streets ahead ahead...credit. from these dates if you have a change of circumstance, then you may...

THE MAGAZINE FOR FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING TENANTSSTREETS AHEAD

DEVELOPING HOMES AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIESFOR PEOPLE WITHIN WEST NORFOLK

SEPTEMBER 2018

FUN IN THE SUN ON THE SQUARE!

UNIVERSAL CREDIT

ARE YOU READY?

CHECK INSIDE

on pages 4

- 8

PG 2 FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘18

THIS ISSUE IS CARBON BALANCED!

This means by printing this issue on carbon balanced paper, we've managed to preserve 358 square metres of tropical forests with the World Land Trust!To find out more about how this effects the environment, visit www.carbonbalancedpaper.com

WELCOME TO THE AUTUMN ISSUE OF STREETS AHEAD!

Never smoke in bed or while lying down. Always smoke when alert and if possible outside.

Never leave cooking unattended or leave anything on top of your cooker.

Take care with your clothing as loose sleeves and long clothing easily catches fire when cooking or near heaters.

Keep your exit routes and main walkways clear in your home.

Do not use chip pans. Use a thermostatic fryer instead.

TOP TENFIRESAFETY

TIPS

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Extinguish candles safely before going to bed and use appropriate holders. Do not place them on top of your TV.

Keep all heating sources clear of clutter and take care near heaters.

Close all doors while sleeping to prevent a fire spreading.

Never leave items on charge overnight or for lengthy periods.

Plug-in air fresheners can present a risk of fire and it is recommended that you do not use them.

Welcome to the third issue of Streets Ahead in 2018. By the time you receive this our long hot summer will no doubt be just a distant memory - although the pictures from the Hillington Square Summer Fete on page 21 are a great reminder just how sunny and warm it was.This issue of Streets Ahead contains a lot of useful information about Universal Credit. We've talked about it before, but because it's something that affects so many of you we're providing you with more really useful information that may be of help to you or your family in the future.

Also in this issue, we've got some Fire Safety advice, our regular Tenant Panel update, and from page 11 you'll find our

Annual Report which provides a short overview of some of the work that Freebridge has been involved with over the last year.

FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘18 PG 3

Freebridge takes fire prevention and safety very seriously. We have an annual programme for testing and servicing smoke alarms, both in tenant's homes and the communal areas we are responsible for. However, smoke detectors are just one part of ensuring your family are safe from fire. Having had an unusually hot and dry summer has been a good reminder that taking actions to prevent fires is time well spent. So we thought we'd remind you what your responsibilities are as a tenant to help reduce the chance of fire. We all have a responsibility to minimise fire risk and to take reasonable steps to ensure fire safety during our day to day activities. By responding positively and embracing fire prevention, particularly in blocks of flats, we all have a crucial role to play in reducing the number of fire-related incidents.

FIRE SAFETY AT FREEBRIDGE

The Freebridge Tenancy Agreement highlights the obligations and responsibilities of customers in relation to potential fire risk and prevention.In relation to the use of a home and use of communal areas the tenancy agreement states that you are:• Not to store flammable or

explosive material in your home, other than items stored for normal household use.

• To report to us promptly any repair or defect for which we are responsible in your home or the common areas.

• To allow our employees or contractors acting on our behalf access, at reasonable times and subject to reasonable notice, to inspect the condition of your home or any installations or to carry out repairs or other works to your home or adjoining property.

• Regardless of whether a caretaking or cleaning

service is provided, to keep clean (together with other residents) communal areas (including stairs, landings, entrance halls, lifts, bin areas, communal paths and similar shared areas) and keep these areas tidy and free of litter, rubbish, obstruction and hazards.

• To inform us in writing, and if possible in advance, if you are, or expect to be, absent from your home for four weeks or more.

For further information on how to prevent fires, as well as what to do in the event of a fire, please see our Fire Safety Booklets which are available to read on our website.


Are you of working age (between 18 and Pension Credit age) and claiming:• Housing Benefit• Child Tax Credit• Working Tax Credit• Income Support• Income-Based Jobseekers

Allowance• Income-Related Employment

and Support AllowanceIf the answer is yes, then you will transfer to claim Universal Credit in place of these in the very near future.Universal Credit pays a basic rate for all claimants called the ‘Standard Allowance’ and extra amounts for people in different circumstances – for example if you have children, childcare costs or a disability.Universal Credit is paid once a month, in arrears and, if you are entitled to help with your housing costs, includes a Housing Costs Element to help you to pay your rent.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT IS ROLLING OUT IN WEST NORFOLK NOW!ARE YOU READY?

