PCH In Touch Newsletter - Spring 2016

make it happen

InTouch Issue 26 Spring 2016

Ernemetal has gained national recognition Page 3

Inside this issue The Beacon Awards Page 11

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John ready with a listening ear Page 6

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Do you have our number?

Page 5

Timebanking in Plymouth Page 12

In Touch

Hello In Touch

Call us on 0808 230 6500

Hello!

llow e P e n i Ela f the Board Chair o

In this edition you can meet our new Chief Executive, John Clark, who tells us all about his plans for PCH. I’m looking forward to working closely with John in the coming months.

Congratulations to everyone involved with our Ernemetal project to transform Ernesettle. They were nominated for an award at the Tenant Participation Advisory Awards. They were named a runner up in their quest to rejuvenate the area – just shows what working together can do. See page 3 for the full story.

We’ve made big changes to how you contact us. We want to make it easier for you to get in touch with us and ensure you speak to the right person the first time you call us. Learn more about these changes on page 5 and check out the back page for all the up-to-date contact numbers.

With spring upon us, you may be planning to spruce up your home.

Make sure you check out the story on page 8 about our new Alterations Policy – you may need to ask us for permission before you pop down to your local DIY store and get the materials in.

Have you received excellent service from someone at PCH? We’re looking for nominations for our new-look Beacon Awards, which honour the hard work our people put in for tenants. The nomination form is on page 11.

There are also updates on your rent, development around the city and our commercial premises so get reading.

Elaine Pellow Chair of the Board

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Welcome to the Spring edition of In Touch.

Beware of cold callers trying to get into your home by claiming to work for PCH. The fraudsters may say they need to check on gas, boilers, loft insulation or electrics.

Please remember: all of our staff carry an ID badge with them and will be happy to show it before accessing your home. Please make sure you ask for ID. If you have any doubts about a caller claiming to be from PCH, call us on 0808 230 6500 or 01752 237990.

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Inside 4 Universal Credit goes live

11 The Beacon Awards

6 John ready with a listening ear

12 Timebanking in Plymouth

9 Development update 2

14 #OurPCH

Do you have our number?

Page 5

Top Story InTouch

plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk

Ernemetal has gained national recognition A fantastic renovation project at the heart of Ernesettle has gained national recognition as one of the runners up at the TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service) Awards.

designs were handed to PCH Manufacturing who worked to turn them into something that could be installed.

Ernemetal was unveiled in July with a summer event that began with performances from local children including live percussion, poetry and ribbon dancing from Ernesettle Community School.

PCH worked closely with local charity Barefoot, Ernesettle Community School, Marine Academy Plymouth and young people from the Space Centre youth project to rejuvenate the area.

Richard Marsh of Barefoot worked with artist Noah Taylor and local The Ernemetal project has been people to produce designs around a two-year labour of love for staff the themes of heritage, history and working to transform the appearance environment. Richard said: “The of the area at Hornchurch Road using aim was to engage with as many public art. people as possible to create art. The project has seen a real cross section Back in 2014 it was announced that of residents from the very young the shops would be redeveloped – to secondary school, parents and the railings around the walkway were grandparents.” damaged and needed replacing.

Housing Officer Adam Stockman Barefoot’s Julie Matthews and PCH’s made a Money Tree Fund application Leigh Ferguson, Tania Cuxton and to improve the area’s appearance.

Alice Potter attended the awards Involving residents makes Adam said: “The shops are the ceremony in London on behalf of all centre of a large community and a lot involved to receive the recognition business sense – and that’s of people go there. It had started to award. official! TPAS has awarded us the look neglected.” kitemark award for the quality of Leigh said: “Ernemetal has been a our resident involvement – proof The project grew as he worked true collaboration with people from of our commitment to tenants with Leigh Ferguson from our every background coming together being at the heart of Communities Team who had strong to celebrate what Ernesettle is all everything we do. links with the local community. about and improve the physical Students from local schools appearance of the area. It’s hoped showcased their designs for the that partnerships of this sort will be artwork outside the shops. The carried forward into future projects.”

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In Touch

Changes to rent and service charges from April By now, you should have heard from us about the level of rent and service charges for your homes that will apply from this April.

Most tenants will see a 1% reduction in their rent from April under Government rules announced last July.

Rents for tenants in property designated as housing with support will increase by 0.9% in April.

