Open House June 2011

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Housing Services

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Plant a Pot

Summer 2011

Residents of Cheatle Court

Green fingered residents living at Tamworth’s sheltered schemes planted hundreds of colourful plants at a community day to celebrate the Royal Wedding.

In this issue:Page 2 Anniversary fun at Ankermoor Court

Page 2 New Council Chief Executive

Page 4 Health advice

The 40 residents from Cheatle Court and Glenfield, along with family members who came along to help, planted 60 pots and 10 hanging baskets. The idea was for residents to get together and enjoy a social event, while taking pride in where they live. They all wore red, white and blue to get into the spirit of the Royal Wedding, and put up bunting.

Feedback shows that all residents enjoyed the day. The ‘Plant a Pot’ day was suggested by ‘Seniors United’, a group of sheltered scheme tenants who come together to share ideas and exchange views.

Mayor of Tamworth, Cllr Lee Bates, came along and helped with the planting.

Carol Dolan, a relative of a tenant at Cheatle Court, said: “My mother really enjoyed it and I thought it was a very kind gesture that all the family were invited to join in”.

Tenant Dawn Belcher commented: “I was very happy with the event and I got involved and enjoyed myself.

Thank you”.

It was absolutely brilliant and encouraged everyone to get involved, even the less mobile.

Ron Harrison

Page 6 Incentive to move scheme

www.tamworth.gov.uk

Residents of Glenfield

Customer Dashboard Visit online for the latest performance indicators in housing: www.tamworth.gov.uk/housing

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Anniversary fun at Ankermoor Court A fun time was had by all as residents and staff at Ankermoor Court sheltered housing in Bolehall held a celebration to mark the scheme’s 20th anniversary.

The scheme held an open house where visitors got the chance to sample cream teas made by the residents, as well as having a go on the tombola and raffle

Ankermoor Court residents Christine Stevenson and Betty Parker serve up cream teas with Cllr Lee Bates at the 20th anniversary celebrations

New chief executive for Tamworth Borough Council A new chief executive has been appointed at Tamworth Borough Council.

Tony Goodwin has taken over the reins following the retirement of David Weatherly in March. Tony has been with the authority for 14 years and was previously the authority’s deputy chief executive.

Tony said: “One aspect of the role which is very important to me is promoting ‘Tamworth the place’. It is a wonderful town with lots to offer, and is perfectly placed for people who live, work and visit the area. I want to make sure we continue to improve Tamworth and make it a place to be proud of.”

Corporate director John Wheatley has accepted a secondment into the role of deputy chief executive.

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Independent Living Manager at Ankermoor Court, Jeanette Lambert, said: “It was a really good day and all the residents had a lot of fun. I’d like to thank all the residents who helped to organise the event, as without all of their help, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Review of the Landlord Services Tenancy Agreement Thank you to everyone who responded to the ‘review of the landlord services tenancy agreement’. The consultation period ended on 6 June 2011.

Once the feedback has been collated it will go to the ‘Tenant Consultative Group’ to discuss the findings before it goes to Cabinet in early July.

If your feedback was received by 6 June you will get a written response to any queries you have submitted.

Over 400 feedback sheets were returned and almost 200 telephone enquiries have been answered.

The consultation period has proved very successful and again we would like to say a thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the feedback sheets.

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Visit the new Tamworth Tourist Information Centre!

The Tamworth Tourist Information Centre (TIC) is now located at the Philip Dix Centre, Corporation Street, Tamworth.

It is open from 9 – 7 Monday to Friday and 9 – 5 on Saturday.

For more information, visit www.visittamworth.co.uk, or phone 01827 709581 or 709618.

If you want tickets for the Assembly Rooms, Tamworth Castle, The Staffordshire Hoard, or discounted tickets for Drayton Manor, Snowdome and Twycross Zoo, come and visit us. We also stock unusual gifts, toys and food.

Why has Open House changed format?

The Tenant Participation Team consulted with tenants about their ‘Open House’ newsletter that is produced quarterly. 66% of people who completed a survey stated that they would prefer to read it in the A4 size used this month.

Several comments made said that it would be more manageable to read.

ESTATE WALKABOUTS Estate Management Team

Dates for your Diary

Stonydelph

Belgrave

Stonydelph Arch, Craven Thursday 23 June 2pm Covering Crowden Road Estate and Ealingham - Eringden.

Belgrave Arch, Exley Centre Thursday 21 July 2pm Field Farm Rd Estate

Amington

Amington Arch, Kerria Centre Thursday 18 August 2pm

Gillway/ Leyfields

St Andrew’s Methodist Church Wednesday 14 September 2pm

87%

87% of respondents stated that the Open House tenant’s newsletter provides them with relevant and interesting information about housing services.