201813

JUNE

The Dereham Jobcentre Plus

2018

12SEPT

The Thetford Jobcentre Plus

2018

The Wisbech Jobcentre Plus

The King's Lynn Jobcentre Plus

2018

14NOV

Depending on which jobcentre area you live in, will depend on when you will be asked to move onto Universal Credit. From these dates if you have a change of circumstance, then you may have to claim Universal Credit instead of the benefits/ tax credits that Universal Credit is replacing.

2018

12DEC

The Fakenham Jobcentre Plus

Our Universal Credit Advisors, Sarah Oakley and Kelly Codling.

12SEPT

FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘18 PG 5 UN

IVERSAL CREDIT SPECIAL

No, all claimants of the benefits that Universal Credit is replacing and who are of working age (between 18 and Pension Credit age) will move over to Universal Credit. The rollout is expected to take until 2023 to complete.Existing Benefit and Tax Credit claimants, under Pension Credit age, who do not have a change of

From the date that your local jobcentre moves onto the full digital Universal Credit service, if you are of working age (below Pension Credit age) and you make a new claim* for one of the benefits that Universal Credit is replacing, or are already claiming benefits and have a change in your circumstances*, then you may have to claim Universal Credit instead.*The exception to this is any claimants with more than two children. Families with three or more children will not move over to Universal Credit until at least January 2019 – even if you have a change of circumstance / need to complete a new claim before then.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T HAVE A CHANGEIN MY CIRCUMSTANCES? WILL I JUST STAY ON MY EXISTING BENEFITS / TAX CREDITS?

circumstance will not be affected by Universal Credit until at least July 2019.After this date the DWP will start to contact claimants to notify them that they need to complete a claim for Universal Credit. When you are notified you will need to act quickly and get online to complete your claim.

UNIVERSALCREDITSURVIVALGUIDEAre you looking for more information on Universal Credit? We’ve put together a handy survival guide which explains everything you need to know about Universal Credit and the effect it could have on you. If you would like one

of these call 03332 404 444 and we’ll get one in the post for you, or you can find a digital version on the Universal Credit page on our website at www.freebridge.org.uk/universal-credit.html


When you claim Universal Credit under the full digital service you will need a personal email address and telephone number. You'll also need access to the internet to complete your claim and ongoing online access to manage the claim through an online account called a Journal.If you don’t have a personal email address, or regular access to the internet then you will not be able to complete or

DO I NEED A COMPUTER TO CLAIM UNIVERSAL CREDIT?

manage your claim and your claim will be cancelled. If you don’t have regular access to the internet or you don’t know how to use it, then we can help you with this. Please contact Sarah or Kelly, our two Universal Credit Advisors, on 03332 404 444, and they'll be able to talk to you about how we can help you.

Over the next few months we'll be visiting a number of locations across West Norfolk to talk about Universal Credit.

So, if you have any questions or concerns, come and see us on one of the dates and times detailed below.

THE UNIVERSAL CREDIT ROADSHOW

Our Universal Credit Advisors will be at each venue between 10am - 12.30pm

FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘18 PG 7 UN

IVERSAL CREDIT SPECIAL

We've put together this checklist below to see how ready you are:

Have you got access to the internet and do you know how to use it?You’ll be expected to claim and manage your Universal Credit claim online.

Have you got a bank or building society account?Before you claim Universal Credit you will need a bank or building society account to receive payment.

Are you concerned about how you will plan your budget around your monthly Universal Credit payment? Universal Credit is paid straight to you so it will be your responsibility to budget for and pay your rent from your Universal Credit payment and any other income you may have.

Do you have any worries and/or vulnerabilities or disabilities that may make it difficult for you to cope with paying the rent yourself?If you believe you will struggle to pay your rent yourself then please get in touch with us NOW. We have a number of Support Advisors and Universal Credit experts who can offer help, advice and support to make sure you can pay your rent on time every month.

Have you got rent arrears?If so, talk to your Income Advisor today about how to reduce your arrears.

Things you will need to do when you start to claim Universal Credit:

Inform your Income Advisor at Freebridge Community Housing.

Set up a direct debit or standing order to ensure your rent is paid on the right day every month.


If you have any questions about Universal Credit please do get in touch with us at Freebridge.We have two specialist Universal Credit Advisors who can assist you on any queries or concerns that you have, and they can also offer practical support to get you online, so that you can make a claim and manage your claim. Your Income Advisor will also be able to help with any queries that you have.Meet the Universal Credit Advisors - Sarah Oakley and Kelly Codling. To get in touch with them, please call 03332 404 444.

I AM A PENSIONER, HOW WILL UNIVERSAL CREDIT AFFECT ME?Universal Credit can only be claimed by people of working age. This means that if you are a single claimant and are of Pension Credit age you will not be affected by Universal Credit and will continue to claim Pension Credit and Housing Benefit.If you have a joint claim with a partner and you are both old enough to receive Pension Credit then you will not be affected by Universal Credit and you will continue to receive Pension Credit and Housing Benefit.