In addition to rent, almost 50% of tenants pay service charges – and therefore the actual amount you will need to pay will vary according to the amount and cost of the services provided.

stay the same until April 2017 when it it will reduce by 1%.

The Government announced in its summer budget that rents for the majority of social housing tenants will fall by 1% a year for the next four years.

Tenants who pay affordable rent (80 per cent of market rent) pay their service charge and rent together. The total of these will go down by 1% We have the third lowest rents of unless you are a new tenant since 9 any large housing association in the July 2015 in which case your rent will country and the lowest in the South

West.

If you have any queries about your rent or service charges please contact us on 0800 028 0350 or 01752 388121 or go to our website: plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk/ your-home/making-payments/ where you can read our FAQs leaflet which contains much more detailed information.

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Universal Credit goes live Universal Credit has started in Plymouth. If you’re single with no children and you make a new benefits claim because you’re unemployed, you will claim Universal Credit.

We’ve visited lots of households who we think will be affected to make sure people were prepared for the changes.

One resident who’s had a home visit said it really helped.

She said: “When I first read about Universal Credit in In Touch I was worried, but once I’d spoken

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to someone about it I was really relieved.

“They also put me in touch with other people to help sort out some other financial difficulties – they’ve been really helpful.”

One of the main features of Universal Credit is that applications for the benefit need to be made online.

If you have problems getting online or using a computer please get in contact with our Communities Team who can help you find training and support.

We run a computer club and training courses but we also work with organisations in Plymouth who can get you the skills you need to cope with Universal Credit.

If you want to know more about the changes or are worried about managing your rent payments, please get in touch with us on 0808 230 6500 or 01752 237990.

Do you have our number?

You may have seen some information on our website and social media pages about our First Contact project.

In our last resident survey, 67% of you said you didn’t know how to get hold of the person you needed, and this project was already underway to make things better for you.

Our Contact Centre has already taken the first steps and is now dealing with tenancy management calls, as well as the repairs calls they handled before. If you’ve called recently, you may not have even noticed the difference!

We gave our Contact Centre staff extra training to find out more about the most common enquiries in Tenancy Management before calls were diverted to them. Housing Officers also spent some time in the Contact Centre to advise and support as the first calls came through.

Eventually we’re aiming for all calls to PCH to come through one number – 0808 230 6500. It means our specially-trained staff are more likely to be able to give you the information you need the first time you call us.

You can still find all of the details you need to get hold of us on the back page of In Touch and on our website, and we’ll keep you up to date about how the project’s going.

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plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk

In Touch

John ready with a listening ear While he was there the occupier told him about some ASB problems she was having.

“The operative never thought to report that back to housing staff at the office, it just wasn’t his job. But housing is about so much more than maintaining and repairing properties.

It’s about people and homes and communities so whatever role we do we also need to listen to and act on things that our residents tell us.

“Making it easy for staff to tell us about formal and informal conversations they have had with people and using that information to understand and respond to issues that matter to people in the streets and communities where they live is something I want us to do more of.

“Lots of agencies talk about the ‘Hard to Reach’ but often these are people who live in our homes and we see and talk to them on a daily basis.

New PCH Chief Executive John We can use this contact to listen Clark has set himself a number of to what matters to them and just challenges for his first 12 months as importantly to communicate key in the job with a visit to all of our messages to and from key support residents’ associations at the top of agencies to inform the services that the list. people and communities receive and John, who took up his post earlier this ensure our residents have a voice year, knows the importance of talking and influence in decisions that are made in the city that affect them. and listening to residents.

John hopes to draw on his previous experience as Director of Housing at Greenwich Council in London now he’s in charge at PCH.

“In Greenwich I was responsible for a successful ‘Families First’ programme. It helped families reduce anti-social behaviour, improve attendance and attainment at school, secure employment and reduce dependency on benefits.

But to achieve this we had to take our services into the homes and neighbourhoods where people live, not expect them to come to us. As a housing provider we’re ideally positioned to do this for our own services and the organisations we work with – the council, schools, health providers, the police etc.

“At Greenwich we had an operative who went to fix a tenant’s leaky toilet.

