Openhouse SS 2017

OPENHOUSE SPRING/SUMMER 2017

Crown Simmons Residents’ Newsletter

August sees new gas and heating contractor for residents As of 1st August 2017 our new heating and hot water contractor is BSW. BSW is a specialist Gas Contractor based in Kenley, Surrey. They are responsible for the servicing, maintenance and installation of heating in tenants’ homes and communal areas. Robert Bazil, Service Director for BSW said of the new contract, “We are proud to have been selected as the Heating Contractor for Crown Simmons Housing and we look forward to serving residents. Our engineers have many years’ experience and we will go that extra mile to make sure that you are entirely happy with the service you are receiving.”

From Tuesday 1st August, tenants who live in a property managed by Crown Simmons, and leaseholders who wish to report a fault with a communal heating system, can call BSW’s service team 24 Hours a day 365 days of the year on 0800 012 6991 or email enquiries@bsw-heating.com to report a fault with their heating or hot water. Please remember, if you smell gas, telephone the National Grid on 0800 111 999 to report it.

See our plans for the future

Gardens Galore Blooming in Surrey

Fire Safety Risk assessments

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Bring in the Sun, in Style

Highbury View in Islington always knows how to throw a good garden party.

Previous guests have included the Pearly Kings and their local MP, Jeremy Corbyn. Graham, the Housing Services Officer at Highbury View said of their most recent picnic, “The annual summer garden party has been one of the highlights in the Highbury Community for the last 10 years. The day was one of the best days of summer so far. The bunting and the tents were up and we had a fabulous day. The Three Pearly Kings provided us with music all day. There was plenty of food, and the drink was flowing. Everyone had a great day.”

If you’re interested in throwing a garden party at your scheme and want some advice, if you’re at a sheltered scheme, talk to your Housing Services Officer, if not, email enquiries@ crownsimmons.org.uk

Volunteer for your Community

Would you like to help people, take on a new challenge and use your experience in a new way?

Volunteering could be for you.

Throughout Surrey and London there are lots of ways to volunteer, from helping someone pick up their weekly shop or go to the doctors, to helping out at one-off fundraising events or working in conservation.

It’s now easier than ever to find the right volunteering role visit https://volunteeringmatters.org.uk/ to find roles near you.

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Why do Crown Simmons send out surveys?

At the end of 2016 we asked Acuity, an independent research company, to survey 50% of all of our residents anonymously, adding to the 50% of residents that were surveyed in 2015, to find out if they are satisfied with the service we provide Surveying 100% of residents over two years allows us

BETTER, STRONGER, SMARTER

Our plans for the future

to get an idea of how residents feel, so we can start making changes to how we do things more quickly.

We’d like to thank everyone who completed a survey, and congratulations to the six lucky winners of the £50 prize draw!

Responses from the 2016 survey, like the 2015 survey, told us that 85% of residents are satisfied with our services.

Your feedback also told us: • Residents are 10% happier than in 2015 with being told when our repairs workers will call.

• 87% of residents said staff were easy to contact.

As a result of the feedback you gave, we...

Developed by staff and senior management in a series of workshops, “Better, Stronger, Smarter” sets out Crown Simmons’ ambitions over the next four years.

The plan looks at the operating environment for housing associations and outlines three main objectives: • Improving Customer Service (BETTER) • Growing our Business (STRONGER) • Organisational Simplicity, Efficiency and Value for Money (SMARTER) The plan will be subject to annual review by the Board as the operating environment changes. An annual operational plan will be agreed each year to support the delivery of the objectives.

Find the full plan on our website at www.crownsimmons.org. uk/about-us/strategic-plan/

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• Are working to secure a single gas contractor to improve resident satisfaction with the gas and heating service (see the article about BSW on the front page).

• Have set up an estate services improvement group with residents who are interested in shaping the service.

Gardens Galore!

Home of crowns, Kings, and Queens?

of this beautiful garden in St Andrews, in Cobham on a recent

This little castle is hidden in the gardens at Gunters Mead,

site visit. We love to see photos of your gardens, gnomes and

in Oxshott. It’s been featured on the Chelsea Flower Show

geraniums! If you’d like to send in any pictures to be featured

and has been a feature in the garden for over 50 years! The

in OpenHouse, email them to:

Neighbourhood Manager, Ellie, also snapped some pictures

enquiries@crownsimmons.org.uk

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

Chelsey, our Contracts Officer

Hi Chelsey, in three words, what is a typical day with Crown Simmons like?

