currently the Assistant Customer & Support Services Manager (Repairs Service Desk).
new policies are in production A new performance reporting dashboard is being created to track progress
A comprehensive staff training plan is being created for 2024 including customer service training
At workshops earlier this year you asked us to review and improve how
nt New reside nd ta involvemen ions t communica ing strategy be r produced fo early 2024
we engage and communicate with residents. We have engaged TPAS, the tenant engagement experts, to work with residents and staff to improve our resident involvement offer. We have held some initial meetings with residents and staff members to kick off how this might look, discussing what works and what could be improved. TPAS will be presenting their recommendations to us, and we will be taking these to residents and committee in the new year. If you want to know more, email resident.involvement@cityoflondon.gov.uk.
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SARAH WINS MEDIATOR OF THE YEAR
Here’s an example of Sarah’s work
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City Corporation on track to hit net zero by 2027
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS ON OUR ESTATES York Way Estate
Sydenham Hill Estate
7
8
9
Reporting damp and mould
10
11
What is Awaab’s Law?
12
Community Safety
13
GETTING INVOLVED Join the Housing User Board, and help shape service provision on your estate. Take part in consultations and policy reviews, have your voice heard. Email resident.involvement@cityoflondon.gov.uk to join. Interested in getting involved on your estate? To find out what is happening on your estate, contact your Resident Services Officer.
012234546ÿ54ÿ898
Or why not run your own coffee morning or get together? Your estate team and the Resident Involvement Team can offer support and guidance.
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HAPPENING IN 2024 CROSSWORD You can complete this puzzle online! Go to: https://crosswordlabs.com/ view/happening-in-2024
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Across 2. Where will the City of London Corporation host the Net Zero Delivery Summit? 4. Which TIME person of the year is embarking on the European leg of their sell-out world tour? 8. Which five piece girl band reunites for a tour in 2024? 9. Which month will Easter fall in? 10. What will be the next iPhone model released? 11. What does next year have in common with 2020 and 2016? 13. A huge trend set to grow in 2024, what does the I in AI stand for?
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Down 1. McDonalds introduces a brand new store to rival Starbucks, what’s it called? 3. Which Pixar sequel with characters named “Joy” and “Riley” will be released? 5. Who voices the titular character in Kung Fu Panda 4? 6. Which Netflix period drama returns for series 3? 7. Where will the 2024 Olympics be hosted? 10. Which wave riding sport is newly introduced in the Olympics? 12. What day does Jan 1st fall on?
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Recipes on a budget PEANUT BUTTER CHICKEN
This budget friendly recipe uses ingredients you may already have in your fridge or cupboard, Peanut butter makes a great sauce in this quick Indonesian-style peanut butter chicken. The secret is to get the right balance of sweet, salty, sour and hot. This meal will take around 30 minutes to make, and will serve 4 people. Serve with rice.
Ingredients 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil 4 large chicken thighs, skin removed and boneless 1 white onion 2 red peppers 1 red chilli, seeds removed 3 garlic cloves 400ml tin coconut milk 4 tbsp peanut butter (smooth or crunchy) 2 limes, juice only 2 tbsp soy sauce 1. Cut your chicken thighs into pieces, finely dice the onion, garlic and chilli, and chop the red pepper. 2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the chicken for 5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so. 3. Turn the heat down to low, add the chopped onion and red peppers, chilli and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. 4. Stir in the coconut milk and peanut butter. Half-fill the coconut milk tin with water and add to the pan. 5. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked. 6. If you want to thicken the peanut butter sauce, remove the lid and boil to reduce the sauce to a coating consistency. 7. Juice the lime and add along with soy sauce. 8. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary – you may need a touch more soy sauce or a little more lime juice to balance out the sweetsaltiness. 9. Garnish with the chopped coriander, and serve with rice and/or steamed greens. If you would like to see your favourite recipe featured in a future edition, please email home@cityoflondon.gov.uk
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USEFUL CONTACTS AT CITY OF LONDON HOUSING BENEFITS 020 7332 1343 | benefits@cityoflondon.gov.uk
ESTATE OFFICES Almshouses: 020 7274 1337 | almshouses@cityoflondon.gov.uk Avondale Square: 020 7237 3753 | AvondaleSquareEstate@cityoflondon.gov.uk Holloway: 020 7607 3207 Hollowayestateteam@cityoflondon.gov.uk Golden Lane: 020 7253 2556 | GoldenLane@cityoflondon.gov.uk Harman Close: 020 7237 1696 | Harman.Close@cityoflondon.gov.uk Isleden House: 0207 226 2892 | Isleden.House@cityoflondon.gov.uk Middlesex Street, Dron House, Spitalfields and Windsor House: 020 7247 4839 | Middlesex.Estate@cityoflondon.gov.uk • Southwark, Horace Jones and William Blake: 020 7620 3702 | Southwark@cityoflondon.gov.uk • Sydenham Hill: 020 7620 3702 | Sydenham.Hill@cityoflondon.gov.uk • York Way: 020 7607 3119 | Yorkway.EstateTeam@cityoflondon.gov.uk • • • • • • •
ESTATE SERVICES (CLEANING, CARETAKING AND GARDENING) You can report issues relating to cleaning and grounds maintenance on your estate by email: estateservices@cityoflondon.gov.uk If you would like to speak to someone instead, please call your local estate office
HOME OWNERSHIP 020 7332 1647 / 3208 | homeownership@cityoflondon.gov.uk
HOUSING NEEDS 020 7332 1237 / 3452 | hadvice@cityoflondon.gov.uk
REPAIRS 0800 035 0003 | propertyservices@cityoflondon.gov.uk
RENT ACCOUNTS/PAYMENTS 020 7332 3937 – (ask for housing rents) DCCS-rentsteam@cityoflondon.gov.uk
RENT ARREARS To contact us about rent arrears, please call your local estate office or email us at incomerecoverofficer@cityoflondon.gov.uk
OUT OF HOURS EMERGENCIES Repairs – between 5:00pm and 8:00am, emergencies only, call 0800 035 0003 For urgent estate matters outside normal office hours, other than repairs, please call 020 7256 6583