My Great Place Winter 2013 by Great Places Housing Group

Winter 2013

Enjoy the festive season from everyone at Great Places! Check out your usual My Great Place inside.

Check out these fantastic seasonal events in your areas! Manchester Over 50’s Christmas lunch (Christmas raffle, bingo and much more!) Wednesday 18th December at 12:30pm At The Bishopsgate, Manchester City Centre Festive party – fun for all the family (Buffet, disco, games and a visit from Santa!) Tuesday 17th December 3PM – 6PM Longsight Cricket Club, 84 East Road, Manchester, M12 5GZ Places are limited – call Sarah on 0161 447 5120 or email sarah.riley@greatplaces.org.uk to book your place Knutsford Children’s Christmas party (Kid’s rock entertainment, prizes and visit from Santa!) Monday 9th December, 4.30pm to 6.30pm St John’s Community Centre, Longridge, Knutsford, Over 50s Christmas party (Carols from Manor Park Primary School and raffle.) Monday 16th December, Falcon Bearer Pub, 5pm to 7pm Limited places and must be booked early to avoid disappointment Call Alex on 0161 447 5117 or email alexandra.barker@greatplaces.org.uk Fylde and Blackpool Christmas craft – Crafternoon Wednesday 11th December 2013, 1pm to 3pm Boardroom at Great Places’ Blackpool office Create Christmas decorations and fun with all the family Christmas coffee morning Friday 13th December 2013, 10.30am to 12 noon St Anne’s tennis club, Avondale Road St Anne’s Carol service at the local Catholic Church – look out for your invitation! Scotforth Court/Windmill Court/Langdale Court School nativity play Wednesday 18th December at 2.00 pm For the residents of Scotforth Court Windmill Court and Langdale Transport will be provided. Look out for your invite! Contact Gillian Fernandez on 01253 750842 or email gillian.fernandez@greatplaces.org.uk Oldham Festive event Wednesday 18th December, 4pm to 7pm Werneth Cricket Club, Oldham, OL8 1AALimited places and m\ Call Naseem Ahmad on 0161 484 3221 or email naseem.ahmad@greatplaces.org.uk 2

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Winter 2013 Realising dreams How Great Places Residents’ Fund is changing lives

REPAIRS UPDATE

Win £200 worth of vouchers

Find out more inside

Repairs

Numbers you need to know

Phone our Customer Access Team from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. It’s local rate. Call us on:

0300 123 1966

07797 870 734 or email us at cat@greatplaces.org.uk or simply text us on

For all Great Places residents you can call us between 8am and 6pm weekdays on:

You can also use this number for out-of-hours emergencies. Or you can email us about a repair at

0300 123 1966

& press 1 for repairs

repairs@greatplaces.org.uk

Office addresses

Oldham office

Blackburn office

Salford office

Fylde office

Barnfield House (Suite 4 and 5) Groundfloor, Accrington Road Blackburn BB1 3NY Open Monday, 9.30am-5pm & Thursday 9:30am-12:30pm Appointment only at all other times.

336 Talbot Road, Blackpool, FY1 3QU Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Great Places head office

Cheshire office

Southern Gate, 729 Princess Road, Manchester M20 2LT Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

106 Longridge, Knutsford, WA16 8PD Opening hours: Monday only, 9.30am to 4.30pm

Access for all

We’ve already sent a magnifying sheet to our visually impaired residents. Let us know if you need one. An audio version of My Great Place is also available.

Sheffield office

The Quadrant, 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield SS9 4WG Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

During the festive season you can contact us by calling: 0300 123 1966 e-mail: CAT@greatplaces.org.uk or text: 07797 870734 We’re open on:

Realising dreams

Christmas Eve between 8am - 12pm

How Great Places Residents’ Fund is changing lives

Find out how we’ve been doing

4th Floor, St James’s House, Pendleton Way, Salford M6 5FW Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS

Winter 2013

Your annual report

119 Union Street, Oldham OL1 1TE Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Win £200 worth of vouchers

27 December between 9am – 4pm 28 December between 9am – 4pm New Year’s Eve between 9am – 1pm We’re closed on:

Find out more inside

FSC AND WORLD LAND TRUST LOGOS 4

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Cover star: Andy Johnson

Christmas Day Boxing Day New Year’s Day All Great Places offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year!

Welcome to

YOUR MAGAZINE!

What’s inside? Regulars

29 Get involved

6 My voice 14 Neighbourhood news 21 My money 25 My green place

Welcome to this special Christmas issue of My Great Place. We’ve got a bumper issue for you in this festive season with early presents for resident Paul Jeffers and a Kurling Club in Salford, thanks to Great Places Residents’ Fund.

Money is a central theme of this issue – we all know that Christmas stretches the purse so we’ve included some features which will help you save money. From everyone at Great Places, have a lovely Christmas and New Year.

We also meet a couple who’ve saved thousands with help from our financial inclusion team.

