Autumn 2012

Nearly 100 people took part in an abseil down 17-storey Munden View on the Meriden estate to celebrate our fifth birthday in September. Many of our friends and business partners we’ve worked with over the years joined in, including Richard Harrington MP, Mayor Dorothy Thornhill, Dan Dark, Managing Director of Warner Brothers Studios, and even Watford FC’s Harry the Hornet. As you can see, our own Trusty House took the plunge too!

Together we raised over £30,000 for the Peace Hospice.

Our staff were also out in force during the day delivering improvements to the Meriden

How you can have more of a say in what we doPage 2

Benefit changes and what they mean for youPage 3

How we’ve delivered our promisesPage 8

What the future holdsPage 10

What’sinside

Celebrating five years of better homes and friendlier communities

estate, including litter picking, planting bulbs, clearing weeds and painting garages. This was in addition to the refurbishment of the Meriden Underpass with new artwork designed by pupils from Alban Wood, Berrygrove and Cherry Tree schools.

Our fifth anniversary marks the completion of the promises we made to you when you voted to transfer from Watford Borough Council in 2007. These included ensuring that all homes meet not only the Government’s Decent Home’s Standard but the Trust’s own Watford Quality Standard.

Find out more about the celebration on page 7.

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Your Gateway – a chance to join in our work!

Gateway News

Chair’s welcome

Welcome to the Autumn edition of Gateway News. Well, I’m back down on the ground after abseiling down Munden View on the Trust’s

5th birthday! A really great experience and brilliant to have so many of the Trust’s friends and partners join us to help raise a huge sum of money for the Peace Hospice. You can see some photographs from the day on page 7 as well as details of all the projects our staff carried out to improve the local neighbourhood. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this very important milestone. Speaking of which, I am sure you are all keen to know that we met the promises we made to you at Transfer, turn to pages 8 and 9 for more information.

We have started a programme to give you a say in three key areas of our work: Communities, Communications and Making Membership Meaningful, and we will be holding meetings with tenants throughout the year.

We have already held our first meetings about Communications and Communities, but you can still join our Membership meeting which is taking place from 7pm-9pm on November 21st at Gateway House in Clarendon Road.

Making Membership Meaningful: We want to know what you think about introducing membership incentives or benefits, and how can we make your membership more meaningful. If you’d like to attend our first meeting on the 21st, contact us on 01923 209 134.

Our new Gateway Leadership Team, elected by our members to be their voice at the Trust, is now in place. The Team is rolling out the programmes which give you the opportunity to join in and give your views on a range of topics. Please take them up on their invitation and you can influence decision making about your home and neighbourhood.

There is a lot of information in this issue which you might find useful in these difficult economic times. From the government’s changes to benefits (page 3) to advice on reducing energy costs (page 5) to the launch of the Watford Food Bank (page 5). Look out for the competition to win a computer, being online can also save you money! Remember we are here to help, so get in touch if you are having difficulties paying your rent or meeting other bills.

And finally, my usual reminder as Winter approaches, that the Trust has a scheme to help older and vulnerable tenants in severe weather conditions. Just call us on the usual number.

Diane Lee, Chair of the Board Watford Community Housing Trust

Your new Gateway Leadership TeamFollowing elections over the summer, your new Gateway Leadership Team was appointed at our AGM. This is a group of members and associate members to represent you and ensure that our members have a strong voice within the Trust. Our elected Gateway Leaders are Avril Barclay, Shenaz Ghani, Mazie Gibson, Geoff O’Connell, Patricia Philips, Kara Smalley, Brian Trowbridge and Naomi Welch. Also, two co-optees, Hope Isoka-Onwordi and Fatoumatta Jallow, will be working with the team.

Communications: Are we saying the right things to the right people? We met with our members on 7th November to discuss how we currently communicate and how we can improve it. If you have a lot to say about this, why not come to our next meeting in Spring? We’ll be announcing the date shortly – contact us on 01923 209 134 if you’d like to find out more.

Communities: We met in October to talk about the way we provide improvements to homes, plus fixed term tenancies for new tenants (for more on this see page 11). Our next meeting will be in Spring and we will announce the date soon – please get in touch on 01923 209 134 if you’d like to come to along.

