ART250_Unity%20Cust_Report%202011

Plus Dane Group residents’ magazine Issue Nine Summer 2011

www.neighbourhoodinvestor.com

Customer Annual Report 2010|11edition

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Welcome to the summer edition of UNiTY.

This issue includes our 2010/11 customer annual report,which aims to show you how we performed over the year,along with stories of how our neighbourhood investor workis continuing to make a real difference.

Plus Dane UNiTY Customer Report2

Plus Dane UNiTY Customer Report 3

We hope that as you read the

pages of this magazine,we will show you the

many ways in which weare delivering our seven promises.

review content

Ken Perry Des Finlay

Chief Executive ChairPlus Dane Group Tenants Together Forum

Increased investment in existing property

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Investing in improvements Our supported housing scheme in Maghullis just one of the developments thatbenefitted from increased investmentduring 2010/11.

All 48 residents of the homes in ChristopherTaylor House received new bathrooms andlevel entry showers as part of generalimprovements costing more than £190,000,which also include a new lift.

We are also due to spend an extra £200,000

bringing energy saving improvements,including the replacement of old-styleboilers and the fitting of solar technology, which will take the house into an eco-friendly future.

The technology will be so efficient that the improvements will eventually pay for themselves.

Resident Geoff Rose (pictured right) said: “I really enjoy living here at ChristopherTaylor House, the staff and the residentsare all so friendly, we are in an ideallocation and there’s so much to do.”

Your stories :


Working with customers, we have established a set of seven Neighbourhood investor promises these are: Increased investment in existing property

Further supporting resident involvement Increased creation of local jobs Increased supply and choice of homes

Throughout 2010/11, we continued our programme of investment in homes in line with our commitment to deliver decent homes.

Transforming homesWork to transform the face of housing in Middlewich passed its first milestone during the year.

Three properties in Kitfield Avenue were fitted with eco-friendlyexternal insulation, which not only cuts heating bills but hasgiven the exterior of the homes a makeover.

Plus Dane Group is now offering the service to tenants in 55other homes. It will be free to them but will cost the Groupmore than £300,000.

As part of the project, which follows replacement roof work,private homeowners will also be offered the service at a

reduced rate, ensuring that the neighbourhoods maintain a smart look.

Plus Dane’s investment team leader Colin Mountfordsaid: “Tenants who have had the works carried out already

commented on the reduction of their heating costs, whilethose who are being offered the improvements are very

enthusiastic about the stylish new look.”

The houses are of a solid wall construction and are unsuitable forcavity wall insulation work and residents had previously complainedthat they are costly to heat as well as having damp issues.

In response to this, they are now fitted with state-of-the art insulationpanels on the outside which will be covered with a brick sliptechnology at the front and pebble dashing at the rear.

FACT90%

the amount

of repairs we

now complete

at first visit

FACT£2.5m

the amount ofadditional investmentwe will commit to ourexisting homes during

2011/12


Creating great places to live Increased community safety measures Further supporting vulnerable customers




Creating great places to liveBuilding and maintaining great neighbourhoods where people want to live and where residents take pride in their areasand their communities continues to be the cornerstone of all our neighbourhood investor work.

FACT670

the number of

tenants and

residents engaged

with health and

wellbeing activities

throughout the year


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Breaking down barriers Success forBeautiful North Throughout the year, Plus Dane

Group has been working hard to deliver

Beautiful North, an innovative partnership

of over 30 public, private and voluntary sector

organisations that are committed to working

together, working harder and working more

imaginatively to help show the beautiful face

of North Liverpool.

Show Your Beautiful Face is a commitment to

deliver real change in the communities of Anfield,

County and Kirkdale and it is already making a big

difference. A pilot project to tackle empty homes in

County as part of the project has, since September

2010, reduced the number of void properties in the

area significantly.

Through this new partnership approach, work has

included cleaning up the external appearance of

void properties most in need, fast tracking benefit

payments to enable private landlords to house

families in acute housing need, and encouraging

private investment to bring homes back into use.

As a result, each of these previously empty homes

now not only generates additional income through

council tax, but also secures a £1,300 New Homes

Bonus for six years.