Rachel Machin, Editor

Features 16 Christmas recipe: a tasty festive treat

30 Grapevine

17 Your annual report: find out how we did last year

(elderly services news)

24 I’d like to make a complaint: resident Janet Hunt tells us about her experience using our complaints process

32 Competitions

28 Help your child surf safely: hints and tips to make sure your child doesn’t get in danger on the internet

26 News

Right royal savings

My life growing up in Northmoor

Home makeover on a budget

page

Tenant scrutiny

page

12 22

page

COVER STORY: Realising dreams

myvoice! We had some great emails, letters and Facebook messages from you – thanks so much for taking the time to contact us! Here’s a selection of some of your thoughts. Hi Great Places I am 11 year old Ethan from Langworthy and I am trying to bring on board as many people I can to collect there 1p and 2p pieces. I collected my first two jars today and I want to have hundreds of people collect their small change for when I do my event next year for Francis House Children’s Hospice.

I have so far raised over £500 for my school who needed sports equipment but had no funds and I have raised £3,670 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Cancer Ward. I am now in training to do my Junior Triathlon in this month for St Ann’s Hospice. My target is to raise £5,000 and so far I have raised around £3,000. Will you please ask all people to help me. Thank you, Ethan. Editor: You never cease to amaze us Ethan! Congratulations on all that you’ve achieved so far with your fundraising. If anyone wants to help Ethan, please visit facebook.com/ ethan.evansfundraiser

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Star letter

Every issue, one of your letters/emails/social media messages will be made Star Letter and you’ll receive a £10 voucher.

Write to us at: My Great Place Communications Great Places Housing Group Southern Gate 729 Princess Road Manchester M20 2LT

Email us: communications@greatplaces.org.uk

Tweet us: @mygreatplace

Facebook us at:

facebook.com/GreatPlacesHousing Dear Giselle I am writing, as a parent and member of this community, to thank Northmoor Community Centre for the invaluable service it provides. My son has regularly attended the homework centre and the GCSE Maths revision classes. He found the classes a huge help and was able to gain a Grade B in his GCSE Maths. The support and dedication provided by his tutor has helped him to achieve his potential. He has now gone on to college to study A level Maths, Physics and Computing. I would like to request that the community centre continue to provide extra support for him and other children using its services. Editor: We are delighted to hear that your son gained so much from the classes at Northmoor Community Centre. Great Places is committed to Northmoor and will continue to support all that happens in the community there. Why not read Elisha’s account of her time growing up in Northmoor on page 7.

Kids’ Competition Want a fancy new i-pod?

We had a great response to last issue’s ‘find Margaret Plaice’ competition! Thanks for all your entries. Congratulations to Safiyah Suleman from Blackburn, who was picked out as our winner! Hope you’re enjoying your new i-pod. Can you find her? If you can, just email or write and let us know exactly where she is (make sure you put the page number) at the above addresses, making sure you put your address and phone number of the entry. The winning entry will get their hands on a cute little i-pod, so get searching!

COMPETITION RULES To enter you

must be 16 or under and a Great Places resident Entries must be in by 14th February 2014

My life growing up in

Feature

Northmoor Elisha Uche-Martin, a 19 year old marketing student at Liverpool John Moores University looks back at what it was like growing up in Northmoor, Manchester.

“

From an early age I remember sitting in on meetings my mum, Evelyn Uche would attend, at my local community centre. Initially I’d bring some colouring or homework and sit in the corner as the ‘grown ups’ had a natter. As I got older I got more involved. They’d ask for my opinion and to share ideas. I then started to understand who Great Places were and what they were about. ‘Blooming Marvellous’ was a project that left a lasting impression. I thought the name was genius. It was a scheme throughout Northmoor that brought the majority of the area together. Some were reluctant in the beginning but once they witnessed free plants and flowers being handed out they began to come round to the idea. Its aim was to unite people and encourage them to make more of an effort with the appearance of the area and become greener. Although the next day all the hanging baskets were stolen, we put on another event and invited more people – the baskets are still hanging today. By the time I started high school I wouldn’t class myself as a board member but I knew a great deal about what plans they had for the future. My peers would ask what’s going on on such a road and I’d be able to update them. Walking down the street and seeing a magician on a bouncy castle wasn’t unusual. There were a lot of street parties and alley-gate openings where you could gain information, make a badge, get your face painted and try something different to eat. I especially liked the

Elisha Uche-Martin fact that they chose my house to store some of the food! Northmoor Community Centre holds various events and activities but my friends and I were glad when they decided to start up the youth club. We didn’t have to travel as far and we were able to strengthen our ping pong abilities! I also volunteered at their homework club a few nights a week. The community centre played a vital role – most meetings were held there but some were at Southern Gate where I was part of the Communications team on a summer placement. It’s nice to see the children play football on the field (Stanley Grove) with the wardens. The wardens are easy to approach and make walking home in the evening seem safer. My mum is always involved in a new venture. Starting up the laundrette/

internet café was a struggle but now it’s a business, which is doing well. She also bid for funding to create a family play area for residents which we all named Rushford Retreat. I’d say the most satisfying part of all this was being able to watch my new home being built (originally houses, then bombed in the war, then billboard artwork, then my current home.)

”

Are you a young Great Places’ resident with a story to tell about your neighbourhood? Do you want to see your name in print? Email us with your story and a good quality photograph of yourself and we’ll publish it in a future issue of My Great Place!

g n i s i l s a e R eam r D d

un F ’ s t

at e r G

ce a l P

ide s e R

Paul Jeffers, a community rep at The “I read My Great Place every time it comes out and saw this article about applying for money. My Pulse apartments in Manchester, has just passed his Class 2 truck-driving test. girlfriend encouraged me to go for it so I did, and the rest is history!”