These meetings are for members of the Trust – membership is free to all tenants and leaseholders and joining is quick and easy. Contact us on 01923 209 134 about joining.

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Autumn 2012

peace of mind for just 76p per weekWe offer all our tenants a very competitive contents insurance policy, with very reasonable rates and no excess. But despite this, it can be tempting in the current financial situation not to be insured. This is a big risk to take. Taking out insurance with us costs just a few pence a week and will give you peace of mind should anything bad happen.

An example of the risk would be where a pipe bursts in the loft due to freezing temperatures or wear and tear. Under the Trust’s buildings insurance the property would be repaired, but only to standards stated in the tenancy agreement. Any contents that were damaged, such as a television or furniture, would not be fully covered. Neither would any improvements you have made to the property such as wooden flooring or expensive wall coverings.

With contents insurance you can receive ‘old for new’ replacement of your belongings, and cover starts at just 76p per week for tenants under 60, and 51p per week for tenants over 60. If you are interested in taking out insurance please contact our Rent and Income team on 01923 209 111.

Changes to benefits in April 2013 – you may be affectedIf you are on Housing Benefit, there are changes taking place from April 2013 that may affect you. It’s important to be aware of these changes.

Your Housing Benefit may be cut if you have ‘too many bedrooms’

From April 2013 the Government is cutting Housing Benefit for tenants of working age who have a ‘spare’ bedroom. Under the new rules you will be allocated one bedroom for:

• eachcoupleofadultage

• anyotherpersonovertheage of 16

• twochildrenofthesamesexunder the age of 16

• twochildrenundertheageof 10 regardless of the sex

• anyotherchild

If you have one spare bedroom you will have 14% per week deducted from your housing benefit claim. If you have two or more spare bedrooms you will have 25% per week deducted from your housing benefit entitlement.

These are the main changes affecting our tenants from April, but there will also be other reforms over the next year. The new rules are being introduced by the Government, not Watford Community Housing Trust. If you have friends or family who might be affected, please let them know.

Money Matters

If your benefit is cut you will have to make up the difference. If you don’t think you will be able to manage, it’s important to speak to us now – we can help. Call our Rent and Income Team on 01923 209 111.

Benefits will be capped

From April 2013 the Government will add up the money you currently receive in benefits, and the maximum amount you can claim will be capped at £500 per week for lone parents or couples with or without children, and £350 per week for single people without children. The rules won’t apply if you get pension credit or working tax credit, or if someone in your home claims disability living allowance, attendance allowance or the support element of employment support allowance.

If you think you might be affected, get in touch – we can give advice and help you stretch your money further. Call our Rent and Income Team on 01923 209 111.

Insurance…

Gateway News

The services we provide are much more than just maintaining your home. Additional services include grounds maintenance, CCTV, door entry systems, caretaking, fire alarms, looking after communal areas… and much more.

These services are not covered by your rent charge, and we have not charged for them before. They cost the Trust around £2.5 million per year to provide.

From 1st April 2013 we will start to charge tenants for these services, this will be an additional amount to your rent charge. You should have received a letter and a leaflet from us recently with more information.

We would like to invite you to an open evening at Gateway House from 6pm-8pm on Thursday 22 November, where staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. You will need to register with us to attend the event. Please contact us on 01923 209 183 or email communityempowerment@wcht.org.uk to reserve your space and to also let us know whether you have any additional meeting support requirements. You can also find more information at www.wcht.org.uk/service-charges or email any queries to us at servicecharges@wcht.org.uk.

The Trust has been recruiting team leaders, tradespeople and apprentices for a local social enterprise.

Watford Community Housing Trust and THRIVE have been looking for residents to work in a small team providing maintenance to our properties.

Although the closing date for these job vacancies has passed, look out for more opportunities in the New Year. These are the types of vacancy we advertised earlier this month:

Service charges from April 2013

Trust works with Thrive Homes to set up new social enterprise

•Team Leaders – to supervise and manage small teams of staff working in and around residents’ properties.

•Team Operatives – team members with experience in one or more trades (painting/decorating/plumbing/carpentry), able to demonstrate a competence to work unsupervised.

