Residents’ DaySee page 5

Autum

n 2015

The newsletter for B3Living residents

Follow us ont

www.twitter.com/B3Living

Unlock potential with UP See page 3 Annual

Report 2015 See page 5

SPECIAL FEATURE

2

If you have any ideas forfuture articles, or wouldlike to contribute yourown story please get intouch with me using thedetails below...

Pippa GavaghanEditorScania House, Amwell Street,Hoddesdon EN11 8TSEmail: pippa.gavaghan@b3living.org.ukor call: 01992 453 778

Editorswelcome

B3@Home Launch Check out our brand newwebsite B3@Home! Showing youall the latest shared ownershipproperties and developmentswe have available to residents.

This website will be run by ourhome ownership team, for moreinformation please contactthem viaenquiry@b3athome.co.uk.

Keep your eyes peeled for adate when the site goes live!

Changes tothe FreephoneserviceFrom Monday 2nd November2015 you will no longer beable to use the free phoneservice at BroxbourneCouncil’s One Stop Shop’s tocall us.

The good news is that wehave our own Freephonenumber. If you would like tospeak to us for free you don’tneed to go to a One StopShop - call us directly on0800 107 0713.

TheGentleman’s Club The gentleman’s club atWormley Court runs once amonth, it is a chance for olderresidents to get together andenjoy a different range ofactivities, from board games tofishing.

If you are a male resident aged50+ why not pop down toWormley Court on Tuesday 24th

November from 2pm-3pm andenjoy a cup of tea and a chat.

The Friary – Stained glass windows A grand discovery has been made at The Friary!

ResidentLGBT Alliesprogramme What is an LGBT ally?

“Ally” is a term that is used todescribe people who may notidentify as LGBT and whobelieve that LGBT peopleshould experience full equalityin all walks of life.

Why be an LGBT ally?

l You want to show support.

l You have witnessedhomophobic bullying orinappropriate commentsand want to show publiclyyou don’t accept this.

Two years ago we launchedour allies programme to supportand stand alongside Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual and Transgender(LGBT) colleagues.

We now want to get you, ourresidents involved!

If you would like to be an LGBTally, please contact PeggySharp on 01992 453 779 or emailpeggy.sharp@b3living.org.ukand for showing your supportwe will send you a free LGBTallies pin badge.

The independent livingteam has found a largewooden box whichcontains a selection ofcoloured glass and fullstained glass windowswhich are thought to befrom the St. CypriansChurch, which originally

stood where the Friarynow stands.

With the help from thelocal Church, the stainedglass windows are set tobe refurbished and twoof the panels will be keptfor the Friary to displayfor the residents to enjoy.

News

LEARNFUNDED COURSES

We offer you up to £150 towardsany course at any level, forpleasure, personaldevelopment or a career.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT FUND

You can apply for up to £250towards specific career coursesand training that will lead toemployment, from our annualfund.

UNIVERSITY BURSARIES

You can apply for universitybursaries of up to £1,500 eachyear to support your journeyinto higher education.

APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME

Apprenticeship opportunitiesare advertised on our websitewww.b3living.org.uk/jobs asvacancies become available.

WORKEMPLOYABILITY SUPPORT

Our dedicated employabilityworker offers one to onesupport to guide you back intowork or into a new career.

ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENTFUND

Sometimes opportunities foremployment come with a costsuch as safety boots, tools or aDBS check and to help youovercome these obstacles toemployment, we have a smallfund which you can apply to for.

SKILLSDRIVING ACADEMY

We can offer you discounteddriving lessons, if you need thisvital skill to find employment. Asover 70% of local jobs requirequalified drivers, we support thisessential service so you canaccess jobs which wouldotherwise be unobtainable.

IT COURSES

To help you access internetservices, from applying for jobsor benefits, paying bills orstudying. We offer a range of ITcourses for complete novices tomore advanced users. All ourcourses have been designed byresidents to ensure you get themost out of them.

MY WORK SEARCH

Our online work search helpsbuild skills for employment, CVwriting and job hunting. This is afree service for you.

HOLDBROOK HUB

We have a dedicated facility inWaltham Cross, called The HUB,where you can accessemployment support, training,education, free internet and asafe place to meet.

