Ardenglen acknowledges that our tenants deserve to be recognised for their kindness and consideration to their neighbours. We would like to give you the chance to nominate a neighbour whose kindness has made a difference to your lives. There are a number of things that you could recognise your neighbour for such as;
• Looks after your pet
• keeps an eye on your home when you are on holiday.
• Takes out your bin for collection
• Helps you with shopping
• Has been there when you need someone to talk to
• Clears you path during autumn or winter months
• OR someone who is a good neighbour all the time
Good Neighbour Award 2024
If there is someone that you would like to nominate, simply drop us an email at info@ ardenglen.org.uk and tell us the name of the person that you are nominating and the reason. Alternatively, you can come into the office and fill out a nomination form the next time you are in. We will also have a nomination form available on our website at https:// ardenglen.co.uk/good-neighbour-award/
Two entries will be selected to win a prize voucher.
Your rent this festive period… 2024
Ardenglen are aware of the challenges our customers face as we continue to live through a cost of living crisis. Missing your rent at Christmas means starting the New Year with debt and the inevitable stress that this causes. We encourage all tenants to budget carefully to avoid missing your rent as this is a priority bill.
If you are struggling to meet your rent payments you should never be afraid to talk to us about it – we are here to help. We spend many hours each week helping our customers find the best way to resolve rent arrears or financial difficulties – so please don’t think you are alone if you are struggling to make ends meet. We now have a full time Financial Inclusion Officer, Assistant and part time Energy advisor who are here to help.
Pay by Direct Debit?
Payment may be taken from your account up to 3 days later than normal over the festive period. Check the table to see if you may be affected and please ensure there are sufficient funds in your account on collection day to prevent any bank charges.
Meet our newly established Financial Inclusion Team
Our Community Investment Team is expanding, and we are delighted to introduce our new Financial Inclusion Team. This is good news because it means that we can support more tenants and residents during the current Cost-of-Living Crisis.
The Financial Inclusion Team are here to assist our Tenants and Pantry members with any financial, digital or energy support and advice.
Made up of three officers, the team is led by Bernie Sweeny, Financial Inclusion Officer. Bernie can support Ardenglen tenants with a variety of financial matters such as benefit applications, benefit checks, appeals, debt advice, budgeting and grant applications.
Thanks to external funding for our Pantry Plus Project from the National Lottery (Community Led Fund) and
Energy Re-dress, we are delighted to have been able to appoint Jo Shand and Jolanta Dolewska to the team.
Jo is our new Financial Inclusion & Digital Worker and can support Ardenglen Tenants and local residents with a variety of financial and welfare rights advice. Jo can also assist anyone who requires Digital support with basic support or help to maintain Universal Credit Journals, Job Applications, and CVs.
Jolanta is our new Energy Advisor and can support Ardenglen tenants and local residents with energy saving tips, fuel crisis support, and fuel debt amongst other things.
Please note the content of what is available in terms of supporting residents via our Pantry Plus project, along with more details of what the service can offer. https:// ardenglen.co.uk/pantryplus-leaflet/
Full Stock Roof repairs
Needing help or interested in any of the activities..... please contact our Customer Services Team to arrange an appointment or email community@ardenglen. org.uk
After recently carrying out our Gutter cleaning contract we identified numerous roof defects throughout our stock and we believe in being proactive in repairing all works recorded to the reduce the risk of future failings, these range from Broken roof tiles to damaged Fascia’s etc and we plan to have these 100% complete before the Christmas break 2024.
Meet the housing team
Thank you to those tenants who came along to have a cuppa tea and chat with the team. See below for information on who your housing officer and assistant is.
The whole staff team carried out an estate inspection and all customers were invited to join us or to speak to us when in the neighbourhood. Thank you to those who did! We picked up a number of issues as you will see from the photos opposite.
Our next walk about will take place in February 2025 more details to follow …
XL Bully Owner’s –legislation changes
It is a criminal offence to keep an XL Bully dog without a valid Certificate of Exemption.
It is also an offence to:
• have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle
• breed or breed from an XL Bully
• sell, give away or rehome an XL Bully
• abandon an XL Bully or let it stray
You can get in touch with Glasgow City Council to report an out of control dog or dangerous doghttps://www.glasgow.gov.uk/reportdangerousdog
If you are worried about a dog living within an Ardenglen property please contact your housing officer.
Domestic Abuse
Although Christmas time should be a joyous time with loved ones unfortunately there is also an increase of reports relating to domestic abuse. This is a short reminder that Ardenglen are part of the Chartered Institute of Housing “Make a Stand” campaign against domestic abuse. You can find our policy on this here https://ardenglen.co.uk/useful-information/
UPDATE ON OUR
SOCIAL CALENDAR
First up was our Autumn Festival of Food & Fun, which took place on Wednesday 16 October. We set up outside 6 Ardencraig Street / Quadrant to welcome families to a day packed with lots of tasty food & fun.
