HOME IMPROVEMENTS. ISSUE 49 September 2006

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1 ISSUE 49 September 2006 Swan Housing Association is pleased to sponsor Brentwood Housing News Swan Housing Association Ltd, Pilgrim House, High Street, Billericay, Essex CM12 9XY Telephone (01277) (see page 3) HOME IMPROVEMENTS The 2006/07 programme of major works to tenants homes is well underway. 1.8 million is lined up to be spent under the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan. Much of the programme will help progress towards meeting the Decent Homes target for Here is how the funds are being used:- Window replacement 80,000 Rewiring 333,000 Structural works 70,000 Re-roofing 420,000 Environment and locally determined works 50,000 Adaptations for the disabled 110,000 Central heating / boiler replacement 465,000 Community areas, safety, security, lifts 110,000 Refurbishment linked to planned maintenance Including new kitchens and bathrooms 164,000 Contingency 45,000 Right: Chichester House - Newly refurbished in Spring this year. Page 1

2 FOUR OAKS GARDEN PROJECT Exciting times are ahead for residents of Four Oaks who have been busy tidying up their own garden area. Residents have put forward their suggestions to the Council for a garden project that is anticipated to start at the end of October. On completion the garden is expected to be a more pleasant focal point for residents to sit around and relax with a Barbeque area, plants and triangular decking as well as new paths. Residents are in full support of this rewarding and interesting project and will see the long term benefits. The project will be funded from the Council s Housing Capital programme which normally includes a 50,000 budget available for Council Tenants in the borough to improve their areas. This money enables tenants to more directly affect their local environment and to make changes. If you have any ideas and tenants in your area wish to apply for these funds, please contact Andy Long, the Tenant Participation Co-Ordinator Tel CHOICE BASED LETTINGS Since the last report in Housing News in February 2006 work has been underway on moving towards Choice Based Lettings (CBL) in Brentwood. Brentwood has joined up with four other Local Authorities who are also implementing CBL to share ideas and costs of introducing the new scheme. The group has been considering a number of areas since forming including: - Consultation Involvement of stakeholders Allocations Policy Information Technology Resources There are no proposals to fundamentally change the current Allocations Policy in Brentwood in advance of introducing CBL. This means we will be keeping the current points based system. However we will be looking at the points levels to ensure they accurately reflect people s circumstances. The Housing Needs Department has held five separate stakeholder workshops with statutory agencies, including other Council departments, voluntary agencies and service users support networks. These workshops have been attended by 20 local agencies. The purpose of the workshops has been to ensure organisations are aware of CBL and how it works. The group formed with residents from the Tenants Talkback group has met regularly to discuss the issues and progress of the project. In August 2006 a sample questionnaire was sent to applicants on the Housing Register and Transfer list. The feedback from the questionnaire showed strong support for CBL and the returns have provided useful and interesting feedback. As the project continues there will be further consultation with people on the Transfer List and Housing Register including newsletters and open days. We have been talking to the Registered Social Landlords who work in Brentwood to ask them to sign up to CBL. All our major partners have agreed to join us. We are also looking at the information technology which will help run the CBL scheme. The Community Panel has noted the progress which is being made towards CBL and has agreed that we continue to work in partnership with the other Local Authorities. Page 2

3 Mutual Exchanges another route to transfer These properties are currently listed on the Mutual Exchanges Register. If you are interested in any of them, please contact the tenants direct. Please note that you must obtain permission from the Council before you can exchange tenancies. If you would like your home to appear in the exchanges register, call Eileen Lingard on Greenshaw, Brentwood 72 Sir Francis Way, Brentwood 22 Britannia Road, Warley Our house: 3 bedroom house, new kitchen, small garden, gas central heating, close to local shop and walking distant to Town Centre. Wanted: 3/4 bedroom house in Pilgrims Hatch/3 Arch Bridge Estate/Town Centre. Gas Central Heating and Garden. Contact: Amanda Our house: 2 bedroom 1st floor flat, new kitchen/bathroom, No garden, wooden flooring, gas central heating, close to Town Centre. Wanted: 2/3 bedroom house or bungalow, Garden, near to local school and shops. Contact: Emma or John Our house: 1 bedroom ground floor flat. Well decorated, close to locals shops and Town Centre. Storage heaters. Wanted:1/2 bedroom house, bungalow or flat (1st or 2nd floor) in Brentwood Area close to shops and park, Garden, Gas Central Heating. Contact: J Denny Swan Housing Association Ltd Pilgrim House High Street, Billericay Essex CM12 9XJ Phone: Fax: Swan Housing Group continues to work with Brentwood Borough Council towards the future provision of affordable housing and to identify new opportunities. BRENTWOOD FLOATING SUPPORT Cygnet Housing Association is providing a Floating Support Scheme within the Brentwood area for vulnerable people living within the community. The aim of the service is to empower people to live independently and assist them in maintaining their tenancy. We offer support in the following areas: budgeting, debt management, maximising income, employment and training, social networking and cultural issues. We will draw up a support plan tailored to your needs. We would like to thank all of the agencies involved who have worked with us in making the service a success and assisting us in helping our clients to lead a more independent way of living. You can gain access to the scheme through one of the following: Brentwood Council, your social worker, your community psychiatric nurse or your housing officer. Alternatively, if you would like more information please call and ask to speak to a member of the floating support team. Swan Housing Association Ltd Affiliated to the National Housing Federation, Housing Corporation Reg. No Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 Reg. No R Page 3