This approach has been so

successful that it is due to roll

out to Anfield and potentially more

widely across the city. Ade Devers

of City and North Neighbourhood

Management Services, Liverpool

City Council, said: “There were

certain blocks in County where

people wouldn’t go because they

had become so run down. Through

this pilot we have targeted those

streets and there’s been a huge

change in the attitudes of people

who live there.”

FACT£295,000

the amount invested in

environmentalimprovements inneighbourhoods



Your stories:




Increased community safety measuresPlus Dane Group works closely with a wide range of partners, including the police, fire services and localprimary care trusts to deliver our community safety promise.

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Your stories :

Making WavesThroughout 2010/11, Plus Dane has been working

with the police and other partners to help victims

of crime.

The Making Waves project, which was based in

Toxteth in Liverpool and funded by the Home Office,

supported witnesses and victims as they went

through the process of reporting crimes.

This one-to-one support from a dedicated

co-ordinator was backed up by “target hardening” of

properties, ranging from the installation of fireproof

letterboxes, new locks and even CCTV cameras.

Plus Dane worked to make safer the properties of

10 tenants who were supporting the justice process.

Neighbourhood investment manager Ali Phillipson

said: “A lot of tenants in the area told us they wanted

to report crimes or stand up as witnesses but

were afraid of repercussions.

“This pilot project,

which was in partnership with Riverside Housing,

the police and other

stakeholders, offered a

range of help, by giving

encouragement to report crime, organising

security of property, providing support and

assistance with witness statements.

“It was an extra buffer between the criminals,

the victims and witnesses and the police.

“For obvious reasons we had to keep this project

low profile, but behind the scenes it had great

success in making tenants feel safer and helping

to bring criminals to justice.”

FACT£45,000

the amount

invested in

making homes

more secure


Driving down crime


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FACT£30,000the amount secured to preventyoung people getting involved in crime




Further supporting vulnerable customersWe create thriving neighbourhoods and communities through ensuring that opportunities are accessible to everyone and creating the right environment that enables everyone to realise their aspirations.

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Your stories :

Promoting independence

Rachel Linney is celebrating a new sense of independence after buying a home.

The 26-year-old, who is challenged by a wide range of physical and mental health

conditions, is now settled in and living on her own for the first time.

Rachel (pictured right) bought the mews-style house in Macclesfield with the

help of Plus Dane through a government shared ownership scheme called HOLD

(Home Ownership for People with Long-term Disabilities).

She holds a three quarter share in the property, with finance from My Safe Home – the

mortgage specialist for people with disabilities - and the Reliance Building Society.

Plus Dane holds the other quarter. The scheme in its current form has limited

availability throughout the UK but it proved ideal for Rachel.

“It was just the right time to move out and to stand on my own two feet. The

independence you get is the best thing about it and I feel that I am getting more

independent all the time. It’s a great feeling”, said Rachel.


Providing the right careAn innovative care programme for people coming out of hospital is benefitting residents and the whole community.

Neighbourhood officers in Cheshire reported scenarios where olderpeople who needed hospital treatment following a fall or accident in thehome would be discharged back into the environment where they hadsuffered the injury in the first place.

Working closely with the local authority and other partners, we nowensure a care package is in place as tenants go back into thatenvironment, doing things like checking the property for hazards.

The work has made massive in-roads into supporting the welfare of ourresidents and also made an impact in freeing up hospital beds - whichgives a saving to the public purse.

The work is just part of a range of activities Plus Dane is involved withthat help support vulnerable people.

Sheila Baldwin, Service Review and Contract Monitoring Officer for thesupporting people team on Cheshire East Council said: “Plus Dane is anexcellent partner for Supporting People as they are innovative,enthusiastic and put the service users at the heart of all they do.

“They are a very good value service and I am looking forward to workingwith them in the future.”


FACT700the number of homes visited through Beat the Chill

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Further supporting resident involvement

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Tenants decide how to allocate £200,000 Throughout the year, Plus Dane Groupunlocked more than £600,000 for newinvestment through an efficiency drive,which was achieved without any cuts in service.

