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SPRING/SUMMER EDITION 2010

NEWSLETTER FOR RESIDENTS OF THENEW HOUSING ASSOCIATION

Full Story on Page 5

Minister launches £10 Million development

Breaking News - Holmbyre Tenants Vote Yes for Thenew in Stock Transfer

A Gold Star for Thenew

Tenants, Owners and Sharing Owners gave Thenew a Gold Star with excellent

results in our recent Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Read more about the results on page 6

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Do you have a Transfer Application with Thenew? - Annual Review Process

All transfer applicants for rehousing are asked to re-register for housing annually. This allows us to ensure applicants are still interested in staying on our list and that we have all relevant information on fi le.

If you are a Thenew tenant and have a transfer application with us, you must respond to the letter advising that you want to be kept on the list. If we still receive no response after two reminders, we cancel the application. If you have a transfer application on the housing list, it is important therefore that you respond to the annual review letter, otherwise you might lose your position on our list. Contact your local offi ce for more information.

Changes to Bin CollectionsResidents should have, by now, received information on the changed collection days for your bins. If not, please contact the Council’s Customer Care Centre for further details on Tel: 0141 287 9700. The same number should also be used if you have bulk items to be uplifted.

There is no specifi c time of day for individual collections. The time can be from 7am to 6pm. It should be noted, however that the Council will only uplift day-to-day household refuse if it is properly secured in bags and placed in your bin and left outside your property.

Page 3 Service Standards and Complaints

Page 4 Garden Competition 2010 Page 5 Development Updates

Page 6 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Page 8 What’s Happening In Bridgeton & Dalmarnock

Page 10 What’s Happening In Calton

Page 12 What’s Happening In Cranhill, Blackhill and Bailleston

Page 14 What’s Happening In Castlemilk

Page 16 Technical Updates

Page 18 Supported Accommodation Update

Page 19 Wider Role Update

Page 20 Money Matters

Thenew tenant to be evicted for Drug Dealing

in Calton!

Thenew have been successful in obtaining a Decree from the Sherriff Court to evict a Calton tenant for drug dealing.

More details will follow in our next Newsletter.

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Changes to Bin CollectionsResidents should have, by now, received information on the changed collection days for your bins. If not, please contact the Council’s Customer Care Centre for further details on Tel: 0141 287 9700. The same number should also be used if you have bulk items to be uplifted.

There is no specifi c time of day for individual collections. The time can be from 7am to 6pm. It should be noted, however that the Council will only uplift day-to-day household refuse if it is properly secured in bags and placed in your bin and left outside your property.

We pride ourselves in delivering a high standard of service to all our customers. We don’t always get it right however and we have several ways in which our customers can tell us when things go wrong.

We value your comments and complaints – we can only improve our service if we know when things have gone wrong or when you’re not happy with the way we handled an issue.

Our recent Customer Satisfaction Survey tells us however that many of our customers aren’t aware of how to let us know when things go wrong and the formal and less formal ways to get in touch.

What to do if things go wrong

In the fi rst instance we would always encourage you to try to sort the issue out with the member of staff you have been dealing with. If however you cannot reach a satisfactory solution with this member of staff you should ask to speak to the senior offi cer for the team or department who can then assist you.

We have a set of service standards (copies are available on our web site and at all our offi ces)

which lay out what you can expect from us. This document sets out the level of service you can expect when you contact our offi ces in person, in writing or by telephone.It also details what action you can take if we fail to deliver a high standard of service.

Formalising your complaint

If you have used the complaints and appeals procedures and are still dissatisfi ed, you can contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The Ombudsman service is free, impartial and independent. The Ombudsman will usually only examine complaints if Thenew’s own complaints and appeals procedure has been exhausted, and if complaints are referred within 12 months from when the problem happened, or fi rst became known about.

For those receiving housing support from Thenew, complaints can be made directly to The Care Commission. This is an independent body which regulates care and support services throughout Scotland. A leafl et about the Care Commission Complaints Procedure is available from Thenew or from The Commission and leafl ets are on display in each of Thenew’s offi ces and sheltered housing developments.

Further details about the Ombudsman Service and the Care Commission are available from each of our offi ces and sheltered development in our Easy Guide to making a complaint leafl et.

Service Standards and Customer

Complaints

It’s good to know when we get it right!

We are grateful to Jacqui Flanagan for taking the time recently to tell us what she thought of our repairs service:

“I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the staff and contractors that work for Thenew Housing. My mother is a tenant of yours. Having poor health and mobility problems, my mother is very vulnerable but the staff in your organisation have dealt with any issues that she has had both promptly and effi ciently. Over the past few months it has been necessary to call upon your repairs services.

All of these repairs have been handled in a courteous manner with contractors being both polite and understanding of her needs I feel it is important to convey how pleased my mother and her family are with the excellent service that she has been privileged to receive”.

We also received a letter from a resident in one of our sheltered complexes recently telling us what she thought about our Housing Support Offi cer Dot Murray

“Dot’s pleasant and caring manner gave me the feeling of assurance and her cheery disposition aided my recovery during my recent illness”.

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Rainbow House / Elmbank House

In the west of the city the Association has recently acquired the property at Westland Drive, Scotstoun from the Church of Scotland allowing us to begin the development of a new build Supported Accommodation Project. for Crossreach, Rainbow House, and to convert the existing building into 13 fl ats for rent.

This project which involved a Grade B listed building will be developed by Crudens and should be completed in 2011.

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The ambitious £10 million development of new housing on the London Road/Green Street site in Calton reflects our strong commitment to building homes in the communities we serve.

