A brand new look - Four Housing

thebridge_spring 2011 KL_Layout 1 10/05/2011 12:25 Page 1

thebridge Tenants’ newsletter

Spring2011

The latest news from Berwick Borough Housing

A brand new look Check out these stories from spring in your brand new newsletter

• Independent living • Decent homes work schedule

Also... A close look at our repairs service

• 2010 Tenant Survey eds you! isory Panel ne The Youth Adv

Residents agre e a plan

PARTOF

of action


Welcome to the new look Bridge

Hello and welcome to the Bridge. Seeing as it’s spring, we thought it was the perfect time to refresh things and create a brand new look. It’s going to be an exciting time with Easter, public holidays and the Royal Wedding in our midst, and we hope you enjoy the celebrations. Remember, this is your magazine so we want to hear your stories and any suggestions you may have. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our residents for completing your satisfaction survey – please be assured that we will try our utmost to act on your feedback and it will help shape the next year. Dawn Keightley Group Director of Operations

Very happy winners

Everyone who completes our feedback forms is entered into a quarterly prize draw for £100. The most recent winner was: Lucky Mrs Waterhouse from Belford. Mrs Waterhouse said, “I was absolutely delighted – I have twin ten year old girls so the money came in handy for clothes and a school trip they went on.” We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who completed our customer service questionnaires. Your responses help us to improve on the services we provide. Make sure you return your satisfaction surveys and feedback forms to be in with a chance of being our next winner.

New housing for Berwick

Online help whenever you need it

Four Housing Group, Berwick Borough Housing’s parent organisation, has recently completed the Ladywell Place development at Tweedmouth. It’s the first development of affordable family homes in north Northumberland since the mid-1990s and 21 new homes will be available for social rent or shared ownership.

Our new website www.4hg.co.uk is now live. You can use it to contact us, report a repair, make payments, apply for homes and much more. If you use the website to log in, you can find your past and current rent statements and make sure all of your payments are up to date. There’s also plenty of information available on the site about your housing, area and the scheme you live in. And what’s more, all of our contact details are on there – so you can get in touch quickly and easily if you have any feedback or questions.

It’s an environmentally friendly development, having reached Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. This means that solar panels and effective insulation will help reduce the impact on the environment as well as making bills cheaper. Register your interest for the homes at Ladywell by visiting www.northumberlandhomefinder.org.uk or calling Berwick Borough Housing on 08000 461 451

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A closer look at our repairs service Berwick Borough Housing’s repair service helps to make sure that your home is in tip-top condition and that reported repairs are dealt with quickly and carefully. But have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of the service? Elizabeth Bruin, a tenant, kindly gave us her story.

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er, visited Brian Learmonth, our join m. to have a look at the proble

1 Brian quickly spotted the trouble and fixed it right away.

4 Spittal, nt who lives in na te a , in ru B h Elizabet her garden a problem with found she had e Ramparts our offices on th d te si vi d an te ga pair. to report the re Business Park

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5

Caroline Dryden, Senior Maintenance Administrator, logged all the details and booked the job.

pecting the repair Elizabeth smiles after ins ed. Later, she and finds everything mend tion survey, which received a repairs satisfac back. she completed and sent

We use the form to check customers are satisfied and all those who return the forms are entered in a monthly £100 prize draw – make sure you complete yours if you ever have repairs done to be in with a chance of winning! thebridge | 3


Getting to know us… We want our customers to get to know us better, so in each issue of the Bridge we feature a team member and ask them questions so that you can find out a little more about them. Thanks to Derek Bell for answering our questions for this issue.

Your typical working day in fifty words: It can be pretty varied as I am responsible for sheltered housing, aids and adaptations, care alarms and financial inclusion. My favourite work is around welfare benefits and helping people get what they are entitled to. Fortunately, I am able to leave the day to day running of the sheltered schemes to the wardens who are very experienced and capable. What do you like most about working for Berwick Borough Housing? I like working with our tenants and hopefully solving their problems. I’ve always liked Northumbria and the Berwick area since I was a kid. Coming from Kelso, I was brought up on Spittal Trip, although I preferred being brought down to Shielfield for the football by my dad. Where and whom did you work for before Berwick Borough Housing? Before this, I worked for Scottish Borders Council in the Welfare Benefits Service. If you could change one thing about the business, what would it be and why? I wish we were able to build enough houses to meet the demand for rented accommodation.