The savings came in many guises, rangingfrom better procurement deals to the settingup of an in-house IT training facility.

In agreement with the group’s TenantsTogether Forum (TTF) and trades unions,the cash was split three ways. One third

went to staff, one to our reserves and a third - £200,000 - to fund moreneighbourhood investment activity this year. It was agreed from the outset that thebest people to decide how to best spendthis funding in neighbourhoods was tenants themselves.

The tenants’ forum decided to use this additional investment, which is over and above investment already agreed, to further strengthen existingneighbourhood investment plans and also offer more resources to the Ni academy, which offers training and employability opportunities to tenants.

Some of this money has been set aside for young people who need extra support in finding work, such as paying transport expenses for interviews.

John Kane, from Alsager, a member of the Tenants Together Forum, said: “We have got a good deal with this money.It is being spent wisely and we can showwhere it is being spent.

“It is brilliant that Plus Dane has managed to save so much and agreed from theoutset to share some of the windfall.”

Involving and engaging with customers remains absolutely vital to our neighbourhood investor mission.

Your stories :



Former Emmerdaleactress brings the theatre to Colwell Court

FACT£200,000the amount

of additionalinvestment

being allocatedby tenants

FACT20

new tenant

inspectors

are now

monitoring our

services


Steps to Excellence Tenants who had lost hope of finding work have found new confidence and motivation.

A self-esteem course called Steps toExcellence, run by Plus Dane guidanceofficer Ian Brereton, gave seven tenantsthe opportunity to think positively aboutthemselves and opportunities that are out there.

One of the graduates was so inspired, sheis planning to start her own business.

“It was best course I’ve ever been on,” said

Barbara Price (pictured) from Liverpool. “I’m 66 and still want to work but had lost a lot of confidence. I’ve had a battle withbreast cancer and so many knock backsfrom employers because of my age.

“It’s hard to explain the positive force thiscourse had on me, but all of a sudden Ilearned to stop blaming myself for things and think about what I could do. I left thecourse with my head held high.

“I’ve now started updating mybookkeeping skills, to build on the financework I used to do before I was maderedundant and now I want to start my ownbookkeeping business. No one can tell meI’m too old if I work for myself!”

Another course goer, Moses Nkundwa,also from Liverpool, said: “I’d lost a lot of confidence when the security work I used to do dried up so this has been a great boost.

“I really want to do work that involvesdriving, which I really enjoy, and feel moreconfident I can get that work now.”

The course was provided in partnershipwith the Liverpool Jobs, Education andTraining (JET) Service, which aims to help employers find the right staff with theright training, and help people out-of-workmatch their abilities and interests with jobsor training opportunities.


Increased creation of local jobsIn the current economic climate, the creation of local jobs is even more important.

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Your stories :




FACT257

the number of people supported toaccess employment

or a work-basedapprenticeship

FACT70%

of people that haveparticipated in our 45Future Jobs Fund placesare now in permanentemployment


A brighter future

Increase supply and choice of homes

FACT466

the number of new homesdelivered in

2010/11



Over the last 12 months, we have made significant progress with our development programme to increase the supply and choice of homes and meet the need for affordable housing in many of the neighbourhoods we work in.


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Plus Dane has been busy with a large range of housing

development, focusing on innovative ways to help address

the affordable housing shortage.

Among the most eye-catching of these schemes is work to

make 36 apartments available for local people in the Clock

Tower, a Grade II listed building on the site of the former

Macclesfield hospital in Cheshire.

The development will be completed this summer

with the first tenants expected to move in shortly after.

Alan Miller, Plus Dane’s head of business development, said:

“There is a strong need for affordable housing in

Macclesfield and Plus Dane is proud to be involved in a

project that provides quality homes for social rent in such an

impressive location.”

The Clock Tower project, a mix of one, two and three

bedroom apartments, is part of a £30m development

in the area which has brought more than 200

jobs to the town.

Your stories :

Regeneration celebrated at Bootle’s Regency Park

FACT333

the number ofpeople supported

into homeownership through

our HomesHubservice




Monitoring and scrutiny Plus Dane Group’s work is scrutinised and monitored in a robust way to make sure that we are delivering what we say we are going to and are held to account by tenants and residents.