How would you get your hands on over £1,000 to realise your dream of acquiring a new skill, and a potential job? That’s how much Paul Jeffers needed for HGV driving lessons and a test but he couldn’t see any way of getting hold of such a big amount until he spied a feature in this very magazine.

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Previously Paul worked as a printer, and had done some work repairing trucks, but found himself unemployed two years’ ago. Then one of his friends suggested he should give truck-driving a go. Great Places Residents’ Fund gave Paul £1,075 which

feature

Great Places Residents’ Fund gives you the money for projects that make a difference to your lives or the areas you live. Many of you have already applied for funding. My Great Place went to meet two successful applicants... covered 20 hours of training at Stockport LGV and a test at Bredbury test centre in Stockport. “At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to drive one of those massive trucks but I’ve found it’s pretty easy. When the guy said I’d passed I nearly fainted.”

“The Residents’ Fund has given me a massive opportunity. I’ve already got an interview next week at a big transport company called AK Worthington in Trafford Park. If I don’t get in there I’m going to an agency to get some experience. Once I get the Class 1 licence I can drive internationally as well.

Next up Paul has to negotiate a 40ft Arctic trailer for his second test which will allow him to gain his Class 1 licence.

“Eventually I’m hoping to complete an access course in computing and hopefully go onto university to study computer networking.”

feature

Salford Kurling Club was struggling to find money to continue, until they heard about Great Places Residents’ Fund You could be forgiven for being a little confused. Kurling....in a hall, on a gym floor rather than ice!? But this is the Emmanuel Centre in Salford, and the new home of the Kurling Club, a group of people from all walks of life who come together every week for a laugh and a chat...and to play some serious sport! Great Places’ Mel Barber, community warden, explains: “The club was forced to relocate but to a very small room. “Unfortunately it didn’t work out and numbers dwindled. Funding was coming to an end anyway so I put in an application on behalf of the group to try and continue it for another year. “Thankfully we were successful and with the money were able to pay for room hire and some new equipment.” With attendance picking up

every week, the group brings together people from a variety of backgrounds for one hour. And according to carer Lynn Donoghue, who brings a group from St George’s Day Centre (a place for people with learning difficulties), it’s a vital part of someone’s day and gets them out and about in the community. “This is the perfect place for us,” she says. “There’s not much for disabled people to do in this area so it’s ideal. We weren’t aware of what Great Places did in the community until we came here.” Personal assistant Andy Barker is also thrilled about the group continuing. “When we started we were a little worried it wouldn’t carry on. Andy loves it here. There really shouldn’t be anyone lonely in Salford. The area has been deprived for long enough but things are improving.”

Great Places Residents’ Fund Thanks to everyone who applied to our fund. We’ve had 46 applications, funded 24 so far and given out £25,000. Great Places Shared Spaces Fund Six applications, all funded, and we’ve given out £29,000.

Don’t worry if you missed out! You can start applying next April.

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Feature

Pictured: Alison Johnstone with Dom and Eve King

Right royal savings When Dom and Eve King turned up at one of our local area forums, they didn’t think the result would be a significant boost to their bank balance. But that’s exactly what happened thanks to our financial support co-ordinator Alison Johnstone, who has saved the delighted couple a fortune. “I knew the couple but hadn’t seen them for years, so arranged a home visit to do a benefit check and see if they were getting everything they were entitled to,” says Alison. “I quickly discovered that Mrs King was in receipt of pension guarantee credit, which allows you to get full housing benefit and full council tax benefit, despite having savings in the bank.” The Kings have always paid their full rent and council tax since moving and had never had a problem with arrears, so the fact that they could claim was never picked up. “I ran a benefit check and it was confirmed that they should have been claiming years ago, when pension credit was received. “Claims were completed quickly at my request and the couple received full housing benefit and full council tax benefit backdated for three months (maximum that you can get backdated).

“And, while all this was going on, Mrs King informed me that she had a letter from her electric company stating that her direct debit was being increased to £176 per month. I noticed that they had Economy 7 electric storage heating but theirs is the only bungalow on the street and I knew that everyone else had recently had gas central heating installed. I told them I’d get it sorted for them and

“We’d never claimed any benefits in our lives, and had absolutely no idea how to go about it. We didn’t even know we were entitled to anything, let alone more than £5,000 a year! “We couldn’t believe how easy the whole process was. Alison honestly couldn’t have been more helpful and we are absolutely delighted with the end result! Thank you so much!”

The numbers Rent refund Council Tax refund Annual Rent Saving Annual Council Tax Saving Total Saving

took the issue to our repairs team, who were great – and they’ll install gas central heating before winter sets in, so more savings will be made there!” “We’re extremely grateful to Alison, who not only saved us a fortune, but did all the hard work for us – she even took it upon herself to submit our forms!” exclaims Eve.

£1,282.74 £300.12 £4,438.20 £988.95 £5,427.15

This year’s You Can Glow campaign, which helps residents save cash and stay warm and well in winter, ran in the first fortnight of November. Our staff managed to visit approx 500 homes!

Home makeover on a

budget! Interior designer Fiona Woodward-Kelly, who dresses many of our show homes, provides some top tips to brighten up your home without having to spend the earth.

