April 2012

a newsletter for tenants of Crosby Housing Association

Crosby Housing Association is an exempt charity incorporated as an Industrial and Provident Society No 19175R

Planning for 2012 - 2013

Our annual business planning event held in January was a great success. We had nine tenants with us to discuss what CHA should focus on over the next few years. We discussed the impact of the

Government‟s welfare reform changes.

These include major changes for some

tenants receiving benefits, many of these

changes could have a negative impact on

the benefits that tenants receive.

We will continue to publish details of the changes, but if you are on benefit, particularly

housing benefit, then come and talk to us to see if and how you will be affected.

Our key investment proposals focus on your homes. We will continue to maintain homes to required standards and we have started to talk to you about our proposals to improve the energy efficiency of your homes. These improvements will be a key priority for us.

Irene Burgess,

CHA tenant:

It was good to see the

staff in a different

environment. I ’ve now

grown in confidence and

I’m not afraid to speak

up and have my say.

We want you to help us to improve standards in all we do by telling us what is working and what we can do better. We want you to get involved in monitoring how we are doing and we will continue to tell you how we are performing and put this in the context of other housing associations.

We work with partners, in our wider community,

trying to help improve the places where you live. We

know that local authority cut-backs are severe and

we give a commitment to continue this work during

the hard times ahead.

Inside this issue ...

Page 1

Page 2 - Local Offer performance update Page 3 - You said, We did; Communal Services Page 4 - Rent Increase; Welfare Reform; Waterloo Traders Page 5 - Crosby Stuart FC; Local History

Page 6 - CHART news Page 7 - Energy Efficiency Programme; Computer Training Page 8 - Bank Holidays, May & June; Contact Details

Page 2

Local Offer performance to 31 December 2011 Target Actual Are we on

target?

Your Home Offer

Properties with an up to date gas certificate 100% 99.66% Near Miss!

Emergency repairs that were completed within target time 100% 100% Urgent repairs that were completed within target time 100% 99.40% Near Miss!

Routine repairs that were completed within target time 99% 98.43% Near Miss!

Repairs that were completed right first time 90% 95.45% Tenants satisfied with the repairs service 99% 97.41% Near Miss!

Involvement & Empowerment Offer

Our website continues to be accessed by a small but increasing number of browsers. We have 255 followers of the Crosby Housing Association Twitter account. We have published our Christmas newsletter, hand delivered this to all tenants and published it on our website. The bumper edition contained information regarding our asset management proposals together with topical sections regarding recent events including the Christmas lights switch on in Waterloo and Seaforth. We included information regarding proposed Welfare Benefit Reforms and provided a short questionnaire for completion and return – there have been 57 responses to date. We invited contributions from tenants and included an article from the Scrutiny Panel and a tenants‟ recipe. We also included a „You said, we did‟ feature in the newsletter, reflecting a commitment made in the Local Offer. This advised about the communal Ruko lock exchange programme, improved winter grit provision and water butt installations. We have met with tenant representatives at Board, Scrutiny & Tenants Advisory Panel meetings and via Asset Management and Staff Review groups. We continue to ask for feedback on our repairs performance and as a result of feedback from our Scrutiny Panel will notify tenants affected by communal works. There have been 19 complaints to date and we have responded to each of these within the 10 days target, 17 have been resolved, 2 from quarter 3, are outstanding.

Tenancy Offer

We have provided all applicants with a copy of our allocations policy and each of the 4 properties let this quarter have conformed to this. We have hand delivered the Annual Review to all households providing information regarding performance in 2010/11.

Average time it took to re-let empty properties 20 days 17.11 days Neighbourhood and Communities Offer

We have carried out monthly inspections and random spot checks on all properties receiving communal services- window & communal cleaning and gardening. Households receive quarterly satisfaction questionnaires asking for feedback on satisfaction levels with the previous 3 months services i.e qtr 2. Despite low response rates, it is clear that satisfaction levels are low and have reduced from last quarters‟ figures. (provided in brackets). This poor performance has been discussed with individual contractors and a completed visit signing sheet has now been provided in each communal area.This, combined with the issuing of keys to facilitate access, a requirement to provide supporting schedules of works undertaken and the improved monitoring regime will address this decline in the immediate short term. The Scrutiny Panel will assist in the review and retendering of the communal services contracts, commencing forthwith with the window cleaning contract.

Tenant satisfaction with communal cleaning 98% 75% Tenant satisfaction with gardening 98% 85.71%

Tenant satisfaction with window cleaning 98% 60% Block Inspections monthly 100%

Neighbourhood Offer

Housing Services Officers have undertaken neighbourhood walkabouts in Waterloo and Seaforth to identify areas of concern. Dog fouling and fly tipping have been identified as some of the key areas of concern and we have notified Sefton MBC to address them. They have responded positively, in one instance engaging community services volunteers to undertake the work. We aim to publish a timetable for future walkabouts in the newsletter and via the web to encourage community attendance and include details of progress within „You said we did‟ articles.