The occasion was marked with a turf cutting ceremony in May carried out by Alex Neil MSP Housing and Communities Minister which got construction under way. This was also attended by councillors Thewliss and Simpson along with management committee members and represenative from the Calton Area Association

The site at London Road and Green Street will be developed to provide homes within a five/six storey building with car parking and access through a rear courtyard in Green Street.

Charlie Turner, Chief Executive of Thenew Housing Association said: “The new homes for Calton confirm our promise to build much needed houses for the people we serve. This impressive new building will transform an area of Calton delivering great housing and at the same time providing a new home for Thenew.”

This phase of the development will provide 20 Main Stream flats, a new office for Thenew and accommodation for Aberlour Child Care Trust.

The new office will also include a community space which will provide a much needed resource for the local community in Calton.

A second phase of housing will be built by the Association in the area of the site accessed from Green Street. This will be a mixture of two, three, four and five bedroom properties and a single bungalow suitable for a wheelchair user.

WORK GETS UNDERWAY!

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Satisfaction with your homesTenants are generally satisfied with most aspects of their homes. We are carrying out internal home improvements and are pleased that satisfaction levels in these areas continue to rise as a result. Tenants were asked what their priorities would be if Thenew were to improve their home or environment. New kitchens (41%) and bathrooms (25%) were perceived as the biggest priorities for tenants, followed by new windows (18%) and central heating upgrades (7%). 42% felt they did not need any improvements to their home.

CUSTOMERSatisfaction Survey

Over 90% of tenants rated their neighbourhood as very good or good place to live

How Good is Thenew as a LandlordOver 90% of tenants are satisfied with Thenew as a landlord & the quality of services we provide. The most important services to tenants are:

Good quality repairs service (70%)

Improve homes (42%)

Secure home environment (34%)

We have been given a glowing report from our customers in our recently completed customer satisfaction survey

Earlier this year we employed Research Resource to carry out a representative survey of tenants, owners and sharing owners living in our communities.

We are very pleased that our survey results have improved across the board on those we received the last time the survey was carried out in 2006.

The survey found that a massive nine out of ten people said they were satisfied with Thenew as their landlord. Some of the survey highlights are outlined here.

86% satisfaction with our repair service – 9%

improvement since 2006

% Very/fairly dissatisfied

Windows

Heating system

External noiseinsulatio n

Noise insulatio nbetween neighbours

Security

The bathroom

The kitchen

83% 14% 3%

90% 7%3%

94% 3% 4%

92% 5% 4%

94% 4% 2%

86% 9% 5%

76% 16% 8%

% Very/fairly satisfied % Neither/nor

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Keeping our customers informed88% of tenants believe that the Association is very or fairly good at listening to their views and 83% stated they believe that the Association is good at responding to them.

Getting more involvedTenants are most interested in participating in the least proactive ways, for example 45% of tenants would like to receive regular information about the Association’s decisions and activities and 39% would like to provide views in surveys.

95% of tenants stated we are very good or good at keeping them informed

Thenew wishes to thank everyone who took part in this survey

CUSTOMER The Results

AND FINALLY...81% of tenants read the

newsletter and 87% find it interesting

How Good is Thenew as a LandlordOver 90% of tenants are satisfied with Thenew as a landlord & the quality of services we provide. The most important services to tenants are:

Good quality repairs service (70%)

Improve homes (42%)

Secure home environment (34%)

Dealing with anti social behaviour

6% of tenants have experienced a problem with antisocial behaviour in the last 2 years. Of these individuals 3% stated they currently have a problem with anti social behaviour. Significantly fewer tenants surveyed in 2010 experienced a problem with anti social behaviour in the last 2 years than was the case in 2006 (11%). In terms of the nature of the anti-social behaviour, the most common problem appears to be noisy neighbours (47%), followed by problems with children/ youths (21%).

“Thenew’s customer satisfaction survey has shown some very positive findings for the organisation, with tenants indicating significant improvements in satisfaction. Moreover, the levels of satisfaction now indicated by Thenew tenants, are amongst the top performers in comparison to other Association’s of Thenew’s size and type.” Lorna Shaw, Director, Research Resource

Whilst the majority of our results were positive, it was disappointing to note that less than half of all tenants, owners and sharing owners were aware of our service standards and how to make a complaint to us if things go wrong. We will work hard over the coming year to rectify this. Page 3 of this newsletter has more information available on complaints and service standards

97% Satisfied with our repairs

by appointment service

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Youth Club moves home.An article by Dalmarnock Youth Project

Following the recent festive downpour in For All Bridgeton (FAB) we have successfully managed to move to new accommodation thanks to Bridgeton Community Learning Campus & Culture & Sport Glasgow providing us with venue space we have managed to keep our regular Thursday & Saturday sessions in the Bridgeton area.

This work is provided by Dalmarnock Youth Project who have been working between both the Bridgeton & Dalmarnock areas since January 2009. Thanks is due to Thenew Housing who awarded us a set up grant in order to buy equipment. Now that we are bedded into the area we have names over 50 young people on our registers who either attend regularly or have dropped in at some point during the previous six months. Our aim is to invest in young people aged 8+ in their social and emotional development with a particular goal of challenging gang culture and boundary confl ict between the two areas. This is on top of our regular games which support informal learning on reading & numeracy. But don’t let that description put you off.