When buying 1 the larger, more expensive items for your home like sofa, beds, etc go for neutral colours. You can easily change the cushions, rugs and repaint a wall at lower costs when you want to refresh your room.

Use small splashes of colours that contrast the main colour scheme around the room – use candles, artwork etc.

Many high street companies offer four years’ interest free credit on sofas etc, which can be very handy when you’re on a tight budget. Alternatively, look for good quality used pieces on auction sites like Ebay and Preloved. You may just bag a bargain!

Nature can be very inspiring for colour schemes – you can see colours work well in nature that you would never normally think would work together.

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Lighting is very important in a space. Add a few lamps to get pools of light and warm coloured lamp shades can make a white room take on a warm glow without painting it.

As a starting point in a room pick one picture you love or a fabric you love and build the colour scheme from that.

If you want a very modern look it is interesting to drop in one or two pieces that are old or even antique – an old mahogany desk or table, an ornate old chair. These can be bought cheaply from house clearances, car boot sales, antique auctions.

Lots of house shops have ready made curtains in great fabrics. They are much cheaper than made to measure, there are good choices and they can be easily changed when you want a fresh look.

Home furnishing fabrics and colours tend to follow those in the fashion world – this year’s summer dress colours will be next years wallpapers and cushions so look around the clothes shops for inspiration and be ahead of the game.

Ditch the magnolia and go for

10 white either tinted or brilliant white. It is much fresher and goes with many more colours. It’s also the cheapest! Bring colour in with one painted wall or one wallpapered wall.

Win!

£200 worth of Ikea vouchers. All you have to do is email or write to us (see contact details on the letters page) and let us know what kind of events you would like us to put on in your community. That’s it!

News neighbourhood

What’s going on where you live...

Knutsford in bloom KNUTSFORD: Volunteers who make Longridge’s outdoor areas look fantastic have once again been honoured by the Royal Horticultural Society. The RHS’s ‘Britain in Bloom’ awards were announced in October and Community Spirit organised ‘Longridge and Shaw Heath in Bloom’ – with help from Great Places – were handed a ‘Level 4 – Thriving’ award by the judges.

Surf’s up

BLACKBURN: Residents from Primrose Close and Bower Street, most of whom don’t have access to the internet, were able to surf away on a special mobile unit equipped with laptops and tablets.

Helping hand

Winnipeg’s Wonderwall

BLACKPOOL: Residents and staff of Great Places joined forces to make a mosaic on the entrance wall of Winnipeg in Blackpool as part of the celebration of the 10 year stock transfer. There was also a buffet lunch and balloon release.

The secret garden

KNUTSFORD: Suzi Spurr, financial services coordinator, and Karen Leigh, neighbourhood officer, have been supporting residents with Cheshire East’s Emergency Assistance Claims. This is a one-off claim for vulnerable residents who may require food or furniture.

VIP Visit MANCHESTER: A team of ex-offenders from the YET project, working to make north Manchester a greener place, were greeted a special VIP visitor: Tony Lloyd, Greater Manchester’s Police and Crime Commissioner. The scheme allows the ex-offenders – all from the local area – to get themselves back on their feet.

www.greatplaces.org.uk

MANCHESTER: Congratulations to The Bridge residents group who recently completed their lottery funded secret garden project with support from Great Places. The gardens now have raised beds for vegetables, new flower beds, an orchard and a greenhouse. If you live at the Bridge and would like to get involved in growing your own vegetables please email: thebridge2009@hotmail. co.uk or speak to Sarah on 0161 447 5120.

Digging up the past

SHEFFIELD: An exhibition was held in Wybourn displaying what as found at the recent Wybourn Hall excavation and was a great chance to learn more about he history of Wybourn and its residents.

Halloween Party

Royal Visit! KNUTSFORD: There was much excitement at the Welcome Café following a royal visit from the Duchess of Gloucester. The VIP joined members of the community at a partners’ lunch to present the prestigious Queen’s Award for Volunteering.

Money spinner

OLDHAM: A Macmillan coffee morning was held at South Methodist Church in Oldham. For a small donation you could buy cakes, chocolate rolls, hot drinks and enter a raffle to win a car. Over £40 was raised on the day.

For the latest news in your area and more visit us online at: www.greatplaces.org.uk

Clean up time MORECAMBE: Residents and children came out in force to clean up Aldingham Walk and Old Market Court in Morecambe.

The Breakfast Club Stitched up SHEFFIELD: Foxhill Forum is holding a free Saturday breakfast club at Wolfe Road Healthy living centre for children aged 7-13years. Starting ON Saturday 16th November Children will be able to cook their own food, try out new crafts and play sports and games, all for free! Places are limited and booking is required so please ring Linda on: 0114 231 5522 / 0744 250 1753.

BLACKBURN: Residents took part in a first aid taster training session in Audley. They were also able to try their hands at different crafts including knitting, cross stitch, decoupage and card making.

BLACKBURN: Residents from Audley attended a spooky Halloween party at St Joseph’s social club. There was music, games, face painting, competitions, food and even goodies cooked by the residents themselves.

Fish and chips MANCHESTER: Residents from George Thomas Court in Harpurhey braved the cold to enjoy an al fresco fish and chip lunch in the communal gardens. The lunch was arranged to speak to residents on proposed improvements to make the properties more secure.

