Sir davids court news issue 1 december 2015

Sir Davids Court News

Merry Christmas

Issue 1 December 2015

and Happy New Year

Wales & West Housing are committed to working with our residents and listening to your views.

In a recent consultation, the overall majority of residents wanted to be kept updated via a newsletter, so here it is.

Meet the team There are a lot of changes happening within housing and we, as an organisation, want our residents to feel confident in being able to approach our staff. So let us introduce you to the team responsible for Sir Davids Court.

You can contact any of the team, or report a repair, or pay your rent, by telephoning our Customer Service Centre on:

0800 052 2526 (or 02920 415300 if you’re using a mobile phone)

Herman Valentin

Jackie Bloxham

Community Development Officer

Housing Manager

Wendy Newton

Gemma Kennedy

Neighbourhood Site Dispute Superintendent Officer

Elizabeth McEwan

Scheme Manager

02920 228120 or 07929 201305 (or activate your alarm in an emergency)

Bradley Thompson

Mandy Collins

Housing Officer

Tenancy Support Officer

07805 251791 for housing related queries, rent, moving home, anti social behaviour etc.

07929 201464 for assistance with maximising your income, benefit and money advice, debt and budgeting advice

Theresa Williams Housing Assistant

Glyn Smith

Asset Management Officer 07929 201360 for repair and maintenance queries, adaptations etc.

WWH’s 50th Anniversary Let’s party!

As you know, we are celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2015. Wales & West Housing is all about our residents so we want you to be able to celebrate with us. As the majority of you would like to join in a celebration, Wendy has sent invitations to all residents to join in the celebrations on 15th December in the communal lounge – Hope to see you there!

Twitter: @wwha | 0800 052 2526| www.wwha.co.uk | Page 1

Sir Davids Court News | Issue 1 | December 2015

Have we listened?

Staff carried out a consultation in the summer this year to get residents’ views of the scheme you live in. The purpose was to investigate your views of your homes, your scheme and the surrounding area, with the aim of finding out what could be done to improve it as a whole for those of you who live there. Of the 25 residents, 19 responded and we would like to thank those of you who shared your views.

We asked ‘Do you feel safe We asked ‘What support in your home/scheme?’ do you need from WWH?’ You said: You said:

89%

89% (17 out of 19) said you feel safe in your scheme

We asked ‘Is the area is well kept?’ You said:

79%

79% (15 out of 19) said the scheme is well kept

3 said no, 1 said somewhat.

Some respondents said that a mower should be used instead of a strimmer, and that the site superintendent needs to spend more time at the scheme. You stated that the residents themselves also kept the scheme looking attractive. One resident mentioned that sometimes the bin men cannot gain access to empty the bins.

Another resident stated that the guttering needs more frequent cleaning.

89%

89% (17 out of 19) respondents answered this question

The majority of respondents said they need occasional or weekly support. Three said that they did not need any support and advised that they felt the alarm lines and 1 pendants were adequate.

We asked ‘How have you sought help in the past?’

3 You said: The majority of you told us that you have called our Customer Service Centre to either report a repair or pay your rent. Others said they contacted the Scheme Manager with their query.

Some had help from their family or neighbours.

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We asked ‘How do you feel about the service from WWH?’ You said:

37%

37% of respondents gave the service from WWH 10/10.

This shows that they think the service is excellent. Only 3 respondents gave a score of 5 or less. 84% gave the service a score of 6 and above.

Improvements to the service suggested were: • Waiting time for repairs • More parking spaces • New windows

Sir Davids Court News | Issue 1 | December 2015

50th Anniversary Celebrations Out of the 19 that responded, 11 knew about the grant available for residents to celebrate WWH’s 50th Anniversary.

Eight did not know about it. Eleven said they would like to join in an event and 8 said they were not interested in joining in.

The majority of residents who wanted to celebrate would like to have their own party.

Four residents said they would like to share with Lord Pontypridd House.

Communal facilities We asked ‘Do you use the communal lounge?’