Derek Bell

Name:

Derek Bell

Age:

Too old to remember, too young to care

Job title:

Independent Living Officer

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What are your hobbies? Music, films, theatre, comedy and books. I’m also a big sports fan, especially football and cricket. What is you favourite holiday destination and why? I don’t do holidays! My favourite break was spending a week in Edinburgh during the festival, and I did this for eight years consecutively, going to five or six things a day at the Fringe or Book festivals.


Tells us something interesting about yourself: I’ve never been abroad! What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got. If you had to choose someone you’d least like to be stuck with in a lift, who would it be and why? James Corden as I find him unfunny, tedious and over the top. He’s at the top of a long list!

The Wedding Present

If you could trade places with any other person, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional who would it be and why? I wouldn’t mind being the writer and TV presenter, Charlie Brooker for the day – he gets paid for ranting, whereas I just have to do it for free.

What is your favourite film and why? The Godfather (all three) – it has classic storytelling which is Shakespearian and operatic in its sweep and career-best performances from all the cast. Closely followed by Kill Bill parts 1 and 2 and Lost In Translation. I prefer small scale independent films and foreign language films to Hollywood blockbusters. What music do you like listening to? Indie rock music. I don’t really like anything made before 1976 and have a tendency to go off bands when they become popular. My highlight of last year was finally seeing The Wedding Present live after waiting almost 20 years – I always seemed to keep missing them. I’m a bit of a music obsessive and keep moving on to new stuff. I can spend hours trawling record shops and the net looking for new bands to like.

Charlie Brooker

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Keep living in your own home A big concern for many people is whether they will be able to keep living in their own home later in life. Berwick Borough Housing’s Independent Living team can help any resident keep their lives as comfortable as possible when their needs become greater. This may be due to disability If you need a major adaptation, such as level or old age as well as many other factors. access shower facilities or adapting a kitchen for Those who have a long-term disability or a wheelchair access, the case will usually be person with a long-term disability living in their referred to the local authority. They will assess household can apply for an aid or adaptation so you for the most appropriate work and help apply they can keep living at home. This means that for a grant for the work. There is often a waiting we can help with funding minor works like grab list, but the authority has a legal obligation to pay rails, lever taps, bath seats and door entry for the work in some circumstances, although systems. The Independent Living team can help you may be asked to contribute towards the cost. with these applications. The team can assist and offer free advice at any point in this application. Because the funding we receive to pay for this kind of home improvement is limited, we do have Requests for aids and adaptations are usually to look into individual cases separately. However, looked at on a first come, first served basis. the Independent Living team can give advice on If there is not enough money to do all the work other sources of funding that might be available, straight away, cases are prioritised by for example Disabled Facilities Grants. considering if: • The work will stop you going into hospital or residential care; • The work will let you be discharged from hospital; • The work is needed to enable you to get in or out of your home or access essential areas such as your bathroom; • The work is needed to allow you to bathe or use the WC; or • The work will reduce your risk of falling. If you have any questions or require any information about any of the services we provide, please contact Derek Bell on 08000 461 451 or e-mail him at [email protected] 6 | thebridge


Please give a big welcome to two new members of the BBH team

Name: Pat Benson

Name: Jeanette Lough

Job: Housing Officer

Job: Business Support Assistant

Main duties: My key responsibilities are supporting residents who live in the Prior Park, Cornhill-on-Tweed, Branxton and Wark areas. My main duties are letting our properties, looking after our estates and monitoring rent accounts. I also make sure you have a say in developing our services and I help resolve anti-social behaviour problems.

Main duties: I meet and greet callers to our head office and make sure their enquiries are dealt with. I also provide an administrative support service for Berwick Borough Housing, Four Housing Group and Three Rivers Housing Association. This service includes bulk mailing, accepting and logging payments and inputting data collected from surveys.