“It’s also really important that we take the time to feedback to residents

“One of the first places I went to was Marlborough House and I was really pleased to see the interaction between staff and residents,” he said, “It was great to see the rapport staff and residents had built – and that residents were comfortable raising things they were concerned about but also recognised that previous issues they had flagged up had been addressed.”

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when they have raised things with us so I’m really pleased that PCH is going to run a series of ‘You Said, We Did’ events so people can see that talking to us is worthwhile, that we will listen and that we are working with them to improve the place where they live.”

John, who comes from South Bank in Middlesbrough, says his first job was in his local Job Centre and he subsequently moved on to a career in regeneration and housing in Sheffield, Leeds and London.

So why the relocation to Plymouth?

He said: “What attracted me to PCH was that the organisation and the role is not just about housing. It’s also about the social and civic role we can play in people’s lives and the city’s ambitions.

“I could see the passion for what PCH represents when I first spoke to Clive Turner and Elaine Pellow and other board members. You can tell they really care about our tenants and are determined to provide the best for them and be a force for good in Plymouth.

“One of my interview questions was ‘what would PCH look like in 12 months’ time?’ I could see that PCH was already a successful organisation but felt I had something to offer that could build on that.”

John admits the current political and economic climate is challenging for housing associations but he’s convinced PCH can still make a difference in the city by delivering excellent services, building more homes and championing the needs and aspirations of people living in social housing.

“It concerns me that we’ve got a reduction of social housing properties,” he said, “In this city, the challenge is how do we provide more homes to help the city grow and how

plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk do we provide homes for the 3,000 people on the housing waiting list in priority need?

“To deliver these aspirations we need to build new homes and to do that we might have to operate differently than before, be more commercially-minded, form different relationships and be open to new and innovative ways of doing things but without losing sight of the fact that we are and intend to remain a social landlord, providing high quality, affordable rented homes for people on lower incomes.

In Touch “To achieve this we may need to develop a new ‘PCH standard’ which identifies what we want our homes and communities to look like so that residents and partners know what they can expect if they are involved with PCH.” As well as providing a good place to live, John also believes that PCH has a responsibility to ensure residents get all the help they need to stay afloat financially.

He added: “Our work with tenants affected by welfare reform has delivered outstanding results, “That may mean that we build homes ensuring they receive the benefits for outright sale in the future, increase they are entitled to, we maximise rent the range of shared ownership collection and reduce arrears and options available or look at the private they have access to job opportunities rented market, particularly where across the city. However we’re also this enables us to provide more aware that the recent introduction of homes and investment into genuinely Universal Credit will bring a new and/ affordable social housing. or increased financial pressure for many households.

But while development is important, John is keen that we don’t forget “We’ve done some fantastic work and our current residents. “We own we’ve had the lowest amount of rent over 14,000 homes and house arrears ever in recent months. It’s over 30,000 people so although down to seeing people as early as we development is important, our first can, it’s about ensuring people are priority has to be to our existing better off financially, not just making residents. The Decent Homes sure they can pay their rent and most programme may have ended but it importantly, it’s about helping them doesn’t mean there isn’t more work find work where that’s appropriate. to be done to ensure we have homes And of course it makes good and communities where people want business sense. If our residents have to live, bring their children up and feel more money in their pocket they are safe and part of a community. more likely to pay the rent and spend

in the local economy.”

John is looking forward to getting to know Plymouth more and is impressed with what he’s seen so far.

“Everyone I’ve come across in Plymouth understands and is committed to achieving the ambitions of the city and working together to achieve them. The City has an amazing history and an exciting future with some major, retail, industrial and residential developments planned and a burgeoning tourism industry.

PCH has an important role to play in that future and I’m pleased to have an opportunity to be part of it.”

On a more personal note, John says: “Plymouth reminds me very much of the North East where the North York Moors and the coastal resorts of Saltburn, Whitby, and Scarborough were right on the doorstep so I felt at home almost instantly.

“It’s a long way to travel to watch my local football team Middlesbrough (the Boro) so I might have to adopt Argyle and hopefully there’s a promotion on the way for both teams this year…”

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Board news

Debbie Roche has been co-opted to our Board.

social enterprise Plymouth Homes 4 Let.

Debbie, of Mount Wise, is a Pembroke Street Management Board member and currently the Plymouth Mental Health Network Co-ordinator at Plymouth Mind.

Meanwhile, tributes have been paid to Board member Jack Thompson, who died recently after a short illness.