The Community Investment Team have been sourcing relevant funding to turn the property at 6 Ardencraig Street (former Relaxation Centre) into a new community hub, so it was perfect for us to use this opportunity to consult with local residents about what they would like the HUB #homeiswherethehubis and its new Growing Space to be used for. We also took the opportunity to carry out a Community Day of Action, which saw our Housing Services Team carry out a litter pick of the area with lots of little helpers.
Other activities at the festival included balloon sculpture, a science workshop and cake decoration. Our newly established Financial Inclusion Team were also on hand to help local people with advice around financial and energy matters including with tips how to
Next up was our Halloween event, which saw us visited by The Witches of the Glen on Tuesday 29 October who delivered a fun packed evening of Spooky Storytelling and lots of Spooktacular Fun.
keep their bills down. Scottish Fire and Rescue were also there to offer safety in the home tips and allow the kids to explore their appliance.
Fiona McGovern (Community Investment Manager) said “We wanted to get local people’s input into what shape the new growing space and hub would take and the type of plants that we could grow there and the type of activities that could take place inside.”
A special thanks is given to Castlemilk Together for providing us the being with an allocation of its funding from GCC Holiday Food Programme to provide FREE Food and some of the activities.
Then it was time for our annual visit to the East Kilbride Theatre to see the Greenhills Amateur production of Pinocchio on Thursday 21 November. Two coach loads of families had the best time…..oh no they didn’t……oh yes they did!
OUR FUN FOR ALL
CALENDAR FOR 2024-25
Our final event for the year will be a visit from the BIG Man himself, who will take up residence in our Grotto. A host of fun activities (including a visit from a Special Guest) has been arranged for our families to enjoy. This event will take place on Wednesday 18 December from 4pm –7pm. Tickets will cost £2 and will be open to families with children from babies to Primary 7. Please note that we can only accept applications for tenant’s children and grandchildren *no nieces or nephews allowed.
We will be sending out communication of how to apply shortly, so please check your text/emails. If
you are not receiving these communications, please contact the office today to check or update your mobile number and email address. Don’t worry if you don’t have a mobile or email, hard copies can be completed at the office from Monday 2 December 2024. If this event is oversubscribed your application will go into a ballot.
Please note that most of our events are ticketed with the price subsidised. On the evening of our trip to the Panto, four families (11 tickets) failed to turn up with no prior notice. Tickets for this event cost us £12 per person (subsidised cost of £2 per person).
This is especiallydisappointing, as there were other families wanting to attend. We would like to remind that anyone failing to attend without prior notice will be excluded from applying for tickets to future events.
IIP Awards
Ardenglen were shortlisted for an investors in people award for UK employer of the year for under 49 employees. Some staff & board members attended the award's ceremony on November 14 and whilst we didn't win, we were extremely proud to have been shortlisted and all enjoyed the event.
Upcycling helping Castlemilk’s circular economy
Local people in Castlemilk are doing their bit for the circular economy by upcycling old fabric and furniture.
The Sew Fabulous group teaches local people new skills in how turn old fabric, that would otherwise end up in landfill, into items like Bags for Life; purses; draft excluders; soft home furnishing which are then donated to local people. While the woodwork group Mending Castlemilk turns out new furniture from old to help new tenants furnish their home.
The two initiatives projects are part of Ardenglen Housing Association’s Pantry Plus initiative, a series of community focused activities attached to Castlemilk Pantry. Activities are based around sustainable living and affordable food, which also includes cookery, IT and gardening classes as well as wider community events throughout the year.
‘Our main aim for Pantry Plus is to build personal capacity, confidence and in doing so encourage our participants to be innovative. I’m delighted that Ardenglen can play a leading role as
a community anchor in the area by organising activities that help improve the quality of local people’s lives,’ said Ardenglen’s Community Investment Manager, Fiona McGovern.
‘Encouraging participation in community events like this is crucial in helping to build a sense of belonging and community pride in the area.’
Ardenglen manage around 1000 homes in the Castlemilk area of south Glasgow.
The Pantry was set up with support from Ardenglen to address food insecurity currently being experienced by local people who are affected by the Cost of Living Crisis. Membership is open to anyone residing the G45 area and costs £1 to join. Members can then shop once a week buying 10 items of fresh and packaged food for only £2.50. Since opening two years ago it has signed up more than 1000 members.
Picture shows: Members of the Sew Fabulous group show off their latest creation, travel pillows.