4 MASEFIELD RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION Some residents of Masefield Court have formed their own Residents Association with the prime aim of improving the quality of life for people of all ages in the area. A number of events have been organised including children s parties, art competitions, cheese and wine evenings and weekly coffee mornings. Community spirit within the area has greatly improved as elderly residents of nearby Victoria Court Sheltered Scheme have supported the Associations Open Day and have been involved with judging the Residents Art Competitions. Partnership with outside agencies such as the Police and a local Brentwood School who kindly donated a computer for residents use have helped in the success of the Associations work. Recently an Open Day was held to raise funds for future projects. Despite poor weather conditions dedicated residents worked hard to raise much needed funds. Committed resident Gemina Paul said I have found my work with the residents extremely rewarding but at times tiring. I feel that we have achieved a lot in a short space of time but it is vital that we have the continued support of all residents. Plans have now been devised for a proposed garden project to improve a concreted area surrounding the flats. The Association is now looking for a local businesses to provide financial backing for a project that will benefit the local community. For further details please contact the Council s Tenant Participation Co-ordinator Andy Long who is based at the Town Hall Tel CONSULTATION Two major consultations have been taking place over the summer, one on parking in a number of locations near tenants and leaseholders homes and one a National Housing Federation-run sample survey of satisfaction with the Council s housing service to tenants. Many thanks to those who returned the survey forms if they received one. The Community Panel is looking at the results of the parking survey to decide on the best way forward. The satisfaction survey forms are being analysed as we go to press, with the outcome due very soon. Page 4

5 Anti-Social Behaviour Update The Council continues to demonstrate that where strong evidence is available it will take firm action to deal with anti-social behaviour involving its tenants or members of their family. In July staff from the Estates Management section of Housing and Revenue Services worked closely with the Police on Operation Clansman, an initiative to deal with some of the youths who were identified as being involved in problems in the Hutton area. More recently legal action against a young tenant who was causing problems for neighbours culminated in the eviction of the tenant. In both instances a successful outcome was achieved thanks to the co-operation of witnesses who helped Council staff gather evidence to prove that anti-social behaviour was taking place. Brentwood Community Alarm System Do you feel vulnerable in any way? If so, Brentwood Community Alarm Service can help. It is an alarm unit linked through your telephone line with an associated body-worn pendant radio trigger. The pendant can easily be used to call for help from anywhere in your home or nearby garden area. By pressing the button on your pendant or alarm unit you can send an immediate signal to the control centre which operates 24 hours a day. You can then talk to the centre through the loudspeaker in the unit that will pick up your voice, whichever room you are in. The system has two-way speech so that you can talk to us and we can talk to you. If you activate the alarm, but you are unable to speak, we will still be able to identify your call. It is automatically displayed on a computer screen in the control centre. The services or people that can help you will then be contacted. Whatever the problem is we will do our utmost to help, from contacting your doctor, calling an ambulance, to making sure a friend comes round to give you a hand. We will need a few details from you when we set up your alarm, such as your basic medical history, the name of your doctor and the nearest relative or friend. This information is treated in the strictest confidence. The system works through the public telephone network and can be used by anyone who has a direct telephone line providing on-call emergency communication - 24 hours a day 365 days a year. If you would like to know more about the Brentwood Community Alarm Service, please contact Mrs Sharon Nunn, Community Alarms Officer on Housing matters are now discussed at the Council s Community Panel Next meeting is Wednesday 8th November in the Town Hall at 7pm The meeting is open to members of the public Page 5

6 W.A.S.P. INITIATIVE STARTS TO BUZZ Recently Brentwood Council has been working with residents and the Council s partner agencies with the aim of improving the quality of life in Woodland Avenue. It is anticipated that increased local work from partner agencies such as the Police, Social Services, Youth Service will help reduce the levels of Anti Social Behaviour, vandalism and criminal damage and increase community engagement in the area. An initiative named the Woodland Avenue Safety Partnership (WASP) has been set up to deal with the various priorities that residents felt to be of importance. Engaging with young people is seen as one of these priorities resulting a series of enjoyable art workshops being held throughout the summer holidays. Residents and volunteers Joanne Unwin and Cara Bushell both felt the art classes had certainly been enjoyed by the children but felt it vital for more community involvement from residents in the future. In addition Brentwood Youth Service have been providing activities for older children in the area including BBQs and a very successful football tournament. A garden project is being planned in the near future and all residents will be encouraged to help. This is one of a number of initiatives due to take place creating a positive relationship between local residents and the various agencies. If you are a Woodland Avenue resident please come forward and help improve your area. For further information please contact Tracy Newton, Anti-Social Behaviour Co-Ordinator on or Janet Howe, Area Housing Office on Page 6