Plus Dane Group Board

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Your tenant board members

Lilian Hazell

Pól O'Gray

Elizabeth Dunderdale

Jack Costello

Fatima Jawahier Sharif Ali

Tracy Goudie

As part of our commitment to be even more open and accountable to you, this year we wanted toreport back to you on how we aredoing much earlier.

Further on in this report you’ll findsome pages on how we’re doing on a range of key service areas such as repairs, decent homes and customer satisfaction. Thisinformation is key to informing how we are doing and where we can be even better.

Our financial performance for the2010/11 financial year is currentlybeing assessed and audited and will be featured in the autumn issue

Financialperformance

Tenants Together Forum

Engagement groups

Regional forums

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Make a Difference (MaD) groups

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Tenant Inspectors

Neighbourhood forums and panels

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of UNiTY to show you how we haveperformed financially over the year.

This information goes through a detailed process, including being checked by external auditors, monitored and approved by the Group Audit and Scrutiny Committee and signed off by the Board.

This process is underway and due to be completed by September, but we didn’t want to wait until then this year to report back on how we are doing in terms of delivering the sevenpromises and meeting our service standards.

That’s why this year, we’re bringing you the information we can much sooner, and you willreceive a full financial report in the next issue of UNiTY.

Pam FarrellPam Farrell

Rent due Merseyside £26,580,728 £26,808,000Cheshire £16,085,117 £15,179,353

Current rent arrears percentage Merseyside 4.5% 3.9% 3.2%Cheshire 3% 2.3%

Number of homes that have been empty this year Merseyside 518 631Cheshire 480 528

Average time to relet these homes Merseyside 29 days 33 days 26 days Cheshire 58 days 44 days

Percentage of customers satisfied with their home Merseyside 87% 86.8% Cheshire 92% 89.3%

Stock turnover Merseyside 7% 7.3% Cheshire 8.6% 8.7%

Percentage of stock vacant and available to let Merseyside 0.7% 0.9% Cheshire 0.7% 1.5%

Number of tenancies failing within 12 months Merseyside 46 38 Cheshire 46 33

Former tenant arrears Merseyside New for 2011 £983,505 Cheshire New for 2011 £375,073

Tenancy Standards 2009/10 2010/11 Top 25% in North West*


Performance information

Tenant involvement and empowerment

Home

Tenancy

Neighbourhood and Community

Value for money

Governance and financial viability

Standard Requirement

■ Customer service, choice and complaints ■ Involvement and empowerment■ Understanding and responding to diverse needs of tenants

■ Quality of accommodation ■ Repairs and maintenance

■ Allocations ■ Rents ■ Tenure

■ Neighbourhood Management ■ Local area co-operation ■ Antisocial behaviour

■ Value for money

■ Governance ■ Financial viability

Number of formal complaints received and resolved Merseyside 172Cheshire 64

Number of complaints resolved at first point of contact Merseyside New for 2011 770Cheshire New for 2011 291

Percentage of customers whose gender we know Merseyside 99.5% 100% 100%Cheshire 96% 100%

Percentage of customers whose age we know Merseyside 91% 98% 99%Cheshire 88% 93%

Percentage of customers whose ethnicity we know Merseyside 78% 85% 95% Cheshire 78% 84.5%

Percentage of customers who we know have a disability Merseyside 71% 80% 95.5% Cheshire 65% 70%

Percentage of customers whose religion we know Merseyside 66% 74.6% 74% Cheshire 63% 73.5%

Percentage of customers whose sexual orientation we know Merseyside 66% 74.4% 72% Cheshire 57% 69.5%


Neighbourhoods & Community 2009/10 2010/11

Tenant Involvement & Empowerment 2009/10 2010/11 Top 25% in North West*

Total number of repairs completed Merseyside 27,600 31,100(Responsive and gas) Cheshire 16,900 17,400

Average time to complete a repair Merseyside 8.7 days 8.5 days 7.3 daysCheshire 7 days 8.2 days

