accent news online – nene july 2014

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Repairs

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Nene JULY 2014Nene Y 2014JULLY

0345 678 0595 [email protected]

Our notable successes include:

4 Launching our national repairs contact centre –it deals with over 1,200 repair requests per week.Your satisfaction with the service remains at 90%.

4 Launching our five local contact centres – onaverage each centre deals with around 500 callsper week, taking less than ten seconds to answereach call.

4 Launching our new staff structure – with patchbased housing officers and home ownershipofficers providing local information (see page 3).

4 Recruiting residents to our local customerservices committees – to scrutinise our servicestandards and performance that matters to you.

4 A new user-friendly website – we expect to addmore useful functions early in 2015.

Personal, Modern and Better – it’s now six months since we launchedour new service, we’ve achieved a lot in that time, but we’re not finished yet…

Many of you pay your rent by standing order, cash at offices, swipe cards and internetpayments, but here are some alternatives, our aim is to give you choice and convenience…

Allpay App: Make paymentsfrom your phone or tablet bydownloading the Allpay Appwhich is available on Apple,Windows and Android devices.You will need an Allpayswipecard and bank account, if you need an Allpay card,call us on 0345 678 0595.

Allpay hotline: If youhave an Allpay card, but prefer to pay overthe phone, call theautomated hotlineon 0844 557 8321.

Callpay: You can call us on 0345 678 0595and pay with your credit or debit card.

Direct Debit: The mostconvenient way to pay.We offer paperless Direct Debits withoutforms. If you’d like toset one up, call uson 0345 678 0595.

“At last.An Appthat helpsme paymy bills.”

Our long term focus is to become a first classlandlord, and your feedback is helping us toachieve this goal. Our 2013 survey results providedus with excellent feedback and lots to think about.From the results, we have, with residents,developed a set of local action plans which have identified the key areas for improvement for each region.

In our next issue… Look out for ourannual performancereport and a surveyto find out what youthink of Accent News.

4pp Accent News - Nene _ July 2014_Newsletter 24/06/2014 09:18

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0345 678 0595 [email protected]

Our Residents’ Panel has been working with staff to make sure our services are meeting your needs.Members are currently reviewing our older people’sservices and, working alongside staff, they are aboutto start a review of service charges. The outcomesand recommendations of these reviews will bereported to our local customer services committeeand we’ll keep you up to date with what’s happening.

Our Sheltered Housing Federation recently heldtheir AGM. Kathleen Walton was appointed asChairperson and John Martin as Deputy Chairperson.Members also discussed local scheme relatedissues; including a newsletter for our shelteredresidents and the popular Inter-Scheme Challengeevent. If you are interested in joining a resident group,call our contact centre and ask for Natasha Chilcot.

Calling all ‘sofa surfers’!Your views can make a big difference – however you give them to us. You told us you wanted less formal ways to get involved so if attendingmeetings isn’t your thing, but you like giving feedback, the sofa surfer panel mightbe for you. It’s a great way to get involved from the comfort of your own home. For more information, contact Natasha Chilcot on 0345 678 0595.

Please note: that our ManorHouse office will be closed on 11 July for staff training. All calls will be re-routed toother Accent offices, so therewill be no disruption to service.

The annual general meeting of the Accent Nene Residents’ Panel will take place in October.

The agenda will include, amongstother items, an update by theChair on the panel’s actions andoutcomes for this year. Accentstaff will also be present to answerany questions you may have. If you

would like to come along, or justwant to know more about the eventand what is due to be discussed, please contact Natasha Chilcot, on 0345 678 0595.

Here’s a round up of all the recent RESIDENTENGAGEMENT activity at Accent Nene…

IF YOU’D LIKE TO ‘GET INVOLVED’ WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

In October 2013, Foster Property Maintenancebecame part of Lakehouse, a construction andmaintenance business. As a result, Fosters arerebranding which will affect vehicles, uniforms,ID badges, other coprorate areas and their websitewww.fpm-ltd.co.uk. If you have any queries, please contact us.

4pp Accent News - Nene _ July 2014_Newsletter 04/07/2014 10:13

Stay in touch!

/accentpb

@accentpbAddress:Manor House57 Lincoln RoadPeterborough PE1 2RR

Telephone:0345 678 0595Email:[email protected]:www.accentgroup.org

Social media:

making a difference… improving homes, communities and lives

Residents’ Communications Panel

Members of our new resident communications panelwill review and edit our documents to make sure theyare easy for you to read and understand. Memberswill be looking at quite a lot over the next few months,including our new customer leaflets, our annualperformance reports (due out in October), and futurecopies of this newsletter. We’ll keep you updated on what the panel is looking at.

New Customer Leaflets

We are currently re-writing all our customerleaflets and you will soon be able to viewand download them from our website. As a value for money initiative, we don’tplan to print lots of them. If you are not onthe internet, please visit one of our officesor ring your local contact centre and theywill download and print copies for you.