Jane Filby has been co-opted to our Customer Focus Committee. Jane worked for homeless charity Shelter for 25 years and now runs her own consultancy firm Filby Moore Associates.

She is also non-executive director of

Jack was a committed Board member and a great supporter of the North Prospect regeneration.

Elaine Pellow, Chair of the Board, said: “It was a pleasure to know Jack as he was such a lovely true gentleman. All of his friends on The Board and at Plymouth Community Homes will surely miss his presence.”

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InTouch

Thinking of giving your home a new look for spring?

Whatever the case, you’ll need to ask us for permission in writing for the works. If we approve, we’ll let you know within 10 working days.

Works should normally be carried out within 12 weeks of consent being granted and we’ll need to inspect them afterwards to check they are carried out to a good standard.

Whether it’s fixing a satellite dish or fitting wardrobes you’ll need to make sure you’ve checked our Alterations Policy and obtained permission from us.

Our new Alterations Policy, approved last year after consultation with residents, sets out what you can and can’t do to your home.

In some cases, you may need to remove and make good an alteration at your own expense when you move out.

The full policy and list of alterations that are allowed and not allowed can be read on our website at: plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk/ wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ Alterations-to-Homes-Policy.pdf If you would like to write to us to gain permission for works to your home, please write to: Building and Technical Services, Plymouth Community Homes, Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Plymouth, PL6 5DH.

If you’re not given permission, you may appeal against the decision.

If you carry out alterations without our permission, you’re in breach of your tenancy and we may take action.

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Do you live in Housing with Support?

Would you like to see a forum set up to represent your interests?

To find out more, check out the noticeboard in your scheme and let us have 8

your feedback.

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InTouch

Development update Wren Gardens Two homes which stood empty for years are being given a new lease of life by being replaced with brand new ones.

You can view our time lapse film of homes on Allenby Road being demolishd here: www. plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk/ getting-a-home/development/allenbyroad/

The site in Wren Gardens, Plympton, is being redeveloped to provide two, three-bed wheelchair-accessible houses for affordable rent.

Two will be general needs homes for rent and two will be wheelchair accessible. Work should finish in October.

Eliot Design and Build, a Plymouth-based contractor, is working on the scheme and the new homes will be completed in August.

The builders will be working on a similar project in nearby Goodwin Crescent. There, they will knock down six houses and replace with eight, two-bed homes by December. All the Claire Newcombe, PCH Development homes at both sites will have parking.

Officer, said: “The homes there before were affected by subsidence and Claire Newcombe, PCH Development have been empty for a long time.

Officer, said: “The homes that were They really detracted from the street’s there were of a non-traditional build, overall appearance. The new homes known as Dorloncos, and required a will provide purpose-built housing for lot of costly work to make them fit for those in housing need and will be purpose. It was more cost effective to available to rent through Devon Home build new homes. These will be great, Choice.” modern, family homes which will meet the needs of people in Plymouth.”

The houses will feature interior lift access and include parking.

Milestone reached Allenby and Goodwin

We’re working with a Plymouth contractor to replace ten homes with 12 new ones.

Eliot Design and Build has demolished four properties in Allenby Road and will build four new three-bed homes.

in Phase 1 and other parts of the neighbourhood this brings PCH’s total investment in new homes to date to £39.7 million.

Between now and March next year Barratts will build another 67 homes for rent and shared ownership in Phase 2. When complete there will be 174 homes owned by PCH and 173 privately-owned homes in this Phase.

Shared Ownership Shared Ownership homes for sale under our SO living brand continue to be popular. The rate of our sales shows that North Prospect is a place where people want to live and we fully expect to break our own records with SO Living homes as we work through the remaining phases.

Improvements to park Play time is safer and cleaner for kids at a city park thanks to new railings and litter bins.

Extra railings – made by our Metal Fabrication team – have been installed around Cookworthy Park in North Prospect.

We’ve reached an important landmark in our development plans.

This follows on from a revamp of the park last summer which saw new By the time you read this, we will games equipment. have built almost 500 new homes in North Prospect.

Although the renovations included fencing, it was around the children’s With our other projects in the playground and not the outer edge of neighbourhood and across Plymouth, the park. we’ll have built 1,000 new homes by the end of March 2018.

