open house summer 2014 edition

Contact the editorI hope you enjoy reading Open House. If you have any comments to make please email: [email protected]

email us: [email protected]

Large print: to receive Open House and other housing information in large print, please call % 020 8726 6100

OpenHouse

Summer gamessee page 7

Tenancy support servicesee page 5

The newsletter for Croydon Council tenants and leaseholders

ISSUE 95 • SUMMER 2014

As part of our commitment to listening to your views a postal survey is being carried out to find out how satisfied you are with your home and the services you receive from us. This important information will be used to help improve future housing services.

Approximately 4,000 tenants will be selected at random and sent the survey by Acuity, which specialises in carrying out resident feedback surveys.

If, during the next few weeks, you are one of the selected tenants who receive the survey we would very much encourage you to complete it and return it in the pre-paid

envelope supplied. There will also be an option to complete it online.

Three questionnaires will be drawn at random from those returned, and the lucky winners will receive £100 shopping vouchers each.

The results of the survey will be published on our web site and in a future edition of Open House.

Following the elections in May, Croydon has a new face of housing. Councillor Alison Butler takes over as the Labour cabinet

member for homes and regeneration, which means she has responsibility for the borough’s housing policy.

Cllr Butler, has been a councillor in Croydon, both in the wards of Waddon and Bensham Manor for more than 10 years.

She previously ran the constituency office of the late Malcolm Wicks, who was the MP for Croydon North.

Cllr Butler is committed to improving housing opportunities in Croydon.

She said: “Housing policy is not just about putting a roof over people’s heads.

It is about giving our children the best start in life, by tackling inequality and poverty, and by increasing life chances and improving health.

“If we want a town where big business invests and smaller businesses are given the opportunity to start up and grow, then we must provide decent homes, whether to rent or to buy, that are affordable for all.”

In her new role, she has pledged:

• To build new council homes

• To ensure council homes have modern kitchens, bathrooms and central heating systems that meet the best possible standards of energy efficiency

• To work with local residents to develop local lettings

plans so their community’s needs are taken into account

• To see that all new homes built, meet lifetime homes standards

• To ensure contracts for maintaining council houses deliver better value for money as well as fair pay and apprenticeships for local people

• To review our resident involvement structure

• To take action against those who don’t abide by their tenancy agreements and who make their neighbours’ lives a misery

• To explore co-operative housing solutions and tenant self-management

Cllr Butler, who is also deputy leader of the council, said: “Along with my deputy, Councillor Sherwan Chowdhury, I’m really looking forward to meeting and working with our tenants and leaseholders.

“We are fortunate to have so many dedicated residents who are keen and committed to giving up their time to improve housing conditions in the borough.

“It is also really important that we take time to engage with residents with busy lives and other commitments who don’t have the time to attend meetings.”

“Croydon has been deeply affected by the housing crisis, with lack of supply forcing too many of our families to live in poor conditions, we must work together to change this.”

Our annual performance report see page 4

Your new housing chief

Complete our star survey and you could WIN £100

Councillor Alison Butler

HH

OpenHouse Summer 2014 | Issue 952

A neighbourhood inspector callsCroydon’s neighbourhood inspector service is now into its second year. But what do they do? One of the three inspectors, Liam Joyce, describes a typical day at work.

“Early in the morning on Croydon’s housing estates you may see a lone figure walking around with a clipboard, looking in bin areas or taking pictures of fly tips. Don’t be alarmed - it’s not someone completing surveys or selling something but probably one of our neighbourhood inspectors who have been in post for just over 18 months.

“So who are the neighbourhood inspectors? Well at present the three inspectors are myself, who works in the east of the borough, Emeka Obiandu, who mainly works in the north, and Nick Mwijutsya in the south and central areas.

Improving our housing estates“As this is a new and evolving role, we are able to have a direct impact

on how it takes shape. It’s a great opportunity to make a difference and improve our housing estates.

“So what is the role of the inspector and what does s/he do? The inspector’s role requires careful planning each day as inspectors have a number of housing blocks they are required to inspect on a daily basis. In addition to housing blocks, inspectors have to inspect green spaces, used and unused garage areas and play areas. The inspection of play areas is a new responsibility of neighbourhood services and due to its potential risk the inspectors are required to carry out a visual inspection of each play area every week regardless of any other duties.