Taking the first step into employmentcan be hard. To help you unlock yourpotential we have created the UPprogramme. You can learn, work anddevelop new skills to increase yourchances of finding the right job.

We believe you haveunlimited potential.The UP programme offersindividual support where andwhen it’s needed. You’d be surprisedwith what we can help with!

3

New RiverClose launchevent

On Monday 13th July a launchevent was held to officiallyopen the site of New RiverClose where thirteen affordablehomes have been completed,thanks to a partnershipbetween B3Lving, BroxbourneBorough Council and theHomes and CommunitiesAgency.

The development consists of 8three-bed and 5 two-bedhouses which are highlysustainable complete withphoto voltaic (solar) panels togenerate “free” electricity use.

New River Close resident LornaBayliss, said: “The house isabsolutely wonderful insideand out. It’s built to highstandards and my garden isbeautiful. Everyone at B3Livinghas been helpful and mademoving in a pleasure.”

Broxbourne’s Cabinet Memberfor Housing and CommunityDevelopment, Councillor PaulSeeby, said: “I would like tocommend B3Living for bringingforward this development offamily homes for local people. Iam confident this partnershipwill continue to flourish and Ilook forward to other schemescoming forward in the years tocome.”

News

Our ‘Speed and Greet’ and ‘Employee Manner’ continues tobe excellent. While our voicemail response and answers toresident questions were still rated as ‘good’, they have dippedfrom the great performances we saw earlier in the year.

Our Resident Mystery Shoppers continue to do a great job inassessing us every three months and we look forward to trying toimprove our results at the end of the year.

If you would like to help us keep customer services at their best,call Danielle on 01992 453741.

Group Round 18 Round 19 Round 20 Round 21

Speed & greet(Answering inside

6 rings and greetingwith name)

90.8% 91.1% 90.5% 91.5%

Employee manner(Polite and courteous,undivided attention)

98.5% 97.9% 98.6% 98.6%

Voicemail(Clear recorded

greeting andinstructions on leaving

a message)

56.0% 81.8% 91.4% 71.4%

Staff answer(Giving the correctanswer to a typicalscenario question)

91.3% 81.1% 86.1% 69.2%

B3ShoppingOur Mystery Shoppers have been busy onthe end of the phone testing how well wedeal with their questions and calls to makesure all residents are receiving the bestpossible customer services from us.The Team has been trained to ask our staff commonhousing questions. In the latest round, the mystery shoppersmade anonymous calls in July.

This is how they rated us:

4

AssetmanagementThere are lots of excitingprojects planned by theasset management teamover the next few months...l Our send and Mend term willbe renewing 120 kitchen and120 bathrooms throughoutthe year to make sure thatour homes to at a highstandard for residents. We tryto replace kitchens oncethey have been in use for 20years and considerbathroom replacementswhen they’re 30 years old.

l We have a new contract toreplace ageing UPVCwindows and doors atapproximately 200 homes.The windows were lastreplaced in the late 1980’s,so are coming up to 30 yearsold.

l 150 boilers are due to bereplaced and installed, ascurrent boilers are over 15years old and don’t run aseconomically as newersystems. New communalheating systems will beadded to properties on theRosedale Estate.

l We will be makingimprovements to oursheltered housing schemeswith the replacement of a liftat Cedar Lodge and energyefficient lighting.

l We will also be improving ourtendering process and planto involve residents (tenantsand leaseholders) with theprocess review.

The big theme this year wasfinancial inclusion; our mainaim was to insure that you areaware of the range of serviceswe have available to help youimprove your financial and lifesituations, for example:benefits, training, education,employment, credit union etc.

Our Income and Welfare teamgave a talk about what we’retrying to achieve and howwe’ve been getting on inpromoting and deliveringfinancial inclusion and findingout whether there are anygaps in the service.

We also had some of ourcommunity partners at theevent from a range oforganisations: job Centre Plus,Citizens Advice Bureau,Money Advice Unit, HertSaversCredit Union, Food Bank, HertsRegional College and manymore!

Some of you then braved theweather to go out into the zoofor the rest of the day. Wewould like to thank everyonewho attended on the day andwe look forward to seeing youall again next year.

