Hooray our Community hubs and centres are open

Hooray! Our community centres, tenant lounges and hubs are open

Our community centres and tenant lounges are back open but with some restrictions in place to help keep you safe.

To make a booking get in touch with Julia. Phone: 0300 124 0040 Email: enquries@cartreficonwy.org

And, remember our tenant hubs are open too…

Our tenant hubs are now open including our brand-new hub in Llandudno train station. You can stay up to date with what’s going on our websites and social media. We’re sure there is something for everyone but if there’s an activity you want us to put on let us know and we’ll see what we can do to make that happen.

WHAT'S ON AT OUR HUBS?

September - December 2021 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Drop in or book a space by calling 01492 588 980

Happier days are here again, and we’ve been ‘stepping out’ in our communities and we are loving seeing you all again in person. Your community spirit is thriving! We’ve held several ‘Bingoing Mad Sessions’ and will continue to roll these out over Autumn. So far, we’ve been keeping our ‘Eyes Down’ in Argoed at Kinmel Bay, Scotland Street, Llanrwst, Y Fron and Pentre Newydd in Colwyn Bay and Maes Aled in Cerrigydrudion.

We’ve been out tidying up our estates and did a litter pick over at Y Fron.

Massive shout out to Sheila Jones and Bob Hawkes who put on a brilliant family day at Glanrafon in Llanwrst, to thank all the children for being so good and understanding during the works on the estate. We’ve also run digital sessions with Creating Enterprise over in Park Way, Kennedy Court and Llanrwst and in our other hubs.

We ran a Zoom art course for our rural tenants in partnership with Oriel Mostyn and our budding artists got invited to a personal tour of the gallery. They all enjoyed the latest exhibitions, and we look forward to working with the gallery in the future.

Thanks also to our contractor Brenig Construction and Conwy Council for supporting this event.

For more info on our Zoom Coffee and Chats and our monthly Bingo sessions, phone Nerys on 0300 124 0040.

Two of our KickStart recruits Catrin and John have been helping out on our play sessions.

The government’s Kickstart scheme helps young people find employment opportunities. John and Catrin have joined us for six months and are loving being play officers and gaining valuable experience that will help them in their future careers.

It’s Catrin’s first job since leaving school and here’s what she thinks about the scheme. “I was so pleased to get this chance. I’ve always wanted to work with children and thanks to this Kickstart opportunity I’ll now be able to include this work on my CV to help me towards my eventual goal of maybe working as a teaching assistant or other kind of youth work. “It’s such an amazing opportunity for me. I’m loving it and Cartrefi Conwy are a great company to work for, they really invest in staff training. I’m learning so much thanks to them.”

We’ve been out to play all summer long…

Thanks to all the kids who came out to play - you had lots of fun and so did we!

“It’s been so much fun. There’s been lots to do, from sack races and egg and spoon races to crafts and obstacles courses. I love it.” Lexi Williams

“We’ve had the best of times. It’s brilliant to have something like this to do with our friends. We’ve done colouring, and running, and building with pretend bricks.” Leland

Woodbridge and Kyla Green

Great news, because the play sessions have been such a big hit, we’ve decided to run after school play sessions during term time in Kinmel Bay, Tan Lan and Maes y Glyn.

Do you know our Community Chest offer grants up to £1000 for community groups?

We went to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Our Community Chest fund recently awarded Chester Avenue Green Fingers £1000 to create a community apple and pear orchard.

The Well Women group were also awarded £600 to fund an ‘emerging women’ art course. If you have a great project that needs some funding get in touch with the Community Involvement team:

get.involved@cartreficonwy.org

Thanks to everyone who joined us at the Welsh Mountain Zoo community event and supported this fantastic local attraction. Congratulations again to Brody who won our cuddly snow leopard and Rachel Maria who won the family day out competition.

Kick off Autumn by cheering on RGC

We’re proud to be the official community partners for RGC. Not only does this give us 30 free adult tickets for Cartrefi Conwy tenants to every home game this season but RGC are joining us in our communities and are always on the look out to spot new talent. To be in with a chance to win tickets, like, share or tag our RGC social media posts. Or simply phone 0300 124 0040, message us on Facebook or email equiries@cartreficonwy.org Good luck and C’MON, RGC!

Are you struggling to pay your rent?

At Cartrefi Conwy we have a dedicated Welfare Benefits and Money Support Team who can help you manage your money. They also help with: • general benefit advice • accessing benefits • benefit checks & better off calculations • challenging benefit decisions It’s all about helping you take control and getting the most out of your money, now and in the future. Why not give us a call today and talk to our Money Support Team or drop into one of Allison’s money support sessions in our hubs.

