Building Thriving Communities
Dates for your diary
Summer FUN
Our Contact Centre will be closed on Bank Holiday Monday. If you need to contact us, please call the out of hours number on 0800 542 8904
26 AUG August Summer Bank Holiday
Plant and Pot events in July and August
Our popular Plant and Pot events are returning this summer. Join our Community Engagement Team for interactive planting workshops for green thumbs.
Be sure to stay up to date by following our social media channels and checking out our events calendar, where we regularly post about our upcoming events: www.fairhive.co.uk/events
Summer Fun is back this year with activities during July and August.
Following feedback from our residents last year, Summer Fun places will be allocated by random draw, rather than a first come first served basis. Forms have been posted so please ensure you return your form by the 8th of July, to make sure you are included. We will then be in touch with those who are successful. is taking place soon!
A reminder that the Community Hub is our one-stop drop-in to support with varying advice ranging from housing, welfare, employment opportunities and family matters. The hub is open for anyone to visit and enjoy a cup of tea and a chat.
Every Tuesday, 9:45am – 12pm at the Vineyard, Gatehouse Close, Aylesbury, HP19 8DN.
Dear Resident
We’re changing things up a bit in this issue of Residents News and I’m pleased to introduce myself in this opening message. On top of my day-to-day responsibilities as Assistant Director of Housing, I have just been elected as the new Chair of the Thriving Communities Fund Panel. In this role, I get to oversee the amazing projects and opportunities we can support through our funding programme with Springboard, Micro and Project Grants.
In this issue, we will be talking about the various resident and community grants we offer, to support people in our local community and help shape the places we call home. As we move into the summer holidays, there are plenty of opportunities to apply for Springboard Grants to help towards school clubs or even for wellbeing or educational classes for yourself and members of your household.
We’re happy to include our regular column from members of the Resident Forum and you can hear from Tony on Page 6 about the different group meetings we hold together with our residents to help review and improve our services as your landlord.
In this issue, you will also find useful dates and events, to take note of, where you can meet our team and raise any questions or benefit from chatting to one of the many agencies we collaborate with. Join us at one of our Community Hubs in Aylesbury (weekly on a Tuesday at the Aylesbury Vineyard) or check out our various resident events that are coming up this summer.
This summer is also the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the green spaces and gardens around you. We’ve been running our Great Gardens competition again this year, giving residents the opportunity to nominate their gardens or a communal garden for one of our categories. Winners will be announced later this summer so stay tuned to our website and social media to see the winning gardens. Find out more about the competition on Page 13.
And finally, thank you very much to everyone who submitted a nomination for the Leading Edge Awards. We take employee recognition seriously and we want to make sure that we are not only focusing on how to improve our ways of working, but also celebrate where we are doing well and recognise those individuals who are committed to doing their best for you. We have now announced the winners of the Residents’ Choice and Good Samaritan Awards (find out more on Page 16). If you missed last year’s deadline at the end of March, you can nominate a member of the Fairhive Team for this year’s awards, ending March 31st 2025; winners will be selected in April 2025. Thank you for taking the time to let us know your feedback and for sending in compliments for our team members. Every comment is shared and used to help us focus on what we do well, as well as where we need to improve.
Heledd
Heledd Williams Assistant Director of Housing
“As we near the end of our Bigger, Better, Bolder, and Beyond strategy (March 2025), we’re already thinking about the next five years; what do our residents and communities need, what can we deliver and how quickly can we deliver it?
That’s why our employees alongside the Resident Forum, our Board and Senior Leadership Team have been meeting to discuss this very topic. We’ll be able to share more with you over the coming year.” Matthew Applegate, Chief Executive
Continuing to support the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity
In 2023-24 we supported the Florence Nightingale Hospice with a Project Grant through our Thriving Communities Fund. The funds helped to maintain a Specialist Nurse which is a critical role within the community. Through a collaboration with Travis Perkins Managed Services we've been able to support the Charity's latest initiative: the acquisition of a new electric van for their retail operations.
The Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity operates 13 shops across Buckinghamshire, which generate crucial income for the Hospice located at Stoke Mandeville. These funds are vital in supporting end-of-life care for individuals both in their homes and at the Hospice. The new electric van will play a key role in the Charity’s retail logistics, by facilitating the movement of public donations between shops, ensuring that a diverse range of products are readily available for customers.
As many of us look to live more sustainably, shopping in charity shops, which promotes recycling and reduces waste, has seen a huge
growth in popularity. Rotating and updating the community’s generous donations around each of their shops is key to keeping customers returning which ultimately boosts the Charity’s income for the hospice.
Andrew Rysdale, our Assistant Director of Property said ‘We are committed to supporting our local community through the grants we have available, with the Florence Nightingale Hospice playing an integral part in that community, by providing assistance and support to those who need it, we were delighted to be able to support them with their new electric van’.
Help with school uniform cost
Back to school costs can soon mount up especially if there is more than one child in your home or they are transitioning to a new school. Last year we approved 26 applications for grants relating to school uniform costs! That’s 26 households we were able to help at an expensive time.
The deadline for this round of applications is July 31st.
Please note that grant funding applications go through an approval process but we will keep you informed when the application has been processed and when you can expect to receive funding. This can take up to two months.
If you’d be interested in finding out more about the grants we have on offer, please visit www.fairhive.co.uk/thrive or contact our Grants Officer by emailing tcfgrant@fairhive.co.uk.
Need a helping hand with clubs and classes?
As we approach the start of a new academic year, plenty of clubs and classes, for both adults and children, will be starting up again. We know the costs with these can quickly spiral when looking at the joining fee and equipment, but our Springboard Grants could help take some of the pressure off.
Springboard Grants of up to £300* are available to support our residents with opportunities for wellbeing, education, training, or employment. The funds can be used to access training, buy necessary equipment or cover one-off or ongoing expenses.
One of our residents explained how they used the Springboard Grant to help with additional costs for their son’s football club.
“My son who signed up for an educational football academy needed uniform/kit that was very expensive. We couldn’t afford it all so we applied for the Springboard Grant asking for support. This has been fantastic in helping us out in purchasing what we needed for our son.”
If you’d be interested in finding out more about the grants we have on offer, please visit www.fairhive.co.uk/thrive or contact our Grants Officer by emailing tcfgrant@fairhive.co.uk
Hear from the Resident Forum about our Task and Finish Scrutiny Group
“The Resident Forum has been busy focusing on relaunching our Task and Finish Scrutiny Group which is responsible for monitoring and reviewing the delivery of Fairhive services.
The most recent scrutiny review focused on resident satisfaction with Fairhive’s approach to handling complaints. We met with several Fairhive employees to find out more about the processes and how they could be improved. We had many group discussions to review our findings and presented a report to The Board. The report included five recommendations for possible improvements, of which Fairhive is implementing four of these, highlighting the significance of our voice.
Throughout this process, the importance and added value of Fairhive listening to its residents and working together in partnership can be recognised as being both successful and of great benefit to all.
If you are interested in being part of this group or finding out more please contact the Community Engagement Team at hello@fairhive.co.uk. No previous experience is needed and training is provided.”
From Tony, Vice Chair of the Resident Forum.
We continue to measure and learn from our complaints and compliments
Complaints Customer Satisfaction:
46.22% of residents surveyed told us they were satisfied with the handling of their complaint. There is still a lot of work to do to improve on this result, and we will work with our Resident Complaints Group to explore in more detail how we can improve the handling of complaints.
Many of our respondents provide us with useful feedback about their experience. We want to make sure that when things go wrong, you are confident and
You can also log complaints via My HomeHub
comfortable to talk to us about your complaint and that you feel we will listen to you, treat you with respect and put things right. It is this experience we refer to when we ask for feedback on how we handled your complaint.