Can
As a social landlord we are required to carry out a gas service in your property every 12 months. The gas service is highly important in keeping you and your family safe within your property as this help identify any issues relating to gas escapes and Carbon Monoxide leaks.
Carbon Monoxide is an odourless, tasteless and colourless gas which is produced inside the boiler. The boiler then releases the gas through the flue and into the atmosphere. If there is a fault somewhere this may cause the Carbon Monoxide to feed into the property and can make people ill especially the young and elderly. Any fault can be identified at the gas service
and remedied as quickly as possible. This is why it is highly important for you to provide access to Saltire or Ardenglen to carry this out. The gas service generally takes less than an hour and we can offer Saturday appointments if this better suits your personal circumstances. The Saltire engineers are happy to answer any questions surrounding the gas service or alternatively you can contact our office.
Pension Credit Gas Servicing
As of September 2024, the Winter Fuel Payment is only available to people over the state pension age who are receiving Pension Credit.
To qualify for this year’s Winter Fuel Payment, you must apply for Pension Credit before the 21st of December 2024.
Pension Credit gives you extra money to help with your living costs if you are on a low income and over state pension age.
It tops up your weekly income to £218.15 a week for single pensioners or £332.95 for couples.
If you have £10,000 or less in savings and investments this will not affect your Pension Credit. If you have more than £10,000, £1 of weekly income will be counted for every £500 you have over £10,000.
If your income is higher, you may be eligible if you have a disability, housing costs or you
care for someone.
If you are entitled you may also get help with your rent and Council Tax.
Our Financial Inclusion team are here to help you.
If you would like us to check if you are entitled and support you with the application, please call us on 0141 634 8016 to make an appointment.
The impact of bulk
Ardenglen staff and landscape maintenance contractor Caledonian carried out an inspection of the stock following this years bonfire night. Streets were left with many bulk items and a large amount of litter on the streets. We would like to remind tenants that it is against the law to throw or set fireworks off in a public area and to light a fire in a public place if it endangers any other person or property or gives them reasonable cause for alarm or annoyance.
These laws are set out to keep the community safe and we would appreciate this this is adhered to going forward. Flytipping is also a criminal offence and if you are caught you could be faced with a fixed penalty notice of £500.
Bulk uplifts cost the association an estimated £71,000 a year. With that money the association could have provided tenants with one of the following:
• 18 New bathrooms
• 33 New boilers
• 15 New kitchens
• 51 New Front and back doors
Tenant should be utilising the bulk uplift service provided by Glasgow City Council. This includes those who are in flats and main door properties. You can request a bulk uplift by using the Glasgow City Council website or for those who cannot get online you can give them a call on 0141 287 9700 – Tuesday and Wednesday between 9am – 3pm.
The charges for an uplift are:
• Standard items – £5 per item
• Large electrical items - £5 per item
• Special Items - £80 per item
If you witness someone flytipping you can report this anonymously using the Glasgow City Council website.
Spot the difference answers
Who can complain?
How do I complain?
Anyone can make a complaint to us, including the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service. When complaining, tell us:
• Your full name and address.
• As much as you can about the complaint.
• What has gone wrong?
• How you want us to resolve the matter.
Between
and
COMPLAINTS RECEIVED
You can complain in person at our office, by phone 0141 634 8016, in writing, or email info@ardenglen.org.uk.
Getting help to make your complaint
We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you. If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing, please tell us.
When a complaint is received, we aim to resolve the matter within 5 working days (Stage 1 Complaint) however if the complaint is more complex and requires a more detailed investigation, we aim to respond within 20 working days (Stage 2 Complaint).
Q2 Complaints Perfromance
Q2 Complaints Performance
Customer Feedback
Your feedback means a lot to us whether it be a complaint or a compliment or just some general thoughts on our service. All of your feedback helps Ardenglen shape our services for the good of all our tenants. We are constantly reviewing our own performance and processes to ensure we deliver a highquality service.
Compliments
We received two compliments for the good work of our Asset Team this quarter. Two tenants contacted us to let us know how satisfied they were with their bathroom repairs.
Festive Repairs Service
During the festive break we will only be taking emergency repairs due to limited staff availability. You can still report non-emergency repairs however you may not be contacted until after the festive holidays.
Bell Clyde will be covering our
emergency repair servicing whilst the office is shut. If during this time you require a joiner, plumber or electrician please contact 0141 336 7111.
This year Saltire will be covering any gas heating or hot water repairs which has changed. You can contact them on 0330 202 0444.
