In Vision

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in vision in summer

32 Million to improve homes We are passionate about providing quality homes. Despite the recession we are committed to improving homes and have set aside 32 million pounds for improvements over the next ten years.

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Valuing community and valuing its Inside this issue • Time for change page 4 • Changes to your repair service page 7 • Save energy - save pounds page 8 • Peterchurch Goes Potty page 9 • £6.5m to refurbish maisonettes page 11 ...and much more

d iv e r

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Also available in Large-print, Braille and Audio CD.

For General Enquiries call 01432 384000 Minicom users please call (01432) 378487

...continued from cover Our Resident Inspectors worked with us to tender our home improvement programme for the next ten years. We look at the price and the quality of the service we expect to receive from our contractors employed to carry out the work. Resident Inspectors help us to interview the contractors and visit their offices and sites to see how well they are doing.

Who will carry out the work?

We have appointed three contractors, who will work alongside our own in-house team to complete the improvement programme: • Apollo will share the internal improvements with our in-house team, installing kitchens, heating systems, etc. and in addition will complete our roofing programme.

• Thomas Vale will complete all of our external works, which is agreed when inspecting our estates, such as providing additional car parking, landscaping improvements, etc.

• Ian Williams will carry out the cyclical painting to the outside of your homes and to all internal common areas

Creating opportunities for local people Local people will get an opportunity because we have asked our contractors to use local labour as much as possible. Young people could also benefit as well; working with the Local Technical Colleges, an apprenticeship scheme will be set up to train people in construction and work on our improvement programme.

The contracts can last up to a maximum of ten years; however, the work can be taken away from the contractors if they do not complete the works to our standards. Resident Inspectors will help us to inspect the work to ensure it meets our standards; and talk to residents to see if the works suit individual requirements. If you are interested in training to become a Resident Inspector, please call us on 01432 384110.

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01432 384000

JOB VACANCIES Resident Liaison Officers

Giving you credit!

Helping you save with Money Box Credit Union

Salary is based on experience Our contractors, Apollo, are looking to employ 3 Resident Liaison Officers to help complete our Home Improvement Programme.

You will be the main point of contact for residents during their home improvements, making sure they understand the work we will be undertaking and assisting them, if necessary, to get ready for the work.

You need to have experience of working within a customer focussed environment, resolving issues that need tact and diplomacy.

If you feel that you would like to be considered for one of these important jobs, please contact the Asset and Partnering team on 01432 384057 and we will arrange for an application pack to be sent out to you.

We are offering a brand new saving scheme through Money Box Credit Union partnership, where we will fund the set up of your account, your swipe card and we will also deposit £2 into your account to get you started!

The Credit Union offer safe savings and low cost loans and they are regulated by the Financial Service Authority. The scheme is available to all Herefordshire Housing residents.

If you would like to find out more, or how you can apply, please contact Income Services on (01432) 384040.

Distraction burglaries

The local Herefordshire Money Box credit union relies on volunteers to be able to provide the service to customers and keep costs low. They are always looking for new volunteers; if you are interested, please contact them on 0845 347 9399.

DON’T open the door if you are not expecting or do not recognise the person • If you do open the door, ALWAYS use a door chain or bar • CAREFULLY check the caller’s identity

If in doubt, keep them out!

Report incidents to the police 0300 333 3000 In an emergency dial 999

Inspirational le

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With a new Government now in place there is a real sense of change.

Reducing the UK debt will mean that funding for a wide range of public services will also reduce.

Herefordshire Housing is planning for the future and is determined to look at how it can support as many people as possible – at the same time as continually improving services. It’s a big challenge.

A Board of Management oversees the direction of Herefordshire Housing. In the last tenants newsletter we asked you two questions: 1. Do you think that Herefordshire Housing should change the balance of the Board to 5 tenants, 5 Independents and 1 councillor?

2. Do you think that the Board should select all its members including Tenant Board members?

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Only a handful of responses were received and opinions were evenly divided. The Board considered those carefully and agreed to proceed.

Ambitious There is an ambitious programme of work.