7 NEW DEVELOPMENTS The Retreat Planning permission has been given for the Re-development of Council-owned land at The Retreat to go ahead. Circle Anglia, the selected Registered Social Landlord partner, will now press on with the demolition and new building works. 24 homes are to be built, 18 for affordable rent and 6 for shared ownership, in the following mix:- Affordable rent Shared ownership 12 x 3 bedroom houses 6 x 1 bedroom flats 2 x 1 bedroom flats 4 x 2 bedroom flats The building will take place through 2006 and 2007, with completion due later in The Council has nomination rights to the homes. Further news will be published as the scheme is developed. Former British Gas site - St James Road Circle Anglia has also been working on partnership with the developer Crest Nicholson at the former British Gas site at St James Road to produce a mix of one, two and three bedroom flats for affordable rent and shared ownership. The first handovers under Phase 1 are due within the next few weeks. The Council has nomination rights to the affordable rented flats under the planning agreement. If you want more information about these schemes, please contact Housing Needs Staff at the Town Hall on Page 7

8 PAYPOINT From the 1st July 2006, Brentwood Borough Council will be introducing plastic cards for the payment of Council Tax. The new method of payment is called PayPoint and can be used to pay your Council Tax at the Town Hall, any Post Office, including Sub Post Offices, or at any PayPoint outlet in the UK. Many Council tenants have been using this scheme successfully for some time to pay their Rent. In June, customers will receive their payment card together with a letter explaining how, where and when you can use the card. Those customers currently paying by Direct Debit will not receive a card. Paying is easy. Just hand your card to the cashier together with your cash or cheque and you will be given a receipt. You will simply be using the card instead of the vouchers you may have used before. If you have more than one Council Tax account with the Council, you will receive a separate card to be used for each account. A list of all Pay Points and Post Offices operating the scheme in the Brentwood area are indicated in the table below. *Opening times 9am - 1pm Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays Pay Points: Co-op High Street Ingatestone CM4 9EA Co-op 201 Rayleigh Road Hutton CM13 1LZ Copperfields Eagle Way Brentwood CM13 3BP Somerfields 19 Bay Tree Centre Brentwood CM14 4BX Copperfields 26 Copperfield Gdns Brentwood CM14 4UD Thresher 15 Warley Hill Brentwood CM14 5HR Paradise Stores 7 High Street Brentwood CM14 4RG Smokers World 96A High Street Brentwood CM14 4AP Co-op 6 Harewood Road Brentwood CM15 9PD Doddinghurst News 78 Church Lane Doddinghurst CM15 0NG Co-op Hutton Road Shenfield CM15 8NR Cost Cutter 146 Hatch Road Brentwood CM15 9QB Post Offices: The Green Blackmore CM4 0QH High Street Ingatestone CM4 9ET Herongate Brentwood CM13 3PD Hanging Hill Lane Brentwood CM13 2HU 60a Woodland Avenue Hutton CM13 1HH 15 Eastham Crescent Brentwood CM13 2BN 30 High Street Brentwood CM14 4AA Kelvedon Common Brentwood CM14 5TJ Brook Street Brentwood CM14 5LZ Warley Road Brentwood CM14 5HR Doddinghurst Road Brentwood CM15 0QP Remembrance Hall* Tipps Cross, Hook End CM15 0DT 422 Ongar Road Brentwood CM15 9JN 8a Harewood Road Brentwood CM15 9PD 255 Ongar Road Brentwood CM15 9DZ Shenfield Broadway Brentwood CM15 8NR 1/3 Chafford Gardens West Horndon CM13 3NJ LOCAL SERVICES INFORMATION Brentwood Borough Council is based at the Town Hall, Ingrave Road, Brentwood, Essex CM15 8AY. Tel (01277) Open: Monday to Thursday 8.30am - 5pm and Friday 8.30am pm Benefits Agency Tel Citizens Advice Bureau Tel. (01277) Registrar of Births and Deaths Tel. (01277) Registrar of Marriage Tel. (01277) Police Tel. (01277) Emergency Property Repairs (including blocked drains) out of hours service. Tel. (01277) Normal office hours on (01277) Electricity EDF Energy plc. Emergencies: Tel Gas British Gas (TransCo). Emergencies only i.e. gas leaks: Tel (Gas central heating and water boiler repairs should be reported direct to the Council.) Water Emergencies Essex & Suffolk Water Company. Tel Three Valleys Water (Harlow). Tel Council for Voluntary Services Tel. (01277) Emergencies For fire/rescue, police or ambulance dial 999 Page 8