5

Despite the weather we had a greatturn out for this year’s residents’ day.

2015Residents Day

Where events are at Scania House, let us knowif you’re coming and we can make sure thereare enough chairs and refreshments - phone01992 453 741. To make it easier for you tocome, we’ll pay for transport and/or carers ifyou have a receipt.

To see the most up-to-date calendar go to: www.b3living.org.uk/events

or follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/B3Living

Find out more about how you will be rewardedfor getting involved at:www.b3living.org.uk/rewards

Calendar

Wednesday18 November

- 10.30am -Residents PanelScania House

Look at how B3Livingperforms and help us set

business priorities.

4Reward Stamps

Thursday3 December

- 3pm -Mystery Shopping

Scania HouseHelp us test our customerservices on the telephone;online and at reception

4Reward Stamps

Wednesday9 December

- 6.30pm -Youth PanelScania House

For 14- 25yr olds to discussprovision for young people in

the local community

6Reward Stamps

1 December

- 7pm -Holdbrook RA

The Hub, 275 Holdbrook CourtIf you live in Holdbrook, why not get involved in your

community?Come along and discuss local issues.

First Tuesday of every month.

Tuesday8 December

- 2.30pm -Disabilities Forum

The Friary, Waltham Cross

4Reward Stamps

Extra activities for over 55’s: Why not try something new in your area?

Hoddesdon & Broxbourne: 01992 468 815Wormley Court, Macers Lane, Wormley, Herts EN10 6EFBingo: Mondays and Fridays 10.30amCoffee mornings: Thursdays 10.30am

St Augustines Close, Broxbourne, Herts EN10 7NBCoffee mornings: Tuesdays 10amArt classes: Tuesdays 2pm

Waltham Cross: 01992 715 146The Friary, Eleanor Way, Waltham Cross, Herts EN8 7RY Bingo: Mondays 2pm and Fridays 7pmTai Chi: Fridays 11am

Waltham Cross: 01992 715 146Highgrove Court, Raglan Ave, Waltham Cross, Herts EN8 8DSCoffee mornings: Fridays 10amMusic evenings: Wednesdays 7pm

Cheshunt: 01992 620 135Emmanuel Lodge, College Road, Cheshunt, Herts EN8 9NQChair based exercises: Tuesdays 10.30amKnitting club: Mondays 2pm

Blackwood Court, Groom Road, Turnford, Herts EN10 6AZDementia group: Mondays 9 -3pmBroxbourne Organisation for the Disabled: Wednesdays 10 -12pm

6

2014 - 2015

Annual Report A year in the life of B3Living

Everything we do is aboutcreating great places wherepeople want to live.

To achieve this we want:better homes, better communitiesand better business.We want to work in ways which are:

CollaborativeWe want ourservices to meetthe needs andaspirations of thecommunities wework in. We shareideas with residents,partners and eachother, creating anatmosphere inwhich it is safe tobe original.

RespectfulWe aim to becourteous andpolite at all times;and appreciativeof the diversity ofthose we work withand for.

CreativeWe improve theway we work byregularly taking afresh andimaginative look atevery area of ourservices.

ReliableWe aim to do whatwe say we will do,when we say wewill do it. We aim tobe honest andtrustworthy.

ExcellentWe aim to be thebest landlord,partner andemployer that wecan be, valuing theideas and efforts ofeveryone whoworks with us andfor us. We will workwith otherorganisations whichshare similar valuesand will help us toachieve our vision.

7

>

Better Homes

8

This year we have…l continued to reduce maintenance costs per home

l made sure none of our homes failed to meet Decent HomesStandards

l modernised our retirement housing and independent livingschemes.

l installed 124 kitchens, double our target

l installed 128 bathrooms, again doubling our target

l All our equipment is checked thoroughly and regularly to ensureit is working properly. Our properties are gas serviced and wehad no overdue gas certificates for 2014/15.

l Our Send and Mend team are responsible for maintaining andrepairing properties to make sure they meet our high standards.

l 99% of residents were satisfied with the repairs made to theirhome by our Send and Mend team, above our target for2014/15

l 95% of routine repairs and 99% of emergency repairs werecompleted on time, with 87% of repairs completed on the firstvisit from our team.

l We’ve kept 99% of our appointments in2014/15

l 77% of residents were satisfied by our overall repairs andmaintenance service. However, we know we can always dobetter. We take all complaints on board as we believe that anyfeedback we get helps to improve our service.