• Housing support will be delivered to more people, • Careline, which already delivers services to 26,000 customers, will create comprehensive care packages, • Our repairs team may offer repair services to other organisations and individuals, • Development of new homes will start.

Be a part of it We are now starting to recruit new Board members. There are 6 places available and we want people who have • a passion for social housing, • objectivity, fairness, integrity, wisdom, discretion and good judgment • strategic vision • a commitment to act in the best interest of Herefordshire Housing, and of the community it serves, without regard to personal interests or benefit • a lively awareness of how the world is changing politically, economically and socially • time to be an effective board member • a good team player

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Board Members ÂŁ3,250 per annum, expenses, training opportunities With a recent Audit Commission inspection assessment of 2 stars and excellent prospects for improvements, Herefordshire Housing is ambitious and keen to develop existing activities and effectively tackle a new operating environment. Herefordshire Housing is the only association based in and dedicated to the County of Herefordshire. It is a dynamic and innovative provider of 5,400 affordable homes and support services locally. We also deliver social alarm monitoring nationally to 26,000 customers through our Careline. We are pragmatic with a strong social ethos.

As a Board Member you will bring your experience to contribute to the strategic direction of the business. There will be opportunities to learn about new areas of work, develop new skills and be part of a team which is passionate about the community it serves.

Up to 6 board members are sought with a range of skills and knowledge.

To arrange an informal discussion about the role, contact Peter Brown, Chief Executive on 01432 384001.

Closing date for completed application forms is 12 noon on 30th June 2010.

Interviews: 13th and 14th July 2010.

Start Date: 28th September 2010.

Expected contribution: At least 20 days per year.

Duration: Annual review with maximum term.

For further information and an application pack, please telephone Herefordshire Housing on 01432 384000 or email: applications@hhl.org.uk

t; improvement driven by cu stomer ervices excellen s

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and t enan ts

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Calling all women in the South Wye area!

Women@No.14 is a shop at The Oval, Newton Farm that has opened its doors and is already offering a wide range of activities for women in South Wye. This includes coffee mornings, free weight loss advice and weigh ins, art and craft sessions, support on giving up smoking and support for brand new mums. Coming soon are Beauty & Style tips, Money Management & Debt Advice, Cookery skills and recipe swaps, Heart Start & First Aid. Plus we will also be arranging for a Personal Trainer programme.

In the near future we are going to be setting up a Gardening Club and a Walking Club, and will also be able to support people in getting back into work, filling out application forms, helping to develop CVs etc.

On top of this, we will also be offering Baby Sitting courses for teenagers (after school hours) and will be talking to them about other things they would like to take part in.

We are always asking local women about what they would be interested in and would love to hear more ideas. We would also be very pleased to hear from anyone who would be interested in volunteering at the shop.

If you would like to find out more about Women@No.14, we are based at No.14 The Oval, Newton Farm, Hereford. We are open from 9.30am each day. You can contact us on 01432 508229 or email hgreenway@hhl.org.uk

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01432 384000

Changes to your repairs service We have introduced a new repair priority ‘Major Emergency’ to your repair service and updated a number of our repair response times to ensure that we can respond effectively to reported repairs.

When you report a repair to us, we will let you know which priority it is classed under and when we will come to complete the repair. It will be matched to one of the priorities below: • Major Emergency – we will respond within 2 hours. These are repair requests that require a quick response due to danger to life or major damage to the property or surrounding area.

• Emergency – we will respond within 24 hours.

These are repairs that have an immediate health, safety or security risk, but do not pose a danger to life.

• Urgent – repairs will be completed within 3 working days.

• Routine – repairs will be completed within 20 working days.

• Programmed – repairs will be completed within 12 weeks.

Out of hours you also have access to an Emergency call out repair service, which will deal with repairs in the Major Emergency category.

Changes to priorities for heating and hot water repairs After meeting with our Repairs Service Review Group in July and September last year, we have changed the priorities for central heating and hot water repair requests to ensure we respond to customers’ needs.