I am very happy in my role and I am learning all the time and I enjoy getting to know the residents in the areas I am responsible for. About me: My hobbies include listening and dancing to traditional music and attending folk festivals in the summer. I also love to bake and I often bring home made baked goodies into the office for my colleagues to enjoy.

About me: In 2005, I sold my business in Kelso and moved to France where I had a lovely three and a half years. I learned to speak fluent French, drank copious amounts of vin rouge and even made my own alcohol known as Eau de Vie – the water of life. I also design and make jewellery and I have two cocker spaniels.

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Berwick Borough Housing c Thanks to everyone who completed their satisfaction survey at the end of last year. We got a good response and will use all of your feedback to help shape the next year here at Berwick.

improving on last year’s score in the next survey. Thanks again to everyone who responded, it’s really important that you do, so we can make sure we can improve our housing in a way that’s right for you.”

In the survey, our overall service satisfaction level reached 88 per cent – our highest score since we took over the Council’s 1,900 homes in 2008. It means Berwick Borough Housing’s now placed in the top quarter of performance for a transferred housing association.

If you would like to see a full breakdown of the results visit the website www.berwickboroughhousing.co.uk or contact Simon Lord, Berwick Borough Housing, Unit 1, Windmill Way North, Ramparts Business Park, Berwick upon Tweed, TD15 1TA or call 08000 461 451 for more information.

The biggest increase in performance that you scored us on was ‘satisfaction with the quality of the home’, voted at 85 percent. A lot of development work to make sure homes are of a good standard has taken place over the last few years, and it’s good to see this recognised. Of course, there is more work to come – see page 12 for a timetable. Other areas of improvement since the last survey were in value for money, the neighbourhood as a place to live and tenant engagement. Four Housing Group’s Director of Operations, Dawn Keightley commented on the survey results: “It’s really good to see that our tenants are happy with the service we provide. The results of the tenant survey show that significant achievements have been made in the last two years, given the situation that we inherited at transfer. “To help residents, we have placed more resources on the front-line and made our service more personal, to ensure that people get the support they need, when they need it. 96 percent of our residents said that they are satisfied with the neighbourhood as a place to live, which is a very high score compared to other housing associations. “Of course, there is still development work to be done, but I believe we are already on-track to

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g comes out on top Results from the survey help you stay involved Customer satisfaction with how we communicate and involve you in the running of our services received a score of 87 percent in the survey. Although this is a good score compared to other housing associations, to us it’s our weakest area. In the survey, you said we are good at keeping you informed, but only 59 percent said your views are taken into account when we make decisions that affect you and your home. It’s important to us that we improve this, and we want your involvement to make sure it happens. If you want to get involved with decision-making about where you live, there are lots of different ways you can give your input: Resident Advisory Panel (RAP) The Panel meets with our staff on a Wednesday evening once every month to discuss everything we do regarding housing services. Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) To find out about YAP and how to sign up, see page 10. Resident Associations We have helped set up two Resident Associations in the Berwick area. One represents Prior Park and one Highfields, Newfields and Westfields. We are hoping to help set up a third this year for the Eastcliffe and Highcliffe area – could you be part of it? Vulnerable Forum Older people or those that have mobility problems or learning difficulties help us to shape our services.

Glendale Rural Voice We want to make sure people living in rural locations are given the chance to work with us. The aim of this group is to inform and advise Berwick Borough Housing and its board about the concerns and issues of our residents who live in the Glendale rural area. So if you live in the Wooler area look out for a letter inviting you to the next meeting at the Cheviot Centre, Wooler. Future resident involvement events This summer, we will be bringing our services to you. We’ll be holding events in locations where we have housing, so pop in for a cuppa, and meet us and partner agencies like the Police and Fire Service. The days will be a great way for you to give us feedback and find out more about how to get involved in resident consultation. We will let you know the dates and whereabouts of these events in the next Bridge newsletter. If you would like to help us or you would like further information on resident involvement please contact Simon Lord on 08000 461 451.

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The Youth Advisory Panel needs you! We need people aged twelve to sixteen to join the Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) and help make our area a better place to live. If you think you can help solve social concerns where you live and improve local communities, and most of all want to do something different and have fun at the same time, then make sure you sign up.