•Unskilled Operatives/Apprenticeships – opportunities for selected staff to undertake an Apprenticeship leading to formal qualifications in selected trades.

We have restructured our repairs priorities to make it simpler for you to report a repair:

Emergency Priority – Within 24 Hours – An emergency is a problem that immediately puts health and safety, or security at immediate risk, or something that adversely affects the structure of the building. We would attend within 24 hours to ensure the tenant and the tenant’s home are safe. On some occasions, we would need to make a temporary repair to make safe and book in further works for a full repair. An example of this would be a board up and then re-glazing works.

Making it simpler to report a repair

We are developing this new enterprise with the Housing Leadership Foundation. If you would like to find out more, please contact Nicolette Whittaker on 01789 264 956 or email nicolette.whittaker@hlfoundation.org.uk.

Urgent – 7 Calendar Days – An urgent repair is an issue that is not an immediate emergency but the tenant cannot be expected to reasonably live with for long, or something that may get worse if not dealt with quickly.

Routine – 31 Calendar Days – Routine repairs can wait to be repaired without too much inconvenience to the tenant.

You can report a repair at any time on our dedicated repairs number, 0800 218 2247, which is free from landlines, or at our website, www.wcht.org.uk.

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Autumn 2012

A prepayment meter is a way of paying for your gas and electricity if you do not pass the energy supplier’s credit check or if you owe them money.

It allows you to pay for your energy upfront, rather than afterwards, but it’s more expensive than using a standard meter.

If you use a prepayment meter, the Government has made it easier for you to switch supplier and get a cheaper deal, even if you owe your current energy supplier up to £500 (subject to a credit check). Depending on the energy supplier the meter can be changed for free as long as you don’t have any outstanding debts with them or a fee may also be charged, but this should be offset by the savings you will make by signing up for a cheaper tariff. Call up your energy supplier to find out more.

Tenants moving into a new property that has an existing prepayment meter can change to a standard meter as long as they have no debts and they pass a credit check assessment by the energy company.

For more information please contact Jason Ademola Energy Surveyor on 01923 209 016 or email on energymatters@wcht.org.uk.

The Trust has helped to set up a new service providing emergency food supplies to people in crisis: Watford Foodbank.

If you are struggling to feed yourself or your family for any reason, the Foodbank can help. Perhaps you have lost your job, you have debt problems or there has been a delay in getting your benefits. We can give you a voucher for the Foodbank, and they can provide you with a box containing three days’ worth of food for you or your family. Other service providers in Watford can also give vouchers.

We have worked with Watford New Hope Trust and other community groups in Watford to set up this service, which uses Leavesden Green Community Centre – managed by the Trust – as its main distribution centre.

The Foodbank relies on food donations and volunteers. Please get in touch if you have food to donate (it must be in-date and ‘non-perishable’) or if you can spare a few hours a week to help.

Contact Watford Foodbank at info@watford.foodbank.org.uk or on 07925 813027.

New service for people in crisis

Prepayment meters – how to get a cheaper deal

Service excellence panel

Tell us how we are doing and help us improve our services• Residentsareattheheartofwhatwedoand

it is important to us that you are involved in reviewing our services.

• Wearelookingforpeoplewhoareabletoobserve, examine and analyse our services, what we do and how we can do it better!

• Youwilllookatuptothreetopicseachyearandcan work at your own pace.

• Youwillberequiredtoattendaminimumofsixsessions a year with some activities between meetings.

What’s in it for you?• Youcangainvaluablebusinessskillswhichwill

help you if you are looking for a job.

• Andasathankyouforyourdedicatedtimeandwork we will be giving away shopping vouchers.

Interested? Contact Clare Blake at clare.blake@wcht.org.uk

Gateway News

6

Looking back on summer

The free event gave local organisations a chance to provide information on their services, fundraise and recruit new members. And of course it was a lot of fun for the whole community at the same time!

The many attractions included rock climbing, kickboxing

Green-fingered tenants were rewarded for their efforts with vouchers and certificates this summer, as we held our annual Trust-wide gardening competition, plus a separate competition for sheltered housing tenants.

Judges were faced with some tough decisions as the standards demonstrated in both competitions were very high.