Anti Social Behaviour Offer

There have been 42 incidents of Anti Social Behaviour reported in the year to date, each of these have been investigated and responded to within the target time of 5 days. 17 cases have now been closed and satisfaction surveys have been sent to 13 households (4 were anonymous complaints).

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You said, We did

As part of the local offer we agreed to publish information about actions we had taken following requests by you, our tenants. In response to tenants‟ concerns about litter and fly tipping in our neighbourhoods, Esther Rice, CHA Housing Services Officer, contacted Sefton Council and invited them and a number of tenants to join in a neighbourhood walkabout. Although the weather was awful, the group persisted and identified a number of grot spots in the Waterloo area. Esther reports that these areas have now been cleaned up by Sefton Council despite cuts to their budgets. We plan to have these walkabouts again in the neighbourhoods so if you are interested in joining Esther or Ami or are aware of any grot spots please get in touch.

Church Road/Wesley Street - Before ... ... and After

Communal Services

Many tenants live in flats that have shared or communal areas. Generally these communal areas are hallways and gardens and CHA provides services to maintain these areas and clean the windows of these properties. We make a charge for these services and we

constantly monitor the performance of the contractors who deliver these services and ask if you are satisfied with the job that they are doing. We take your feedback seriously, and we are in the process of reviewing our communal services contracts for window cleaning, communal cleaning and gardening to ensure that we deliver the best possible services to you. You may have noticed that signing sheets have been

provided in hallways for the contractor to record when

they have visited; these sheets, combined with your

satisfaction questionnaires, help us to manage the

contracts effectively. If you receive a satisfaction

questionnaire, please complete it and return it -

it really does help us to manage the contracts.

Page 4

All Assured Tenants will have received notification of this year‟s rent increase, effective from April 9th 2012. The formula for calculating the increase follows government guidelines to move towards „Target Rents‟ and it remains the same as in previous years: The Retail Price Index rate (RPI) at September (in Sept 2011 RPI was 5.6%) plus 0.5% plus up to £2.00 (depending on proximity to Target Rent) If you claim Housing Benefit and it is paid to you directly it is important that you take your notification letter to Sefton Plus at the One Stop Shop 324-342 Stanley Road Bootle. If you pay by Standing Order, please notify your bank of the increased amount.

We will notify tenants who do not have Assured Tenancies of their rent increases separately. If you have any queries at all regarding your rent, please contact our office. We are happy to help.

Rent Increases 2012 - 2013

In our December newsletter we advised you of the Welfare Reform proposals that are being considered by the government. Many of you completed the tenant profile questionnaire and sent it back to us – thanks for that. We are now identifying tenants who could be at risk of being affected by the reforms and will be contacting you to discuss this.

In the meantime if you are concerned about the potential impact of the reforms on you

and your household, please contact the office. We will be happy to help.

Welfare Reform

Waterloo Traders

The Waterloo Traders, a group of business owners in L22 have called for other local businesses and the local community to support each other in the current economic climate. Waterloo Traders was formed about six years ago and the group is committed to being very proactive in promoting local businesses, working within the community, supporting local charities and making Waterloo a better place to live and do business. Plaza Lettings, Goodmans Law, Crosby Housing, Barnett‟s Wholefoods, WPT Creative, The Crosby Herald, Costa Coffee, Energie Gym and Little Pizza Kitchen are just some of the businesses currently involved in the group. The group is open to any traders/staff in the L22 area. If you are, or know, a Waterloo trader who would like to be involved in the group, contact Carol Hopwood at cmh@goodmanslaw.co.uk or call 0151 257 6000.

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Local History - Potters Barn

The group of buildings in the picture below is Potters Barn, on the boundary between Seaforth and Waterloo at the corner of Crosby Rd South and Cambridge Rd.

Potters Barn is a reminder of the Battle of Waterloo, fought in Belgium in 1815. The buildings were built in 1841 by William Potter, a wealthy china trader, and are said to be a representation of a farmhouse, La Haie Sainte, which was a key position during the famous battle. On 11

th July 1908

Potters Barn was opened as a recreation ground and remains so to this day. Thanks to tenant and Board member, Lee Mattocks, for the photograph and information.

Any time you can give will be greatly appreciated. For further information and application forms, please contact Steph Morris at the Charity Shop, Lorne Road, Waterloo. Tel: 0151 928 6120. We are also in desperate need of donations, particularly men‟s, women‟s and children‟s clothing. Thank you for all your support.

Charity Shop Volunteers

My name is Jack Antonio and I am captain of Crosby Stuart Youth under 15s. I am 14 years old and live in Crosby. I am currently in my 9

th season with Crosby Stuart

and I really enjoy playing for the team with all my friends. We have been very successful since we started and have won the championship and cup in all of the 3 leagues we have played in. We have been away on trips with the team on many occasions to places like Flamingoland and Lakeside Windermere which were very enjoyable. On behalf of all my team mates I would like to thank Crosby Housing Association for sponsoring the team since 2004 and helping to make my time with Crosby Stuart really enjoyable.