Taking the biscuit CONGLETON and STOKE: Lots of new faces were seen at a BBQ at The Square in Stoke, including biscuit decorating, and a hot pot supper at Albany Mill in Congleton.

Welcome BBQ MANCHESTER: Residents of the new development in Crumpsall attended a welcome BBQ and street party. The 35 new properties are all family housing and there were lots of activities for children including hula hopping 15 and a picture competition.

Feature

Christmas pud ice cream Cooking time: 10 mins Plus freezing Skill level: Easy Servings: 4 Stir the remnants of your Christmas pudding into a tub of vanilla ice cream for a super simple dessert. Ingredients: • 1 litre tub vanilla ice cream, slightly softened • 200g leftover Christmas pudding, crumbled • Toffee sauce to serve Method: Whizz the ice cream in a food processor until smooth, fold in the Christmas pudding and scrape into a freezerproof container. Freeze for at least 2 hrs then scoop into bowls and top with toffee sauce.

For more fantastic recipies visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com which aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste!

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Do you have a budget recipe you can send to us? You’ll get a £10 voucher if we feature yours! Just email communications@greatplaces.org.uk with a good quality head and shoulders shot of yourself.

Staff & office costs

Interest payments on loans

Planned or major repairs

24%

20%

17%

10%

12%

Services we provide to you

Surplus

Fall in property value

Everyday repairs

How we spend your rent

Not only do we aim to be fair, open and accountable in everything we do, we aim to both know and value you and your community. Our annual report lets you know how weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing this!

Your annual report 2013

www.greatplaces.org.uk

from Reaching Communities for an older people’s project in Levenshulme, Manchester

£273,000

from Children In Need for a youth club and homework club in Northmoor, Manchester

£90,000

from the European Social Fund for women’s work placements in Oldham

£11,000

Great Places helped to attract about 50 grants for community projects inclulding:

RESIDENT SATISFACTION

729 residents took part in an involvement activity

355 residents attended a local area forum

funding applications for community projects were submitted

of residents were happy with their neighbourhood as a place to live

of residents thought that their rent was good value for money

of our residents were satisfied with the handling of ASB cases they reported

Resident involvement by numbers

84%

of residents are satisfied with our repairs service

83%

of residents were satisfied with the quality of their home

of residents were satisfied with the overall service we provide

82%

87%

84%

88%

We put you at the heart of everything we do. Our Customer Services Voice group, formerly the Tenant Services Committee (find out more about why it’s changed on page 29), plays an important role influencing strategic decisions that affect your services, and we offer all of the opportunity to feed back.

REPAIRS

of residents were satisfied with repairs

of repairs completed on very first visit

74%

92%

of appointments made at residents convenience

91%

45,576 repairs carried out by our repairs team

new bathroom suites fitted

96%

homes got new windows

168

full heating systems installed

homes got new doors

167

new kitchens installed

homes painted

113

1392 392

of repairs appointments were kept

INVESTMENT

96%

of residents were happy with the work we did

A-rated boilers installed

472

Last year we made procurement savings of £1.7m by awarding work to our suppliers more competitively.

Value for money

Our financial inclusion team put £1m back into residents’ pockets by supporting them to make the most of their money.

www.greatplaces.org.uk

In 2012 Great Places handled 109,526 enquiries from you. Three quarters were made by phone and the most common reasons to get in touch were to discuss repairs (24% of enquiries) or rent (21% of enquiries).

Last year the number of complaints we received reduced by 23%, while satisfaction with how complaints were handled increased by 14% and the average length of time to resolve a complaint decreased by 10 days

95.2% of all incoming calls to our customer access team were answered within 15 seconds and 95% of callers were happy with the service they received.

Customer service

money

Christmas is undoubtedly a time when finances are stretched. Following the introduction of benefit changes earlier in the year it’s going to mean even more demands are put on your wallet. My Great Place talks through the dangers of loan sharks and how we can help.

Direct debits are the way forward

Don’t fall into the

JAWS of loan sharks

We all know that criminals take advantage of people at a time like this. You might find a loan shark knocking on your door. Don’t fall into the trap of lending money from these people. They are illegal and will talk you into a never-ending spiral of debt. Interest rates have rocketed as high as 131,000 per cent APR with most offering no paperwork, so victims are totally in the dark as to what they owe. If you do need some extra money, why not try a credit union? Credit unions are a fast-growing alternative to banks, building societies and doorstep/payday lenders. We have links with Manchester Credit Union. Even if you don’t live in the area you can use them. 124 of you are already members and 66 of you have applied for a loan. We’re currently working with them to promote Great Places Essential Living Fund (ELF). You can borrow up to £300 for essential furniture or white goods, with Great Places providing one third of the loan as a grant – that’s money straight in your pocket! We’ve already given out over £15,000 through this scheme. EXAMPLE A £300 ELF loan over one year means we’ll provide a grant of £100 and you borrow £200, costing you £4.34 per week. You will need to provide ID and evidence you can afford the loan. All loan decisions will be made by Manchester Credit Union. HOW TO APPLY: Contact your local Great Places officer or call our Customer Access Team on 0300 123 1966

If you’ve not done it already, why not switch and pay your rent by direct debit now? It’s the quickest and easiest way to pay so give it a try! For other ways to pay, just check out our website www.greatplaces.org.uk and go to ‘My homepage’ then ‘Pay your rent’.