Couples where one person is below Pension Credit age and the other is Pension Credit age or over, will eventually have to claim Universal Credit until the youngest reaches Pension Credit age (unless they are already claiming Pension Credit). It is expected that this change will not happen until September 2019 so until this date couples will continue to claim their existing benefits.

ANY QUESTIONS?

From time to time we hold Universal Credit question and answer sessions on our Facebook page. So if you are concerned about any aspect of Universal Credit you can log on, post your question and receive a response from us there and then. We want our tenants to be prepared and have all of the information they need to go forward with Universal Credit. Our Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/freebridge, and the dates for our next Q&A sessions are as follows:

FACEBOOKQ&A DATES

Wednesday 3 October

10am – 11am 7pm – 8pm

Wednesday 14 November

10am – 11am 7pm – 8pm


After Freebridge became the proud owners of North Lynn's Discovery Centre in April, our Placeshaping Team have been working hard to get the buildings back into shape and ready for the community to use.Since being handed the keys, a huge amount of refurbishment activity has taken place, with most of the physical work being completed by operatives from Freebridge’s own Property Services team. The King’s Lynn Police Cadets have also got involved, and have done some great work in helping clear and tidy the outside areas of the Centre. Freebridge Director of Housing, Robert Clarke, said: “We want the Discovery Centre to become a central part of the community in North Lynn, King's Lynn and the wider West Norfolk, and we want to make sure that as

THE DISCOVERY CENTRESTARTS TO TAKE SHAPE

many people and community groups get involved with what we’re planning.“During the consultation events we held in early May we received some great feedback about what people wanted to see at the Centre, and this will help us with our plans for the months ahead.“We’re already talking with a number of groups interested in working with us at the Discovery Centre including the YMCA, who have successfully secured funding to establish five open access youth clubs for young people aged 10-18 over the next three years; and Active Norfolk who in partnership with Norfolk Constabulary, the YMCA and Alive Leisure are looking to help provide sport and physical opportunities for younger people at the Centre."

So keep an eye out for further news as the work continues at the Discovery Centre, and if you'd like to find out more about what's going on, and news about our other centre at Providence Street, why not contact our Placeshaping Team using the details below:

01553 667777

[email protected]

@ProvidenceSt1

www.facebook/providencestreetcommunitycentre

Ross Edwards, Freebridge's Placeshaping Manager, at the newly refurbished Discovery Centre.


From now on Tenant Panel members will provide an update about what they've been up to in each issue of Streets Ahead. Up first to give an overview of the last couple of months is Carole Jackson...

Hello!Since the last issue of Streets Ahead magazine the Tenant Panel have met twice to continue with our work helping Freebridge look at some of the services they provide. At our meeting in June, we met with the Communications Business Partner to confirm our satisfaction with the changes that had been made to the Service Standards that Freebridge works to, making them easier and clearer to understand. We also discussed amongst the group some feedback we had received in respect of how Freebridge monitored empty properties and had a good conversation about recruitment to the Tenant Panel.We then met with Alex Dixon, the Director of Property who

gave updates on the work at Hillington Square, smoke alarms and the process Freebridge will use in the future when consulting with tenants over planned maintenance works, and we finished with some development training from the Panel facilitator on Active Listening.In July the Panel met again and spent time with the Company Secretary who shared details of the Freebridge Board's work programme. The Communications Business Partner then joined the meeting to give some additional training on Freebridge's complaints process, with particular reference to the Panel's involvement in the second and final stage.Robert Clarke, Freebridge's Director of Housing, came in to talk about Service Charges. Then following a request from the Panel Alex Dixon and the Head of Housing attended to provide further feedback to the Panel about Freebridge's approach to letting properties.

In September we're looking forward to holding our regular meeting at the Discovery Centre in North Lynn. It's been interesting to hear about Freebridge's plans for the building so far, so will be great to see what's been achieved.And lastly don't forget! If you're interested in learning new skills and playing a real role in improving the service that Freebridge provides - then maybe joining the Tenant Panel might be for you! Thanks for taking the time to read about the Tenant Panel, see you in the next issue!Carole Jackson, on behalf of the Tenant Panel

If you want to read more about what goes on at each Tenant Panel meeting, the minutes can be found at:www.freebridge.org.uk/tenant-panel-minutes.html

TENANT PANEL UPDATE

The Tenant Panel during arecent meeting.