83% 83% of respondents stated that they had read the last edition of Open House.

If you are interested in joining the ‘Tenants Voice’ group to assist in the editing and production of Open House please contact the Tenant Participation Team in the following ways: Telephone 01827 709374 or freephone 0800 183 0454 Email: tenantparticipation@ tamworth.gov.uk For forthcoming events: www.tamworth.gov.uk/housing/ tenant_participation.aspx

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Lifestyle service experts offering free advice South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust’s (PCT) 33-strong Lifestyle Team offers health and well-being advice to individuals who are looking for the opportunity to kickstart a new healthy lifestyle.

Tim Cullinan, Lifestyle Service Coordinator, South Staffordshire PCT said: “Living a hectic life in a modern world often means you are snacking or eating fast food, struggling to find time to be more active, smoking and regularly drinking more alcohol than you know is good for you.

The team will take referrals directly from individuals, as well as referrals from their GP or other health care professional.

“This can cause life threatening diseases like cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The Lifestyle Service is already offering individuals information and encouragement on a one-to-one and group basis to help people look at their lifestyle, working on a step-bystep basis to make changes that fit the individual, their lifestyle and keep them motivated.

“Eating healthily, drinking less alcohol, quitting smoking and doing just a small amount of activity, that fits your busy life, will help you to look and feel better, give you more energy, reduce your stress levels and put you in control of your life – as well as help you to live a longer and healthier life.

The Lifestyle Team works closely with a wide range of service providers such as local authorities, and voluntary organisations to provide support that best suits your personal needs and tackle a number of health issues.

To find out more about the Lifestyle Service call 01827 306190 and take the first step towards a healthier life and living longer.

Recycling Success!

Thanks to the amazing efforts of all our residents, since the introduction of the new waste and recycling collection service just over nine months ago, we have recycled nearly 49% of everything we throw away as waste.

This is an astonishing increase of more than 5% from this time last year and is a tribute to the commitment of Tamworth residents to reducing waste.

Collectively we have also reduced the amount of un-recyclable waste that currently ends up in landfill by nearly 59 kilograms per household – that’s more than the weight of a large sack of spuds!

Andrew Barratt, Deputy Director for Assets and Environment.

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Extra Care Housing at Thomas Hardy Court Celebrates its First Anniversary

May 2011 celebrates the first anniversary of extra care housing at Thomas Hardy Court, developed in partnership with Tamworth Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council. ÂŁ260,000 was invested in the Extra Care Housing Scheme which provides homes to vulnerable elderly people with the aim of helping and supporting independence through the security and privacy of your own home together with access to 24 hour care and tailored support.

The scheme offers a range of facilities including special bathrooms for assisted bathing, luncheon club, hairdressers, guest room for visitors, laundry rooms, 24 hour entrance door phone system, lifts and car parking.

Support Housing Homelessness Services During the past year the Supported Housing team have successfully supported 23 new tenants by; l l l

Letting 100% of supported housing properties within 10 working days.

Completing a risk and needs assessment with 100% of new applicants.

Completing a support plan with 100% of all new tenants within 4 weeks of their tenancy start date.

Sheltered Housing During the past year, Independent Living Managers have continued to help and support 75 new tenants; l l l

100% of all new applicants took part in a needs and risk assessment as part of their housing application process to ensure the service can meet with individual needs.

100% of all new sheltered housing tenants where visited by the Manager within 24 hours.

100% of all new sheltered housing tenants received an agreed support plan within 4 weeks of their tenancy start date.

Community Alarm Service Since January 2011 Well Being has been providing the Tamworth Borough Council’s housings community alarm service, ensuring the high quality alarm service is provided to all its customers.

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Tenant Involvement During 2010/2011, our customers have done their bit to help change and improve Tamworth Borough Council’s housing service. We welcome and value your involvement.

Some key successes over the last 12 months include:

Tenant Involvement Database 102 new tenants were added to the tenant involvement database during 2010/2011.

72 of these came from the young tenants’ survey 'Your Views Matter' carried out during June. The remaining 30 volunteers have been recruited through the Local Offer and Open House consultation events, annual recruitment drive and Housing Services open morning

Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment The Tenant Involvement Group was heavily involved in the production of Tamworth’s first and second Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment.

Estate Based Events Glascote Heath’s community litter pick was organised by the Tenant Participation and Caretaking Teams as part of Britain’s 'Big Tidy Up' Campaign and saw the community come together to make a real difference to their area.