Crosby Stuart under 15 football team

Funds raised through our Charity Shop enable us to support local community groups and events in our neighbourhoods throughout the year. Crosby Housing Association has been sponsoring Crosby Stuarts under 15 football team for several years now and were delighted to receive a letter from their current Captain, Jack Antonio.

CHART extends services to Kirkby

Page 6

The CHART team is proud to announce that it has been successful with a bid to expand its services to cover the Kirkby area. CHART currently works with users of mental health services in the borough of Sefton but was approached by the Mental Health Commissioning Team in Knowsley and invited to tender to develop a Kirkby Mental Health Accommodation Project to address the accommodation needs of Kirkby residents. As well as working with service users in the community, CHART works closely with the acute wards at University Hospital of Aintree and the Hesketh Centre, Southport to facilitate discharge back into the community after admission to hospital. This partnership working has resulted in minimal numbers of accommodation related delayed discharges in the last eleven years since CHART‟s inception and was instrumental in CHART being awarded the NHS Merseycare Positive Achievement Award for Outstanding Team of the Year in September 2011.

Mina Valentine, CHART Manager, seconded from Mersey

Care NHS Trust: The expansion of the CHART team into

Kirkby will be a welcome addition to services. The mental

health teams in Kirkby have identified settled accommodation

for their service users to be a major issue. There are also poor

relationships between mental health services and key housing

personnel, which we intend to positively develop. We embrace

the opportunities and challenges in addressing these issues so

as to achieve a needs led, safe, suitable and viable

accommodation outcome for people who require the services

of CHART.

Crosby Housing Association is recruiting two new posts, funded by the Kirkby project, to join the CHART team based in our offices in Church Road, Waterloo.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it‟s CHA Maintenance Officer, Geoff Wall, on his rounds! You may have noticed Geoff‟s van now sticks out from the other plain white vans on the road. CHA‟s logo, phone number and email address have been emblazoned to the sides of Geoff‟s van to raise our profile locally and to remind everyone of our range of contact details.

Vantastic!

CHA Chair, Nick Thompson, inspects van (and man, Geoff).

www.crosbyhousing.org.uk

Energy-efficiency improvement programme

Page 7

Work will be starting during 2012, and we hope to include all properties within three to four years. We understand how important it is to involve you in decisions which will affect your home – some of the work will involve some temporary disruption. Meetings will be arranged with groups of tenants ahead of each phase of the programme to discuss the proposed works and to explain how to get the most benefit from the improvements in lower fuel costs and greater comfort. We are keen to enlist interested tenants to help in the process – to become energy-efficiency champions ensuring that as many people as possible make savings as fuel prices continue to rise. If you are interested please get in touch – with Paul Heery, Esther Rice or Ami Bourke, or with Doug Mellor who will be overseeing the programme.

In October 2011 the CHA Board agree that an accelerated programme of energy-efficiency improvement works would be carried out across all the Association‟s properties – to help counter the ever-rising cost of gas and electricity for tenants, and to reduce our collective “carbon footprint”. The programme includes a range of measures: replacement windows, condensing boilers, insulation works including solid external walls and, where possible, photo-voltaic systems which produce electricity from sunlight.

Not all improvements are applicable for every property – some have cavity walls which are already insulated, some already have double-glazing and / or condensing boilers – but the aim is to apply tailored packages of appropriate measures to make each dwelling as energy-efficient as practicably possible. Changes to funding for photo-voltaic systems (massive reductions) may make it difficult to proceed with those on any scale, but we are working with the local authority and with an energy company to try to bring in as much external funding as we can, together with our own resources, to help us achieve the highest standards possible.

Computer training

Two tenants and a Board member took up the offer of free computer training at our offices

in Waterloo. Three sessions were held covering topics of using a PC, accessing the

internet and sending, receiving and organising emails.

Margaret Pickthall and Maureen Ryan complete their computer training sessions with Steve Evans

Maureen Ryan,

CHA tenant:

I feel I have achieved

such a lot in such a short

time. Now I’m hooked. If

you get the chance to

attend a course -

Go for it!

We are running more free computer training sessions this year. Get in touch if you are interested. Go for it!

If you would like this document in another language or format, or if you require the service of an interpreter, please contact us.

CROSBYCROSBY

HOUSINGHOUSING

ASSOCIATIONASSOCIATION

Office Address 10 Church Road, Waterloo, Liverpool L22 5NB Tel. 0151 920 7300 Fax 0151 949 0717 email enquiry@crosby-ha.org.uk

Out-of-hours Emergency Repair Service 0845 057 7096

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May/June Office Hours The Crosby Housing Association Office will be closed on Bank Holidays in May and June, as highlighted in RED on the calendars below. Office Open: Monday - Thursday, 9.00am - 5.00pm; Friday, 9.00am - 4.00pm Call office number 0151 920 7300 for all enquiries Office Closed: Bank Holidays, Weekends and outside of office hours Call out-of-hours number 0845 057 7096 for emergency property repairs only

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