You can raise a compliant in one of the following ways:
• By phoning us on 01296 732600
• Via the website www.fairhive.co.uk
• By e-mailing complaintsgeneral@fairhive.co.uk
April to March 2023/24 compared to same period 2022/23:
Total number of complaints received
*We’re working hard to improve this, the increase is reflected across the industry. For more information please visit www.fairhive.co.uk/complaints-reports
During the year, there were over 40,000 face-to-face resident interactions across repairs, lettings, tenancy visits, occupancy checks, and caretaker visits including contractors.
At any point you can contact the Ombudsman as well if you have a complaint about us. Their contact details are: Housing Ombudsman – 0300 111 3000 | www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Some of the key learnings we’ve taken from complaints this year are:
You said:
We don’t keep you informed on progress of works
We’re doing:
• Set up a communication plan for larger work types (eg. kitchen/bathroom replacements), so you know what to expect
You said:
You have to chase for repair work to be completed/long wait for repairs.
We’re doing:
• Worked through the backlog of repairs accumulated
• Running regular reports on all outstanding work so we can keep you informed
You said:
We’re attending multiple times for the same issue and not resolving it or works were left unfinished or just poor overall workmanship
We’re doing:
• Our Operatives will seek advice if they can’t complete the job on the first visit and they will explain to you why they can’t fully complete the job.
To raise a complaint or leave feedback please visit our website (www.fairhive.co.uk/making-a-complaint) or give us a call.
We’re better together
It’s been over a year since The Buckinghamshire Housing Association (BHA) joined Fairhive and we want to look back and celebrate how former BHA residents embraced the change and became part of our Fairhive family.
The formal transfer of engagements went ‘live’ on 9th January 2023 and since then we have enjoyed working together to provide quality homes and services for our residents. During that time former BHA residents have been involved in a number of activities and experienced lots of what we have to offer.
They contacted our call centre, and spoke to our employees who played a major role in welcoming them to the company. They signed up to My HomeHub, our online resident portal, which helps manage our repairs service; this was important for us as we wanted residents to have a seamless service following the transfer. We did this by keeping existing contractors in place during, what we know, was a challenging time for residents. We’re pleased to say that from April this year, we’re now providing responsive repairs for carpentry and plumbing, using our own Operatives and this will be extended to cover gas and electrics later this year. We’ve also started to undertake some improvement works, such as kitchens and bathrooms, using our in house teams and we’re confident that residents will get to experience the many benefits from the excellent service they provide.
We worked alongside residents so we could keep track of existing repairs prior to them moving over, making sure we could deliver first making sure we provide a continuous service
and our Caretaking and our Caretaking Team visited a number of BHA blocks and sites to carry out Health and Safety inspections. We’re pleased that we will soon be able to invite all former BHA residents, living in blocks, receiving a service from us, to join our Block Inspector programme.
Residents have been involved in many activities including the procurement of services like cleaning and grounds maintenance contracts as well as attending community engagement events. Some of these events were held at former BHA schemes enabling us to introduce residents to our teams, providing assurance and guidance during the changeover. Residents were also invited to observe our Resident Forum meeting, which resulted in two former BHA residents joining the Forum, this is a great way to get involved and have a say on how we perform. Following feedback from one of these observers, it was suggested we organise an event at St Hughes, as they felt overlooked. The Plant and Pot event held at the scheme, organised by our Community Engagement Team with support from the Independent Living Team, sought feedback on our services, which saw residents rating it 8 of 10 for satisfaction (from three residents) and 10 out of 10 from all other residents at the event. Everyone who attended the event said they felt they were treated with respect.
“We’ve received many compliments from the tenants for being so knowledgeable about other available services and getting repairs carried out in a timely fashion”.
Quote from our Additional Housing Management service.