What the Renting Homes Wales Act will mean to you

We’re recruiting now for a volunteer tenant vacancy for a co-optee role on our Tenant Services Board.

This fantastic opportunity could help you to:

• build your confidence when working alongside others • increase your knowledge of business priorities and processes • broaden your employment opportunities

As a co-optee to the Tenant Services Board you will work collaboratively with board members and colleagues to help us to:

• deliver excellent customer service • provide affordable, quality housing for those in need • hear the tenant voice and influence decision making at a strategic level.

You will:

• take an active interest in the work of Cartrefi Conwy • understand what’s important to our tenants • need to prepare for and attend an average of 4 meetings a year • be invited to attend a variety of other events

You can find out more about the Tenant Services Board on

our website: cartreficonwy.org/ about-us/meet-our-board/ourcommitees/tenant-servicesboard

If you would like to find out even more about this exciting opportunity, get in touch with us.

Email: govadmin@ cartreficonwy.org Phone: 0300 124 0040

Closing date: 31st October 2021

In 2016 the Welsh Government passed The Renting Homes (Wales) Act with the aim of making it simpler and easier to rent a home in Wales. The Act introduces lots of changes to tenancy laws and will come into force in Spring 2022. Over the coming months we will be keeping you up to date on what’s happening and when.

Simplifying 15 housing legislations into one legal framework Simplifying and improving your rights

Every tenant in Wales will convert to a new contract on a specific date

There will be two types of housing contracts – a standard contract and a secure contract

You will receive a copy of your new contract within six months of the implementation date.

New Terms on the Tenancy Agreement

Caretrefi Conwy Community Landlord

Tenant = Contract Holder

Tenancy = Occupation Contract

Love where you live

Housing Officer Lynda Johnson loved being out and about in Tan Y Craig this summer. Thanks to the tenant who does a great job gardening and kindly providing the plants himself to make this area look so nice and colourful.

Bin it don’t fling it

A tenant also thanks his neighbour for doing the same in Scotland Street. Tan y Craig

Sadly, some of our bin stores aren’t looking so beautiful, with some tenants not recycling or using the bins provided.

Our Housing Officers are working really hard to work with the communities to help improve this, but we can’t dispose of your rubbish for you. Currently we are spending thousands of pounds clearing and cleaning the bin stores and dealing with fly tipping at the moment. Recycling – get it right

If you are struggling to manage your waste and recycling, please let us know as there may be ways we can help you. And a big thank you to everyone who is disposing of their rubbish correctly.

If you live in a flat, here’s a reminder of what gets collected and when:

Our tenants have the right to be heard, understood and respected. Our colleagues also have the same right. So, we politely ask that you keep this in mind and treat our Cartrefi Conwy colleagues with respect – they are here to help you!

Communal spaces – notice of TORT

Remember if you live in a home that shares communal spaces and exit and entry routes these areas need to be kept clear at all times, including outside your front door and landing.

Our caretakers and other colleagues carry out Fire Risk Assessments and report when they come across safety hazards. We then collect and store these hazards for you to pick them up. We have to do this to keep you, your family and others safe and thank you for respecting our colleagues when they do this work!

Are you insured for Winter?

Before we know it, Winter will be here and with it comes added risks that could damage belongings in your home. Extreme cold weather and storms could lead to burst pipes, flooding, or other damage inside your home and your belongings. Replacing your damaged belongings can be very costly. Having home contents insurance gives you piece of mind that if your belongings get damaged you will be able to replace them.

If you don’t have home contents insurance, then don’t delay and take out cover today. Call My Home Contents Insurance and apply for cover on 0345 450 7288 or visit www.thistlemyhome.co.uk where you can request someone to call you back.

New developments

We have 3 new developments that will be finished in Spring 2022.

Rhodda Phil Evans,

Llanrwst 14 family homes (a mix of three and four bedroom) for social rent.

Tros yr Arfon, Llanrwst

8 family homes (a mix of two and three bedroom) for social rent.

Both Rhodda Phil Evans and Tros yr Afon homes have gardens and off-road parking. They are being built with the highest levels of insulation and have low running costs, a healthy and comfortable living environment and superior levels of sound and fire protection.

Keep an eye on our social media pages for more development updates.

Fairview, Llanddulas

24 new modern apartments (a mix of one and two bedroom) for intermediate rent and a new refurbished 4-bedroom family home for social rent.

The development is just off junction 23 on the A55. It is less than three miles from Abergele town centre and four miles from Colwyn Bay.

A big shout out to Ysgol Bro Gwydir in Llanrwst who worked really hard on their designs for

sustainable homes. We’re looking forward to some of the children taking a tour inside our very own sustainable new homes very soon.