ANNUALREPORT2018


Each year we aim to summarise some of the activities that Freebridge have been involved with over the last year and in doing so help improve our accountability and transparency.Reflecting on the work we've done over the last twelve months, it has been a period of balancing our commitment to improving the services we provide to our tenants while at the same time investing in new, and much needed, affordable homes.During the year we invested well over a million pounds in tenants homes through planned work and carried out over 22,000 repairs. I am particularly proud that we achieved an overall tenant satisfaction score of 88%, an increase from 83% in the previous year. We delivered 26 new homes for affordable rent and made four shared ownership properties available for purchase, and while we know that these new homes are hugely important, we understand that for most of our tenants it’s not about more homes, it’s about better homes and better neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods we continue to support through our placeshaping activities, which in turn works towards our wider vision of supporting a better West Norfolk.We are pleased to report that the regulator’s judgement is that we remain viable and well managed. Thank you for your help and support in helping Freebridge deliver these great things.

Tony Hall, Chief Executive of Freebridge Community Housing

WELCOME


Through the 2017/18 year, Freebridge continued to work towards our mission statement of 'developing homes and creating opportunities for people in West Norfolk’. While developing and acquiring new homes remains an essential part of what we do at Freebridge, we also know that maintaining the quality of the homes we already own is a priority, and as a result of this, we spent over £7million on repairs and maintenance in the last year. In the 2017/2018 the level of satisfaction in respect of our repairs and maintenance service was recorded at 75% against our target of 91%.This figure was obviously well below our target for satisfaction with the service and we understand that this is an area that we need to get better in. To help with this, we are doing a lot of work with our Property Services team to make the repairs process a quicker less complicated process which we hope will result in us providing the very best service we can.To make sure we provide the best quality service we can for our tenants, we also continue to evaluate how we spend the money we've set aside for repairs and maintenance. The details of exactly how much we spend can be found in the Finance & Value For Money at Freebridge section later in this report.Repairs and maintenance covers a wide range of items, from fitting new kitchens or bathrooms

to smaller fixes such as mending taps or unblocking pipes. We do have a schedule of planned maintenance, but it is always difficult to predict the exact mix of major and minor repairs. As a result of this we sometimes complete work scheduled during the year outside of that period, which can result in us not spending all the money in our budget. Once again we were pleased to welcome tenants to some new homes at sites across West Norfolk, including into the second phase of work at Priory Road in North Wootton, some further properties at Vicarage Close in Terrington St Clement and as the year came to an end we finished up on transforming the long-closed Rampant Horse pub in Gayton into four fantastic new homes.As well as these brand new homes we also completed work on Eldridge Court, the fourth phase of the regeneration project at Hillington Square in the heart of King's Lynn – where tenants returned to 44 newly refurbished properties. Work is also progressing well at the old Blockbusters video store site in King's Lynn which will see eight new homes and two commercial units for rent when it’s finished. As well as the properties we’ve built we’ve also acquired a number of new homes in the developments that are taking place at Marsh Lane in King’s Lynn and at Butterfield Meadow in Hunstanton.

YOUR HOMES


Although Freebridge is a provider of housing our broader vision is to support a better West Norfolk, striving to improve the lives of Freebridge tenants and the wider community by getting involved in ambitious projects that have a positive impact on people and places. Once again, we have been involved in numerous projects and activities during the year. We have taken on further challenges that we hope will continue to provide wide-ranging benefits for the area over the coming years.In 2017/2018 some of the activities we’ve been involved with have included:• Visiting many of you in your own homes across

West Norfolk on our Out & Abouts – over year we visited over 1300 properties across the area including trips to Outwell, Upwell, Emneth, Gaywood, North Creake, South Creake, Docking, Bircham, Burnham Market, Brancaster, South Lynn, Magdalen, St Germans and Watlington.

• Our summer fete at Hillington Square. This fun packed event is always a great day, no matter the weather, and this year we had visitors from all over West Norfolk and were joined by a number of community organisations,

• Raising money, for local and regional charities. This year our chosen charities were the East Anglian Air Ambulance, West Norfolk RSPCA and The King’s Lynn Foodbank. Through the efforts of our employees, we managed to donate almost £800 to help these three fantastic charities,

• Providence Street Placeshaping Community Centre were able to build and provide access to a community garden outside the centre, with generous donations from local business including; Lovell, Arc Fabrications, ElecSure, KJ

Plastering Ltd, Westcoast Windows, Osborn & Kent and Proctor Roofing and Ground Control helping get the project off the ground. While the structural work on the garden was carried out by Freebridge, with contributions from the Norfolk Youth Offending Team who kindly built benches for the garden and fencing provided by West Norfolk MIND,

• Awarding over £5000 in grants to seven community groups through the Freebridge Community Fund to help them carry out a variety of work and projects. Groups who were awarded grants included Solace End of Life Support, West Norfolk Mind, West Norfolk Riding for the Disabled Association, South West Norfolk Youth Opportunities Project, West Norfolk Befriending, The Purfleet Trust and 4transform,

• Supporting Festival Too, one of Europe's largest festivals of music and entertainment held on our doorstep here in King's Lynn,

• Freebridge were really pleased to be given the opportunity to sponsor the Neighbour of the Year category at the KL.FM Local Hero Awards, we were especially excited to see one of our tenants nominated for the prize,

• Freebridge gave our full support to the hugely successful Love West Norfolk campaign, sharing all the things we love about living in West Norfolk with a wider audience to help encourage people to live, work and invest in the area,

• And at the very end of the year were delighted to be able to take ownership of the Discovery Centre in North Lynn. After taking on board the suggestions of residents and potential partners, we intend to reinvigorate the centre so that it can become another vital resource for the whole of King’s Lynn.