“We act as a point of contact for residents wanting to report areas of concern including repair queries and issues of antisocial behaviour such as fly tipping, littering, graffiti and abandoned vehicles to name a few. We pass these onto the wardens and to the tenancy officers.

Working together“Due to the nature of the inspectors' role much of the work undertaken

requires partnership working. Inspectors work with a number of external and internal partners including colleagues from repairs, tenancy, the warden service and area enforcement and antisocial behaviour officers. With Croydon concentrating efforts on tackling antisocial behaviour, in particular fly-tipping and littering, this partnership working is vital in ensuring Croydon Landlord Services has one approach in dealing with these issues.

“As well as careful planning the inspectors ensure all inspections undertaken are recorded and scrutinised by senior managers and other partners. This record is updated on a daily basis after inspections.

“So as you can see the day in the life of an inspector is varied, diverse and ever-changing. Let’s see what the following year brings...”

• You can report fly tipping at % www.croydon.gov.uk/flytipping

Their exclusive Your Housing, Your Questions event takes place on Tuesday, 15 July from 7pm to 9.15pm in the Community Space at Bernard Weatherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon CR0 1EA.

It will give leaseholders an opportunity to speak with the officers who provide the services they pay for.

Senior managers will explain how their service works and what it covers.

This will be followed by open question and answer sessions which will give you the chance to ask questions and discuss any issues of concern.

Which services or teams will be at the event?• The leaseholder service charges team administer and calculate the charges

leaseholders pay for their housing services and send out service charge bills.

• The planned maintenance and improvement service manages the works that keep the council’s housing in good condition, such as renewing windows, or roof replacements.

• The neighbourhood services teams keep the local area clean and tidy and are responsible for cleaning, caretaking, grounds maintenance and also the neighbourhood warden service.

• The responsive repairs service is responsible for things like repairing leaking gutters, or fixing broken doors. A new contract has just been agreed which will affect the service you receive.

• Information stands will be provided by various services, including the new responsive repairs contractor, Axis Europe, My Account and the resident involvement team

A pre-event ‘surgery’ will be available from 6pm to 7pm where residents can raise personal issues regarding services, with officers from the relevant teams. Residents are asked not to raise these in the public part of the meeting.

Refreshments will be provided on the night.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. So book your place by Friday 11 July 2014 to avoid disappointment. To book, please email: [email protected] or call % 020 8726 6100 and ask for the resident involvement team.

Exclusive Q&A eveningfor leaseholdersCouncil leaseholders are invited to a dedicated question and answer session about the housing services they receive.

The council has launched a campaign called ‘Don’t Mess With Croydon: take pride’ to clean up the borough. The campaign is calling on people to report incidents of fly-tipping and remind offenders that the council won’t hesitate to issue fines and prosecute. Three teams have begun patrolling the borough responding to residents’ reports of dumped rubbish. More on the campaign to follow in the next edition of Open House.

Summer 2014 | Issue 95 OpenHouse 3

A disruptive tenant has been kicked out of her council home following a series of complaints from neighbours about antisocial behaviour.

Joanne Cooper, aged 45, who lived at 18 Waddington Avenue, Coulsdon, was evicted by council officers on 25 March, after she lost an appeal against the decision at the High Court.

The council took action after reports of shouting, swearing, fighting, deliberate dropping of heavy objects on the floor and slamming doors.

There were also incidents of vandalism, playing of loud music, revving of car engines, her dog fouling the garden and barking incessantly, as well as up to 20 visitors congregating in her front garden day and night.

In addition, a police search of the property also uncovered approximately 10g of cannabis, scales and £315 in cash.

When the case was first referred to the council’s antisocial behaviour team in 2009, Miss Cooper’s three sons signed an acceptable behaviour contract promising to mend their ways. Their mother also agreed to stop causing nuisance.

However, the problems continued and, despite further repeated warnings, the council was left with no choice but to seek Miss Cooper’s eviction at Croydon County Court.