Our aim is to provide ourresidents with homes they loveto live in.

We currently house over 9,000people within the Borough ofBroxbourne, reaching out to thewider Lea Valley area.

Our 9 independent livingschemes offer people in thewider community. Our 4,500homes are located in theBorough of Broxbourne, withsmall developments in EppingForest, East Herts and Harlow.This year we have reachedfurther and developed newhomes in Hatfield.

We pride ourselves on ourexcellent customer service. Ittakes an average of 9 secondsfor us to answer the phone andwe answered 85% of all letterswithin 5 working days. 88% ofresidents were satisfied overallwith the standard of B3Livingservices and 83% wereimpressed with the quality oftheir home.

Our homes are maintained andimproved by our Send andMend team, who also installmore efficient bathrooms andkitchens. Using an in-houseservice saves us between £400and £700 per installation. Ourteams are always on hand tomake sure your home is up tothe standard you expect.

Managing our homes

Our story

B3 |Annual Report 2014 - 2015

9

Our average re-let time hasgone to 31 days, 2 days lessthan last year but still above ourtarget of 26 days. All of our rentsare set to governmentguidelines and our rent arrearsdropped significantly over2014/15. Our leaseholderscontinue to have access to ourlettings service, My Home Let,ensuring that the right tenantsare assigned to the rightlandlords.

Our rangers work hard tomaintain our large estates andto make sure the area aroundwhere you live is kept clean andtidy. Last year 82% of residentssaid they thought theirneighbourhood was a goodplace to live.

Our independent living teamsprovide flexible care serviceswhich mean our older residentscan live more independently forlonger.

This year...l 93% of residents feel they are able to manage and live more

independently in their own home. This is a rise from 91% from theprevious year

l 92% of residents feel they have more choice and control – anincrease from 88%

l 93% of residents feel safer and more secure in their home

l 81% of residents feel less stressed and have increased levels ofmental wellbeing, a jump from 73% last year

l Residents have less need to use social care service, animprovement of 9%, year on year.

Providing new homes is anessential part of our business.The shortage in local housingmeans that we continue tobuild and buy new properties tomake sure our residents havequality homes to live in.

In 2014/15, we built 46 newhomes in Hoddesdon andCheshunt for local people withhousing needs. For first timeever, we built 22 new homes,across the border in Hatfield forrental and shared ownershippurposes.

New homes are built to at leasta Sustainable Homes Level 3,which keeps residents bills low.The energy efficiency of themajority of our homes is aboveaverage; however as part ofour 2020 Vision, we aim for allour homes to have minimumEnergy Performance Rating ofBand C.

Our investment of £380,000 inadaptions to homes has givenour residents a better quality oflife, made them moreindependent and safer andconfident in their homes.

Creating quality homes

This yearwe have…l Built 46 homes for rent,

double what weachieved last year

l Built 11 new sharedownership homes, morethan double than in2013/14

l Purchased 2 existinghomes for rentalpurposes.

Better Communities

10

Helping to create thriving andvibrant communities is one ofour main priorities and is whatmakes us different from manyhousing associations.

This year we invested £413,000into community developmentwhich supported our fivepriorities:

l Employment

l Financial inclusion

l Education and skills

l Healthy living

l Social inclusion

We work with over 50 partnersto deliver our diverseprogramme of events, sharingour resources and combiningideas.

The highlights:l Our very first community resource Hub opened at the HoldbrookEstate in December 2014.

l The ‘Take a Bow’ project won the ‘Excellence in YouthInvolvement’ award at the Regional TPAS Awards, the ‘YoungCultural Event of the Year’ award at the Creative HertfordshireFlame Awards and was runner up for ‘Youth Project of the Year’ atthe Broxbourne Youth awards.

l We worked with the Prince’s Trust, Youth Connexions and theNational Citizens Service to deliver a series of IntergenerationalProjects on our estates - and independent living schemes.

l We’ve helped keep residents healthy and active by supporting‘grow your own’ projects in Waltham Cross.

l We achieved our highest attendanceever for Residents Day with over 400residents joining partners at ParadiseWildlife Park.

l We worked with the Lee Valley WhiteWater Centre to create Halloween andEaster white water rafting events for ourlocal residents and secured activities10times the value of what we invested.