Busy, Varied and Juggling You work closely with our contractors, what are the best parts of this?

Building up a relationship with the contractors so they understand our expectations, also when you need something done then you know who to go to.

What happens if a contractor isn’t meeting the standards set by Crown Simmons and its residents?

We have regular meetings with our Contractors

Chelsey has been working with

to go through our standards. These meetings are

Crown Simmons for over two

great as when we do have issues, both of us to

years now. Chelsey’s role involves

understand what has gone wrong and what we can

managing contracts and compliance:

improve on in the future. It’s also important to pass

making sure repairs and maintenance

on praise, when the contractor does a really good

contractors are doing what they’re

job and goes out of their way to help our residents

supposed to, and that Crown Simmons is up to date with all the

or Crown Simmons.

Is there anything you’d change about your role?

relevant codes and regulations to

I wish I had a magic wand to make everything

keep residents safe in their homes.

instantly fix-able!

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Direct Debit THE EASY WAY TO PAY

More than half of our residents pay their rent by Direct Debit. Direct Debit lets you make payments automatically. When you set up a Direct Debit once, you don’t have to do anything else – we do the rest. We’ll tell you two weeks before we make any changes to payments, and we’ll automatically update your rent if it changes (usually in April but this depends on where you live).

To set-up a Direct Debit please contact us, provide your bank details and we will fill in the form, or visit https://www.crownsimmons.org.uk/current-residents/ rent-service-charge/pay-your-rent/ to download the form to email to us.

FIRE SAFETY Following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower, we understand this will raise a number of concerns for you. We’d like to reassure you about our approach to fire safety.

Every year we carry out a Fire Risk Assessment

• Please test the smoke alarms in your home every

(FRA) of buildings that contain more than one home

week and change the battery if it is running low.

and have shared or communal spaces. We use our

Mains wired smoke alarms also have a back up

FRAs to decide what Evacuation Policy is most

battery that will need replacing regularly. If you

appropriate for each building.

don’t have a smoke alarm in your home you may be

• If there are shared areas, please take the time to

eligible for a free alarm from your local Fire Brigade.

look at the Fire Safety Notice in your building, which tells you what you should do in the case of a fire.

• Please do not store or leave any belongings in areas that may obstruct the escape route.

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If you have any concerns regarding fire safety please contact Crown Simmons on 01372 461440, or your local Fire Brigade for further advice.

Introducing: Housing Services Officers The government’s proposed rent reductions for affordable and social rent homes are due to continue until 2020.

In May 2016 we introduced a new staff structure, which has been working well to maintain service to residents from the main office in Esher, Surrey.

We sought to introduce a new

Stars in the making

with Freewheelers Theatre and Media In 2015 Freewheelers Theatre and Media

Unusually, for a group of beginners,

were awarded the second Iris Simmons

there were participants who wanted

Community Award, a fund started

to be involved in the editing phase,

in memory of one of the founders of

which is normally beyond the patience

Crown Simmons and the former Mayor

of first time filmmakers!” You can view

of Elmbridge, Iris Simmons. The award

the video online at the following link:

provides grants to community groups

https://vimeo.com/195886797

in Elmbridge that demonstrate they have initiatives that help the older

If you’re interested in films, filmmaking

Elmbridge community. Freewheelers

or writing, and are interested in

ran free, weekly film workshops

attending a session with Freewheelers,

during 2016 with funding from the

get in touch with us at enquiries@

award. Tutor Chris Haydon said of the

crownsimmons.org.uk

workshops, “Everyone was of one mind and determined to make a film that promoted the centre where they were meeting.

First Floor, Aissela, 46 High Street, Esher KT10 9QY TEL: 01372 461440 WEB: www.crownsimmons.org.uk EMAIL: enquiries@crownsimmons.org.uk

structure to staff in our remote locations after consultation with residents at their respective schemes. Our consultations found that residents appreciated their Scheme Managers, but the way the service was offered could be more efficient. This led to the creation of a new role: Housing Services Officer (HSO).

The HSOs will provide a housing management service on specific schemes; monitoring income, dealing with new tenants moving into properties and sign posting them to agencies who can offer support. If you are a resident at a scheme that previously had a Scheme Manager you will be aware of how these changes affect you, but please contact us if you’d like more information about this new role.