This was granted in September last year, a decision upheld by the High Court in February following an appeal by the defendant.

New repairs team starts work

Neighbours’ plight ends as council evicts nightmare tenant

You may have noticed there is a new repairs team on the block.

Axis was named as the borough’s new repairs and maintenance provider earlier this year and much has happened since to help the new contractor get up and running.

When the contract started at 8am on Tuesday, 1 April, a total of 800 calls were received in one day.

The first week saw 3,800 calls followed by almost 3,500 in the second week.

This was 50% more than expected and was a challenging start for the new contractor.

At first, call waiting times took longer but extra resources were quickly brought in to deal with the unexpected volume of calls.

Despite the challenges of transferring and training staff, more than 600 repairs were carried out in the first week alone.

It has bought 57 new vans, transferred 81 staff, integrated the council’s IT systems with its own and refurbished its existing 3,000 sq ft Croydon office ready to house a dedicated repairs contact centre.

As part of the new contract, a separate team has also been set up to provide a gas service for tenants.

New van fleetAxis has a shiny new low-emissions fleet of Mercedes and Ford vans

working around Croydon. As well as winning awards for fuel efficiency, the vans have an increased load capacity which means a large selection of spare parts can be carried on board for a wider range of property repairs. The vans’ greater reliability also ensures fewer missed or late appointments. The entire fleet has tracking technology installed, which provides live information to help schedulers deploy engineers efficiently across Croydon properties.

The ApprenticeAxis will be employing 10 apprentices a year, recruited locally, as part of its

commitment to contributing to the council’s community initiatives programme. Axis will also be providing work placements and volunteers for community causes. We have already advertised for this year’s intake of apprentices, who will start college in September. We will be following their progress in future editions of Open House.

Resident Repairs GuideAn updated Resident Repairs Guide is now available on request. It explains

more about the new repairs service and what is covered. To get your copy call Virginia Nieves-Pearce on % 020 8760 5768 ext. 63571 or email [email protected]

Reporting a repairReporting a repair is as easy as before, simply call % 020 8726 6101

to speak to the repairs contact centre, report via email at [email protected] or report through Croydon Council’s website.

The repairs contact centre is open to take calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the Axis office in Croydon, which is expected to field more than 70,000 repairs per year.


How Croydon Council compares with othersWe measure ourselves against a number of performance indicators and costs, and we compare how we are doing with other landlords in outer London.We present this information to different residents’ panels which make recommendations on how we can improve services. Here is a snapshot for 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.

Major works include repairs and improvements which we plan ahead such as new kitchens and bathrooms, replacement central heating, external decorations and door entry systems. Cyclical maintenance includes repairing lifts and servicing boilers. The amount of money a landlord spends on major works depends on one or two important factors – the number of homes for example, the condition of the housing stock, the types of estate and the national housing finance system. Croydon has almost doubled the amount of money we spend on major works over the past few years - which is good news for tenants.

LB Hillingdon £1,325

LB Croydon £1,520

LB Barking & Dagenham £1,662

LB Harrow £1,758

Hounslow Homes £2,235

Lewisham Homes £2,814

Haringey Homes £2,765

Enfield Homes £3,214

Sutton £4,196

Major works and cyclical maintenance costs £1,520 per property (up from £1,134 in 2011/12)

Housing management costs include staff working on the following services: rent collection, antisocial behaviour, tenancy management, lettings and resident involvement. The costs also include overheads for things like financial services, IT and office accommodation. Although our costs have fallen they are still higher than most other London boroughs. This is partly because Croydon provides extra services such as neighbourhood wardens and a specialist antisocial behaviour team.

Hounslow Homes £258

Enfield Homes £315

LB Hillingdon £327

Lewisham Homes £332

LB Harrow £336

LB Barking & Dagenham £363

Sutton £392

LB Croydon £454

Haringey Homes £508

Housing management costs £454 per property (down from £483 in 2011/12)

Our performance and costs

Sutton 25 days

LB Croydon 30 days

Enfield Homes 38 days

LB Harrow 39 days

LB Hillingdon 43 days

LB Haringey 43 days

Hounslow Homes 47 days

LB Barking & Dagenham 56 days

Lewisham Homes 64 days

Empty properties 30 days

These figures show how long it takes us to re-let our empty homes. This includes time to offer homes to people on the waiting list, and carry out viewings and sign-ups, while we repair the property and make it ready for new tenants to move in. We compare well with other London boroughs.