You said:

7

Of the 18 who responded to this question, only 7 use the lounge at present.

A further 3 residents said they would like to join in activities in the lounge. The most popular activity that residents would like to be involved in is social events.

47% of residents said they were not interested in joining in.

We asked ‘Do you use the communal laundry facilities?’ You said:

95%

95% of respondents (18 out of 19) said they use the facilities.

6 residents were happy with it.

Improvements suggested were: • Additional machine/dryer • Residents to be mindful of time restrictions • Residents washing pet blankets • Slots are limited/busy.

We asked ‘What are your thoughts on the washing line?’ You said:

7

19 answered this question - 7 said they used the lines.

The main issue raised was the location of the lines being in close proximity to the bins.

Transport/parking facilities

Guest room

We asked ‘Do you drive a car? What are your thoughts about parking?’

We asked ‘Do you own a scooter? What do you think about storage facilities?’

We asked ‘Do you use the guest room? What do you think about it?’

2 respondents stated they own a scooter; one resident found access difficult.

5 residents said they use the guest room and gave positive feedback, saying it was “wonderful”, “useful” and a “good service”.

7

7 of the 19 who responded said they drive. 63% of residents do not drive a car.

2

5

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Sir Davids Court News | Issue 1 | December 2015

We asked ‘What’s the best way to keep you up-to-date?’ You said:

Newsletter

Email

Letter

4

12 Meeting

3 Noticeboard

2

1

We asked ‘Do you have any other comments, ideas or suggestions on how we can improve your scheme?’ You said: • • • • • • •

New windows/doors Parking New bathroom Issue with the number of cats/dogs at the scheme Dog mess and dogs not on leads Would like everyone to get on with each other More visits by site superintendent

What are we doing about the issues?

Parking

Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to increase the number of spaces. I would just like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that, as there are limited spaces, the car park is for residents use only. Visitors can, of course, pick up/drop off, but can you please ask them to park off site. Please consider the accessibility of emergency services and, of course, the bin men. There are no designated spaces and parking is on a first come, first served basis. We do not

have the capacity to police the car park, so would expect residents to show courtesy to each other.

Dogs/cats

WWH have a policy in place to ensure residents remain responsible for their pets.

Dogs should be kept on a lead at all times for health New windows/doors and safety reasons and any These are due to be replaced in our planned programme of works mess should be cleaned up immediately. Please contact for 2016.

Elizabeth or Wendy with any issues.

Repairs Please contact our repairs team on freephone 0800 052 2526, or for ongoing issues please contact Glyn Smith, Asset Management Officer.

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Sir Davids Court News | Issue 1 | December 2015

Communal lounge

We would like to encourage residents to use this great facility more often, especially as almost half of you have indicated that you would like to attend social events. If you need assistance in organising something, please speak to Wendy, who will help you facilitate this. We will consult residents next year about refurbishing the lounge to make it a more welcoming place to meet.

Site Superintendent

This service is spread across Cardiff. We strive to provide an efficient, cost effective service so Bradley visits Sir

Davids Court as necessary.

We have taken on board your views about cutting the grass, so Glyn has ordered a mower for Bradley, which will be stored off site for security reasons.

Washing lines

Glyn is looking to improve the area by making the line and bin areas separate. This is in our planned programme of works for 2016.

Laundry

This is a valuable facility and would like to respectfully remind residents that the machines are provided for

We wish you a very

Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year

residents use only. Please be mindful that the machines are there for everyone so please leave them clean and please have regard to the time limits.

We believe that the facilities are adequate and have no plans for additional machines at this time.

Scheme Manager service

WWH are reviewing the service our Scheme Managers provide. We are looking to provide a more value based and efficient service and are, therefore, currently looking at the demand each scheme presents and will be reviewing the service around that. It is likely that we will have a team of scheme managers, with each scheme manager covering more than one scheme. We will, of course, keep you updated on how this will affect your scheme in due course.

Scooter storage

Following issues raised, Glyn has made improvements to the accessibility.

Thank you again for taking part in our consultation. We hope you find this newsletter useful.

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