Some of the things we have been up to included a day trip to Millport, a visit to Laser Quest in Clydebank, a trip to the People’s Palace Museum plus our twice weekly drop ins. We will shortly be going mountain biking, indoor climbing & archery and will be taking the young people swimming over the Easter holidays. This is on top of our regular games which support informal learning on reading & numeracy.

Our sessions currently run on Thursdays in the Bridgeton Community Learning Campus between 5.30-7.30 and in Bridgeton Library on Saturdays between 2-4.30. Thanks to our increasing popularity with the young denizens of Bridgeton we have sometimes had to turn some away due to reaching our maximum numbers!

If you would like any more information on our work in the Bridgeton area please contact Peter Douglas at Dalmarnock Youth Project on 0141 550 1997 or dalyouthproject@hotmail.com. We are also very keen to recruit new Management Committee Members – if you are interested in this please contact the above telephone number.

NAPPIES!

Substantial damage and signifi cant costs were the result of a resident who fl ushed a disposable nappy down their toilet. The Clyde Gateway offi ces were damaged to such an extent that their staff had to

be relocated and will be out for over 6 months.

Thenew Housing Association, Clyde Gateway; Glasgow City Council; cottish Water; the Fire Service and several contractors

were all called out on Hogmanay to deal with the devastation. Two families had to be temporarily rehoused and spent their New Year in a bed & breakfast on the other side of the city (all because by someone who could not be bothered to bag & bin a disposable nappy).

The waste water drain that runs from your house is just 4 inches wide, and its only designed for human waste and toilet roll. Flushing anything else can and will cause blockages in your drains. So every time you fl ush you could make this problem worse.

If we are able to source blockages to a particular household, further action will be taken directly against that resident to recover all costs incurred by all the agencies who are required to attend.

For the avoidance of doubt - DON’T FLUSH

SANITARY ITEMSDISPOSABLE NAPPIESALL WIPESCOTTON BUDS/COTTON WOOLRAZORSINCONTINENCE PADSCOLOSTOMY BAGSUSED BANDAGESMEDICINESSYRINGES AND NEEDLES

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Dalmarnock Community Group

The Dalmarnock Community Group (formerly known as the M & T Group) consists of members of the Dalmarnock community who live within Thenew Housing Association; Molendinar Housing Association properties and represent the Show People community within Dalmarnock. This well established group has been meeting for many years now and has agreed an agenda of lcommon issues that they are tackling.

One of the group’s recent successes was to tackle and bring a resolution to the historic odour problems being experienced from the Dalmarnock Sewerage Works. A working group has now been established where community representatives and staff at Scottish Water meet regularly to ensure local views are heard.

More recently the group have been in discussions with the Commonwealth Games organisers to raise concerns over site security and the impact this is having on things such as bus routes; the imminent closure of local shops; and in general how this will affect the day-to-day lives of residents within community.

The group is eager to expand membership, especially in light of the significant changes which are afoot within the Dalmarnock area. They are keen to hear from anyone in Dalmarnock who wants to get involved to ensure local views are heard.

Please contact your local office for further information on where/when the group meetings

Bridgeton Office: 2 Main Street, Bridgeton, G40 1HA

Tel: 0141 554 5245 Fax: 0141 554 5758

E-mail: bridgeton@thenewhousing.co.ukOffice Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri

9.00am - 5.00pm Wed 9.00am - 12.30pm

Thenew’s Management Committee have been considering options for either investing in the above properties or rehousing all tenants from the block and then demolishing these properties.

A decision was made at the end of last year that rather than having to invest significant sums (around £3.3 million) to bring the properties up to a modern standard, we should permanently rehouse all the tenants in to other Thenew properties and then demolish the flats.

Before a final decision was made however, the Management Committee felt it was essential to gather the views of those who were going to be directly affected, and a public event took place on 18th January of this year. The event proved to be very successful with the majority of residents understanding the reasons for this difficult decision and supporting our plans to demolish these properties to help the long term regeneration of this part of Bridgeton.

The next stage for us will be to co-ordinate the rehousing of nearly 100 households. Committee has recently agreed that a significant portion of future void properties within Bridgeton will be allocated to help facilitate the clearance of the above addresses. Whilst we recognise that this will have an impact on those who may have a transfer form in, we hope that you understand why it is necessary to give priority to those living in blocks scheduled for demolition.

Demolition of 21-61 Rumford St, 96-114 Reid St, 20-60 Franklin St 91-109 Reid St

Goodbye RenaRena Burns, Housing Assistant, in the Bridgeton Office will be retiring in August of this year. Rena will be a familiar face to many of our Bridgeton & Dalmarnock tenants having worked in our Bridgeton Office for 6 years as a Housing Assistant and also covering in Supported Accommodation for a time.

We wish Rena well in her retirement.

Dalmarnock Gala Day Friday 6 August 2010 -12.30-15.30pm

Date for your diary

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Spotlight Theatre and Dance Group currently have a disco class every Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm in St Lukes Church, Bain Street and we would like to begin a stage class teaching tap, modern, jazz and ballet to children from age 2 upwards.

The children can take part in yearly examinations and also a stage show held in the Mitchell Theatre in August.

Girls from the existing freestyle class are travelling to the Eurodance Championships in Bristol from 22nd to 26th April where they will be competing in solo and group events for disco freestyle, slow dance, hip-hop and musical theatre. The group won a 2nd and 3rd place at the December Disco Kids Competition in Blackpool.