LB Hillingdon £11


Lewisham Homes £20

LB Croydon £22

Enfield Homes £22

LB Harrow £27

Hounslow Homes £29

Haringey Homes £45

Sutton £57

The cost of your resident involvement services £22 (down from £28 in 2011/12)This shows the annual cost of your resident involvement services (includes support for residents’ associations and panels, surveys, newsletters, resident training, community initiatives, tenant scrutiny of housing services). It is shown as cost per property.

The decent homes standard is a national minimum housing standard. The government asked all landlords with social rented homes to bring their homes up to the standard by 2010 and to keep them up to standard by continuing to repair and improve them over time. Croydon was one of the first landlords to meet this government target and the figures show that we remain a high performer in London.

LB Hillingdon 0%

Hounslow Homes 0%

LB Croydon 1%

LB Harrow 11%

Sutton 25%

Haringey Homes 28%

LB Barking & Dagenham 29%

Enfield Homes 41%

Lewisham Homes 44%

Percentage of homes failing to meet the decent homes standard 1% (the same as 2011/12)

Sutton £506

Hounslow Homes £655

LB Hillingdon £722


Lewisham Homes £958

LB Croydon £929

Enfield Homes £937

LB Harrow £970


Repairs costs £929 per property (up from £880 in 2011/12)

This shows the average cost of day-to-day repairs to council homes. We carried out an average of 4.1 repairs per property which is above average compared to other London boroughs. This year saw an increase in the number of repair jobs we did, as a result of increasing tenant demand in particular for roofing repairs.

This shows the total rent arrears owed by existing tenants as a percentage of one year's worth of rental income. In general, if the percentage is coming down we are collecting all the rent due for the last year plus some of the arrears. If it is going up then we haven't collected all of the rent due last year. Although our arrears have increased we still compare well with other London boroughs.

LB Harrow 1.3%

LB Croydon 2.2%

Sutton 2.4%

LB Hillingdon 2.4%

Enfield Homes 2.8%

Hounslow Homes 3.0%

LB Barking & Dagenham 3.4%

Lewisham Homes 4.2%

Haringey Homes 7.6%

Current arrears 2.2% (up from 1.8% in 2011/12)

The annual costs of your housing servicesThe table below shows you how each pound of your rent is spent

Capital expenditure (major improvements/planned maintenance) 32p

Maintenance and repairs 15p

Staffing (inc tenancy, income & lettings) 15p

Interest on money borrowed to build & improve council houses 13p

Communal Utilities (e.g electricity, water) 8p

Overheads (e.g. office accommodation, HR, Financial services, legal services, IT) 6p

Other miscellaneous costs (inc legal services) 6p

Caretaking 2p

Grounds maintenance, estate cleaning 2p

Neighbourhood Wardens 1p


Hoarding, antisocial behaviour, and safeguarding matters are just some of the issues affecting the borough’s most vulnerable tenants.

Three years ago, a tenancy support service was set up especially to help tenants with a range of needs, including older people, people with disabilities or other health-related issues, and troubled families.

The team of five provides information and advice to tenants about claiming welfare benefits, finding suitable housing, managing rent arrears and other council services.

Ludmila McGinty, Rachel Pankhurst, Monique Williams, Muneem Mazumder make up the team, along with Ciara Goodwin who supports troubled families.

In this article, they describe some of the cases they have dealt with, and how the support they’ve given has changed tenants’ lives.

Helping our most vulnerable tenantsCASE STUDY #2:

'PRISONER IN OWN HOME'

“One tenant came to our attention because they had a very high

level of rent arrears and were not responding to enquiries from council

staff.

“When we visited we found the tenant had been neglecting the flat

to such an extent that it had become a health and safety hazard. The

tenant was too embarrassed to even let anyone in.