OUR COMMUNITIES


It is important to us that the service we provide to our tenants is of the highest possible standard. To help us reach those standards, we want you to tell us when we do something well, when we get something wrong, or when you have any ideas about how we can improve what we do. We look at the compliments, comments and complaints we receive to make sure that we provide you with highest quality services that we can. We understand that there will be times when we haven’t provided you with the level of service that you should expect from us, and when this happens, we have a complaints process where we try our very best to resolve the problems that occur. During 2017/18, we received 73 complaints and 411 compliments, see the table below for more information.

As well as the feedback that you provide to us directly we've also been out to talk to many of you through our Out & About visits. In the 2017/18 year, we were able to visit over 1300 homes across the whole of West Norfolk gathering your views about the services we provide as well as carrying out repairs and property inspections. Quarterly reports on the compliments and complaints that we receive at Freebridge are available on our website. As well as details about the nature of the feedback we receive, the reports also note any learning that we make as a result. You can view these by visiting: www.freebridge.org.uk

YOUR FEEDBACK

Staff Attitude State of Property

Customer Service Policy Totals

Complaints in 2017/2018 02 11 50 11 73*

Complaints in 2016/2017 08 04 52 00 64

Compliments in 2017/2018 243 02 166 06 411

Compliments in 2016/2017 295 06 39 00 340

*One complaint was split between two categories.


At Freebridge we understand that as an organisation it is vital that we manage our available resources in a manner that is consistent with our vision, mission and values while ensuring that we achieve the very best we can for our tenants and the communities that they live in. In the last year we spent our money in the following way:

What we spent our money on

How much we spent in 2017/18

Our budgets for 2017/18

Management costs £4,491,000 -Service charge costs £2,478,000 -

Routine maintenance £3,808,000 £3,908,000Planned maintenance £1,234,000 £1,517,000

Major improvements and repairs £5,165,000 £5,841,000

Bad debts -£48,000 -Depreciation of housing

properties £4,586,000 -

Depreciation of other fixed assets £173,000 -

The Freebridge Board drives the delivery of value for money and provides support while making sure that customer satisfaction and service delivery is maintained, with an ambition to deliver £0.5 million of annual cost savings against our Financial Plans for the year.We make sure that all our employees understand their responsibilities in achieving the very best value for money. By doing this, it allows us to invest as much as we are able into improving the homes we already have, creating further homes for those that need them and creating opportunities for the people of West Norfolk.

How much we spent in 2016/17

£3,907,000£2,438,000£3,243,000£1,293,000

£3,133,000

£132,000

£4,281,000

£208,000

FINANCE & VALUE FOR MONEY AT FREEBRIDGE


The Social Housing sector now mostly works to a set of measures as detailed in the Government's Value for Money Standard, which allows housing providers to compare their performance with other organisations. A number of the key performance indicators are detailed below, with further information available in our Statutory Accounts, which are available on our website.

Key Performance Indicators

Freebridge's returns in

2017/18

Number of properties Freebridge owns 6813

Freebridge's major repairs spend per

property£758

Freebridge's maintenance spend per

property£740

Freebridge's management costs per

property£659

Freebridge's service charge cost per property £364

Freebridge's returns in

2016/17

Norfolk Housing

Association's Average

6826 38451

£1,058 £680

£665 £863

£572 £731

£357 £234

Freebridge's plan for 2020/21

7020

£937

£823

£1,321

£33

If you are interested in understanding more about the work we’ve done around value for money, we have produced a detailed Value for Money Statement which can be read on our website at www.freebridge.org.uk, and this is also where you can find a copy of our Statutory Accounts.