We’ve also provided two new rocket ship and spider-shaped bins – one of North Prospect latest which has been paid for by building firm Mi-Space.

Phase 2 In December we reached an We held a litter pick for local children important milestone in North organised by our housing and Prospect, the first half of Phase 2 regeneration teams, also attended by completed with the handover of eight Mi-Space. homes in Grassendale Avenue. When combined with the homes built

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InTouch

No stopping businessman Jonny

Jonny, pictured left and staff from his businesses.

A Plymouth independent trader is extending his business kingdom thanks to the help of PCH. Entrepreneur Jonny Kingdom now runs four shops across the city, including three in one street.

Jonny, a dance teacher and personal trainer, runs hair and beauty salon Kingdom of Beauty in Torridge Way, Efford.

Further along the parade of shops he has Pisa pizza takeaway and café and Torridge Stores, a household goods shop with post office.

portfolio and provide jobs for 19 people.

They didn’t look very good with ‘to let’ signs above them.

Jonny’s shops may be a diverse mixture but he says he thrives on a good business opportunity and hopes he’ll be improving what’s available for the community too.

“I know the residents around here.

They weren’t happy with the post office closing either. Hopefully what I’ve done is good for the community.

Jonny said: “I used to do beauty and when a friend who does hair came to Plymouth we set up Kingdom of Beauty together. We did it from home originally but then got the shop in Torridge Way.

He’s recently opened Style 19, another hair and beauty salon in Lizard Walk, Southway.

“I saw the other two units come up and then go. I came back from holiday and they were vacant again.

I rang PCH straight away and got the keys the same day.

All the units are owned by PCH as part of our commercial premises

“I had customers coming up to me complaining about the empty shops.

“People seem to appreciate it – you can have your hair done and then go for a pizza!”

Angela Strange, PCH Commercial Property Surveyor, said: “Jonny is an ideal tenant, part of the community and doing very well. He has invested a large amount of money in all the shops he has taken, which has benefitted the community, PCH and residents of those areas.”

For more details go to: kingdomofbeauty.co.uk or getpisa.co.uk

Expires: 31 May 16

KINGDOM OF BEAUTY

10% off for In Touch readers See in store for T&C’s

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InTouch

Busy times for Resident Scrutiny team Our Resident Scrutiny Team (RST) is preparing for its next challenge.

They will now start preparing for their next review.

The RST is an independent group of tenants who scrutinise how well we’re delivering services and make recommendations.

The team has some new members.

Pat Gillespie, Bridget Bimha, Ron Gilley and Chris Matthews join existing members Eleanor Whitehead, Jo Bowden, Susan Drury, Mel Leonis, Mel Gallagher and Diana Hill.

They recently completed their review of how we handle anti-social behaviour complaints and their recommendations have gone to Board for approval.

website: plymouthcommunityhomes. co.uk, or call Leanne on 0808 230 6500 or 01752 237990.

• Sadly former RST member Roger Lee-Smith has died following a long-running illness. Roger was involved with many PCH groups and was keen to improve services for tenants.

To learn more about their work, look at the Resident Scrutiny pages on our

The Beacon Awards

Lots of our staff do exceptional work across the city, and we want you to tell us all about it.

You may have seen some information on our website or on Facebook or Twitter about our Beacon Awards, to recognise those PCH staff who have gone the extra mile.

We’ve got two awards you can nominate PCH staff for: The Beacon People’s Choice Award and The Beacon Customer Service Award.

We’ll also take into consideration any of the compliment letters, emails and social media messages we receive.

We’ll create a shortlist towards the end of the year. All of those shortlisted will be invited to an awards ceremony at our Plumer House headquarters, where the winner will be announced.

If you want to make a nomination, use the form below to let us know who you’d like to nominate and why.

We’ll keep you up to date throughout the year with the stories of some of our nominees and, of course, we’ll share the details of the winners at the end of the year.

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Beacon Awards Lots of our staff do exceptional work across the city, and we want you to tell us all about it.

We’ve got internal awards called the Beacon Awards to recognise those PCH staff who have gone the extra mile, and we want you to let us know who deserves one.

We’ve got two awards you can nominate PCH staff for: The Beacon People’s Choice Award and The Beacon Customer Service Award.