Fairhive has welcomed Roger Craft, Charles Brooks, Matt McGeehan and Peter Merchant, all former Board members with BHA, to serve on Fairhive’s Boards and Committees. Their expertise and experience has definitely been put to good use.
Together we’ve achieved so much and we’re excited to be able to continue to provide a great service to our new Fairhive residents.
What are Tenant Satisfaction Measures?
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) uses Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) for assessing how well social housing landlords in England are doing at providing good quality homes and services. As part of this, all landlords will need to collect feedback through tenant surveys and share the results with their residents and the Regulator. Residents will be able to use these measures to understand how we are doing.
What do the Tenant Satisfaction Measures cover?
There are 22 measures in total which fall under five main themes:
• Keeping properties in good repair
• Maintaining building safety
• Effective complaints-handling
• Respectful and helpful tenant engagement
• Responsible neighbourhood management
10 of the 22 measures will be directly measured using data landlords have –for example, how many homes meet the Decent Homes standard set by government, or how many complaints were responded to within the Housing Ombudsman’s Code timescales. The remaining 12 measures will be gathered by surveying our residents by either telephone or via an online link in an email.
The results for our Tenant Satisfaction Measures for 2023-24 can be found on our website at www.fairhive.co.uk/annual-reports
Free football
Free of Charge
AGES 11-14
FRIDAYS 17:30-18:30
AGES 15-17
FRIDAYS 18:30-19:30
Looking to break up the long weeks of the school holiday?
Whether your teen is an avid footballer or would like to give it a try, The Friday Night Project could be a great way to spend their
Join us and Inspired Sport every Friday night football sessions specially designed for our awesome young residents aged 11-18!
There are two sessions each evening for different age groups, so everyone can join in on the action. You don’t have to be a Fairhive
The Friday Night Project is all about having fun while staying active and healthy. These free football sessions are a fantastic way to encourage young people to get moving, improve their coordination, and feel good about themselves. Teens learn about the benefits of staying active, develop their athletic skills, as well as building their confidence in a safe and supportive environment. Kick off the weekend right by gathering some friends and joining us
Inspired Sport staff are all DBS checked and
If you are interested, please email
Need help raising a repair?
There are many ways that you can raise a repair with us.
• My HomeHub
• Emailing contact@fairhive.co.uk and someone from the team will get in contact with you
• 24/7 Repairs Line on 0800 542 8904.
Would you like support raising a repair online?
Our repairs information is one click away! Visit www.fairhive.co.uk and click on the “Report a repair” box on the homepage. This will take you to our repairs page which has more information about what to do if you have a repair.
Alternatively, you can get support raising a repair from a member of our team. Our Neighbourhood Managers regularly hold Estate Walkabouts where you can speak to them about any support you may need and our Community Engagement team host Resident Drop-ins. Information about these, including when there is one in your area, can be found on our events calendar at www.fairhive. co.uk/events or you can call our Contact Centre on 01296 732600.
The Community Hub is run by our Welfare team and takes place every Tuesday morning from 9.45am until 12pm at the Vineyard in Aylesbury.
If you live in one of our Independent Living Schemes, you can speak to your Scheme Coordinator for support with getting online or raising a repair. Additionally, we are installing several digital kiosks in our schemes to assist you with online tasks.
Meet the team
David Hamer
David is the Handyman for our Independent Living Schemes.
What does a typical working day look like for you?
There are no typical days in Independent Living. I start every day by checking the emergency lights and doing a complete walk around to look for any health and safety concerns. After that, I’ll make a start on completing my job sheet.
Andrea Loomes
Andrea is a Neighbourhood Team Leader with our Neighbourhood Managers.
What does a typical working day look like for you?
I spend a lot of my time supporting the Neighbourhood Managers on my team, either by reviewing complex cases, one to one meetings and general day to day issues that may arise. My role also involves attending internal and external meetings to discuss service improvements or safeguarding support for our residents. I also try to get out and about on our estates and I will often help my team with joint visits or with carrying out tenancy visits. No two days are the same, so there is a lot of prioritising involved to ensure the most important issues are addressed promptly, especially around safeguarding our vulnerable residents.