Court applications We were forced to make 26 court applications in Sept to recover rent arrears.

Evictions From April to Sept 13 we evicted 23 tenants because of failure to maintain their court orders.

This is a last resort for us. We don’t take these measures lightly and make sure all residents are offered a financial support co-ordinator interview throughout the arrears recovery process to help them manage their money.

If you find yourself in financial difficulty, we are here to help. We have financial support co-ordinators in each region that will help you to manage your money. Last year we saved over £1m for our residents. Email: fit@greatplaces.org.uk

Feature

scrutiny

ˈskruːtɪni noun ( pl. scrutinies ) [ mass noun ] critical observation or examination: every aspect of the service was placed under scrutiny.

My Great Place gives you the lowdown on the new tenant group that will aim to help improve our services to you What is tenant scrutiny? Tenant scrutiny aims to give tenants more power in holding their landlords (Great Places in this case!) to account for their decisions, performance and behaviour. The new group will look in detail at the different services we offer you.

Where has it come from? Changes to regulation in England from April 2012 now require us to be more proactive in self-regulation and in involving tenants in the scrutiny process. There’s also calls for greater involvement from customers in monitoring and shaping services.

How will it benefit you? Tenant scrutiny will: • • •

help us give you the services you want and tailor them to reflect your local community help us target resources to the areas where they are needed most help us give you better value for money

How is the scrutiny group different from our other groups like the Customer Services Voice, formerly Tenant services Committee? The Tenant Scrutiny group and the Customer Services Voice group work alongside each other. The main difference is that the former group looks backwards to see how services have performed and if changes have worked. The latter looks forward to see how services can be improved and how we can make the right changes. If you’re part of the tenant scrutiny group it will be more like a job – you’ll be interviewing managers, devising questionnaires for residents, telephoning residents about the service they’ve had, helping to write reports and presenting your findings to senior managers and our board.

www.greatplaces.org.uk

Want to put Great Places under the microscope? We need you! Do you want to help improve services for our residents? Improve your skills? Enhance your CV? Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for people for our new Tenant Scrutiny group. Are you up for a new challenge? Fancy getting under the skin of Great Places? Give Mike Glennon a call on 0161 925 7931 or email: mike.glennon@greatplaces.org.uk

feature

I’d like to make a complaint...

Blackpool resident Janet Hunt has been living in her bungalow for three years. Recently she’s been forced to complain about Great Places’ service. My Great Place went to visit and found that our new complaints process is working.

“

We used to live over the road in some flats for ten years but they just weren’t suitable for us anymore. We’re happy here – they’re nice little houses with a court at the back. There are only these four bungalows that belong to Great Places, the rest are owned by Blackpool Council so sometimes we feel forgotten. The problem started because we pay a charge for the warden service and the alarms, but that goes onto my account as part of the rent. I began to notice that the arrears on my rent was going up and up and – after a few months it was £100. I rang Great Places and asked what the problem was and got the reply

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– ‘we’ll get back to you in three days’ – but they didn’t. This went on for four months – by that time I was £400 in arrears in rent and was worried. I then noticed a section on the Great Places’ website – Complaints and compliments. I called the CAT number one final time and said that if someone didn’t get back to me in four days I would be forced to make a complaint. No-one did, so reluctantly I rang to complain. I told the lady who answered that no-one was taking any notice and I’d had enough. Within an hour somebody had phoned me back then another person had phoned to apologise and it was all sorted within a week. Then last September, when we had the torrential rain, my porch got flooded because the roof was leaking so a man from Great Places came out and said we needed a new roof. I left it for months but then decided to make another complaint. That day the same lady

got straight back to me. I really believe your new complaints process is working. Someone listens to you and gets things sorted quickly. I was so happy that someone took notice of me – that’s was all I wanted.

”

We know we don’t always get things right and we apologise for that. We are doing everything we can to improve our services to you. Our new complaints process • ‘Nip it in the bud’ – we want to resolve complaints early without the need for a formal response. • ‘Right first time’ – if we cannot ‘nip it in the bud’, one of our operational managers will investigate your complaint and provide a full and final resolution that is fair and reasonable. • If you’re not happy with our final offer of resolution we will provide advice on referring your complaint for independent resolution. If you do have a complaint, a comment or a compliment you can email our Customer Access Team at: CAT@ greatplaces.org.uk

green place

There’s no doubt the festive period is all about excess. But it doesn’t have to be at the expense of the environment. Here are some tips on how to really be ‘evergreen’ this Christmas.

Waste in winter facts

Advice, tips and ideas on staying green and saving money!

Recycle your cards in your paper and card recycling container – it’s that simple!

One billi Christma on s cards, wrapping paper and card board will end up in bin s across th e countr y

s nes of glas 13,350 ton K ut in the U o n w o r th is son. festive sea during the could save it g n li c y c Re 0 lent of 4,20 the equiva , on dioxide b r a c f o s e tonn ame ld be the s u o w h ic h w 0 round 1,30 as taking a e road cars off th r for one yea son Ever y per away will throw of 50 an average bbish kilos of r u alent – the equiv istmas of 111 Chr puddings!

Give your old Christmas cards to the Woodland trust via TK Maxx or Marks and Spencer’s where the money raised will go to planting more than 60,000 trees across the uk How about sending a Christmas e card instead? Or use your Christmas cards to make tags, or more cards for next year!