At Freebridge we understand from the feedback that we receive from our customers, employees, partners and stakeholders that we do a lot of things really well, but could do some things even better. It is enormously important to us that we provide the very best services we can while developing homes and creating opportunities for people in West Norfolk.We continue to run our tenant satisfaction survey throughout to get an idea as to how we’re performing as a housing provider. This information along with the comments we get through the compliments and complaints we receive help us understand how we need to change the services we’re providing.Below are the figures from the satisfaction surveys we carried out in 2017/18: How satisfied are you with the overall service provided by Freebridge? 88% (our target was 84%) How satisfied are you with the repairs and maintenance service provided by Freebridge? 75% (our target was 91%) How satisfied are you with the value for money for your rent and service charges? 84% (our target was 84%) How satisfied are you with the overall quality of your home? 76% (our target was 87%) How satisfied are you with your neighbourhood as a place to live? 81% (our target was 88%)

How satisfied are you with how we keep you informed about things that might affect you as a resident? 85% (our target was 89%) Over the last year, we have continued to work with our Tenant Panel who provide an independent tenant perspective within Freebridge about the work we do. By working with them on many issues throughout the year, they give an insight into what tenants might feel about the services we provide helping us with the decisions we make as a housing provider. Over the last twelve months, the Panel has worked with us by:• Presenting an overview of what the Panel does

at our Annual General Meeting, to help more of our tenants understand about the great work they do,

• Working with Board Members and the Freebridge Management Team at a workshop discussing the results of the Tenant Promises survey in more detail,

• Attending the KLFM Local Hero Awards on Freebridge’s behalf,

• Judging grant applications from charities and community groups for funds from the Freebridge Community Fund,

• Sitting on our complaints panel, alongside Freebridge board members, to review complaints made by tenants about the service we provide,

• Meeting tenants across West Norfolk while jointly working with Freebridge employees as part of our Out & About teams,

DOING MORE & GETTING BETTER


• Interviewing tenants who have applied to become members of our Tenant Panel, and

• Discussing new and existing policies and processes within the organisation, with Freebridge employees providing a tenant perspective on the work that we do as an organisation.

Throughout the year we have also made a number of services available to tenants to help improve their lives, which have included: • Working with the Pandora Project to help them

to provide Drop-In Sessions at our main office in King’s Lynn

• Our Universal Credit Advisors – who have been helping inform and educate our tenants about the significant changes that are due to happen around the benefits that people are paid

• Our Energy Advisor - who has provided energy saving advice

• Our Tenancy Support Advisor - who has provided support to tenants in respect of money management, budgeting and dealing with debts

• Our Benefits Advisor - who has provided support to tenants on how to apply for a variety of welfare benefits and help with appeals and tribunal processes.

• Our Financial Inclusion Advisor - who has provided support to tenants affected by financial exclusion, through a number of internal projects. And who make sure that all our new tenancies are financially sustainable, through a robust financial assessment of new applicants, and

• Our Placeshaping Team who are currently based out of the Providence Street Placeshaping Community Centre in King's Lynn, although they’ll also soon be located at the new Discovery Centre too. Their work continues to support and help local community groups with the work they do, and includes the running of a number of events across the area including the Hillington Square Summer Fete, and Christmas, Easter and Halloween events at the Community Cafe in King’s Lynn.

TENANT PANEL!

JOIN US ON THE

FREEBRIDGE

See page 10 for more details!


Thank you for taking the time to read through our Annual Report for the 2017- 2018 year.If you have any questions about anything you've read in the Report or just want to get in touch with us, you can call us on 03332 404 444 or email at [email protected] can also find out more about Freebridge on our website at www.freebridge.org.uk, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/freebridge and Twitter at www.twitter.com/freebridge

THANK YOU


Also, in attendance was the Mayor and Mayoress of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, Councillor Nick Daubney and his wife Mrs Cheryl Daubney, who came along to support the fete and take part in some of the activities on offer.Freebridge Director of Housing, Robert Clarke, said: “The Hillington Square Summer Fete is always a highlight for us at Freebridge, and it was great to see so many people enjoying the weather and getting involved in the fun! We also managed to raise £126 through our raffle on the day which will go to Freebridge’s chosen charity the King’s Lynn Food Bank.”

FUN IN THE SUNON THE SQUARE

The Hillington Square Summer Fete returned for its annual visit at the end of July, and it was bigger and better than ever!Thankfully the torrential rain the previous evening had long since passed, and there was plenty of fun to be had in the summer sunshine. The fete, now in its fifth year, saw entertainment from the Simon Rowe’d Show, Rollo The Entertainer, local singer Emily Blake, owls from Dawn ‘Til Dusk and the Square was even invaded by a Dalek from Doctor Who! King’s Lynn Round Table 54 were on barbecue duties, and King’s Lynn’s Police Cadets along with Red Watch from Norfolk’s Fire Service also came along to help out on the day.


Many people are unaware that some of the biggest causes of blockages in pipes from our homes are wipes, sanitary waste, fats, oils and grease. Anglian Water, through its Keep It Clear programme, is working with communities to raise awareness of the issues - the costs, the misery blockages can cause with internal and external flooding, loss of toilet use, potential pollution and harm to the environment.Water companies in the UK have reported 362,000 sewer blockages annually, 70 per cent of which were avoidable. Avoidable means blockages, which cost some £80million annually across the UK to sort out, that are caused by human behaviour - flushing wipes and other sanitary products down the toilet, or fats, oils and grease down the sink.Even products marked ‘flushable’ do not break down in the sewer in the same way as toilet paper. Sanitary products and wipes (including baby wipes, cleaning and make-up wipes) should all be placed in the bin, not down the toilet.