Performance Quarter 2
(1 July to 30 September 2024)
Rest Assured
As a Social Housing Landlord, Ardenglen have an obligation to report to the Scottish Housing Regulator informing them of how we meet the Regulatory Standards of Governance and Financial Management. We also have a duty to publish information on how we perform, to our Tenants. Since our last update in October, the Association has submitted our most recent Annual Assurance Statement which confirms our compliance with the standards. Read the full statement on our website https:// ardenglen.co.uk/assurance-statement/ Ardenglen takes tenants’ safety seriously and have been busy introducing several new reports and performance indicators that monitor our compliance position and provide assurance to our Board of Management. The Association are one of many Housing Associations across Scotland who have participated in the Scottish Housing Regulator’s review of the Indicators within the Annual Return on the Charter. Next year should see the introduction of some new indicators monitoring tenant safety.
• Medical Adaptations Policy
• Fire Safety Policy
• Lift Management Policy
The Board will also be involved in approving the procurement for contractors who will commence our Capital Investment Programme which will provide improvements to some of our housing stock in the coming months.
We also welcomed a new Co-optee to the Board in September. Charles Ball, is a local to Castlemilk with a passion for making improvements to the area. Read more about Charles on our website https://ardenglen. co.uk/charles-ball/
Our Board have been busy with meetings again this quarter and have approved the following policies:
• Leasing Policy
• Rent Arrears Policy
• Estate Management Policy
We are looking for new Board Members, if you are a shareholder with Ardenglen and have a genuine interest in making a difference, why not get in touch with Jacqui Mills, Corporate Services Officer, https://ardenglen.co.uk/ board-vacancies/
Sustainability Working Group
Ardenglen is actively trying to reduce our Carbon Footprint as an organisation and are introducing initiatives that will help us to achieve net zero in our working practices. Our working group are initially targeting ways within our office that we can reduce litter and waste.
The 5 group members from across the Association are currently attending a certified Climate Emergency training course with Keep Scotland Beautiful. The training will develop our understanding of the implications of climate change and how this will affect all of us, and what we can all do to adapt to reduce emissions individually, corporately and within our homes and communities.
CALLING ALL ARDENGLEN RESIDENTS –Your Neighbourhood Needs You!
Ardenglen are looking for more tenants and residents to get involved in our Scrutiny Panel – RASP (Residents of Ardenglen Scrutiny Panel).
Do you have an hour or two a month to help Ardenglen improve our services for our customers?
We have a small group of tenants interested in reviewing our performance and looking closely at our services with a long term aim of making recommendations for improvement to our Board of Management. We would like more tenants to get involved.
All members of Ardenglen’s Scrutiny Panel will be offered training and support to help them in their role. We are still at an early stage in our development but anyone who is a tenant or receives a service from Ardenglen is welcome to get involved in the panel. Being part of a scrutiny panel can look great on your CV and can help you to develop your skillset further. If you are interested in joining RASP, please get in touch with Jacqui Mills, Corporate Services Officer, Jacqui.mills@ardenglen.org.uk or call 07932804901.
Our Lived Experiences Group shortlisted for Award
The Castlemilk Housing and Human Rights Lived Experience Group was shortlisted for a Scotland Housing Award in the Working in Partnership category. The Group is made up of Board Members from Ardenglen, Craigdale, Cassiltoun and North View Housing Associations. All four partners have a shared belief that housing is a human right and a gateway to the enjoyment of other human rights such as wellbeing to sustaining employment.
The work of the group is focused on closing the gap between policy and practice, enabling communities and raising awareness.
The ceremony took place on 8 November at the Glasgow Doubletree Hilton and on this occasion the group did not win but were delighted to be recognised for their efforts so far.
Useful Contacts
Emergency phone numbers when our office is closed:
• For all central heating and hot water emergencies please call 0330 202 0444
• For any other emergency repairs that happen after hours, please call 0141 336 7111
• When reporting a repair please advise the contractor you are a tenant of Ardenglen Housing Association.
• Report a repair free phone line 0300 303 8000 – this number is not available during public holidays.
Please note that the office will be closed on Wednesday afternoons for staff training.
FESTIVE OPENING HOURS
• Closed (noon) Tuesday 24 December
• Closed Wednesday 25 December
• Closed Thursday 26 December
• Closed Friday 27 December
• Open Monday 30 December 9am – 1pm
• Open Tuesday 31 December 9am – 1pm
• Closed Wednesday 1 January
• Closed Thursday 2 January
• Closed Friday 3 January
• Normal opening hours resume Monday 6 January
ouncillors for your local area are listed below. Full contact and surgery details can be found at 0141 287 2000 or visit the Council’s website: www.glasgow.gov.uk
• Catherine Vallis 0141 287 7031
• Bailie Paul McCabe 0141 287 4663
• Margaret Morgan 0141 287 0224
• John Carson 0141 287 3937
If you need any assistance regarding councillors please call our office on 0141 634 8016 where a member of staff will be happy to assist.