The repair priorities are: • No central heating and fire not working – will be classified as an emergency repair during the winter season only (from the 1st November through to the 30th April). In summer periods the response priority changes to an urgent repair.

• No central heating but your fire is working – this will be an urgent priority.

• No hot water is an urgent priority and we respond within 3 working days.

The repairs service will continue to be flexible and in some circumstances, usually for vulnerable customers such as older people or people with a disability, respond to their repair request sooner than the repair response times outlined above.

In the forefront, a leading RSL anIdnaspgirreaatitopnlaacl elea

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Save energy – Save pounds Herefordshire Housing is offering a free energy efficiency advice service to all residents. This advice is based on your individual home and circumstances. Energy Extra gives ideas and practical advice for no cost/low cost things you can do at home to save energy and money.

Careline gains double accreditation award Herefordshire Careline, one of the country’s leading providers in social alarm monitoring, has been re-accredited by the Telecare Services Association (TSA) for its alarm monitoring service and for the first time ever, its installation service.

This new service is run through a partnership with HHL and Energy Extra and their advisors will visit you at home to give advice. The type of advice they can offer is how to operate your heating system or helping you find a cheaper energy supplier.

We have already visited several homes and this has already made savings for residents: Mr and Mrs Bridges of Callow View saved £50 on their electricity bill because they qualified for a social tariff rebate To request an energy extra visit and benefit from this new service please call us on (01432) 384040 or email energyextraref@hhl.org.uk

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The accreditation is a rigorous process and brings everything together, assessing the quality of calls made and received, customer feedback, training and our policies and procedures.

This year, for the first time, Herefordshire Careline was also accredited for its installation service. This formal accreditation recognises the excellent work of the installers who meet directly with our customers on a daily basis.

Herefordshire Careline’s 24 hour personal emergency service is available to anyone who needs to summon help urgently. For more information about our Careline service you can call 01432 384100, visit www.hhl.org.uk, or email community.services@hhl.org.uk

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01432 384000

Peterchurch Goes Potty Over 50 residents in Peterchurch turned up to two afterschool pottery and storytelling sessions aimed at residents from Closure Place and Lewis Way. The project, in conjunction with the Golden Valley Community Centre, was created to encourage residents of all ages to get to know one another better and learn about each others experiences by participating in a creative project.

Residents were keen for more projects in the area starting with I.T sessions. An online taster course started on June 1st aimed at those who have never used a computer before and is designed to introduce the basic skills needed to start the journey into computing. Learners do not need any prior knowledge of computing. Laptops will be provided at the local community centre for learners of any age to have a go.

Further activities are being planned for the summer holidays.

Offering choice and going the

extra mile

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Don’t Fan the Flames in Your Flats!

It’s all too tempting to put your bag of rubbish or your old furniture out on the landing to take to the bins later.

However, not only are you breaching your tenancy but you are causing a fire hazard!

We’ve recently had an incident where something on a landing caught fire. Fortunately on this occasion, the fire was put out very quickly, no one was hurt and there was no damage. But it could have been so much worse!

Its not just bag of rubbish or old furniture that could cause a fire.

Items such as push chairs and bikes can be a hazard when left out on landings. Even if they don’t catch fire they could get in the way or even block you and your family’s escape route from the building.

So next time you go to leave something outside of your flat, please think, could it catch fire and could I get out if there was a fire?

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Gas Appliances - Be safe, get them checked!

Every year around 14 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by gas appliances and flues which have not been properly installed or maintained - You have the opportunity to make sure that you are not one of them!

As a Herefordshire Housing resident we will arrange for a GasSafe registered installer to service your gas appliances once a year for FREE. At the same time they will check any gas appliances you have purchased and installed.

The silent killer you can’t see, taste or smell We have a duty of care to make sure that all gas appliances owned by Herefordshire Housing are checked every year by one of our gas engineers.

What you need to do Please help us by letting us into your home to do the service and safety checks, our engineer will only be at your home for a short time, no more than 2 hours.

We will send you a letter to let you know when your gas safety check and service is due. Please contact us to arrange an appointment for our engineer to call.