If you or any of your budding dancers are interested in any of our classes, please contact Alexis on 07801 627 978 or alexis@spotlight-dance.co.uk

STRICTLY SPOTLIGHT

RESIDENTS FACE THE DRAGONS DEN

Those who use the Foundation Project, a service provided by the Mungo Foundation at Stevenson Street, had a busy year last year working on turning a small area of derelict land into a beautiful garden. This was so successful that they were invited to apply to the Festival of Ideas Dragons Den for funding to expand the garden project. Their entry was shortlisted to the fi nal eight meaning they had to prepare a presentation to a group of four Dragons.

They submitted their presentation at the Lighthouse, Glasgow in March and were delighted to be awarded the £300 they had asked for. The garden is intended to encourage people to make more friends through learning about gardening and eating more healthily. It is hoped that the garden will produce fruits and vegetables for the neighbours and community to use.

FITBA’ DAFT CALTON LAD SEEKS LOCAL TEAMCalling all Football coaches! Young lad of 12 is super keen to perfect his football skills with a local team. If you could fi nd a place for him on your team, please call Mary on 07742 714472.

RESIDENTS FACE THE

See Page 19 for the First Theatre Event to Take Place in Calton in Many Years!

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RESIDENTS FACE THE DRAGONS DEN

Those who use the Foundation Project, a service provided by the Mungo Foundation at Stevenson Street, had a busy year last year working on turning a small area of derelict land into a beautiful garden. This was so successful that they were invited to apply to the Festival of Ideas Dragons Den for funding to expand the garden project. Their entry was shortlisted to the fi nal eight meaning they had to prepare a presentation to a group of four Dragons.

They submitted their presentation at the Lighthouse, Glasgow in March and were delighted to be awarded the £300 they had asked for. The garden is intended to encourage people to make more friends through learning about gardening and eating more healthily. It is hoped that the garden will produce fruits and vegetables for the neighbours and community to use.

Strathclyde Police recognise that many people affected by anti-social behaviour from drug dealing and gang activity are too afraid to report their concerns.

There are several CCTV cameras located in and around the area and each camera pole has the number of that camera and the telephone number of the CCTV operators at Blochairn. Residents should be aware that should they see any criminal behaviour they can anonymously contact the CCTV operators who will turn the camera and feed what is happening to the local Police.

The Community Police Offi cers are running a drop in surgery at 83 Green Street on the fi rst Tuesday of each month from 1pm until 3pm. Please feel free to drop in at anytime during this period. The Community Team at London Road Police Offi ce can be contacted by telephoning 0141 532 5315.

Know the score, stop drug dealers in your area by calling Crimestoppers a totally anonymous, confi dential and free of charge helpline where you can report directly to the police without leaving your name or contact details. If you are reporting dealers, it’s helpful to know the name and address of the dealer, when the busiest time for dealing is and what kind of drugs are being sold. Freephone Crimestoppers 0800 555 111, available 24 hours per day

If you need help or advice about drugs, call National Drugs Helpline 0800 77 66 00

Get a plan – get a purpose - Get a life. If you are a member of a gang and want a better life, call Community Initiative to Reduce Violence 07867 970 441.

UR NEEDED AS A CRIMESTOPPER

WATCH OUT, STRANGERS ABOUTThe police were recently alerted about a bogus caller in the estate and are carrying out further investigations. We

would like to warn all residents to be very careful about who they let into their homes. All representatives of Thenew, our contractors and offi cial agencies should carry identifi cation at all times.

COMPUTING FOR SCAREDY CATSComputers are everywhere, there’s no escaping them and no doubt that they are a useful tool for anyone looking for information from availability of local services to researching your family tree. Your local

computer class, run by John Wheatley College is looking for new members. Come along to Calton Fire Station, 30 McFarlane Street, Glasgow on any Friday from 10am to 12 to join the free class for all ages and abilities.

SCOTTISH ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTHArticle by Rose at SAMH Community Directions.

The Scottish Association for Mental Health, through its Community Directions project support people who have been homeless and who have a history of alcohol misuse. They provide support to help people live independently and sucessfully in the community.

As a nice change to all the doom and gloom stories usually heard in the press about homeless people who suffer from alcohol issues, we would like to share the positive story of a man who lived in the Calton from 2004 until his recent death.

This man had a slight learning disability and had lived with his parents until their deaths in the 1970’s. After this, he spent almost 30 years in homeless hostels. In 2004 he was referred to SAMH Community Directions and secured a fl at in the Calton area where he settled into the community, making a lot of friends and enjoying socialising in a local pub. He was a member of the pub’s dominos team and helped them win many trophies. Thanks to the support of SAMH and the local community, he spent three very happy years living in Calton.

Calton Offi ce83 Green Street Glasgow G40 2TG

Tel 0141 550 3581Fax 0141 550 2433

E-mail admin@thenewhousing.co.ukOffi ce Opening Hours

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 9.00 am to 5.00 pmWed 9.00 am to 12.30pm

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Cranhill Fun Day 2010

The date has been set! Saturday, 7 August 2010. Organising the event has been ongoing since March and promises to be bigger and better. Let’s hope the weather is as good as it usually is. Remember to put the date in your diary!

Save Xmas – How?

Willie Sinclair and his team ran the fi rst Save Xmas session in Cranhill, tenants and staff heard about:

• different ways to save for Christmas• the pitfalls associated with each, and• good sources of advice and information

Feedback from the event was very positive, so much so, that tenants were keen to see further events of this nature in the future

Financial Literacy

Culture & Sport Glasgow have introduced a new service to help local residents with the ‘Maths of Money’. It’s a free service held each Tuesday in Molendinar Community Centre between 11am and 12noon and will help you to understand and estimate your bills and council tax benefi t etc. Why not go along and see if it can help you?