Get crafty and use your wrapping paper to help make greetings cards or origami.

We’ve launched a new Facebook page – War on winter woes – which features lots of advice, information and tips on how to cope with what can be a demanding season! Like us at facebook.com/WarOnWinterWoes

News

Mattâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message I know that some of you have had problems getting to speak to a member of staff when you have telephoned our repairs service. This has been a frustrating experience and I can only apologise for any inconvenience this has caused. We have taken on board what you have been telling us and we are carrying out a review of the service which will hopefully improve things over the coming months. Providing excellent customer service is one of our major aims and in this magazine you can find out how we are performing in our residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; annual report. Please take some time to read it and let us know what you think. Every winter we run a campaign where staff, including myself, go out and see some of our elderly residents to make sure they are

prepared for the cold weather. This year we also included visits to those of you affected by changes to the benefit system introduced by the government. With Christmas fast approaching this is also an expensive time and if any of you have got worries about money, please get in touch. We have a team of staff who can hopefully help you. Finally, look out for some of the festive events that are being planned across the group. I hope you can come along and enjoy one of them. In the meantime all that is left for me to do is wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year,

New board appointed As we mentioned in the autumn issue of My Great Place, we have been recruiting new board members to strengthen the way we are governed. Tony Davison became our new chair last month, taking over from interim chair George Taylor.

Our new deputy chair is Jenny Rayner, a specialist in internal audit and risk management training, and a former deputy chair at Weaver Vale Housing Trust. Jenny, who lives in Northwich, is a former chief internal auditor at ICI and has been self-employed for 14 years, working in the UK and internationally.

Tony, who lives in Crewe, has a wealth of business experience and was managing director of Bostik, the glue manufacturer, for more than 20 years. He started his career as a graduate trainee at Rover Cars. He is also a councillor on Crewe Parish Council, a non-executive director of Manchester Metropolitan University and a director at non-league football club Nantwich Town.

The other new board members are Jerry Green, financial director of a property investment company and governor at Macclesfield FE College, David Robinson, managing director of Richer Sounds and chair of governors at United Learning, Thea Stein, chief executive of the charity Carers Trust and Richard Sear, independent business consultant and a former chief executive of National

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Friendly, the private medical insurance (PMI) provider. The final appointment sees Will Taylor become chair of Cube. He is an experienced businessman and was a former managing director of the Carrington Business Park in Trafford which is part of the multinational Shell Group. These new board members will bring a wide range of talents and experience to Great Places and help us move forward to become an even better organisation.

News REPAIRS UPDATE

Some of you have been experiencing problems when you have been ringing in to report a repair and we can only apologise for the inconvenience and frustration this is causing. Now that the in-house repairs service covers the whole group we have struggled with the high volume of calls, but we are working hard to sort out the problem. You have told us many times how important a good repairs service is to you so our new Customer Services

Voice group and Tenant Scrutiny will be keeping a close eye on the situation. We know that you are very happy with the standard of repairs which our staff carry out in your homes but we also want your experience of our service to be good from the moment you call us until the job has been done.

This time of year is traditionally a busy one for property services because of the cold weather so we want to clarify the difference between an emergency and a non-urgent repair. • An emergency repair is a problem that causes risk and danger to you or your home. Examples include a gas leak, broken locks, power cuts or no heating or hot water in winter. We aim to have one of our workmen at your home within four hours to deal with an emergency. • A non-urgent repair is a problem that can be left for a short time. Examples include loose floor boards, broken kitchen units or cracks in plaster. In these cases we will arrange a time that suits you to come and fix the problem. • Don’t forget to report a repair as soon as you find one. You can report a repair by calling us on 0300 123 1966 or emailing us at repairs@greatplaces.org.uk

Repair responsibilities We have received a lot of calls from you recently asking about what residents are responsible for when living in one of our homes, so here’s a reminder. Inside your home we will carry out most repairs unless they are caused by damage, but you are responsible for the following repairs: • Light bulbs and fuses • Toilet seats, chains and plugs

• Internal door handles, bolts and catches • Replacement keys and/or lock changes • Unblocking toilets, sinks and baths • Internal decoration of your home • Your garden areas • Locks to outside sheds and stores • Door bells and batteries • Batteries in smoke detectors • Home contents insurance cover

It is our job to keep the outside of your home in good repair and we are responsible for the following: • • • • • • •

Gutters, pipes and drains Window frames and doors Roof work Chimneys Boundary walls Paths and yard surfaces Outbuildings

Feature

Help your child surf safely There’s no doubt mobile phones and games consoles have given children even more opportunities to get online. But do you know what your child is getting up to on the internet? My Great Place gives you a few tips on keeping your children safe when surfing. 1. Step into their virtual world Make sure you’re involved in their internet usage. Sit with them and understand what they’re looking at by checking the browsing history on the computer. 2. Set out rules from the start Make sure you explain how much time you’ll allow your child on the internet and stick to it. Also think about which sites you’ll let them visit. 3. Teach them to protect their privacy Make sure they understand never to give out personal information online, don’t open emails from people they don’t know, and don’t meet up with anyone they’ve “met” online. If they are on Facebook or other social networking sites, remind them to always check their privacy settings (visit www.facebook.com/help/privacy for help). 4. Turn your ISP into your ally Internet service providers (ISP) BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media all provide free parental controls which help filter out inappropriate content. Speak to your provider for more information. 5. Make your browser work double-time Internet Explorer has Content Advisor (under tools/internet options/content), which filters out language, nudity, sex, and violence on a 0 to 4 scale.