I would like to nominate: For the award:

The Beacon People’s Choice The Beacon Customer Service Award

Reason:

Your Details Name Address

Post Code

Contact Number

Thank you—post your form in the special post boxes in our City Centre Shop or Headquarters at Plumer House, or send it to: The Beacon Awards, Plymouth Community Homes, Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Plymouth, PL6 5DH

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InTouch

Staff training to deal with complaints We’re giving our staff extra training to make sure they handle complaints in the best way possible.

Our previous Complaints Policy had been in place since transfer. We reviewed it with staff and customers.

More than 60 employees will get the training, which is linked to our new Complaints Policy.

The new policy sets out the different complaint stages, timeframes for responses, the appeals process and compensation.

Angie Edwards-Jones, Head of Customer Experience, said: “We’ll be delivering strong messages to staff to ensure everyone is confident in handling a complaint effectively and efficiently.

“We’ll also be explaining the consequences of a poor first response. We really want to make sure we improve our internal communications and get things right first time for residents.”

You can also find out what is and isn’t considered a complaint and how to raise one. For example, did you know you can use social media?

You can read our Complaints Policy on our website at plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk.

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Timebanking in Plymouth

Would you like to learn a new skill but can’t afford to pay for it? What about if you had a skill that you could pass on in exchange?

Then maybe you should think about Timebanking, a different form of volunteering.

No money ever changes hands and people only offer what they want to offer.

For every hour that someone gives they earn an hour in return to ask for something back that they want or need from any Timebank member.

For example, an hour of gardening is worth an hour of dog walking or art tuition or IT support and so on.

Timebank South West, based in Devonport since 2011, provides support, training and resources.

Anyone can join – individuals, community groups, organisations and businesses. The more people who join, the more skills and know-how there is to share around.

For further information, contact Liza Packer on 01752 395131 or email liza@timebanksw.org

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InTouch

Job hopes on the horizon More would-be construction workers are getting trained up for a new career.

Dozens of people have signed up for the two-week course with PCH and Cornwall College to get their CSCS card, a health and safety card which is necessary for certain jobs, such as construction and cleaning roles.

Once they have this card, they can also then join Kier Living’s Skills Academy, which has been set up for those interested in a career in construction – or those looking to return to it after some time away.

Kier is our partner on Phase 3 of the North Prospect regeneration.

Participants will be given the opportunity to do six weeks of work experience with Kier Living on site when work begins.

After their training has finished, they will have the chance to apply for any suitable jobs with Kier Living or their contractors.

Rachel Kemp, who lives in Granby Street, has already done a placement in the building trade and realised the CSCS card would be useful.

She was among 12 people on a January intake of the course.

cards. PCH is really helping a lot of people out there.”

She said: “It’s really helpful for getting work. It really opens doors. Someone at my last placement got the card and I thought if he could get it, so could I.”

The CSCS card is free to those over 19 years of age and on unemployment benefits. Otherwise it can cost £300 to do. You can also do it as part of our Learn for Free training programme.

Mark Mayne, of St Peter’s Road, was laid off from a job in Cornwall before Christmas and jumped at the chance to do the course when he heard about it. He added: “The card gets you on site but once you’ve got it, it enables you to go on to do more

If you would like to find out more about doing the CSCS course or other training opportunities through PCH call 0808 230 6500 or 01752 237990 and ask for Ryan Huws or Tim Rex.

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Learn for Free

Training Courses

If you are interested in finding out more, please call 0808 230 6500 and ask to speak to the Communities Team or visit plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk/how-to-get-involved

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You can get In Touch delivered to your email inbox. To sign up, go to our website’s home page and enter your details under ‘Subscribe for email updates’.

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in at Plumer House You can visit us at or s) od Fo rm ite Fa Crownhill (oppos ate. op in Frankfort G our city centre sh

We recently bid a fond farewell to our Chief Executive Clive Turner. Clive became chief exec when PCH was formed in 2009 but decided to retire last year.

Colleagues past and present wished Clive all the best at a gathering for him at Plumer House in February.

Among Clive’s leaving presents was a bird cage made by the Metal Fabrication team in our Manufacturing Services department.

Guests were treated to gardening-themed cupcakes – as well as attending more Argyle games, green-fingered Clive wants to spend more time in the garden now he’s retired.