Blackhill Money Advice

A reminder to all Thenew tenants in Blackhill that we operate an increasingly popular independent money advice service held in Molendinar Community Centre each Monday afternoon from 1.30pm to 4.30pm.

Davie Birrell, the money advice worker is employed by North Glasgow Advice Centre and offers tenants strictly confi dential advice on a range of issues including money management, benefi ts, debt, bills and energy effi ciency etc. The project is funded by the Scottish Government through their wider role fund until 31 March 2011.

If you would like an appointment please contact the local offi ce on 0141 774 3030.

Computing for Beginners A Free Group runs every Tuesday, 10-12pm starting 11th May in Molendinar Community Centre.

You choose what you want to learn anything from downloading your photos to learning what your kids already know! You can work at your own pace.

For more information call Laura on 0141 276 0920.

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Cranhill Offi ce: 14 Ruchazie Place, Cranhill, Glasgow,

G33 3HATel: 0141 774 3030

Fax: 0141 774 3366 E-mail: cranhill@thenewhousing.co.uk

Offi ce Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 9.30am - 12.30pm and 1.30pm - 4.30pm

Wed 9.30am - 12.30pm

Cranhill Area Association’s AGM 2010

Cranhill Area Association has set the date for this year’s Annual General Meeting. It will be held in Cranhill Parish Church on the evening of Thursday, 9 September 2010 and will include an update on the year’s activities; presentation of the annual accounts; the annual garden competition prize giving and hopefully our supper. Area Association members will be contacted nearer the time with full details

Molendinar Tots & Teens

Bored, nothing to do? Get along to the Molendinar Tots & Teens Youth Club held every Tuesday in Molendinar Community Centre. The club runs between 3.30pm and 5.30pm for fi ve to nine year olds and later, between 6.30pm and 8.30pm for ten to seventeen year olds. Activities include arts & crafts; table tennis; Nintendo Wii, air hockey, snooker, X Box and badminton.

If you are interested in music the other activities available will suit you to a tee! Nothern Rock, a local band, offer lessons on keyboard and guitar skills and singing. They are currently helping record a song written by the Tots & Teens. We are looking forward to hearing this .

A New Park for Blackhill/ProvanmillThe park was a spin off of the Royston Road Project, which had run out of funds, and the Molendinar Steering Group which consisted of the Chair Person of the Community Council, Margaret McQuade, and other local members of the Blackhill Community. They lobbied the Council for funds to take over this derelict football fi eld next to the Community Centre and with the assistance of Development and Regeneration Services, the North Area Regeneration and City Greenspace some £400,000 were drawn together to transform the derelict site into a new park. The new park consists of running tracks, cycle tracks, an amphitheatre, seating areas, tree planting and generally adds to the amenity of the area which in the past had been very badly served. The area is now transforming itself through the work of the Community Council, the residents and the City Council. We look forward to the completion of the project over the next 4 months and we hope that this project is a springboard for other improvements and amenities in Blackhill and Provanmill.

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Castlemilk Offi ce: 49 Blaeloch Drive, 0/2, Castlemilk, Glasgow,

G45 9QJTel: 0141 634 7000

Fax: 0141 634 7077 E-mail: castlemilk@thenewhousing.co.uk

Offi ce Opening Hours: Monday-Friday 9.30am - 12.30pm

AGM – A Date for your Diary

This year the Netherholm Area Association will be holding its Annual General Meeting on 14th Sept 2010 – Invites will be issued to members a few weeks before then. Actual time and venue has still to be agreed but please put the date in your diary just now and come along to support your local Committee

Urban Fox Summer Programme

Future funding for the youth project is currently being discussed among the various agencies involved. Decisions should be made around the time we go to print so the Summer Holiday Activities will be published in the local offi ce as soon as they are available and certainly before schools stop!

We are always on the look-out for new people to join our lists for 2, 3 and 4apt houses and fl ats in the Netherholm and Holmbyre areas.

If you are interested in applying or obtaining further information please contact any member of the Castlemilk Team for an application form and to discuss further.

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Castlemilk Offi ce: 49 Blaeloch Drive, 0/2, Castlemilk, Glasgow,

G45 9QJTel: 0141 634 7000

Fax: 0141 634 7077 E-mail: castlemilk@thenewhousing.co.uk

Offi ce Opening Hours: Monday-Friday 9.30am - 12.30pm

We are always on the look-out for new people to join our lists for 2, 3 and 4apt houses and fl ats in the Netherholm and Holmbyre areas.

If you are interested in applying or obtaining further information please contact any member of the Castlemilk Team for an application form and to discuss further.

We are delighted that tenants in Holmbyre, Castlemilk have voted to transfer to Thenew. We currently manage these properties on behalf of GHA but from the end of June, provided the Scottish Government gives its consent, we will own the 119 properties.

In the ballot result announced on Friday 14th May, tenants overwhelmingly voted to transfer to Thenew.

Over the last few months we have been explaining to tenants in the area the advantages of transferring to Thenew and during the campaign we attended the very successful local Gala day.

This event was an example of joining together two communities which until this result had been split between two landlords – Thenew & GHA.

Other partners who contributed to making the day a success were GCSS, Urban Fox, Police, Fire Brigade, Health Spot and Carillion

The sun shone and as you can see from these pictures a good time was had by all. Thanks to everyone who came along on the day.

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£1.3 million window contract complete.506 homes have benefited from our £1.3 million investment in new energy efficent double glazed windows.