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Did you know? Latest Ofcom research has shown that 91% of 5-15 year olds live in a household with internet access and over a third of all 3-4 year olds are now accessing the internet in their homes.

Customer Services Voice As you know, the Tenant Services Committee (TSC) has been your voice – playing an important role in making key decisions on behalf of residents – since 2010. When Great Places were reviewing their governance arrangements earlier this year, the TSC decided to create a new group called Customer Services Voice.

Great Places

Customer Services Voice

This will become the main advisory group to Great Places’ directors with responsibility for monitoring our performance in relation to housing, repairs, support services, shaping policy and reviewing service improvements. We’ll introduce who sits on this group in the spring issue of My Great Place.

Get Involved

Great Places’ Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate someone for a Community Stars Award! We had over 100 nominations, which is fantastic.

Manchester. Check out our next issue of My Great Place for interviews with the stars of our show!

The winners will be announced at a glittering ceremony in January at Gorton Monastery,

INSPIRING the elderly

It was two years’ ago that Great Places turned a dilapidated Victorian church into a multi-use community and creative business hub with worship space and affordable apartments.

The innovative £3m Inspire Centre on Stockport Road, Levenshulme, south Manchester, has been thriving since then with community events and a café bringing the whole community together. With many older people now using the centre’s facilities, and in an effort to create more opportunities for them to be part of the community, Inspire is now involved in a £273,000 project designed to reach out to them. The project, funded by the lottery, will help reduce loneliness by putting on activity programmes and weekly

coffee mornings. It also aims to help them feel more able to make decisions through weekly information talks and new technology classes, and it also plans to put on events around welfare reform, benefits and money matters advice.

GRAPEVINE Residents raise money for SSAFA forces charity with tea and cake Residents at Great Places Housing Group-run sheltered housing scheme Openshaw Court and Ramsden Fold in Swinton, Salford, helped to raise £478 for charity. They got together with the ladies of the SSAFA forces charity social group in Swinton to stage a coffee morning with raffles, tombola, tea and cakes. Ceremonial mayor of Salford, Clr Alan Clague and mayoress Mrs Margaret Clague were special guests.

Elderly services news

Get knitting and nattering! Thinking about knitting some jumpers for Christmas presents? Want a good chat while you’re doing it? Join the Knit and natter group at John Atkinson Court, Salford. Speak to your scheme manager for more details.

Weeding on Tweedle Common

School children from Crab Lane Primary and Camberwell School gave our residents at The Byrons, Manchester a helping hand with replanting on Tweedle Common. It’s now ready for spring!

The world’s

BIGGEST

coffee morning We held numerous coffee mornings across all of our elderly services scheme to raise money for McMillan Cancer charity. Residents at St George’s Court raised £195.75. Well done to everyone involved.

A walk on the wild side Are you an elderly resident living in Salford? Fancy a stroll around the park followed by a cuppa with other likeminded individuals? Mel Barber, the elderly services warden, has organised regular walks on Mondays at 1:30pm. Just meet at the side gate of Buile Hill Park off Seedley Road, Salford. Contact Mel on 07817 498 493 for more information.

Improvements to your service On 13th November we held our very first elderly services improvement forum. Several residents came together to discuss their views and how they can be involved in making changes to improve our services to you. We’ll tell you more about what happened in the spring issue of the magazinel

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Are you craving the type of adventure that only the great outdoors has to offer? We want to find out what you think of Great Places and how we operate in your community.

r in g 2 0

In return we’re running a free trip for 16–24 year olds to the Outward Bound Trust centre in Ullswater in the Lake District.

Gr e

ces a l P at

O T WA R D B

Visit www.greatplaces.org.uk and search for outward bound or email cathy.mccormick@greatplaces.org.uk for details of what’s involved and how to apply.

Competitions! Custom Word Search Puzzle

You could win £25 in vouchers! A S M Y N V C

WORDSEARCH

Congratulations to last issue’s winners:

Svenja Akram, Manchester Mrs A Henfrey, Bury Christine Guy, Salford

Have a go at this Christmas themed wordsearch!

Words to find are: Christmas Snowman Star Tree Snowflake

Santa Rudolph Bauble Cracker Presents

Bauble Christmas Cracker Presents Rudolph

Santa Snowflake Snowman Star Tree

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE Just circle the FIVE differences on picture number two, cut it out, pop in an envelope and send it in! You could be one of three lucky people to win £10 worth of vouchers.

Don’t forget to include your name, telephone number and address. The three winners will be drawn out of a hat so get your entries in by 15th November 2013.

Congratulations to last issue’s winners:

Hania Buttar, Blackburn Ida Lax, Rochdale Eileen Williams, Preston

http://www.puzzle-maker.com/cgi-bin/wswo.cgi

Send your entries by post to: FREEPOST, RLSC-HLLJ-EZRZ, My Great Place, Great Places Housing Group, Southern Gate, 729 Road, Manchester M20 2LT. 32 Princess www.greatplaces.org.uk

All entries must be in by 14th February 2013

Remember you don’t need a stamp!