Watford 2012Many thanks to all who came to our successful Watford 2012 event back in July. Thousands of you joined us at Knutsford Playing Fields for this fun-filled day which was organised by the Community Action Group and the Trust.

Satisfaction with our improvement programmeTenants who were satisfied with improvements to their home – July to September 96.6% Our target 96.0%

Performance snapshot

The results were:

Trust-wide gardening competition Best back garden

1st Prize: Thomas Dunlop 2nd Prize: Marie-Claire Bernhauser - pictured

Best Tubs and Baskets

1st Prize: Valerie Weatherly 2nd Prize: Karen Bleir

Young Gardener of the Year:

Marcia Ngugi-Rattue

The Best Red, White and Blue Display:

Jean Saunders

Garden competition winners Marie-Claire Bernhauser (above)

and Maria Beecham (below)

demonstrations, inflatable ‘land zorbs’, and the Red Carpet Fashion Show which included guest appearances from Mayor Dorothy Thornhill (aka Lady Gaga) and our Chief Executive, Tina Barnard (aka Cher).

Gardening competitions

Sheltered housing gardening competition Individual balconies, window boxes, tubs and baskets

1st Prize: Joyce Charge (Horwood Court)

2nd Prize: Val Hubbard (Longcroft)

Individual garden

1st Prize: Dave Smith (Northcotts)

2nd Prize: Maria Beecham (Longcroft)

Communal garden

1st Prize: Northcotts

2nd Prize: Hollytree House ‘part two’

Communal tubs and hanging baskets:

1st Prize: Combewood

2nd Prize: Gammons Lane

Love gardening? Turn to page 12!

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Autumn 2012

Painting the subwayOne of our big community improvement projects, as requested by the Meriden Residents’ Association, was refurbishing the Meriden Underpass. We replaced the lighting and cleared the surrounding area to make it brighter and safer, and replaced the children’s artwork with fresh new designs painted by children from Alban Wood, Berrygrove and Cherry Tree schools (we have preserved the memorial to Daniel). Watford FC players Ikechi Anya and Jack Bonham visited the Meriden to meet the children and see the new artwork.

PICTURE SPECIAL

Our fifth birthday

Abseiling stars Tenants and friends of the Trust took part in the abseil, including Lisa Coat, who lives in Munden View; Terry Simmonds of Eastbury Court; Richard Harrington MP; Mayor Dorothy Thornhill; and even Harry the Hornet!

Before the eventOne of the final promises we delivered in our five year improvement programme was the refurbishment of the Meriden high rise blocks. In August we gathered with residents and our contractors United House to celebrate. (Picture by Alex Saville Photography).

Community improvement projectsOur fifth birthday wasn’t just about the abseil: our staff were out in force on the day delivering community improvement projects in the Meriden estate - litter picking, weeding, painting and much more.

We promised to set up a £9m fund to pay for a range of improvements including fencing, gates, security measures, additional parking, lighting, garages, landscaping and play areas.

How we delivered:

We invested the Better Communities Fund in a wide range of improvements throughout Watford and Three Rivers, from small projects such as fencing and flowerbeds to large ones, such as the transformation of the Croxley View green space and the impressive new natural play area in South Way. However, we still have £1m left to invest and have reached an agreement with Watford Borough Council to extend the fund until March 2015.

Gateway News

8

Delivering our promises

We promised to carry out a £66 million programme of works over five years to bring homes up to the ‘Watford Quality Standard’ (which exceeds the Government’s Decent Homes Standard).

We said we would:

• Spendupto£11mupgradingapproximately 2,500 kitchens

• Spendupto£4.5mupgradingapproximately 1,900 bathrooms

• Spendaround£4.5mreplacingsingle-glazed windows with double glazing

• Provideatleast1,000homeswith new boilers, and upgrade the heating systems to approximately 600 properties

How we delivered:

• Wespent£11mupgrading2171 kitchens (226 tenants did not want their kitchens to be improved)

• Wespent£4.5mupgrading1645 bathrooms (154 tenants did not want their bathrooms to be improved)

• Wespent£5.4minstallingdouble-glazed windows in 1,992 homes

We provided 1,422 homes with new boilers and upgraded the heating systems to 1,469 properties

Not only have we installed new kitchens and bathrooms where required, we have also offered a wide range of choice to tenants. For example, tenants were able to design their new kitchen and choose from four choices of unit, 12 paint colours and eight choices of tile colour.