Wipes mixed with food scraps, congealed fat and oil, can combine to cause a blockage. When a blockage occurs this can have an adverse effect on the environments in which we live, as well as on the rivers and waterways. In some cases pollution in rivers – can also get out to the sea.Fat, oil and grease should be put in the bin or recycled, not poured down the sink.And wipes, dishcloths, paper towels, cotton wool, cotton buds, sanitary towels and liners, tampons, nappies, incontinence pads, condoms, plastic or similar materials including toilet block holders should also be put in the bin. Collette Parker, Keep It Clear Community Engagement Manager, said: “With the help of residents and communities in general, we can make a difference and keep the sewer system clear to do its job of keeping used water safely in pipes, taking it away from our homes and businesses and recycled.”

HELPING TOKEEP IT CLEAR!

In January 2019 Freebridge Community Housing are once

again joining up with KL.FM for the Local Hero Awards night - which if last year's

event was anything to go by will be another great evening

celebrating the very best in West Norfolk.

The Local Heroes Awards will be held at the King's Lynn Corn

Exchange and will recognise those people in our community

who are true heroes.These heroes could be anyone from a next door neighbour to a youth club volunteer, from a

dedicated carer to a teacher who inspires their students.

Freebridge Community Housing are sponsoring the Neighbour

of the year category and we'd love you to nominate a neighbour you know who's

done something special... or alternatively, please nominate

someone for one of the other categories.

You can nominate using the form to the right, and post it to:

KL.FM 18 Blackfriars Street

King's Lynn Norfolk

PE30 1NN or by going to the KL.FM website at klfm967.co.uk

LOCAL

HERO

AWARDS


NOMINATION FORMNAME AND CONTACT NUMBER OF PERSON NOMINATING

NAME AND CONTACT NUMBER OF NOMINEE

CATEGORY SELECTIONSPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR

HEALTH PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

CHARITY WORKER OF THE YEAR

CARER OF THE YEAR

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

PLEASE WRITE BELOW THE INFORMATION OF YOUR NOMINEE, DETAILING YOUR REASONS FOR THE NOMINATION (MAXIMUM OF 400 WORDS). ENTRIES CLOSE ON

30TH NOVEMBER 2018.

YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR

UNIFORM SERVICES AWARD

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

NEIGHBOUR OF THE YEAR

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

WORK COLLEAGUE OF THE YEAR

FOUR LEGGED FRIEND AWARD

TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY AWARD

PLEASE CONTINUE ON ANOTHER PEICE OF PAPER IF NEEDED

Supported by

2019


Freebridge Community Housing is delighted to have taken delivery of 11 new homes on the Butterfield Meadow development site in Hunstanton - handing the keys over to the tenants of 6 new homes for rent, with the remaining homes having been bought through the Shared Ownership scheme.Holly and Mark Mott, along with their two sons - five year old Laben and Devon, who'd just celebrated his third birthday, are among those tenants who are making one of the properties their new home.Mark said: "We got the keys to our new home at the very end of August and have only just moved in really. We were away on holiday in Newquay, Cornwall last week and have spent more

FREEBRIDGE TAKES DELIVERY OF NEW HOMES IN HUNSTANTON!

time there than we have here so far! So it's still all very new."We privately rented a home in North Lynn before we came to live here, but the landlord wanted to sell up so we had to move in with my parents for a few months while we applied for somewhere to live through Homechoice."Sonia (from Freebridge's Lettings Team) has been really great, keeping in contact with us as the house was being built and answering any of the queries and questions we had. "She also met us at the house to show us round and sort out any last minute niggles."We're really happy with the home and are looking forward to settling in properly over the next few months. We've already

met some of the neighbours who seem very nice, and it's not too long a walk into Hunstanton town centre."

The Mott family outside their new home in Hunstanton.

Blockbusters development in King's Lynn


Freebridge is always looking at ways to improve the services we provide to our tenants, and as part of this, we are intending to introduce service charges from April 2020 to help cover the costs of maintaining the communal areas that we own.Some tenants already pay service charges in respect of the cleaning of communal areas following a consultation exercise we ran several years ago. We are now looking at a more comprehensive phased roll out of service charges that will begin in around 18 months time.In addition to rent, some tenants may also pay charges for additional services associated with their property, such as cleaning or caretaking. Service charges are recovered in accordance with Freebridge’s Rent and Service Charge Policy which you can find in full on our website.