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Annual Report Tenant groups gave up their free time and worked tirelessly in the production of last year’s Annual Report which set out what we had achieved to address the priorities highlighted by our tenants

Customer Satisfaction Calendar A customer satisfaction calendar was developed during 2010 to help us to carry out more regular and consistent customer satisfaction monitoring.

This helps us determine satisfaction levels with Landlord Services and improves services accordingly

New regulatory framework and 'Local Offer' consultation More than 800 tenants took the opportunity to talk to the Tenant Participation Team and suggest what they thought should be in Tamworth’s Local Offers.

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Void and allocations The Void and Allocation team has continued to meet the challenge of reducing the overall empty property turnaround time (for standard voids repairs) from 28 days to 21 during the past year.

Looking to the year ahead, the team has set a new target of 25 days for the average turnaround time. This means less time for people waiting to be rehoused and rent loss for the time the property is empty is kept to a minimum, delivering our customers a value for money service.

The Void and Allocation team is looking forward to achieving the service promises for the coming year including; l l l

Making improvements to our customers’ experience of the service by working with tenants to assess the quality standard of empty homes Providing new tenants with welfare checks to ensure tenancies are off to the best start and are affordable Meeting the target of 25 days

Income management performance The rent arrears at the end of the financial year were £239, 481.08. In the current economic climate and with the challenges of financial hardship, this is a real achievement.

Our overall arrears now represents 1.5% (percentage of arrears as a percentage of gross rent debit) and is a reduction on last year’s figure.

The number of evictions due to rent arrears was down from 19 in the previous year to 15 at the end of March 2011.

Garage rent arrears were successfully reduced by 5% during April 2010 to March 31 2011 and totalled £1,679.

Former tenant payments received were increased by 5% and £33,832 was collected.

During April 2010 until March 31 2011, a total amount of extra benefit awarded to customers was £130,808.90

Cleaning and caretaking According to the latest survey on the estate cleaning service, 85% of our customers are satisfied with the cleaning service. Work is ongoing for tenant auditors to carry out their own independent quality checks of this service for 2011/12.

Targets for the removal of fly tipping have continued to be met for 2010/11. The caretaking team plays an important role in fire safety and by working together with housing officers and Streetscene, they keep communal areas clear and free from abandoned rubbish.

In February this year, an intense deep clean was carried out at the Tinkers Green flats. Since then, reports of fly tipping have reduced. An ongoing programme of further deep cleans for flats with communal walkways is planned for this year.

The graffiti removal targets continue to be met – particularly now the council has a graffiti removal machine which speeds up the process. Graffiti removal improves the environmental quality and appearance of our estates, helping them to be places where people want to live.

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Finding a Home

Housing update Spring 2011 Finding a Home scheme has been running for 12 months now. In that time we have let 203 properties up until the end of March 2011.

Under the choice-based lettings scheme, people looking for a council home are able to bid for properties they are interested in, rather than having a home allocated by the authority. Existing and potential tenants can express an interest in – or ‘bid’ for - up to three properties a week.

In December 2010 the Finding a Home choice-based allocation service opened itself up to an independent impact assessment.

Applications by existing tenants for new homes have fallen to 40% of previous levels. This helps to create more stable communities and because tenants are choosing their new home, they are more likely to be committed to their community and tenancy.

Last yea r we had 36 0 Coun cil propert ies availab le for reletting

In the news over the last few months, you may have heard about the proposals emerging from government in a vision for ‘Fairer Future Housing ‘at the same time as changes to the housing benefit system.

We will keep all our customers up to date on what we are doing to meet these challenges.

Tenant Cheryl Perry chose her home in Glascote Heath through the Finding a Home scheme. See her talk about her experience at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHl4-rg7Lw

That assessment told us that; l

The policy is excellent

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It supports the Council’s objectives

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It provides an equitable and fair approach to allocating properties that ensures people with similar levels of housing need have equal access to homes

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It complies with relevant legislation and codes of guidance

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It follows best practise

Customer satisfaction levels have been captured through independent mystery shopping and in-house surveys.

The move to a choice-based letting system was a fundamental change in the way we allocated properties. As with any change on this scale, we are learning about ways we can do things better and we are working to put those improvements in place.

www.findingahometamworth.co.uk

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Incentive to move scheme We will support you in moving to a smaller property by;

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Have all your children moved out and is your home too big to maintain?

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Is your home too expensive to heat?

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Would you like to reduce your weekly rent?

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Support you in bidding for empty properties

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Do you live in a wheelchair adapted property that you no longer require?

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Pay a cash incentive of £1000 or arrange removals for you

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Do you wish you had more friends near to where you live?