Some of the projects the YAP has worked on in the past year include: n Consulting residents at the Scremeston sheltered housing complex to help design and build a garden for them, making their homes a brighter place. n Working with BBH’s parent organisation, Four Housing Group, to come up with ideas about how they’d like to live when they grow older – it seems like a long way off but having input now will make sure young people are heard.

If you join the YAP to help your community, the type of projects you’ll be able to get involved with are: n Housing needs of young people; n How young people relate to us; and n Help with our newsletter and website. And most importantly, what you will get out of the experience:

n Designing pictures of things that remind the n Transferable skills – to help you at school panel of Berwick. Some of the work will be put and useful for getting a job; on show in BBH’s offices, as a fitting tribute to n Trips and fun activities; and their favourite town. To help develop the panel members’ skills, we secured funding and took them on two educational day trips in February.

n A better understanding of local issues and concerns.

We are hoping for the YAP to get involved in new projects this year and we would also The trips took place in Edinburgh, with two half days of training on interview skills, reporting and like to organise more away days. If you are, presentation skills. The other two half days were or know anyone, aged between twelve and turned over to team confidence-building activities sixteen who would be interested in including climbing and aerial assault exercises at becoming a member of the YAP, please contact Vicky Higginbottom or Simon Lord the Ratho Indoor Climbing Arena and a spooky on 08000 461451. group visit to the Edinburgh Dungeons. 10 | thebridge


Residents agree a plan of action

Following on from the ‘We Love Three Fields’ action days in October, Sunday 6th March saw the launch of Three Fields Neighbourhood Agreement at St Mary’s School in Newfields. Sir Alan Beith MP, opened the festivities and Mayor Jennifer Waterhouse, accompanied by her Sheriff, Andy Swinbourne, explained the importance of communities coming together and supporting each other. The Three Fields Residents’ Association made sure the day was fun with a penalty shoot-out, tombola, raffle, card making and children’s activities. Organisations who attended included the Police, Extended Learning Services, Northumberland County Council and Berwick Borough Housing. A neighbourhood agreement is a voluntary partnership between a community, the local authority and other service providers. It describes the service standards that local people expect from the local authority and other agencies like Berwick Borough Housing, as well as commitments from service providers, local groups and residents themselves to help meet local community priorities. Under the Neighbourhood Agreement, agencies are committed to providing support, advice and enforcement on issues such as crime and antisocial behaviour, housing, repairs, fly-tipping, graffiti, dog fouling, maintaining green spaces and communal areas, and engaging children and young people.

John Gray, Team Leader North, Community Safety Team, who was responsible for co-ordinating the neighbourhood agreement said, “The Three Fields Neighbourhood Agreement brings together the residents of Newfields, Highfields and Westfields estates to work together with service providers to improve the wellbeing of people living in the area. The Three Fields Residents’ Association acting as the voice of the residents has been key to the success of the Neighbourhood agreement. It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm of the residents at the launch, which outlines the commitment of the community to improve life on the three estates.” Thank you to everyone who attended this busy and productive day. Annmarie Hastie, Chair of Three Fields Resident Association, would like to take this opportunity to invite new members to join the Three Fields Residents’ Association. If you would like to join please call Annmarie on 01289 332 608. thebridge | 11


Keeping our housing up to standard The Decent Homes programme for 2011/2012 has been released and the following areas will be completed during the next financial year. The programme should be taken as a guide as there may be alterations. Area

Start Month

Brickfield Lodge

April 2011

Scremerston

April 2011

Branxton

April 2011

Roberts Lodge

May 2011

Wark

May 2011

East Ord

June 2011

Norham

June 2011

Prior Park Phase 1

August 2011

Horncliffe

August 2011

Bowsden

August 2011

Lowick

August 2011

Velvet Hall

August 2011

Shoresdean

September 2011

Seahouses

October 2011

Prior Park Phase 2

October 2011

I’m included in the programme what happens now? If your area is included in the programme, you will receive an invitation to attend a consultation about 6 weeks before the start of the work. At this event you will be able to see examples of kitchen units, tiles and floor coverings and you will be able to make choices about these and other parts of the Decent Homes work such as fire surrounds. Our team will be on hand to answer