SERVICECHARGES

For existing Freebridge tenants, new or additional charges will only ever be phased in following consultation with those affected, ensuring that only those receiving services will be expected to meet those costs.Those tenants who will be affected by the new service charges intended for 2020 will receive letters from us towards the end of 2019 which will explain the situation in more detail.

If in the meantime you have any concerns or questions about the introduction of service charges you can contact us on 03332 404 444 or email us at [email protected]

As well as these new homes in Hunstanton, Freebridge have also taken ownership of five new homes in Marsh Lane in King's Lynn, with three set for rent and the others again available to buy through Shared Ownership.Work in the heart of King's Lynn at the development on the old site of the Blockbusters video unit also continues apace with the buidling really begining to take shape. The work there has seen the original set up demolished and eight new 1 and 2 bedroom flats for rent being built alongside two new commercial units on the ground floor.Freebridge's Chief Executive, Toy Hall said "Freebridge's mission is to develop homes and create opportunities for people within West Norfolk so it is always a proud moment when we see new projects reach completion, and even more so when we get to see people moving into their new homes."


HOW WE PERFORMEDCOMPLAINTS & COMPLIMENTS

Overall satisfaction

Satisfaction with repairs

Satisfaction with rent and service charges

Satisfaction with their home

Satisfaction with the neighbourhood

Satisfaction with being kept informed

SATISFACTION SURVEYEvery month our First Contact Centre calls 100 of our tenants to ask they how they think we are performing.

% in blue shows how we've done this quarter

% in dark purple shows our targets

% in light purple shows our year to date totals

87%

88%

88%

72%

80%

74%

89%

85%

88%

83%

80%

80%

80%

85%

80%

85%

88%

86%

We hope that the services you receive from us are of the quality you would expect. However, we realise there will be times when you may want to complain, tell us how we can improve our services, or perhaps compliment us on something we have done well.Your complaints, comments and compliments are important to us as they help us improve our services.During April. May and June we took action in a number of areas as a result of complaints we received. This included ensuring that:• Employees add

information to job tickets to make sure we avoid times, such as the school run, when requested from tenants.

• We communicate cleary and quickly with tenants if operatives cannot attend the appointments that have been agreed.

• That jobs where issues are still within the defects period are referred to the relevant contractor rather than being dealt with by Freebridge direct.

Further details on complaints and compliments that we receive can be found on our website at: www.freebridge.org.uk/complaint.html


DURING APRIL, MAY & JUNE 2018

Streets Ahead is sent to you because you are a tenant of Freebridge Community Housing.We send the magazine to you every few months so we can tell you more about the services we provide and the work we're doing as a registered provider of social housing.If you no longer want to receive your copy of Streets

OPTING OUT OF STREETS AHEAD

Ahead, please let us know, and we will arrange for you to be removed from our mailing list.In order to opt out of Streets You can either tell us by calling us on our main telephone number 03332 404 444, emailing your name and address to [email protected] or by sending the completed form below to us at Freebridge Community Housing, Juniper House, Austin Street, King's Lynn, PE30 1DZ.

STREETS AHEAD OPT OUT

31

87

Total number of compliments received in this quarter

570

300

Staff attitude

State of property

Customer service

Policies

03

271

Staff attitude

State of property

Customer service

Policies

Total number of complaints received in this quarter

Reasons for compliments

Reasons for complaints

Please sign below to confirm that you no longer wish to recieve information about the services that Freebridge provides, and the work we do as a registered provider of social housing.

Name:

Address:

please sign in this box


WRITE TO: Juniper House, Austin Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1DZTELEPHONE: 03332 404 444Out of office hours our main number diverts to our 24 hour emergency service.EMAIL: [email protected] US AT: Juniper House, Austin Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1DZWe're open between 8:45am - 5.15pm (Monday-Thursday), 8:45am - 4.45pm (Friday). And closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.WEBSITE: www.freebridge.org.uk FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/freebridge TWITTER: @freebridge

The views expressed in this publication are those of contributors, and not necessarily those of Freebridge Community Housing.This entire publication is under copyright, and is not to be duplicated or reproduced in any way without permission.Designed by: Danielle Warman | Printed by: Barnwell Print | Circulation approximately: 7,000

IF YOU NEED ANY HELP TO UNDERSTAND THIS NEWSLETTER PLEASE GET IN TOUCH.

HOW TO CONTACT US

A STAKE INFREEBRIDGE:BECOMING ASHAREHOLDERFreebridge Community Housing is inviting its tenants to become shareholders. Shareholders have the right to attend the Annual General Meeting and vote on major issues in the running of the organisation.Shareholding is designed to increase tenants’ stakeholding in their housing provider and is a way to become involved in what Freebridge does.If you need more information about how to become a Freebridge shareholder or just want to know more contact the Governance Team on 01553 667754 or email [email protected]

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