“All rooms in the flat were filled with rubbish. The tenant was a

virtual prisoner in their own home which was also a high risk in the

event of a fire.

“We stepped in and blitz-cleaned the property, removing any

clutter. It is now redecorated, necessary repairs were made and the

tenant has been given the support they need to manage their rent

arrears. They were also helped to apply for a budgeting loan to buy

basic furniture.” Ludmila McGintyCASE STUDY #1:

‘THE SMELL WAS UNBEARABLE’

“One of our most vulnerable tenants was a case we found out

about following a report from a concerned neighbour. When we

visited we noticed that the floors were covered with water, their

belongings were saturated and the smell coming from the property

was unbearable. The tenant also didn’t have any electricity or gas in

the property.

“When we spoke to the tenant, we were told that the property

had been this way for almost a month and that the tenant hadn’t

reported it as they didn’t want to bother the council.

“When we became involved with this case, the property was in a

state of disrepair as no work had been carried out for a number of

years. There were many positive outcomes with this case including

a new kitchen and bathroom being fitted, rooms in the property

getting decorated and the installation of a new central heating

system.

“The tenant has also been given support claiming welfare

benefits that they were entitled to and applying for financial

support to buy essential furnishings for the property. The tenant has

been very happy with the support given.” Monique Williams

CASE STUDY #3: ‘A MAJOR FIRE RISK’

“We also have cases with tenants who have hoarding tendencies, such as one whose property was heavily cluttered with various items. Access to each room was obstructed due to the amount of clutter. This presented a major fire risk.“We now visit the tenant on a regular basis. Objectives are set and progress is recorded and monitored. Although it has been a fairly slow process, results are now beginning to show as the hallway which was heavily cluttered has now been completely cleared on one side allowing access in and out of the flat. The model deployed has now been shared as an example of good practice for others to consider when working with people who hoard.

“It suggests that general solutions such as blitz cleans can often have a negative impact on the situation particularly as the person has some emotional attachment to the items in question and that this approach is working slowly but surely.” Rachel Pankhurst

If you think you or someone else could benefit from the tenancy support service, please call % 020 8726 6100.

Call to get you involvedResidents are invited to do a spot of mystery shopping by testing out council services.

Mystery shoppers check council services by acting as customers trying to find out some information. The feedback from their checks will then help us to improve that service for everyone.

Mystery shopping is especially useful to check how easy it is to find information and the way that customers are dealt with. You will need to attend a short briefing to make sure you know what to do but previous mystery shoppers say it is quite easy. Plus, you will get plenty of support from the resident involvement team to help you carry out the role.

In each issue of Open House, we will focus on different ways residents can get involved – there are 15 in total! To get involved in the mystery shopping, and for more information about all the different options visit visit www.croydon.gov.uk/housinginvolvement or call % 020 8726 6100 for more information.

LB Hillingdon £1,325

LB Croydon £1,520

LB Barking & Dagenham £1,662

LB Harrow £1,758

Hounslow Homes £2,235

Lewisham Homes £2,814


Enfield Homes £3,214

Sutton £4,196

The housing services forum meetings provide residents with a chance to speak with the officers who manage services such as repairs, caretaking, tenancy and antisocial behaviour, rent or service charges collection.

Forum meetings take place every two months and focus on two-way discussions, where residents work in partnership with the council to look at what we do now and think about how to improve services for all residents.

Anyone can attend the forum and if you want to become a member, all we ask is that you commit to attending meetings regularly.

The next housing services forum is from 7pm to 9pm on 24 July in the Community Space, Bernard Weatherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA.

We listenAt the last housing services forum, residents

raised four outstanding repair issues, which are now complete or have been inspected. Work has also been carried out regarding street cleansing.

Housing services

forum

Complete an online

survey

Set up a residents’ association with your neighbours

Apply to join the scrutiny

panel


2Views magazine is part of the ‘All Ages’ programme which has been running since 2011 and is a joint project between Croydon Council and Play Place Innov8 Community Interest Company. This project has brought together young people(age 11 – 18), officers of the council, youth work staff and adult residents to look at ways that they can work together to try to understand each other’s points of view.