Decent Homes

We are very proud of all we have done to meet our promises over the last five years. Here is just a small selection of the promises we made and delivered.

Trust tenant Brenda Batchelor in her new kitchen (picture by Alex Saville photography).

Public art designed by students from West Herts College, part of the BCF transformation of Croxley View.

Better Communities Fund

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Autumn 2012

We promised to enable more jobs to be completed in one visit – by ‘multi-skilling’ our Gateway Repairs Team and equipping their vans with more standard parts to get the job done. We also promised to set up a dedicated freephone repairs line with calls taken by fully trained staff; and to enable you to report non-urgent repairs on answerphone or via our website.

How we delivered:

Our repairs operatives are multi-skilled, and each van is stocked to suit their needs. In the last year they have broadened their skills even further to take on more jobs ‘in-house’, reducing the need to buy in services from external suppliers. You can report a repair at any time on our dedicated repairs number, 0800 218 2247, which is free from landlines, or at our website, www.wcht.org.uk.

Repairs

Our repairs vans now carry more standard parts to get the job done

We promised to set up the Trust as a Community Gateway organisation, offering free membership to all our tenants and leaseholders so you can vote on important issues and become our legal shareholders.

We also promised to build stronger communities by holding an ‘options study’ in each of our 20 local areas, to help identify your priorities for your neighbourhood and help you get involved in local decision-making.

How we delivered:

Around 44% of our tenants and leaseholders are members of the Trust, with an enhanced role in decision-making, and we keep all our members updated with the quarterly Membership Matters magazine. The Gateway Committee has worked with

Empowering tenants and communities

Our Community Empowerment Team works with community groups like Hillside Residents’ Association to give residents a stronger voice.

closely with our staff to feed in your views, and earlier this year members agreed to strengthen our involvement arrangements even further by creating a new elected Gateway Leadership Team – see details on Page 2.

Our community empowerment team has built a positive relationship with community groups in each of our local areas.

As promised we have carried out 20 options studies to help identify your local priorities, and in some cases new community groups have been set up as a direct result of these studies. We also established the Community Action Group, a network of all the community groups in the areas we serve, to help residents share ideas and learn more about local involvement opportunities.

To find out more about our first five years, go online!

We’ve made a short video about what we’ve achieved in our first five years, including interviews with tenants and people we’ve supported. Watch it at www.wcht.org.uk/film

Gateway News

10

Having completed our first improvement programme we are now busy planning the next programme. We will be starting this from April 2013 and it will run until 2017, so your home may be included on this programme if we have not got to you yet.

What the future holds

Over the coming months we will be identifying the homes that we need to place on the programme. During the remainder of 2012/13 we will be appointing contractors to carry out the works. We are intending to use small, local contractors where possible as

well as recruiting a number of apprentices.

Having listened to tenants’ comments about the programme we have just completed we will be splitting the works into packages as follows:

• Internals–kitchens,bathroomsand electrics

• Externals–roofs,wallfinishes,windows and doors

• Energy–heating&insulation

• Grounds–pathsandboundaries (fences and walls)

This will reduce disruption for tenants and make sure that some areas don’t have to wait four or five years for works.

Look out for more information in future editions of Gateway News or on our website at www.wcht.org.uk.

Boundary Way In September we met Boundary Way residents in the Community Room to discuss our proposal, which is to visually transform the existing squares, introduce a natural play area, and build new housing and a community hub. Images of our proposals were displayed and members of staff and consultants were on hand to take any questions. We are currently analysing feedback received and we will be inviting residents to a follow-up meeting this month to discuss the consultation results and further development of the proposals.

Our next home improvement programme

Our development plansHill Farm Close We have submitted a planning application for twelve affordable homes at Hill Farm Close. This consists of six flats and six houses with a play area and open space with associated access, landscape and parking. The design of the scheme has been adapted to take on comments from the local community and we expect a decision on planning by January 2013.

Croxley View A preferred building contractor has been chosen to build sixteen new homes, ten flats and six

houses on former garage sites in Croxley View. We anticipate starting on site during November 2012.