Percentage of customers satisfied with repairs service Merseyside 98% 90% 86%Cheshire 98% 88%

Percentage of properties not meeting Decent Homes standard Merseyside 1.08% 0% Cheshire 1.46% 0%

Percentage of homes with valid gas certificates Merseyside 98.8% 99.6% 99.9% Cheshire 99.5% 99.8%

Percentage of repairs done at first time fix Merseyside 84% 88% 88% Cheshire 78% 91%

Home Standards 2009/10 2010/11 Top 25% in North West*

Number of ASB cases raised Merseyside 195 182 Cheshire 54 56

Percentage of ASB cases responded in time Merseyside 86% 77% Cheshire 100% 95%

Number of hate crime cases Merseyside 5 4 Cheshire 0 0

Number of closed cases Merseyside 136 138 Cheshire 72 36

Number of opened cases Merseyside 119 155 Cheshire 51 32

Figures recordeddifferently for 2011

Plus Dane UNiTY22

We would like to say a big thank you to all our customerswho completed a STATUS satisfaction questionnaire!

As part of our commitment to listening to the views of ourtenants, we asked NHF Feedback Services to carry out apostal survey on our behalf, to find out how satisfied you arewith your home and the services you receive from us.

This important information will be used to help improve ourservices in the future. We carried out a similar survey forMerseyside residents in 2008 and Cheshire residents in 2009and would like to see if our service has improved since then.

We started the survey in May and once we have all theinformation, we will be sharing our findings with you infuture editions of UNiTY. We will also be ensuring tenantconsultation on the best wayforward forimproving anyservices werethere is lowersatisfaction andwill be includedin the Make a Differenceaction plans.

Community Safety Team

As part of our continued commitment toimproving community safety, we have set upa new Community Safety team in Merseyside.

Although the team will work primarily in theMerseyside area, they will also be available tostaff and residents in Cheshire to offer help andadvice. Staff from both Merseyside and Cheshirealso meet regularly to share good practice.

The team is headed up by Nicola Andrews,who has extensive experience in housingmanagement and tackling anti-socialbehaviour. Nicola said; “I am passionateabout getting our approach to communitysafety issues right.

“The team will be responsible for dealing withreports of antisocial behaviour, ranging fromneighbourhood nuisance cases to allegationsof domestic abuse and hate crime reports.One of Plus Dane Group’s seven promises isto increase community safety measures, andour new team is committed to delivering this.”

STATUS survey update

Tenant inspectors deliver their verdictTenants have delivered their verdict on Plus Dane’s repairs and maintenance services - good, with room for improvement.

Chad Thompson0151 330 3447 [email protected]

Plus Dane UNiTY 23

Show Your Beautiful Face Photography Competition

Revealing the Beauty of North Liverpool

Prizesl Grand prize £500,

‘People’ Category Winner £250,‘Place’ Category Winner £250

l All 3 prize winners and a selectionof runner-ups will have theirphotographs exhibited in aprestigious Liverpool Gallery in Autumn 2011

How to take partEntrants can submit their entries via www.flickr.com

Simply follow these steps:1. Visit www.Flickr.com and sign up

for a free account or log in to youraccount if you already have one

2. Upload photos to your account;add the title, details about where it was taken and when it was taken

3. Then visit the ‘Show Your BeautifulFace Photography Competition’Flickr Group and Join

4. Click ‘Add photos’5. Select up to 2 images you want

to submit to the competition, andclick the ‘Add to Group’ button

6. You’re done! Your photographshave been submitted to thecompetition

Photographs must be a minimum3MB in size.

Entries are limited to twophotographs per personEntry deadline 5pm on 31st July 2011

Full details, Terms and Conditionscan be found at ‘Show Your BeautifulFace Photography Competition’ Flickr Group or contact Open Culturedirectly at [email protected]

Sarah Moston, PR ManagerPlus Dane Group4 Smithdown PlaceLiverpool L15 9EH

t: 0151 522 1349m: 07966 972 920www.neighbourhoodinvestor.com

Your photo can fit either category of People or Place, so whether it’s of your local park, your family, your local shopkeeper or the street you live on - reveal the beauty of North Liverpool in all its forms and from any angle…!