Please use 0345 to call! Our numbers start with 0345, but some of you still use 0845 to call us. You’ll still getthrough but it costs you more from a mobile. 0345 numbers are often included in ‘free’ or minutes bundles.

Members of the Accent Residents’ Panelmet in Peterborough in late May.

We discussed Accent’s annual reports to residents and value for money. In the annual report, Accentwill include details of performance against the standards set by the Homes and CommunitiesAgency (HCA). The reports will also set out Accent’splans to improve performance where needed. This won’t be just what Accent thinks – they will be asking residents to help them make those decisions. They want to be ‘open and honest’about their business, and give you the personal,modern and better service they’ve promised.

Panel members also looked at how Accent hasdelivered better value for money services. Value formoney is not just about cost, it’s about making themost of the money they have and spending it in away that benefits the most residents.

Last year, Accent made some major changes to itsbusiness and how it delivers its services. It now hasa simpler structure, and will save £1.75Mper year which will be reinvestedin the areas where it is neededthe most on thingslike new kitchensand windows.

Residents’ Panel Update by Wendy Dyer, Panel Chair

4pp Accent News - Nene _ July 2014_Newsletter 24/06/2014 09:18 Page 4

You can ring us from 8am – 8pm on Monday to Friday and 9am – 12pm on Saturdays

Adele Light

Alan Percival

Kath Ward Rebecca Jones

Stephanie Perrin Maria Gilbey

Virginia Cheetham

Emily Barber

Toyah Thomas

Julie Clark

Patch NewsThese pages have all been written by a localhousing officer, so each page only contains newsand information from their area. To view any of thesepages, simply hover over the image of your housingofficer and then click on the icon that appears…

Accent News - online_ July 2014_Patch News 25/07/2014 15:07 Page 2


Alan PercivalHousing Officer

We are having problems with fly-tipping on some of our schemes,especially in the communal drying areas and alleyways.We have to pay our contractor to clearitems that are dumped and the chargefor this may be added to your servicecharge if we cannot identify theindividuals responsible. If you seesomeone dumping items, please let

us know. If we know who they are, wemay be able to pass the cost of removingrubbish directly onto them. If you havebulky items that you need to dispose of,please contact the council to collect them.There may be a small charge for this.

“Change of roleI will be a ‘Super User’ for our new housing management system for a while, which means I will be helping to upgrade the system and trainstaff to use it. This means that I will not always be available to cover myrole for the next few months. There is cover, so your service will not beaffected in any way, but please don’t ask for me by name when youcontact us. Give the contact centre staff your address so they know whereto refer you. After October, I should be back, I won’t be gone forever!

Estate Inspections Update I have recently completed several estate inspections across my patch.I would like to thank everyone who came to speak to me. It is alwaysgood to get your feedback. You raised some common concerns whichI would like to ask for your help in addressing.

Noise – a common complaintPlease don’t put noisy equipment next to yourneighbour’s shared wall and keep your noise at a respectable level – especially between 11pm and 7.30 am. We don’t just mean noise from music, even things like slamming doors can make excessive noise. When you have visitors, you are responsible for them, so ask them to be quiet when using communal areas. If you are experiencing unreasonable or excessivenoise, please let me know.

Smoking in the stairwellsand communal entranceA number of residents and their visitors are smoking in communalentrances and are not disposing of theircigarette butts safely. Smoking in any communalarea, which includes doorways, stairwells andlandings to the flats is a criminal offence. If youor any of your visitors want to smoke, you canonly do so in your own home with your frontdoor shut, or away from the scheme.

4pp Accent News - Nene _ July 2014_Patch News 03/07/2014 14:54 Page 3


Emily BarberHousing Officer

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Residents’ AssociationI have been approached by residents about setting up a residents’ association in Fulbourn. For Accent to support a residents’ association, we need to establish a few things. The first is todiscover whether or not there is enough interest amongst Fulbourn residents to make anassociation beneficial for the community. For Accent to recognise a residents’ association, itmust be supported by at least half of the residents who live on the scheme. If there is enoughsupport, a committee must be established. If you are interested please contact me.

I have recently carried out estate inspectionsin Paston and Fulbourn. Thank you

for coming out to join me. Some of the issues raised included improving thebin store areas in Pilton Close, Paston. We are

developing a plan for improving the facilities anddealing with the problem of waste and fly tipping.

With the warmer weather here, and people opening windows and doors, noise carries more.

Please consider your neighbours and keep your noise to an acceptable level so it doesn’t disturb them. Please don’t have music or noise so loudthat it can be heard outside your property after 11.00 pm at night.