Shepherds Lane, Mill End At the time of writing we expect to submit a planning application for twenty seven new homes with a natural play area situated near Queens Drive this month, following final adjustment and agreement of the access road design.

If you have any queries, please contact our New Business Team on 01923 209 010.

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Autumn 2012

Should new tenants have fixed-term tenancies?

The Government has recently introduced new rules which mean that landlords like the Trust can end someone’s tenancy when their circumstances change, even if someone keeps to all their tenancy rules. This is called a ‘fixed-term tenancy’. We have not introduced fixed-term tenancies, and if we do they would only be for new tenants of the Trust.

We are considering whether to introduce fixed-term tenancies for

We want your views!new tenants and we would like you to let us know whether you think this would be a good idea.

Under a fixed-term tenancy, the tenant’s circumstances would be assessed after a set amount of time. If their circumstances have changed (if they are earning more money for example, or if their children have left home), they may have to move. If they still meet all their tenancy conditions their tenancy would be renewed.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this proposal.

On the one hand it would help ensure our homes go to those in the greatest need and mean a shorter wait for a home. But on the other hand it could discourage tenants from improving their circumstances and it could also be costly and time consuming to assess them.

What do you think? Here are some options we would like your views on. We just want to stress again, this would only be for new tenants – your existing rights are not affected.

1) If we decide to give fixed term tenancies to new tenants, what period of time do you think would be reasonable for the tenancy? Please tick.

Less than five years

Between five and ten years

More than ten years

2) Which homes should be given fixed-term tenancies? Please tick one box only for your preferred option below:

All new tenants

Homes for single people

Family-sized homes

New built homes

Homes that have been substantially adapted for someone with disabilities

Houses (flats to stay as lifetime tenancies)

No homes should be given fixed-term tenancies, all should have lifetime tenancies (as now)

3) Who should still get lifetime tenancies? Tick as many options as you want.

People with young children

People of retirement age

People with serious and permanent medical/health issues

Everyone to be treated the same (no specific group to be treated differently)

Are there any other groups you feel should get lifetime tenancies? Please write below.

Please tell us any additional comments you wish to make about the proposal for fixed term tenancies, bearing in mind this will only apply to new not existing tenants.

Please return this questionnaire to Susannah Brunert, Freepost RRXH-LZUR-LKHG, Watford Community Housing Trust, Gateway House, 59 Clarendon Road, Watford WD17 1LA.

Gateway News

12

Your views really do matter! Have you had poor service from us or have we done something really well, even if you just have a comment or suggestion you’d like to make, please tell us.

We recently asked some of you who had made complaints over the last 12 months what you thought of our complaints process. You told us that the process was too formal and what you really wanted was for things to be sorted out quickly, right first time and for us to keep our promises when we need to put something right.

We have taken on your comments and reviewed our complaints and feedback processes. We will shortly be launching a new simpler complaints procedure which will put a stronger focus on resolving things informally at the first point of contact. If we can’t help to resolve things in the first 24 hours, then a named manager will investigate and resolve your complaint within 10 working days. If this doesn’t resolve things for you, then you will be able to have your complaint reviewed either by

Your views really matter!a Director (within 10 working days) or by a tenant panel (which will take place within 20 working days) – it’ll be your choice.

Your compliments, comments and general concerns also help us to learn and improve, so we are going to do more to record these and show you regularly how they have helped shape our services.

Last month we became members of the Institute of Customer Service, the UK’s independent body for Customer Service. This will help us improve our training and coaching over the next few months and identify what we need to do to provide a world class customer service. If you’re interested in Customer Service there will lots of opportunities to have your say and get involved soon. In the meantime, if you have feedback for us, please visit our website, give our Customer Service Centre a call, or come in to see us and see how we can make things better for you.

Leave feedback at www.wcht.org.uk/feedback or on 01923 209 000.

Social enterprise updateGreen CanteenThe Green Canteen is a place where you can pick up gardening and horticultural skills, either as a volunteer or on a three-week course for just £10.

It’s also a great place to pick up locally-grown bedding plants and hanging baskets at supermarket prices. Maybe you can grab some Christmas presents for green-fingered friends and loved-ones! The Green Canteen will have a ‘trading shed’ selling second-hand gardening equipment, such as pots, tools and watering cans. All the profits are reinvested back into the business.