DO YOU LIVE, WORK ORPLAY IN NORTHLIVERPOOL? SHOW THEWORLD ITS BEAUTY BYSHARING YOUR

PHOTOGRAPHS IN THESHOW YOUR BEAUTIFULFACE PHOTOGRAPHYCOMPETITION FOR YOURCHANCE TO WIN AGRAND PRIZE OF £500!

££500500PRIZE

Plus Dane UNiTY24

A picture of health

100 years for active EdithStaying active is the key to a long life, according to Sandbach’s newest centenarian.

Plus Dane UNiTY 25

BEAR cheek!Plus Dane has been joining in the fun at Congleton’sBearmania festival.

ACROSS1 Endowed 5Jaffa 8Garotte 9Malta 10Era 11Residents 13Atomic

14Placid 16Anonymous 17Bug 19Erica 21Trounce 22Ystad 23Rosette

DOWN1 Eagle 2Dermatologist 3Waterlily 4Dressy 5Jam 6Filing cabinet 7Amassed

12Delusions 13 Academy 15 Boater 18 Grebe 20Aid

592734186

674981523

381526794

465892317

718643952

239157648

856479231

927318465

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UNITY CROSSWORD ANSWERS

UNITY SUDOKU SOLUTION

Here are the competitionanswers from the back page - no peeking for those of you who haven’t had a go!

Competition

Answers

Plus Dane UNiTY 26

Champs honouredThe first Plus Dane Young People’s Champion Awards saw volunteers, youth workers and professional teams honoured by the people they have supported.

The full list of winners: Rebecca Moughtin - Plus Dane young person of the year; Darren Jones - Plus Dane community champion; I ncomemanagement - Plus Dane department; Philip Gray - Plus Dane young persons champion; Central youth club - Plus Dane youth and communityproject; St John’s Youth and Community Centre - Plus Dane outstanding achievement; Tenantspin/FACT -Plus Dane delivery partner.

Plus Dane UNiTY 27

Twenty six tenants have graduated from Plus Dane’s Residents Academy

call or email

Tenants celebrate their success

Title Date & Time Location Title Date & Time Location Title Date & Time Location

9 4 1 8

1 3

8 5 2

6 5 9

7 4 2

5 6 4

7 9 3

9 3

94 3 2 6 7

UNITY SUDOKU

How to play Sudoku: Complete the grid so every row, every column and every 3x3box contains the digits 1-9. You won’t need maths but youwill need a flexible brain!

5 3

UNITY CROSSWORDACROSS

11 Permanent occupants (9)

DOWN

DOWN (cont.)

13 Seat of learning (7)

Thank you for all those who entered ourcrossword competition in the last issue.

The winners were Mr and Mrs Naylor of Cheshire.

The £25 prize for the winner will be the first entry drawn out of the hat which completes the crossword and correctly enters the answers to clues in the yellow coloured boxes provided below.

CLUE: Where tenants go for training.

The solutions are on page 25.

CompetitionTime

This document is available in other languages, on audio format, in largeprint or in Braille by request.

SGS-COC-005062

CONTACT US

©2011 This publication has been written & designed by Plus Dane Group’s Knowledge, Innovation and Performance Team working alongside the Tenants Communications Group. 0085.06.11

customer contact centres: (has emergency 24 hour repair line)t: 0800 169 2988 (Merseyside)t: 0500 026 079 (Cheshire)

repairs email:[email protected]

general information email:[email protected]

write to us:Merseyside172 Park Road Liverpool L8 6SJ


If you have any comments about UNiTY magazine, please let us know. We also welcome any ideas for stories that you mighthave, and would love to talk to people who would like to take part in our regular columns or have news to share. You cancontact us in the following ways:

Call our Communications Team on 0151 522 1349, or write to usvia Sarah Moston, Communications Team, Plus Dane Group,Smithdown Office, 4 Smithdown Place, Liverpool L15 9EH.You can also e-mail us at [email protected]

CheshireShepherds Mill Worrall Street Congleton CW12 1DT

PRIZE CLUES (fill in answers.)

11 Across

13 Down

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