Other issues raised in both Paston and Fulbourn include ball games.Children should not be playing ball games on the estates, or in theroad of the estates. This could not only be dangerous for them, but balls are also being kicked against windows and carsbelonging to other residents. In Fulbourn, balls havebeen kicked against the ‘life wall’ which could causedamage. You are responsible for the behaviour of your children and for ensuring that they do not cause a nuisance or annoyance to other residents.



Kath WardHousing Officer

Ball GamesI am receiving complaints about children playingon car parks, roads and other unsuitableplaces, which is causing annoyance. Of coursechildren need space to play, but please askyours to respect your neighbours and theirproperty and not to play ball games near cars,use fences or gates as goal posts or leavebikes, prams, scooters etc lying around. As aparent, please make sure you know where yourchildren are playing and that it is safe for them.

“Hello I am Kath Ward, Area Housing Officer. With Housing Assistant Karen Richardson, we represent Accent inNottingham. We are responsible for collecting and recovering rentarrears, managing anti social behaviour, lettings and allocating our homes to new residents, and estate and tenancy management issues.

Many of you will know of the changes Accent has made in the last fewmonths. With the Nottingham office closing, Karen and I have moved to a temporary base but we can still be reached through the contact centre.

Since I took up my post last October, I have visited all my schemes in theNottingham area and have met many of you. I hope to meet those of youI haven’t met in the coming months. With the area surveyor, I carry outregular estate inspections. It would be great if you joined us – pleasecontact me if you would like to.

What a load of rubbish!One of the main problems coming to light during estate inspections is litter, rubbish and fly-tipping. We will arrange to remove large items,and increase litter picking if it seems to be necessary, but there is a cost to this and it may have to be added to your service charge. Please dispose of large items properly and let me know if you seeanyone dumping rubbish or fly-tipping.



Rebecca JonesHousing Officer

Please consider your neighbours when you and yourfriends and families are out enjoying the BBQ season.

Not just in terms of noise but also safety – don’t light your BBQs near trees or wooden fences! Never leave a lit BBQ unattended. If your BBQ or party is in the evening, keep your noise down as it gets later; please do not have musicvolumes so high that they can be heard outside your home after 11pm.

If you are planning to BBQ in a communal garden, make sure you remove yourwaste and rubbish. If you are going to drink alcohol, be responsible. Rememberthat offensive drunkenness is a breach of your tenancy agreement. You and your visitors can only drink on your own property. If you are drinking in public,find out if there are any byelaws.

It’s always good to have a chat with your neighbours and let themknow your plans so they have the chance to bring in any

washing etc. You might even want to invite them.

“

Another problem is dog fouling…Simply put, it’s not pleasant especially if stepped in.Please be responsible if you have a dog and ‘bag and bin it’.

Recent Estate InspectionsI have recently carried out a number of estate inspections at Century Square, Mitchell Close and Redgate Court. I would like

to thank everyone who came out to see me. A number ofissues were raised, more than one around the lack of

adequate bin provision and storage. I have contactedAMEY Peterborough City Council’s waste disposalteam and we are working on an action plan for

improving the bin store facilities and dealing withproblems of recycling and waste.



Toyah ThomasHousing Officer

On my recent estate inspections, it has been greatto see and meet those of you who joined me.Meeting you all is very worthwhile. Your feedback is essential for helpingto prioritise scheme improvements and your ideas and suggestions havebeen great.

With Contract Surveyor Keith Christmas, I am currently getting quotes for various scheme improvements.

Some of the suggestions we are exploring is to have a lockable woodengate to stop fly-tipping and youths congregating in an alleyway, and we are looking at a parking issue where non-residents are parking in theprivate car park. I am also seeking to consult with residents on thepossibility of a providing a scooter shed. If you live at Saltmarsh, you will receive a letter shortly.

If you have any ideas or thoughts on anything that you feel would benefit your scheme, please get in touch with me. Some schemeimprovements can be actioned quickly; others are more complicated and will need more detail and possible consultation with residents.

I am happy to discuss any ideas with you so, if you see me out and about on your scheme, please come and speak to me. If I am on theway to an appointment, I may have to talk to you later, but I will alwaysget back to you. You can always ring me at the office too.

One of thesuggestions weare exploring is tohave a lockablewooden gate tostop fly-tipping

Leanne DavisHousing ManagementTrainee

We recently carried out a formalised estateinspection at Hanbury. The main issues identified were fly tipping of rubbish and furniturearound the scheme and that the green recycling bins are not beingused properly.

I would like to remind all residents that any rubbishclearances we carry out are charged to residents on their service charge.

If you have any unwanted items of furniture orelectrical goods you can contact PeterboroughCity Council on 01733 747 474 to arrangecollection for a small charge.

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Stephanie PerrinHousing Officer

At Leafere Way we will be erectingsecure fencing tothe rear of thescheme due toproblems withfly-tipping.