215 homes will have their windows renewed in the second phase of this contract which will be carried out by Apollo during 2010.

Tenants in the following addresses will recieve letters telling them of when this work will start.

James Street 163, 175A Dale Street 103-110 Old Dalmanock Road 31-87 Dalmarnock Road 122-202 Dunn Street 300 Bain Street 8Gallowgate 22,272-282Millroad Street 5A,5BAbercromby Street 376,388London Road 499, 505

Central Heating

100 homes are benefiting from the installation of gas for the first time.

Grant funding from the fuel change programme has been used to asist with this programme.

In addition the Association continues it’s programme of central heating boiler replacement in:

Finnart Street sandstone properties and the first properites built in Cranhill and Blackhill

PaintworkThenew intends to carry out an exteranl paintwork in Edinburgh Road, 1-5 and 39-45 Blaeloch Drive, 40-54 Holmbyre Road and internal close paintwork of the former Fairbridge Co-op stock, Kinner Road, 163/175A and 175B James Street, 18A/18B Bridgeton Cross,113 Greenhead Street, 3 & 7 Steel Street 97-107 Greenhead Street and 12 James Street

The Contract is currently beingpriced and it is hoped works will commence in July

Electric Safety

Every 5 years the Association checks your home to ensure that it is electrically safe.

This year we will be checking the properties in the following areas.

Bridgeton and Dalmarnock

Our contractor ‘Scottish Hydro’ will contact you with an appointment.

Gas

A new programme of gas servicing has just begun. Help us to keep you safe by allowing us access to check and service

your boiler.

Last year 72% of tenants let us in at first appointment; our aim this year is 100%.

Please help us hit our target and keep you safe

Contact us to rearrange an appointment to suit you! Phone 0141 550 7220Text 07919 304 119

Email technical@thenewhousing.co.uk

17

Over the last 2 years we have spent £2.7 million on installing new heating systems and double glazed windows in our stock and we will be investing some £15 million over the next 4-5 years in bringing the remainder of our stock up to the quality standard.

Bridgeton Update Starting in 2011 the 1930’s tenement stock in Bridgeton will be the subhect of a major investment programme to upgrade

• Central heating• Windows• Kitchens and bathrooms• Wiring upgrades

These works will be complemented by our cyclical programme of close painting which will follow the major renewal works and external cladding.

The programme of work will stretch over 2-3 years and we will keep everyone informed as the programme is developed.

Calton UpdateIn 2010 following on from our successful window installation programme in Calton we will be investing a further £2.5 million in new kitchens, bathrooms and re-wiring.

The process of selecting a contractor has begun and tenants involved will be contacted with details once we have apponted a contractor.

Upon completion of this work and some further work to back court areas these properties should all achieve the Housing Quality Standard in 2011.

The properties affected by this are

Abercrombie Street 227, 376, 388Crownpoint Road 10Green Street 1, 9, 19, 27,37,47,57,2,10,20,30,40Millroad Street 31,41,51,120,130,150,160,170,190,200,210,220Moncur Street 225,235,236Stevenson Street 201,211,221,231Tobago Place 10,20,30,40,11,21,31,41Tobago Street 135,145,155,175,185,195,144,154,174,184,194London Road 499,505

Electric Safety

Every 5 years the Association checks your home to ensure that it is electrically safe.

This year we will be checking the properties in the following areas.

Bridgeton and Dalmarnock

Our contractor ‘Scottish Hydro’ will contact you with an appointment.

£15 million investment to achieve Scottish Housing Quality Standard

18

Calton Seniors ForumThe Seniors Forum in Calton has undergone a re-launch in 2010 with a widened remit and more involved meetings. Their focus remains fi rmly on issues that affect older people and their quality of life throughout the Calton area. The Forum is looking to connect local older people to vital services and it plans to work with a variety of local stakeholders including the Council’s Roads Department, Police and local and national politicians and councillors to try and make improvements in the area and raise the profi le of older people in general. All the meetings, held on the 1st Thursday of each month at 35 Tureen St, are open meetings and fi rst time attendees are welcome

Calton Sheltered Housing Tenants Association Lottery Award

The Calton Sheltered Tenants have been successful in their application to the National Lottery Awards for All for a grant of £4700 to run a wide variety of activities in 2010 for sheltered tenants and older people in the Calton area-

weekly armchair exercise class, a new weekly art and craft class, a theatre outing in Glasgow, a day-trip bus run to Ayr and a Christmas party in December.

These events, combined with the regular social groups and event nights held in 35 Tureen Street promise a very busy year for all the sheltered tenants in Calton!

Neil McHarg, the chairperson of the Calton Sheltered Tenants Association, described the news of the award as “fantastic, great news for the older tenants in the Calton area”.

Bridgeton Housing Support Service

If you are a sheltered housing tenant in Bridgeton, you should have by now met Violet Milne who recently started with the Association as Housing Support Assistant. She is working alongside Dot to provide a more comprehensive support service to our older people living in our sheltered houses at Main St/Dale Path and Mackeith St. At the same time, our Housing Support offi ce moved from 71 Main St to 19 Mackeith St where we hope to continue to provide a high level of support services. The phone number for the offi ce is 554 4032 and the opening hours will be 8.00am – 4.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Monteith House

Our proposal for replacing the hostel in Monteith Row with a smaller 10 bed supported housing unit is moving forward. So far we have developed proposed plans for the new building and held two consultation events with interested parties in the local area (one of which involved invitations being sent to over 2000 local residents). Glasgow City Council has also now appointed Gowrie Care, the care agency who will be responsible for managing the project. In line with planning regulations, we are hoping to hold a further consultation event and to establish a Stakeholders Group for interested parties to hear more about the development of the project. If anyone is interested in putting their name forward for this group, contact Paola Doyle on 550 7207.