As part of this programme, 2Views magazine aims to:• Bring together a number of interesting and

informative features that will appeal to a wide range of people;

• Offer new and fresh opportunities which help people from different generations understand each other, learn from each other, work together and bridge the ‘generation gap’.

• Encourage other groups to think about developing an All Ages’ project as well.Tell us what you think about 2Views or if you would like to contribute to 2Views

- we want to hear about any interesting events and activities which are happening in local communities so that information can be included in 2Views - please email your stories, ideas or suggestions to [email protected]

An online version of 2Views is available at www.2Views.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @2viewsmagcroy or Facebook to find out more.

Look out for the summer edition enclosed with this issue of Open House!

Residents are invited to come up with any suggestions for minor improvements to the areas they live.

Anyone can put forward an idea, but it must be on land managed by the council, and for the benefit of council tenants and leaseholders.

Previous ideas for minor estate improvements have included fencing, gates, benches, signs and lighting.

Email your suggestions to [email protected] or apply at www.croydon.gov.uk.

Alternatively call % 020 8726 6100 and ask the contact centre staff to email your suggestions to your tenancy officer.

Suggestions must be returned to us by 30 September. Please note we will not be able to respond to every suggestion and

therefore will only write to you if your idea has been successful.

Parents

Morning ClubFREEParents Morning Club

every Tuesday during

term time. 9.30am -12.30pm.

Start date - 29 April 2014

(For parents and children up

to 5 years old)

• Chat with friends and

neighbours while the

children play

• Access to projects including

training and employment

support, training courses

and young peoples projects

• Parents can work together

to shape the project and

create a community hub

The council has teamed up with Amicus Horizon to launch a parents morning club.The club, for parents and children aged up to five years old, meets every Tuesday from 9.30am to 12.30pm at Queens

Community Centre, 1 Turner Crescent, Pawsons Road, Croydon, CR0 2NP.There is the chance to chat with friends and neighbours while children play; access to projects including training and

employment support; and the opportunity to work with other parents to create a community hub.To sign up please contact Theresa Rogers on % 020 8726 6100 ext 62065, email [email protected]

or come along on the day.If you would like to start a parents club or similar club in your area and you have a community building or space available

where the club could take place, contact Theresa to discuss your ideas in more detail.

2Views mag

Parents morning club launched

Stop and think, not down the sinkThink twice when you are next doing the dishes, as any fats, oil and grease could block the kitchen sink.

When waste fats cool, they congeal and harden, clogging up drainage pipes and blocking the flow of water.

It could also cause condensing boilers to stop working, as condensate waste water will have nowhere to go other than back into the boiler. This triggers a safety switch which turns the boiler off.

It is the responsibility of residents to clear a blocked sink, unless aged over 70 and/or registered with a disability. If an engineer is called out and the cause is found to be a blocked sink or drain, then residents will be charged the cost of an aborted call-out.

To safely dispose of fats, oil and grease, you can follow the simple checklist below:• Wipe and scrape plates, pans and utensils before washing

(and put the waste into a bin)

• Collect used cooking fat, oil and grease in an appropriate container and dispose of in a bin

• Use strainers in sink plug holes to catch food waste, and empty the contents into a bin

Would you like a minor improvement to your area?

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: MOMENTUM 2014 McLEAN GET FIT IN ’14!

Gymnast Edward

shares his secrets!

LIFE AS A SINGLE MUM

Gymnast Edward

shares his secrets!

LIFE AS A SINGLE MUM

2VIEWSMAG

Olympic bronze medallist

ASHLEIGH BALLon inspiration, tactics –

and lots of hard work!

Olympic bronze medallist

ASHLEIGH BALLon inspiration, tactics –

and lots of hard work!

2VIEWSMAGISSUE 4 – SUMMER 2014

2views mag.FINAL 13/6/14 1

2:04 Page 1

ACCESS TO WORKCroydon Landlord Services are offering free, confidential and impartial help for people who live in Council properties who are thinking about making changes towards a better future and would like more information or support to get started.