We’ve developed the Green Canteen in partnership with Herts Mind Network, and it is based between 24 and 26 Garsmouth Way on the Meriden estate.

If you would like to know more, Herts Mind Network would be keen to hear from you. Contact Caron Brennan, Green Canteen Coordinator, on 07544 428928 or email caron.brennan@hertsmindnetwork.org

Watford Cycle HubWatford Cycle Hub is a new social enterprise supported by the Trust which is opening very soon! It will recycle and repair donated bikes, provide a cycle maintenance service, and offer training and motivational services to encourage people to ride in the area.

The business aims to create a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ that will promote cycling as an enjoyable, safe and healthy form of transport which is also good for the environment.

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In September the Trust began a consultation exercise about the future of Leavesden Green Community Centre following agreement to spend £750k from the Better Communities Fund on an extensive refurbishment.

Last year the Trust signed a 99-year lease on the centre from Watford Borough Council and the refurbishment will completely revitalise the appearance of area.

Since taking over the centre we have been working with other organisations to plan a greater range of activities and services at the community centre around skills for work, health improvement

and more for younger people once the refurbishment is complete.

We also reached agreement with Watford Borough Council last month to manage Harebreaks Community Centre for the next 20 years, and have started carrying out some internal improvements to give the building a new lease of life. This work will be finished by December so the centre will be ready for use in January 2013.

These are part of our work to provide community hubs around Watford and Three Rivers – places where local residents can come together and access a range of local services and activities.

Satisfaction with our repairs serviceTenants who were satisfied with our repairs service – July to September 2012 92.1%

Satisfaction in the previous quarter 89.5%

Performance snapshot

Our proposed new look for Leavesden Green Community Centre

A new future for Harebreaks and Leavesden Green Community Centres

Autumn 2012

In partnership with Thrive Homes, the Trust has awarded Vintec Laboratories Ltd a three-year asbestos consultancy contract. Vintec will be contacting you directly to arrange a mutually convenient appointment to survey your home.

The survey will involve accessing

Asbestos surveys all areas of your home including the loft space and any associated garden buildings or garages which are within the footprint of your property. We aim to have 100% of our housing stock surveyed over the next five years, but to achieve this in a cost effective manner we need you to allow access to your property.

All Vintec employees will be in

uniform and carry identity cards while working for the Trust. Every card will have a unique number on the reverse if you wish to confirm their identity with us prior to allowing them in your home.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Dean Robson at the Trust on 01923 209 036 or at dean.robson@wcht.org.uk.

New to the Trust: John SwinneyIn September we welcomed a new independent Board member to the Trust. John Swinney is a Director of Carillion Energy Services and was previously Chief Executive of Pinnacle PSG. He has significant experience in housing management and the development of community improvement strategies.

Our Board is made up of independents, tenants and council nominees. If you are interested in becoming a tenant Board member and having a direct say in strategic decision-making at the Trust we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Karen Airey on 01923 209 061 or at karen.airey@wcht.org.uk.

Gateway News

14

Brightening up Haines WayWhen Leavesden Community Group approached us about using one of our garage walls in Haines Way for an exciting art project, we were happy to help.

Though the wall is due to be demolished to make way for better parking in a few months, the group wanted to brighten it up while it was still standing. They asked young people at Francis Combe Academy to create a dazzling mural to celebrate the Olympics.

Mel Beaumont, Chair of Leavesden Community Group, came up with the idea.

He said: “It was pleasing to see the young people’s enthusiasm, and the finished result is very very good indeed. It’s easy to give teenagers a bad name and

You said, we didgeneralise, but this proves that there’s a great depth of talent to be nurtured.”

Praise for our work in Croxley ViewAt the Holywell Action Group meeting in September, a resident asked for it to be noted in the minutes that the Trust are doing a excellent job on the garage refurbishment in Croxley View. He praised us for a very professional service and said ‘they’re doing a cracking job!’ We’re very grateful for these comments which show we have taken on board the feedback we received when we first started this project – we’ve changed some aspects of the work, made everyone aware of what we are proposing to do, and done our best to minimise any disruption.