19

Calton Sheltered Housing Tenants Association Lottery Award

The Calton Sheltered Tenants have been successful in their application to the National Lottery Awards for All for a grant of £4700 to run a wide variety of activities in 2010 for sheltered tenants and older people in the Calton area-

weekly armchair exercise class, a new weekly art and craft class, a theatre outing in Glasgow, a day-trip bus run to Ayr and a Christmas party in December.

These events, combined with the regular social groups and event nights held in 35 Tureen Street promise a very busy year for all the sheltered tenants in Calton!

Neil McHarg, the chairperson of the Calton Sheltered Tenants Association, described the news of the award as “fantastic, great news for the older tenants in the Calton area”.

It’s Summer again and no doubt your garden is looking good as plants start to bloom.

Have you thought about entering your garden in one of the local garden competitions?

Cranhill & Blackhill

Committee members from Cranhill Area Association & another area will visit and look at all the gardens in Cranhill. They will then choose

the best house and fl at gardens and prizes will be awarded. This will take place in August and the prize giving takes place at the Area Association’s AGM in September.

Staff normally judge the gardens in our Blackhill area around the same time.

Residents are free to make nominations and these should be passed to staff at the local offi ce. Winners will be notifi ed in September and the lucky winners will have the prizes delivered to their home.

Calton

The Calton Area Garden Competition acknowledges the time and effort so many of you put into maintaining beautiful gardens. There are three award categories, Best House Garden , Best Tenement Garden, Best Communal Area. Entries can be made by individual nomination directly to the Area Team at Green Street and the Area Offi cers will nominate any gardens which catch their eye when they are out and about in the estate. The competition is open to both Thenew tenants and owners. Representatives of Land Engineering are invited to help us with judging which is usually arranged during

the month of July with a prizegiving ceremony in August.

Bridgeton & Dalmarnock

Our annual garden competition for both Bridgeton & Dalmarnock will be judged over the summer months. Nominations are no longer needed as staff will be out and about in your area to identify winning gardens. As usual, we will take an independent judge with us when considering winners as we know how seriously this completion is taken in our areas!!! Feel free however to contact us if you want to tell us about any garden in particular.

Castlemilk

There will be 2 prizes, one for the best garden of a main door house and one for the best garden at a fl at. There is no application to complete, just get your gardening gloves on and we’ll do the rest!

Winners will be notifi ed in early August and will be reported in our next newsletter.

Last year’s prize winners were proud of their beautiful gardens and you can see from the

photos why that was the case!

20

Scottish Government Wider Role Funding 2010Each year we apply for project funding and grants from external bodies. We have asked for help with the 2 following projects

Castlemilk Youth project

Thanks to GHA for their help this past year. The Urban Fox team are working well with local young people; some of whom want to go on with learning how to work in sports and youth activity. We have asked for funding help for this new part of the project which will allow Urban Fox to develop employment and training chances for young people in Castlemilk.

Thenew Home Maker Project

We are aware that tenants often get in to very high levels of debt when they move to a new home. Sometimes the interest charges for routine household goods such as a cooker or living room furniture are so high, they can get sucked in to a spiral of debt it can take years to get out of. So in partnership with BCD Credit Union we have asked for some support from Scottish Government Wider Role funding for a new tenants project – to help tenants get access to cheaper forms of credit when setting up their home for the fi rst time.

Grants from Thenew Housing Association to local groupsThere are wider role grants available from Thenew Housing Association for community groups who operate in the areas and communities where Thenew provides services.

We will be working closely with Calton Area Association as to how this can be best used this year. In Castlemilk, the grant is awarded to Netherholm Area Association for a variety of local events to be run by them this year and in Cranhill, the Cranhill Area Association has been awarded the full grant for the area this year. They are using the grant for a full range of family and youth activities in Cranhill

We have had no applications as yet from groups in Baillieston, Blackhill, Bridgeton or Dalmarnock.

Application forms are on our web site or you can contact Margaret Prior on 550 5940 for a form

Clyde Unity bring theatre to life in Calton We were delighted to help with sponsorship of the fi rst theatre event in Calton in Years.

When Julie Fraser’s play Maria of My Soul was premiered at Oran Mor in 2008, audiences and critics warmed to the nippy sweetie character of Doris, and were rightly touched by her situation: alone at 73, living out her days in a care home and clinging onto her memories of one precious, magical night at the Plaza ballroom.The play revived and performed by Clyde Unity Theatre was a big success when it was performed in the Masonic Hall in Stevenson Street. to an audience of over 80 people An audience discussion took place with the cast afterwards, and as a result there was a clear demand for getting the audience own stories recorded like this?

We have therefore asked for further workshops with play wrights /writers and local Calton people to develop a bit more of local Calton history.

Thanks to Mari Binnie of Culture and Sport Glasgow and also to the volunteers from the Masonic Hall who helped make this event such a great success

21

On 18th June we say goodbye and happy retirement to Margaret Prior. Margaret has been with Thenew for over ten years working in a variety of roles.

She came to Thenew as a Housing Manager at the start of the Cranhill demolition and new build and worked closely with the local Committee to achive a massive transformation in the living conditions and housing stock for those in that area:

In 2004 as Cranhill development programme neared completion Margaret took on the wider remit of managing Cranhill, Castlemilk and Calton housing teams.