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questions about the work and you can talk to us about how the improvements will affect you. If you can’t come to the consultation, don’t worry, we can visit you and bring brochures showing kitchen units, tiles etc to help you make your choices. After the consultation and any home visits have taken place, you will get a letter telling you when the work will be starting. This letter will be sent about 14 days before the work is due to start. Seven days before the start, we will visit you again to talk more about what will happen during the 4 weeks of work. We will help you decide what cupboards need to be emptied and give you details of the staff who will be carrying out the work so that you have names, photos and the telephone numbers of everyone involved. Carrying out the amount of work required is a messy job. We will do our very best to protect your home and belongings and the disruption will be worthwhile in the end. But, don’t just take our word for it; here are some of the comments made by customers who have recently had the Decent Homes work completed: “The Electricians worked in the property from 8.10am until 5.00pm, ensuring all electrical work was completed and working prior to leaving. Thoroughly tidying up after themselves before leaving. They even switched the TV on for me” Resident, Golden Square, Wooler February 2011 “Can’t thank everyone enough. I am partially blind/deaf and was not looking forward to getting the work done – but it has all gone smoothly and everyone is so kind!” West Street, Lower Spittal February 2011


Stay safe against the silent killer Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that is produced when fuel does not burn properly. It is mostly caused by a lack of ventilation and not maintaining appliances, flues and chimneys properly. Carbon monoxide has no taste or smell and is known as the ‘Silent Killer’. You do not know it is present and it can kill in a matter of hours. You are most at risk when you are asleep and especially if you are young or elderly. Early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include drowsiness, dizziness, chest pains and nausea. However, it is easy to avoid any troubles with carbon monoxide.

carbon monoxide is one of the reasons why it is essential that Gas Engineers MUST gain access to your home. Where a ‘black hole vent’ has been fitted, please do not cover this up regardless of the draught, as it’s to make sure that your home has adequate ventilation. Where you have an open fire or solid fuel stove, it is essential to empty the ash regularly because if this builds up too much, the fire may not burn properly and produce carbon monoxide. Also, flues and chimneys MUST be swept regularly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

During the Decent Homes works, wherever a house If the carbon monoxide alarm goes off, immediately uses fossil fuel (Gas or Solid Fuel), Berwick open all windows, turn off the appliance if gas, shut Borough Housing arranges for carbon monoxide the door to any solid fuel stove and telephone the monitors to be fitted. emergency call out number stating the problem before leaving the room and closing the door. We also arrange for annual safety checks and servicing to be carried out on all gas appliances.

A problem shared... A new feature for the Bridge is our ‘frequently asked question’ spot. We’ll be trying to address some of the questions our residents ask us all the time. One thing our residents ask in the run up to summer is whether it’s ok for children to play football outside the house. Our answer is usually that, unfortunately, many of our estates simply weren’t designed for children to play sports outside. They can often lead to complaints from neighbours and potential damages. But, we do encourage youngsters to hit the parks and enjoy ball games there. Northumberland County Council also has lots of sporting activities to get involved with. Check out www.northumberland.gov.uk for more information.

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Don’t forget to help shape tomorrow As you may know, March 27th was the official day set for completing census forms. However, if you haven’t completed your form yet, you still have a chance as they can be returned during April. Remember, you must complete your census by law, so please make sure to do it. The information gathered from census forms will be used to help shape local and national services for the next ten years – the more people in Northumberland who return their census form, the closer those services will be matched to our needs.

Beamish Museum update The joint project between Beamish Museum and local groups and schools, including residents from Horsdonside Sheltered Housing, is now on display in the foyer of The Cheviot Centre in Wooler. If you are passing by, it is well worth a look. For more details see the winter edition of the Bridge.

Remember, the information you give in your census will help to make sure the services you use keep getting funded, so make yourself heard.

The photo shows Michelle Ball, Outreach and Access Officer for Beamish Museum fourth from the right with Horsdonside residents.

Did you know... Berwick Borough Housing lets and maintains over 600 garages. They are available only for personal, private use and for the storage of a motor vehicle. They’re not sufficiently weathertight or secure for storage but they are perfect for housing your car or motorbike. Subletting or keeping petrol in the garages is not allowed, but at just £5.12 a week for tenants, the garages are a great way of making sure your car stays in top condition. If you want to apply to rent a garage, please ring Brian Parkin on 08000 461 451. You’ll need to complete a garage application and after this is handed in, you’ll be added to the waiting list.