If you are thinking about:• returning to work or finding a job• a training course or apprenticeship• support to explore your options and formulate your ideas for training and work

We will work with you to develop your confidence to get you started.

Who is this service for?• Croydon Council tenants and leaseholders and their families, aged 18 and over• Residents living in Croydon Council temporary accommodation properties

To find out more about this service / [email protected] [ 020 8726 6100 ext. 62357 ( 07776 991 10813

1192


Summer games for youngsters

Are you thinking about returning to work or finding a job? Perhaps you’re interested in a training course or apprenticeship.

The Access to Work scheme offers free, confidential and impartial help for people who live in council properties. Our dedicated officer will work with you to develop your confidence and get you started. Read about two residents who benefitted from the Access to Work scheme:

Help finding you a better future

The neighbourhood wardens in each district are once again organising a series of free sporting events for youngsters.

The games, which include football, basketball, badminton, table tennis and rounders for young people aged between six and 14, are being held from 24 July through to 25 August.

Sessions will run between 4pm and 6pm at the following venues:

Ashburton Park, Lower Addiscombe Road; Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, Chevening Road; Wilford Road Recreation Ground, Windmill Road, Selhurst; South Norwood Lakes, Avenue Road; Shrublands multiball games court, Laurel Crescent; Tollers Lane, Coulsdon; Regina Road, South Norwood; Walton Green, New Addington; Queen Elizabeth Drive multiball court, New Addington; Walton Green, New Addington.

There is no need to book but you will be required to complete a disclaimer form.

For more information call % 020 8726 6100 and ask to speak to the neighbourhood warden manager for your area.

The Play Ranger service is also hosting a schedule of summer activity schemes across local parks.

The innovative programme is funded by the Big Lottery and provides children with play sessions supervised by qualified play workers who are trained in offering a fun and safe environment to play.

Activities will be held across estates including Croftleigh Avenue, Coulsdon; Green Lane, Purley; Handcroft Road, West Croydon; Longheath Gardens, South Norwood; Monks Hill, New Addington, Queens Road, Selhurst; Regina Road, South Norwood; Shrublands, Tollers Lane, Coulsdon and Waddon.

Play Ranger projects will be run in local parks aimed at children and young people. This includes the national Play Day event in Addington Park, which last year attracted more than 850 people, who took part in around 40 activities.

There’s no need to book – if you are aged 7 to 16 just turn up and play! Last year’s summer events programme involved more than 1,500 people. A full programme will be made available in July.

For further information contact [email protected] or call % 01689 867537.

The service is for council tenants and leaseholders and their families, who are aged 18 and over.

To find out more about the service email [email protected] or call % 020 8726 6100 ext 62357 or 07776991108.

“I am a single parent. I was interested in going back to work

but my confidence was low. “Then I read in Open House about the

Access to Work project which is being delivered by the sustainable

communities team at Croydon Landlord Services. Last December I

got in contact with the Access to Work officer Jacqueline Duffus.

“Since then I have enrolled on an IT course with CALAT

(Croydon Adult Learning and Training) and completed my Food

Hygiene level 2 and have now started a course to enhance my skills

in working with children. This is what I want to achieve as a career.

I received support from Jacqueline to update my CV and she

regularly emailed me jobs. She has also helped me with another

family issue which was getting in the way of getting into work.

My confidence has grown since last year and I would definitely

recommend anyone looking for work to join the project.”

A resident from Thornton Heath

“I am a single parent with three children and was looking for ways of bettering my life and going back out into the world of work. In February a friend recommended a back to work scheme being run by Croydon Council. I called the sustainable communities team and spoke to the Access to Work officer Jacqueline Duffus. I explained my situation and she was very understanding, helpful and easy to talk to. We talked about my aspirations to work with vulnerable families and what I hoped to achieve from the project. Jacqueline helped me with my CV and frequently emailed jobs that matched what I wanted to do. She helped me with filling out application forms and pointed me to the relevant voluntary organisations that would help me into paid employment. I took up some voluntary work which included training to work with vulnerable families.

This is doing what I love and enjoy. I feel I am giving something back to my local community and most of all I am thrilled to have been offered paid employment. I am very grateful to Jacqueline and would recommend the project to anyone who's looking to return to work.”