Many of you will know Margaret best for her current role as Community Regeneration Manager working with a variety of groups and setting up a number of projects across our communities. She was instrumental in the development and creation of our Financial Inclusion service which in the last year has provided welfare benefits and money advice to over 250 tenants.

The Silver Surfers project – helping the older members of our communities to get to grips with the internet, are some of the more unusual projects she has been involved in but all of you who give up your time to work with local community groups will also know the time Margaret has spent helping you to develop as a group and supporting you with the projects you are involved with.

We are sure you will want to join with all her colleagues at Thenew to wish her a long and happy retirement.

Goodbye and Hello

We welcome Lawrence McCabe to the role of Community Regeneration Manager.

Lawrence took up his post in late May and will succeed Margaret Prior following her retiral.

Lawrence has a wealth of experience in this field and has held several senior appointments with different organisations.

From 2000 - 2006 he was Community Development Officer at Govanhill Community Development Trust, a subsidiary of Govanhill Housing Association, with responsibility for developing and managing community regeneration projects. These included a recycling project; and a gardening training project.

He operated as an independent consultant from 2006 and worked with a range of organisations such as; GHA on wider action project development; Action for Children on training and employability projects and Raploch Urban Regeneration Company on the establishment of a grounds maintenance social enterprise. Most recently he has been working on behalf of EVH for the Scottish Government on a major exercise promoting best practice in wider action across Scotland. On a voluntary basis he is a Director of Spruce Carpets, a carpet recycling social enterprise and Fablevision, a social enterprise involved in arts-led regeneration.

Lawrence said: “I’m very much looking forward to joining the team at Thenew and making a difference to the important work it does in community regeneration.”

22

Margaret Prior, Thenew Housing Association’s Community Regeneration Manager was nominated for the Public Service Individual Award.

Margaret is pictured here receiving her Runner Up Certifi cate along with Shaun Harper the other runner up in this category and George Hamilton of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue.

On Thursday 22nd April Thenew attended the Community Champion Awards held in the Bridgeton Community Learning Centre to celebrate the achievements of some of the people and Groups we work with.

This was a totally unexpected nomination says Betty Cosgrove Chair of the Calton Area Association and we are really pleased to have been one of the nominees for this award and our certifi cate will hopefully soon be displayed in new community fl at once we are ready to move into it.

Calton Area Association was nominated for an award by Margaret Prior to showcase their work over the past 18 months in creating an action plan for the future of the Calton Area.

23

Cranhill Chill Splash Group is a community group created by under 18’s who now runs a youth group on Monday evenings.

The group have really created a splash in the local area.

“The group to highlight their acheivements so far and it is such a pleasure to work with the group and I am proud of all that they have managed to achieve and sure this will continue in the future” Margaret Prior Thenew Housing Association Community Regeneration Manager

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners in each of the categories

Charlie Turner Thenew’s Chief Executive was delighted to attend the event and said “It was great to see many of the community groups and

indivduals that we have have worked directly or indirectly with over the past few years have their achievements celebrated at this event,

Congratulations to all those who were nominated and those who won on the night”.

24

Mon£yWelfare Rights Money Advice Financial Education M

atte

rs WHAT IS FINANCIAL INCLUSION?

From the customer satisfaction survey, it was found that quite a high number of you were unsure what the Financial Inclusion service provides.

The Financial Inclusion service covers:

Welfare Rights: help with housing benefit, tax credits, DLA or any other welfare rights claims you may have to make

Money Advice: this include advice & information if you find your self in over your head and dealing with arrears /payments to a range of creditors from fuel supply companies , catalogue debt , credit card debts, loan, and so on

Financial Education: this part of the service provides talks on various issues, such as the cost of credit, saving for Christmas, budgeting skills, Credit Unions.

These are only some examples of what we can discuss with you individually or as a group.

BENEFIT TARGET CAMPAIGNS

We will be targeting the Calton area in early June with a benefit take up campaign. We have previously carried out a successful campaign in Bridgeton. Expect letters from us and please take up this opportunity to have a benefit health check!

We will then move onto Cranhill and finally the Castlemilk areas during the rest of 2010

FINANCIAL INCLUSION TEAM

The Financial Inclusion Team has now grown to four. Ashley Frame and Susan Craig are our Financial Inclusion assistants, and we have now been joined by Lorraine Morgan who will be providing admin support to the team and will be office based She will be the main contact for our service and can be contacted on 0141 550 5944

FUEL POVERTY

Fuel Poverty is once again high on our minds with the likelihood of price increases in the not so distant future.A new project called G-HEAT got off the ground on April 1st. The aim of the project is to help those in fuel poverty, - anyone who spends 10% or more of their disposable income- on electricity and gas in their homes.

The advisors are able to provide advice on a range of issues such as reducing fuel bills, including obtaining the best tariffs, making the most efficient use of heating systems, providing help in dealing with the utilities companies in respect of billing issues, arranging benefits health checks, providing access to grants or discounts for home insulation measures. They may also be able to assist you in accessing discounted white goods (fridges etc) through the utilities schemes.

Contact them on free phone 0800 092 9002 to make an appointment or get further information.

You can also come and discuss any issue with the Financial Inclusion team who can contact them on your behalf. We have a leaflet available which will provide you with information on what different energy suppliers offer. This is available from all our offices.

©Thenew Housing Association LtdRegistered under the Industrial & Provident Societies Acts (No. 1933R(S)) and with Scottish Homes (No. HAL 193) Recognised as a

Scottish Charity (No. SC 032782)