What do you enjoy the most about your role?
I enjoy being part of a great team who care about achieving the best for our residents. I also enjoy getting out and about whenever possible and talking to residents, as this enables me to look at where any improvements can be made.
What inspired you to follow your current career?
What do you enjoy the most about your role?
I enjoy how varied my job is and that I get to help others. I’ve been a caretaker since November 2016 but have been in my dream job for over a year and I’m very glad I applied for it.
My motto is…
My mottos are, “if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well” and, “treat people how you would want to be treated”.
What would you like to say to our residents?
I’d like to let residents know that my time on the schemes is free so if you have a repair or a job you need doing then you can either ask myself when you see me around on site, you can add it to the job sheet or you can ask your always helpful Independent Living Coordinator and together we’ll see what we can do.
When I left school I worked in care looking after elderly people which I found very rewarding, so when I saw a job advert to support older people to live independently in their own homes I applied. The job was with a Housing Association working in sheltered housing – that was over 20 years ago and my career in housing started from there. I moved onto supporting adults with mental health and addiction issues and then into general needs housing.
When I’m not working I can be found…
At the swimming pool – I aim to swim at least 60 lengths of the pool 3-4 times per week – I also enjoy walking (weather permitting) and spending time with my family and my cat Freddy!
My motto is… Always speak to people how you wish to be spoken to yourself.
Great Gardens 2024 entries are now closed
Thank you to everyone who entered our Great Gardens competition. We’ve had some blooming wonderful winners in the past, and we look forward to visiting all the entrants this year!
Winners will be announced on our website and Social Media so please keep an eye out in August for some beautiful photos!
Are your details up to date?
Did you know?
It is important that we have your up to date details in case we need to contact you about a visit or repair you may have booked. If your phone number or email address has changed, please call the Contact Centre on 01296 732600 or email contact@fairhive.co.uk to update your information.
You can receive Residents News in a different format if needed. We can send you it by email, provide audio recordings, or print it on yellow paper and in large print. All you need to do is contact us to update your preferences!
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
Can you spot the five differences between these images?
Send this page with your name and address to Spot The Difference, c/o The Communications Team, Fairfax House, 69 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2NJ. The closing date for the entry draw is 29th July 2024 and the winner will receive a £20 shopping voucher and have their name published in our next edition.
Congratulations to Gillian Walker for winning the Spring edition!
£50 VOUCHER
Return it with your name and address to Puzzle Time, c/o The Communications Team, Fairfax House, 69 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2NJ. The closing date for the entry draw is 29th July 2024 and the winner will receive a £50 voucher and have their name published in the next edition of Residents News!
We are pleased to announce the winner of our Residents News Spring Issue 59 Puzzle was Sandie Mitchell. Congratulations and we hope you enjoy the shopping voucher.
You might have read about Leading Edge Awards in recent editions of Residents News. This programme, aimed at recognising outstanding efforts, engages both residents and colleagues in identifying those team members who truly stand out in their service to our community.
The nomination deadline closed at the end of March, and we were thrilled to receive lots of impressive entries for our annual awards. Our panel, comprising of five employees and three resident volunteers, diligently reviewed the nominations throughout April, deliberating over two categories: the Residents’ Choice Award and the Good Samaritan Award.
We’re delighted to reveal that Luke, a dedicated member of our neighbourhood team was awarded the Good Samaritan Award, and a dedicated member from our plumbing team, Leon, secured the Residents’ Choice Award.
any feedback about this issue of Residents News?
Fairhive is able to produce this document in other languages and formats. If you need these services, or those of an interpreter, please contact us.
Please email hello@fairhive.co.uk or call us on 01296 732600 and ask for Communications.