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In plenty of areas you’ll be able to get a garage quite quickly, although unfortunately, in some places demand is high, so you may need to wait.


Could you be a winner? We’ve got two great competitions coming up; the new garden competition and community champion awards. If you’d like to enter or nominate someone, cut out the slips below and return them to: Simon Lord, Berwick Borough Housing, Unit 1, Windmill Way North, Ramparts Business Park, Berwick upon Tweed, TD15 1TA or call 08000 461 451 for more information.

Get gardening Berwick Borough Housing will be holding its first garden competition this year and we want all of you with green fingers to enter. Prizes will go to gardens in three categories: • Best large garden • Best small garden • Best container garden Gardens will be judged on standards of upkeep, colour and creativity. You can enter whatever the standard of your garden. We just appreciate the love and effort you have put into it. To apply please complete the form on this page. Gardens will be judged during late July. Garden competition awards Name: ......................................................................................... Address: ......................................................................................... Contact Phone Number: ......................................................................................... I would like to enter my garden in the: (tick one) Large garden category Small garden category Container garden category

Do you know a Community Champion? Do you have a neighbour or someone in your community who always goes out of their way to help others? They might have helped reduce anti social behaviour, worked to clean up your area or even just have been a great listener to you and the people around you. If you know someone who fits the bill, make sure you enter them for a Community Champion award. We will then contact and interview them and the standout person will be presented with an award at our Residents’ Conference in October. Community Champion nomination Your name: ................................................................... Your address: .............................................................. Contact phone number: ......................................................................................... The Community Champion’s name: ......................................................................................... Their address: ............................................................. ......................................................................................... Their telephone number: ........................................... Why is this person a Community Champion? ......................................................................................... ......................................................................................... ......................................................................................... .........................................................................................

Answers to the quiz from the back page Q1 Durham and Cumbria - Q2 The names of islands in the Farne Island group - Q3 A68 - Q4 Catcleugh Reservoir - Q5 Alnwick Q6 Cragside - Q7 Lancelot "Capability" Brown- Q8 Corbridge - Q9 Dunstanburgh Castle - Q10 Chillingham - Q11 Cramlington Q12 Bamburgh

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Quiz Northumberland Can you guess the answers to these questions about Northumberland? Q1 With which two other counties of England does Northumberland share a border?

Q7 Which famous landscape gardener went to the local village school on the Wallington estate?

Q2 In Northumberland what are Little Harcar, Brownsman and Staple?

Q8 Near which modern day town is the remains of the Roman fort of Corstopitum?

Q3 If you cross the border to Scotland at Carter Bar on which main road would you be travelling?

Q9 Which Northumberland Castle was specifically built on the orders of Thomas of Lancaster, the cousin and worst enemy of King Edward II?

Q4 A famous reservoir was built near the Carter Bar pass. What is it called?

Q10 On which estate is a herd of white cattle to be found that is unique to Northumberland?

Q5 In which town in Northumberland is there a huge second-hand bookshop built inside an old railway station? Q6 Which country house in Northumberland was built by the 1st Lord Armstrong and was reported to be the first house in the world to be lit by electricity?

Q11 What was the name of the designated "new town" that was set up in Northumberland in the 1960s partly to deal with overspill population from Newcastle? Q12 Which castle in Northumberland was the first castle to fall to cannon fire?

We at Berwick Borough Housing look forward to supporting you throughout the year.

We can produce this newsletter in alternative formats and languages. If you would like further information or require the services of an interpreter in: (Arabic)

(Bengali)

Deutsch (German) (Punjab)

(Hindi)

Español (Spanish)

(Chinese)

Français (French)

Melayu (Malay)

Polski (Polish)

Türkçe (Turkish)

(Urdu)

Please contact us on 08000 461 451 Unit 1, Windmill Way North, Ramparts Business Park, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 1TA Visit us online at: www.berwickboroughhousing.co.uk Produced by Four Housing Group

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