This year we had…l 367 new reports of anti-social behaviour and estate complaints

such as litter and bins, this is 92 less than 2013/14

l 373 reports were solved in the last year

l 94% of residents who complained about anti-social behaviourwere satisfied with how their complaint was handled

B3 |Annual Report 2014 - 2015

11

Employability is really important to us and makingsure our residents have access to great workplacements and further education is vital toensure they won’t be out of work in the future.We know that taking the first steps can be hardand believe our residents have ‘unlimitedpotential’. This year, 196 people received one toone support, CV writing and employmentadvice. 90 residents were referred ontoemployment courses to gain extra skills for thework place.

We want to help fund courses at any levelwhether it is for personal or career developmentand we offer £150 towards the cost. We alsounderstand that university fees can seem out ofreach for some of our residents and we want tohelp with the costs. Our university bursary schemesupported 16 residents, both leaseholders andtenants, in their studies this year through a £1,000bursary.

The Holdbrook Hub is a dedicated facility inWaltham Cross offering residents employmentsupport, training, education and a safe place tomeet. The Hub is equipped with an IT suite withaccess to free internet for residents and achildren’s play area - making the spacewelcoming and inclusive. We received over 700visits to the Hub in our first six months of the facilityopening.

Our driving academy offers discounted drivinglesson to residents who need this vital skill forfinding employment. We have a high pass rateand many residents since found employmentand received significant increases in their wages.

Employability

We want everyone to feel safe in their home,neighbourhood and local community and wepromise to tackle anti-social behaviour firmly andfairly. Our anti-social behaviour team workclosely with residents to make sure all ourproperties are safe, happy places to live.

Safer Communities and ASB

Better Business

12

B3Living has 200 staff led byChief Executive John Giesenand is directed by a dynamicand skilled Board. The Boarddecides the overall strategy forthe organisation, and protectsus from undue risk. There are 10board members, plus 2coopted members.

We currently have 4 residents onthe Board but will soon bemoving to a Board of 9members who will beappointed for particular skillsrather than status. All boardmeetings are open for residentsto observe.

Board members receive fees of£3,210. More money is given forother responsibilities up to theChair’s maximum of £8,025.

l B3Living is a registeredsociety under theCooperative andCommunity Benefit SocietiesAct, 2014(29876R).

l We comply with the NationalHousing Federation Code ofGovernance

Our people

This year…l 99.86% of residents said that staff were polite and courteous in

all interactions.

l We ranked 7th in the Sunday Times 100 best not for profitcompanies to work for – our fourth year in the top ten.

l We currently sit at number 48 in the Stonewall WorkplaceEquality Index, furthering our commitment to staff who arelesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender - our first year in the top100.

l We were the only housing association in Hertfordshire to beaccredited as a Living Wage Employer.

l 32 employees became LGBT allies, to support and standalongside lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender colleagues.

l We continue to be accredited by Investors in Excellence andwe are a member of the Diversity Network.

B3 |Annual Report 2014 - 2015

13

We want our residents to beinvolved with every aspect ofour business and are alwaysthinking of new ways forresidents to make an impact.

Involving residents

This year…l We installed a text relay service and hearing loop at our Scania

House Offices for residents who are deaf or hard of hearing

l Mystery Shoppers gave our phone and email customer serviceits highest ratings since the project began

l Our scrutiny panel completed its pilot review of the lettingsservice, delivering a report to the Boards ‘OperationsCommittee’ and having its recommendations accepted by theBoard

l We worked with Youth Connexions and the National CitizensService to deliver a series of intergenerational projects on 3 ofour estates - Blackwood Court, Highgrove Court and theHoldbrook Estate.

We continue to communicate with residents through our magazine,which is delivered to residents four times a year. We also share newsand stories through our Twitter account and all news items feature onour website.