Garage improvement programmeWe have finished the garage refurbishment on the Holywell, which means that we have completed works on all the sites that were identified as high or medium priority. We are now tendering works contracts for the remainder of the year. We have not yet finalised the list of sites where work will be carried out but the following will definitely be included:

• AldburyCloseontheMeriden

• FayGreenintheHillsidearea

• HainesWayonSherwoods

• HudsonCloseintheCourtlands area

• WoodgateintheWoodsidearea

Once we have the tenders back we will finalise the remainder of the works. The works will be completed by the end of March 2013 and will include refurbishment or demolition of garages to provide additional parking. Consultation will be carried out with residents before any work starts.

Look out for more information in future editions of Gateway News or on our website at www.wcht.org.uk.

For more on our work to improve garage sites see the other article on this page.

First call resolutionPhone calls that our customer services team were able to resolve immediately (without raising a repair or forwarding the call) – July to September 2012. 74.9%

Our target. 65.0%

Performance snapshot

– Action to improve garage sites

15

Autumn 2012

You could win a free computer! Plus get a free IT training course!

Just fill in the form

The Trust has teamed up with Eco Computer Systems who specialise in the reuse of all types of computer equipment. The project has running since 2007, collecting donated equipment from large companies and residents, and reselling it to the wider community. The money that it makes from selling the computers

Competitiongoes towards their running costs and other community projects, such as IT training courses and clubs for older people and young mums.

The project also helps unemployed people to learn new skills such as refreshing the used IT equipment.

The Trust has secured 25 personal computers for our tenants and leaseholders using a grant from the Better Communities Fund. You could be lucky and win one! Please

note that you will need to pay for your own broadband connection (we can explain this and help you find the best deal).

IT training courses will also be available if you need help on how to use a computer, and these only last a couple of hours.

So if you want to get your hands on one of these free personal computers please complete the form and return it to us by 30 November 2012.

Name Address

Contact number Do you need IT Training Yes No

(Maximum 30 words) I would love to win one of these free computers because it will…

Send your entry to: Nazma Abdul Karim, Computer Competition, Freepost RRXH-LZUR-LKHG, Watford Community Housing Trust, Gateway House, Clarendon Road, Watford WD17 1LA. You do not need a stamp. Good luck!

Do you remember when you were offered the keys to your new home? You had so much to sort out, such as painting the living room, getting a washing machine and ringing round for a removal firm. With so much going on, sometimes the most important things slipped your mind such as paying the rent or council tax or telling the bank that you had moved.

Well we realised this and since the beginning of August, we have been working with all new tenants to support them in the

New tenants – new servicetransition into their new home. This means that we get all the essential paperwork done before they get their keys. This means that there is no delay in claiming benefits and a direct debit is set up so there’s a worry-free method of paying the rent. We refer them to a furniture project if there is a need for things for the new home, encourage them to sign up to our low cost home contents insurance scheme to protect them against a crisis, and can even start a savings plan for that special occasion.

We want our new tenants to become active participants in the community and some have expressed their desire to return to work or do volunteering. It’s been a great success and plans are now afoot to develop a Home Starter Pack Scheme to help new tenants with large electrical items with the cost being spread over a couple of years. Watch this space for more information. Do you think new tenants should get a so-called ‘tenancy for life?’ Flip back to page 11 and let us know your views.

How to contact the TrustIn person or write to us:Gateway House, 59 Clarendon Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD17 1LA

Telephone us: Customer Services 01923 209 000Email us: enquiries@wcht.org.ukVisit the website: www.wcht.org.uk

Useful contacts

General Enquiries: 01923 209 000

Repairs Freephone: 0800 218 2247

Repairs line: 01923 209 247

Contact us

Don’t forget you can check your account online. Simply go to www.wcht.org.uk and click ‘See my account’.

Gateway News

Rent enquiry: 01923 209 111

Disabled adaptations: 01923 209 220

Home ownership: 01923 209 216

Community empowerment (resident involvement): 01923 209 183

Neighbourhood team (tenant issues): 01923 209 148

Grounds maintenance (communal areas): 01923 209 055

Anti-social behaviour: 01923 209 222