If you fail to make contact with our gas servicing team within a specified time to arrange for your gas safety check, we will commence legal proceedings. If we have to go to court we will recover the court costs and expenses incurred from you, the tenant which could be hundred’s of pounds. You may even lose your home. Court is always a last resort.

If your gas service and safety check is due, please contact us to make an appointment on 01432 384125.

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£6.5m to refurbish maisonettes As part of our vision to create popular neighbourhoods and communities, we’re spending £6.5 million refurbishing the eight maisonette blocks at Moor Farm and Tupsley.

We carried out extensive consultation with residents through open events and have formed a steering group of residents and colleagues, who have considered the design for the refurbishment of the blocks and appointed the contractor, Bullock.

Bullock and their architect, Walker Troupe, impressed residents and colleagues with their modern design. They also incorporated residents’ issues and visions for the future, which included it rivalling new private developments in Herefordshire. Very importantly they have a customer focussed approach and a can do attitude.

Work so far…

Work has started on the three maisonette blocks in Tupsley and work will be starting on the five blocks in Moor Farm in August 2010.

Protecting the bats!

Currently bats are roosting in the cladding of the buildings. We have programmed the work to fit around the roosting bats during the summer season as work can not be carried out whilst the bats are there.

At Tupsley, scaffolding has been erected, external cladding has been removed and temporary bat boxes have been erected. The bats will use these homes until leaving in the early autumn. This process will be repeated at Moor Farm in August when the bats have left for their winter home.

Michelle Barnett (Bullock) Sarah James and Sue Segust (Herefordshire Housing)

nd communities that are p eighbourhoods a opular

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in vision in summer Same but Different Raising Respect for Everyone in Herefordshire ‘Same But Different’ is an awareness-raising project about diversity and equality in our rural county. The Rural Media Company will be exploring attitudes to ‘difference’ through film-making and on-line storytelling, with individuals and groups who have been at the sharp end of ignorance or prejudice, whether it be because of their age, disability, race, faith, gender or sexual orientation.

The project aims to bust myths, reveal some surprising truths and demonstrate what a fairer county might look like. The final films will be used to spread the word about how to improve accessibility and openness to all members of society.

A forum on rural diversity will be held at the Borderlines Film Festival, in spring 2011 to showcase the films and the county’s migration and integration initiatives.

If you have a story to tell or are interested in the project or using the resulting films, please contact Vey Straker on 01432 344039, or e-mail veys@ruralmedia.co.uk.

www.hhl.org.uk Polish Niniejszy biuletyn zawiera istotne informacje dotyczące mieszkalnictwa I usług w tym zakresie, Jeżeli życzylibyście sobie Państwo otrzymać niniejsze informacje przetłumaczone na język ojczysty, proszę dzwonić pod numer l (01432) 384011.

Russian Это информационное письмо для жильцов содержит важную информацию о работе отдела по обслуживанию жильцов. Если Вы хотите получить перевод этой информации, то, пожалуйста, звоните по телефону: (01432) 384011.

Portuguese Este boletim informativo para os inquilinos contém informação importante sobre os serviços de habitação.

Se quiser que esta informação seja traduzida, por favor telefone para (01432) 384011

k u . g r o . l h www.h

Lithuanian Šiame naujienraštyje yra informacijos apie gyvenamojo būsto paslaugas. Jeigu norite gauti šios informacijos vertimą, skambinkite tel. (01432) 384011.

Head Office: Herefordshire Housing Ltd. Legion Way, Hereford, HR1 1LN. Tel. 01432 384000 Fax. 01432 384198

City Centre Office: One-Stop Shop, 84-86 Widemarsh Street, Hereford, HR4 9HG. Tel. 01432 346070 Fax. 01432 346089

South Wye Office: Jubilee Court Community Facility, Kilvert Road, Newton Farm, Hereford, HR2 7FE. Tel. 01432 346091 Fax. 01432 379260

Herefordshire Housing Limited Registered Office: Legion Way, Hereford, HR1 1LN. Registered Charity No. 1105907. Registered with the Tenant Services Authority No. LH4353. Registered in England 4221587.