I have recently carried out several estateinspections with Mark Rogers, our contractsurveyor. We invited residents to attend,and I would like to thank everyone who did.

Following on from these, we are looking at the followingestate improvements:

Clarkson Court: cutting some of the overgrown shrubberyon the boundary of the scheme.

Leafere Way: erecting secure fencing to the rear of the scheme due to problems with fly-tipping.

Elton House: we have put up additional security lighting outside the scheme.

We will be making some otherdecisions for Clarkson Courtand Leafere Way shortly.

Speeding at Hensbury Close & Debdale Court

I have received complaints from concerned residentsabout neighbours and/or their visitors driving at speed. All vehicles must be driven at slow speeds when enteringand leaving the schemes to keep all residents safe.

If there is anything you would like to talk to me about,please contact me.

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Mobility Aids and Property AdaptationsSpecialist equipment and adaptations can make it much easier for youto live safely and independently in your own home. We are often askedby residents whether or not they can adapt their homes to meet theirneeds. This could be as a result of a disability or injury or because theyare simply getting older and need a bit more help.

The answer is ‘yes’, we can adapt your home and we wouldencourage you to contact us if you think an adaptation will help. We would much rather people stay in their home than have to moveif it is no longer suitable for their needs when an adaptation could help.

Minor adaptationsWe will install most minor adaptations at your request.

Minor adaptations are those costing less than £1000and can include the fitting of things such as:// grab rails or handrails // small ramps // specialist window openers// lever taps to washbasins and sinks // entry phones.

We consider all requests for minor adaptations on a case-by-case basis and we prioritise according to individual needs.

Major adaptationsMajor adaptations are those costing more than £1000. They are usually funded with funds from the local authorityas a Disabled Facilities Grant.

Major adaptations include items such as:// level-access showers // wet rooms // permanent ramps// stair lifts // speciality toilets.

Where the adaptation is funded from the local authority, the process may take a little longer tocomplete. However, as these adaptations are often life changing, please don’t be put off by the wait.

If you think you might need an adaptation please contact your doctor who should refer you to anoccupational therapist (OT). The OT should then make an assessment of your needs and make arecommendation for us to consider. We will then contact you to discuss whether or not we are able to help. If you would like to discuss this further before visiting your doctor, please give us a call.

“

Julie ClarkHousing Officer

Maria GilbeyHousing Officer

4pp Accent News - Nene _ July 2014_Patch News 03/07/2014 14:54


Virginia CheethamHome OwnershipOfficer

Moving Home?It is now the time of year when many people considerputting their home on the market and moving. Whetheryou are a leaseholder, shared owner or freeholder, we are happy to help guide you through the process.

If you are a shared owner, your lease will containrestrictions regarding the process of selling your home.Therefore, it is important that you fully understand therequirements. Please call me to talk through theprocess. If the requirements in your lease are not met,it may lead to delays in the sale of your home.

As a leaseholder or freeholder, you are able to instructan estate agent directly. However, please ensure yourlegal representative is made aware of our involvementin your property, due to the service charges that relateto your property.

Subletting your home?If you wish to sub-let your home, you must contact us to obtain written consent. You will also have to provide a forwarding address, together with the details of anyletting agent being used and a copy of the tenancyagreement you have made with your tenant.

If you are a shared owner, you do not have an automatic right to sub-let your home, so we must discuss this with you first.It does not mean we won’t give you consent, but we must besatisfied your request meets the set strict criteria.



Hi, I’m Adele Light, your housing officer. If you have any concerns about parking issues, fly tipping, recycling issues, anti-social behaviour or anything elsehousing related, please contact me. I can make an appointment to see you at your home or the office.

Ashfields: We have a number of waste issues, particularly aroundrecycling with items not getting in the right bins! Normal household waste(like food), should go in the silver bins, and items for recycling, (cardboard,glass, etc), should go in the green bins. If items are in the wrong bins, the council will not empty them. It costs us money to ask the council orour contractors to empty the bins, which we may have to add to yourservice charge. Please make sure you put your rubbish in the right bins.

Stafford Grove, Milton Keynes: We noticed the poor condition of thefencing and we are now investigating how we can improve the look of it and the area in general. If you have any ideas you want to share,please get in touch.

Century Avenue/Rashleigh Place, Milton Keynes: We noticed a number of untidy gardens. As part of your tenancy agreement,you are responsible for the maintenance and general upkeep ofyour garden. If you are having problems and need support,please get in touch.

School Close: Following our estate inspection we arelooking to improve the communal fencing.

Future Estate Inspections…If you are interested in joining me,please contact the office for dates andtimes of the next inspection at your scheme.

I recently carried out some estate inspections at:

//Ashfields //Stafford Grove //Century Avenue//Rashleigh Place //School Close.

Thank you to everyone who came to see me…

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accent news online – nene july 2014

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