Your pet pictures

Sasha and Axel

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ay onday to Thursd Opening times: M til un am 30 8. ay , Frid 8.30am until 5pm 4.30pm op t the city centre sh You can also visi tween 9am and on Saturdays be midday. to us, we’re happy If you can’t get to come to you. l housing team to Contact your loca the eir details are on arrange a time. Th back page.

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#OurPCH

Lots of you have been telling us what you think....

Are there other Estover residents who feel like me that the general appearance of this estate is disgusting?

The lower part of the area is a rabbit warren of dark dank alleyways and steps that are in many cases overgrown with vegetation. Many of the paths are often spattered with dog mess broken bottles and littered with ASDA shopping trolleys, while several of the retaining walls are in a terrible state of repair.

As for parking in the area, particularly for residents in the bungalows who are often disabled, who need to park as near to their property as possible for good reason, it’s like playing musical chairs. So come on Plymouth City Council and PCH, give us a hand, we do not want to be a forgotten estate in the northern area of the city and secondly, estate residents – have a bit more pride and consideration!

A Concerned Estover resident Editor’s reply: We’re sorry to hear this. Everyone should feel happy with their homes and surroundings.

At PCH, we don’t just want to build and maintain homes, we also want to make sure neighbourhoods are safe and welcoming.

Through our Money Tree Fund, we carried out some work in Wasdale Gardens in 2015 which saw new fencing installed.

Much of the land in this area belongs to Plymouth City Council so we contacted them. Here’s what they said: “We share this letter writer’s frustration as careless and thoughtless people who just drop their litter anywhere spoil things for others.

“We do have a cleaning team but as you can imagine Plymouth is quite a large area to cover and we rely on the public to keep an eye on their neighbourhoods. We are supporting the Clean for the Queen campaign which aims to get volunteers to tackle grot spots.

“If anyone would like to get in touch with us directly to discuss this further email scg@plymouth.gov.uk or call 01752 668000.”

The Clean for the Queen campaign calls in individuals, volunteers and businesses to help clear up Britain in time for the Queen’s 90th birthday in June.

Take Effect Training

@TakeEffect_Ltd What a great team! The warmest receptionist welcome I’ve ever seen! @plymcommhomes #housing

Congratulations to Suzanne Braham who was the winner of a tablet for signing up to newsletter updates at plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk.

Kevin Rhone

@CSRManager Our South West team alongside @PlymCommHomes have been donating spare timber to Nopro Training #ChangingLives

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Our phone numbers are changing. For more details, please read the story on page 5.

Repairs: 0808 230 6500 / 01752 237990 Out of hours repairs: 0800 917 9459 (5pm to 7am)

Plymouth City Council contacts Enquiries (including waste and out of hours) 01752 668000 Report fly tipping 01752 204147 Housing options 01752 305496

Newsletter Translations English This information is available in other languages and formats - Please contact: 0808 230 6500 Arabic :‍هذه Ř§Ů„Ů…ŘšŮ„ŮˆŮ…Ř§ŘŞ Ů…ŘŞŮˆŮ ŘąŘŠ بلغات ŮˆŘľŮŠŘş أ؎عى – يع؏ى Ř§Ů„ŘŞŮˆŘ§ŘľŮ„ مؚ‏

Debit/Credit Card Payment Line: 0844 557 8321

0808 230 5600

Head Office: 0808 230 6500 / 01752 237990

Czech Tyto informace jsou k dispozici v jiných jazycích i formåtech. Kontaktujte, prosím: 0808 230 6500

City Centre Shop: 01752 389778 Anti-social behaviour out of hours hotline: 0800 028 7377