This year…l 504 residents engaged in some form of resident involvement

activity

l 255 residents were involved in a resident involvement activity forthe first time

l 50% of involved residents were aged 40 or under

l 8 of our residents signed up to be an LGBT ally

Better Business

2014/15

Rental £21,650,000

Service charges £771,000

Property sales £450,000

Other income £985,000

Interest received £195,000

Shared ownership sales £1,074,000

£25,125,000

Rental

86pProperty sales

2p

Interest received

1p

Shared ownership sales4p

Other income4p

Our day-to-day income

2014/15

Management services (inc. staff) £5,161,000

Early loan redemption penalty* £14,960,000

Interest on loans £5,759,000

Shared ownership costs of sales £577,000

Services £2,721,000

Maintenance £3,971,000

Depreciation £2,601,000

£35,750,000

Maintenance

11p

Depreciation7p

Management services

14p

Services

8p

Earlyredemption42p

Shared ownershipcosts of sales

2p

Interest on loans16p

Service charges

3p

B3 |Annual Report 2014 - 2015

Expenditure

*This is an exceptional circumstance relating to the refinancing of the loans.

How we spend your money

14

The full Board meets six times a year. We alsohave four committees which meet regularlyand report back to the Board. In 2016 we will bereducing the number of committees andincreasing the frequency of the number ofBoard meetings.

This year Mark Davies joined us, as did ChrisFawcett who had previously been shadowingthe Board. Mike Curtis and Mark Mills-Bishopstepped down.

Sandra RoyerChair of the Board

Karen Forbes-JacksonVice-Chair

Stewart Heath Resident Board member

Anne Shearman Co-opted Board member

Chris FawcettBoard member

Mark Davies Board Member

Jackie PhippsResident Board member

Chris HerbertBoard member

Pat Milner Co-opted Board member

Camelia BorgResident Board member

Tony InfantinoBoard member

Valerie VellaniResident Board member

Pam EvansScrutiny Panel Rep/Chair

Chair – Sandra Royer

Vice Chair – Karen Forbes Jackson

Operations CommitteeChair - Pat Milner (co-opted)

Vice Chair – Stewart Heath (Diversity Champion)

Valerie Vellani

Resident Panel Rep – Pam Evans

Resources CommitteeChair - Anne Shearman (co-opted)

Vice Chair - Tony Infantino

Chris Herbert

Jackie Phipps

Audit CommitteeChair – Chris Fawcett

Vice Chair – Karen Forbes-Jackson

Camelia Borg

Mark Davies

Better Business CommitteeKaren Forbes-Jackson

Sandra Royer

Stewart Heath

Pat Milner

Chris Fawcett

Anne Shearman

Meet the Board

15

To speak to someone face to face

Contact us

For all enquiries

www.b3living.org.uk email: enquiry@b3living.org.uk

Telephone 01992 453 7008.30-5.30pm Monday to Thursday8.30-5pm Friday

Out of hours emergency 0800 111 4484

Smell gas? Don’t take a chance.

Phone 0800 111 999 immediately.

Scania House, 17 Amwell Street, Hoddesdon EN11 8TS

home is published andprinted by: B3Living

Follow us ont

www.twitter.com/B3Living

Freephone numbers

Repairs General enquiries0800 107 0712 0800 107 0713

*Calls to these are free from a landline,From a mobile they may be expensive.

Scania House, 17 Amwell Street, Hoddesdon EN11 8TS 8.30-5.30pm Monday to Thursday / 8.30-5pm Friday

Drop in or make an appointment. You can come tous or we can come to you.

Making payments

By phone call 01992 454 475 or freephone0800 0483 632* anytime. Online:www.b3living.org.uk/pay-online

You will need your tenant reference number,address, and a valid debit or credit card.

Hard to read?

If you or someoneyou know needsthis newsletter inlarge print or onCD, please call

01992 453 700.

To use Text Relay dial 18001 followed by the phone number, for exampleto call our main number dial 18001 01992 453 700.

Turkish

Italian

Lithuanian

Greek

Arabic

If you need help to understand the information in thisdocument, please phone 01992 453 700.