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Are you aged over 60, feeling alone and wish you had the comfort and support that sheltered housing could offer?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions then our incentive to move scheme could help you.

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”Band 1 high priority ward” to enable you to move to a property of your choice

Please note you can move to other landlords through the incentive to move scheme but the cash incentive payment is only available to those transferring to another Tamworth Borough Council property.

accommodation together with the support service available from an Independent Living Manager To find out more information about the Incentive to Move Scheme please contact the Voids and Allocation team. The team is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Telephone: 01827 709520 Email: voidandallocationteam@tamworth. gov.uk

Sheltered housing. If you are aged 60 or over you may choose to move to one of our sheltered housing schemes. Sheltered housing offers you your own independent

Free

DIY demonstration

day 30 Date: Thurs June 2011 m – Time: 9:30a 12:30pm worth Venue: Tam ooms Assembly R t,

Stree Corporation DN taffs B79 7 S , Tamworth

Working in partnership with Tamworth Borough Council, Morrison will be running FREE DIY demonstrations which will help you to carry out a wide range of repairs in your home.

At the demonstration we will be covering the following items: • • • •

Blocked wastes How to unblock gulley’s Renewing and refixing toilet seats Resetting trip switches

• Replacing plugs and chains to baths and basins • Replacing light bulbs and fluorescent tubes and starters

• Setting heating time clocks • Identifying your stopcock /gate valve • Adding sealant to baths/sinks

Come along and speak to Morrison, tenant participation and caretaking teams to discuss any concerns you have inside or outside of your property.

If you require any further information please contact the tenant participation team on 0800 183 0454

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What’s On Battle of the Bands Semi Final One - Friday 22 July Semi Final Two - Friday 29 July GRAND FINAL - Friday 5 August Start 7.30pm, Tickets £5.00, Grand Final £7.50

Roy Chubby Brown Thursday 11 August Start 7.30pm, Tickets £21.00 See website for more events and details: www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk

FREE EVENT IN THE CASTLE GROUNDS Anglo-Saxon Festival

Saturday 27 - Monday 29 August

Spot the difference to

win!

Tamworth Borough Council is offering you the chance to win £20 if your spot the difference competition entry is selected from our prize draw.

There are just two competition rules: l You have to be a tenant of Tamworth Borough Council. l You have to circle 3 differences between these two photographs.

Once you think you’ve found all 3 differences, circle them clearly, fill in and cut out the entry form and then return it by Friday 29th July 2011 to the following address: Diane Hughes, Tamworth Borough Council, Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth Staffordshire B79 7BZ. All correct entries will be entered into a prize draw and the winner notified soon after the deadline. The competition is open to Tamworth Borough Council tenants only. Good luck!

Name: ________________________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________

July Ghost Search – Friday 22

______________________________________________________________________ Telephone No:__________________________________________________________

August Join our Summer Living History Programme Meet Characters from the Past: Tuesdays: 2, 9, 16 Wednesdays: 3, 10, 17 Thursdays: 4, 11, 18 Guided Tours: Sundays: 7, 14, 21 Saxon Re-enactment Sunday 28 & Monday 29 Launch of Staffordshire Hoard Touring Exhibition Castle Great Hall: Saturday 27 to Wednesday 31

Spot the difference

winner!

Congratulations to Mrs Miller of Kettlebrook who was the lucky winner of the Spot the Difference competition in the Spring 2011 issue of Open House. Enjoy your prize!

Thanks to everybody who sent in competition entries!

www.tamworthcastle.co.uk

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Alternative Formats If you would like this document in a different form, for example audio CD, large print or Braille, please contact the Tenant Participation team on 0800 1830454.

If you would like to get involved then contact Tamworth Borough Council’s Tenant Participation team:

If you would find it easier to talk to us in your own language please ask an english-speaking friend or relative to contact 0800 183 0454. We can arrange for an interpreter to contact you to discuss any translation you need.

Leanne Allwood Tenant Participation Manager 01827 709448 Diane Hughes Tenant Participation Assistant 01827 709374 Helen Rich Customer Service Assistant 01827 709260 email us: tenantparticipation@tamworth. gov.uk Other useful numbers: Tamworth Borough Council Customer Services (01827) 709709 Benefits (01827) 709540 Council Tax (01827) 709530 Housing Advice 01827) 709459 Housing Office Enquiries (01827) 709491 Tenant Participation (01827 709374) Rent Enquiries (Income team) (01827) 709514 Estate Management Team (01827) 709491 Allocations and Voids (01827) 709520 Designed and Produced by Tamworth Borough Council

Tamworth Borough Council 8

Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 7BZ. Enquiries: (01827) 709709 . Main Fax: (01827) 709271