Chinese Mandarin čŻĽäżĄć Żĺ?ŻäťĽäťĽĺ…śäť–čŻ­č¨€ĺ’Œć źĺź?ć??äž›â€”â€”čŻˇč ”çłťďźš

Farsi ‍ ﯽ اﺪﺡﺎﺑ ŘŞďşŽďť‹ďťźďťƒŘ§ ﺑ ﺎﺎﺑز Ůˆ لﺎﺡا ﺎد ﺰ ﺑﺎ ďŻ˝ďşłďşŽďş˜ďşłŘŻâ€Ź. ‍سﺎﺗﺪﺋﺎ  ﺎďť&#x;Ř§ďťŚďť”ďť ďş— ﺎﺑ‏ ‍ﺝﺎﺣ‏: 0808 230 6500 French Ces renseignements sont disponibles dans d’autres langues et formats – Veuillez contacter: 0808 230 6500 Hindi य༇ ŕ¤œŕ¤žŕ¤¨ŕ¤•ŕ¤žŕ¤°ŕĽ€ ऌस ༠रༀ भञजञऔं और परएंऌ་ं ऎ༇ं भༀ उपलएऌ ŕ¤šŕĽˆ ༤ ककरपञ इस नंऎएर पर ऍ་न करༀŕ¤?: 0808 230 6500 Hungarian Ez az informĂĄciĂł mĂĄs nyelven ĂŠs formĂĄtumban is elĂŠrhetĹ‘ – kĂŠrjĂźk, vegye fel a kapcsolatot: 0808 230 5600 Kurdish ‍ه Ů… ﺎعﺎاز ه ن ﺑ ﺎز ﯽﺎآ ﺜﺎﺗ ďşˇŮˆó˛ €ďŻźŘ˛Ř§ďťŽ ŘŚďťŞďťœďťłŘŻâ€Ź-‍ ďťŞďťłďşŽďťœďş— ďťŞď­˜ ه ﯟﺪ ďťŞďťœďş‘ ﺑ‏: 0808 230 6500 Kurdish Badini

:â€Ťâ€ŒŘŞŰŽÚŠŮ„ŰŒŰŽâ€ŒŘ¨ÚŠŮ‡â€ŒŮ†â€ŹŘŒâ€Ťâ€ŒŘ¨ŰŽâ€ŒŘ˛Ů‡â€ŒŮ‡Ů…Ů‡â€ŒŘŞâ€Ź.â€ŤŘŚŮ‡â€ŒÚ¤â€ŒŘ˛Ř§Ů†ŰŒŘ§ŘąŰŒŮ‡â€Œâ€ŒŘ¨â€ŒŘ˛Ů…Ř§Ů†â€ŒŮˆâ€ŒŮ Ű†ŘąŮ…Ř§ŘŞŰŽŘŞâ€ŒŘŻŰŒâ€ŒÚ˜ŰŒâ€ŒŰŒŰŽŘŞâ€ŒŮ‡Ů‡â€ŒŰŒŮ†â€Ź

0808 230 5600 Lithuanian Ĺ i informacija prieinama ir kitomis kalbomis bei formatais – praĹĄome kreiptis: 0808 230 5600 Nepalese य་ ŕ¤œŕ¤žŕ¤¨ŕ¤•ŕ¤žŕ¤°ŕĽ€ अनŕĽ?य भञडञ र ढञञठचञचर༂ऎञ पनन उपलएŕĽ?ध रच༇ क་ छ - ŕ¤•ŕĽƒŕ¤Şŕ¤Żŕ¤ž सऎŕĽ?पकक गनच नक ་स ŕĽ?: 0808 230 5600 Polish Ta informacja moĹźe być dostÄ™pna w innych jÄ™zykach i formatach. ProszÄ™ kontaktować numer telefonu: 0808 230 6500 Portuguese A informaçao aqui apresentada esta disponivel noutras linguas e formatos, por favor contacte: 0808 230 6500 Russian Đ­Ń‚Đ° инфОрПациŃ? Đ´ĐžŃ Ń‚ŃƒĐżĐ˝Đ° на Đ´Ń€ŃƒĐłĐ¸Ń… Ń?Сыках и фОрПатах – Đ&#x;ĐžĐśĐ°ĐťŃƒĐšŃ Ń‚Đ° Ń Đ˛Ń?ĐśĐ¸Ń‚ĐľŃ ŃŒ Ń : 0808 230 6500 Spanish Esta informaciĂłn estĂĄ disponible en otros idiomas y formatos; por favor, pĂłngase en contacto en el 0808 230 6500 Turkish Bu bilgi baĹ&#x;ka yabancÄą dil ve formlarda mevcuttur - Bu numarayÄą arayÄąn: 0808 230 6500

Plymouth Community Homes Plumer House Tailyour Road PL6 5DH T

0808 230 6500/01752 237990

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info@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk

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plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk twitter.com/PlymCommHomes facebook.com/PlymouthCommunityHomes

Plymouth Community Homes is a registered provider under the Co-operative and Community Benefits Societies Act 2014.

Registration no: 30637R.