A resident from Waddon


Sheltered housing panel 9 July 20142pm - 4pm(pre-meeting surgery 1.30 -2pm)

Community Space, Bernard Weatherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon CR0 1EA

Exclusive leaseholder only eventYour Housing, Your Questions (Advanced booking required)

15 July 20147pm - 9:15pm (pre-meeting surgery 6.30 - 7pm)


Tenants and leaseholders panel 22 July 2014 6.30pm Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX

Housing disability panel 23 July 20142.30pm - 4.30pm (pre-meeting surgery 2 - 2.30pm)


Housing services forum 24 July 20147pm - 9pm(pre-meeting surgery 6 - 7pm)


Talking about adult social care 24 September 2014 10am – 3.30pm Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon CR9 1DG

Your Housing, Your Questions(pre-meeting session 6.30 - 7pm)

7 October 2014 7pm - 9:15pm Addington Community Centre, Central Parade, New Addington CR0 0JB

Tenants and leaseholders panel 15 October 2014 6.30pm Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX

Always check to confirm dates and venues, as these can change at short notice. You may also be able to reclaim travel costs to meetings by completing a claim form (supported with receipts). For any further information, or to confirm meeting details, contact the resident involvement team on % 020 8726 6100 ext. 62954 or visit www.croydon.gov.uk/housing/residents/whatsnew

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2014

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To keep up to date with the latest news and information from the resident involvement and scrutiny team and to find out more about your housing services and how to get involved and have your say, sign up to receive the e-newsletter - Involve at www.croydon.gov.uk/subscribe. You can also subscribe to the Your Croydon eBulletin and receive a free monthly email that’s full of news and information about your borough.

Tenants and leaseholders are being called upon to suggest the next subject for review by the council’s housing scrutiny panel.

The panel is currently conducting an in-depth scrutiny exercise of the neighbourhood wardens service, the results of which are due to presented in July.

It is looking for the next area to scrutinise and would welcome any suggestions from tenants and leaseholders.

Contact Chris Crossdale, the chair of the housing scrutiny panel, with your recommendations on % 07940 233566 or email [email protected]

It is important that you include your reasons for the area that you have chosen to help the panel make an informed decision.

We listenSince the last scrutiny

exercise, which looked at part of the income service, all of the 21 points on the action plan have been completed, or are in progress. This is a fantastic result for the panel, the income teams and you as service users.

The completed actions include increasing the number of home visits, improved training for officers on things like welfare benefits, and providing budgeting advice as part of initial assessments.

What would you like scrutinised?

More and more residents are now accessing housing and other council services online.

My Account is an online tool that allows you to:

• Pay rent

• Contact your income/tenancy officer

• View and print rent statements

• Review your balance

• Report a housing repair

You can also access a range of other services such as reporting fly-tipping,

graffiti, missed bin collections and dog fouling.

In addition you can book bulky waste and white goods collections, as well as order new bins and recycling boxes.

There are currently 35,000 registered users of My Account, of which more than 2,000 manage their rent online. We have received approximately 4,500 reports of fly-tipping, 350 graffiti reports and 450 dog fouling reports.

If you’re not already doing so, sign up now – it’s free – at www.croydon.gov.uk/myaccount. Registering is easy too, simply click on the ‘Create account’ button and complete the online form.

My Account – online housing services all in one place

If you have a smartphone, there is a faster and easier way to report issues to the council thanks to the launch of a new smartphone app.

The My Croydon app allows you to report to the council a variety of problems.

These include abandoned vehicles, blocked drains and gullies, dead animals, dog fouling, fly-tipping, graffiti, illegal campsites, illegal street trading, potholes and road defects, skip issues, street furniture issues and tree or hedge obstructions.

The app, which is compatible with iPhone and Android devices, can be downloaded from www.croydon.gov.uk/app. (For iPhone you need to have iOS6 upwards)

My Croydon – the app for reporting issues

open house summer 2014 edition

Documents

new council homes

new homes

croydon council tenants

housing information

housing opportunities

new face of housing

future housing services

decent homes