MattersNeighbourhood Issue 9: Spring 2020 Your safety is our priority La Ciotat communal room transformed Queen’s Square refurbishment complete Garden Competition 2020 is now open Hello... I have been with Homes in Sedgemoor for Bridgwater Central almost 5 months and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the organisation, Burnham-on-Sea, Highbridge, getting to know our fantastic staff and talking Brean and Berrow to you, our customers. Cheddar, Axbridge and Thank you to everyone I have running has taken longer than North Sedgemoor Villages spoken to, your comments planned and we are still about the organisation were ironing out some issues around very positive and where customer service. Once these Hamp, North Petherton and things could be improved, have been resolved, I hope the South Bridgwater Villages you pointed this out to me. service will be slick with Highlights for me in recent minimal inconvenience to you. weeks were joining our I also want us to review the La Ciotat House community engagement team choices we offer you for and customers at the Cheddar kitchens and bathrooms. Christmas party, joining Laura What we do in the future will from our lettings team and Mrs form part of my work with the Sydenham and the Levels Solomon at a viewing of a very Board of Homes in Sedgemoor nice bungalow, joining for part of the Same Day Repairs Woolavington, Puriton and Customer Scrutiny Day and, Polden & Parrett Villages finally, hearing about proposed changes to our services at a sheltered housing consultation Corporate News event at Dunwear House. I also enjoyed spending a couple of hours working in the lounge at General Higgins House where I was made to feel very welcome. ‘Back at the office’ I have met with most of our maintenance contractors and have joined our surveying team inspecting new kitchen and bathroom installations. In the last 6 months we have started two new Resource Reg. No. 2110 contracts for works like these and other things like roofs. Getting these contracts up and 2 to agree a new strategy for the organisation that will take us up Bridgwater Central to 2023. The Board has a key part in setting this strategy and it is great that a third of the Board (3 persons) is made up of customers to ensure that your voice is heard at the top table. The strategy needs to set our objectives for the next three years and a clear path to achieve them. These are very important for your safety so please do respond Lastly, I wanted to say that your to the letters so that we can safety in our homes is our undertake the checks. As part of number one priority and I have this wider safety work the Fire spent a significant amount of my Brigade held a simulation VPCC first five months understanding exercise at Westfield House what we do and how we can to help train their firefighters make our homes even safer. for a potential fire in a high Hampers You may well receive requests rise building. This kind of from us to visit you and exercise is very worthwhile We supported Haygrove undertake things like gas and and I hope something that School students to electrical safety checks. we repeat in other areas. create hampers Thank you to everyone who is involved and sorry for any for Victoria Park inconvenience caused. Community Centre. I very much look forward to Chilton Trinity School also got meeting more of you in the involved after Haygrove SENCO coming months and to Mr Handel introduced the working with our great team initiative to them a few years of staff to provide the services ago. Students and staff from that you want. both schools went above and beyond to make some brilliant hampers which were filled with generous donations such as Peter blankets, foods, toys, books, clothes, DVDs and much more. Peter Hatch With the help of Year 9 Chief Executive Haygrove students, the hampers were loaded onto a kindly donated Falcon Vehicle Solutions van and Your New Neighbourhood Matters taken to Victoria Park Community Centre in You may notice that your Neighbourhood Matters looks a bit Bridgwater, where the students different. We have consolidated the ten local versions of your old then helped volunteers sort newsletter into this new-look, thicker edition, but without losing any through the donations. of your community news. We’ve gone from ten, 4-page newsletters, The organisations that to one, 16-page newsletter, filled with interesting news, photos, benefited from these generous information, and not forgetting, your favourite word search. donations to the community You’ll receive your new Neighbourhood Matters three times a year, were Foodbank Bridgwater, and between newsletters, we’ll keep our social media platforms and Bridgwater Salvation Army, website brimming with news and events. We are really excited about Homes in Sedgemoor and your new Neighbourhood Matters, and we hope you love it! Headway Somerset. Neighbourhood Matters Issue 9: Spring 2020 3 Burnham-on-Sea, Highbridge, Brean and Berrow Scam Awareness After customers reported different scams across Sedgemoor, Angi, Community Enabler, arranged a series of scam awareness presentations, educating people on scams and sharing helpful tips of what to look out for and what to do if you are a victim of a scam. If you feel you have been receiving scam or nuisance calls, you can ask your telephone line provider to set up a call blocker advised by Trading Standards. You can also report them to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, and register with the Telephone Preference Service on 0345 070 0707 to Queen’s Square help prevent unwanted calls. Don’t forget, if you have uninvited strangers at your door asking to check your home, let Refurbishment the local police know on 101. work. During the project, we also For more information on We’ve been busy scams presentations, call the improving the block of replaced the roof and removed several redundant chimneys. Community Enabler team on flats at Queen’s Square, 0800 585 360. Highbridge. To complete the modernisation, we pointed all the brickwork, The front and sides of the repaired and replaced the building were suffering from damaged concrete lintels and stress related issues which replaced the windows, bringing required some major structural life back into the building. More Parking in Highbridge We hope you love the extra Did you car parking spaces at Kiln Drive, Highbridge, which know... were created following the 29 customers attended our extension of the existing car scam presentation park, by Alun Griffiths Ltd. 4 Neighbourhood Matters Issue 9: Spring 2020 Cheddar, Axbridge and Penn Close North Sedgemoor Villages Refurbishment Penn Close communal hall is a hive of activity during the week, with a number of activities going on, including coffee mornings, bingo and Flexercise. But over time, the carpet, which was a Cheddar Valley Foodbank light beige, became stained. Laura, Community Enabler, visited the Cheddar Valley Residents asked Sue, Homecheck organised for MD to replace a Foodbank and donated some Coordinator, if they could have stained worktop. toiletries to replace some of the carpet cleaned. But the The residents had to give up the stolen items, following a carpet was too badly marked, their activities in the hall for break-in in December. so Sue organised to have a new the week, while staff emptied carpet laid. the hall and the carpet was Antisocial Behaviour Sue took some samples up to the laid and then the furniture in the Community coffee morning, so residents was returned. Residents have Our Neighbourhood Team could choose the colour, and they since said they are thrilled is working with partners to chose a lovely ruby red. Sue also with the result. address instances of antisocial behaviour where we can. Although these are really difficult times, all residents are asked to be respectful of their neighbours and keep their noise to a minimum - it’s worth remembering not everyone likes your taste in music or wants to hear you sing at the top of your voice! We are also aware that home isn’t a safe place for some. If you have concerns about your own safety, that of a neighbour or child please let us know or contact one of the other key organisations. Your actions could save a life. Thank You Did you Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Christmas celebrations at Victoria Park Community Centre, Webbington know... Hotel and YMCA George William Centre. 108 customers We can issue Foodbank attended across the three celebrations from a range of vouchers via our Customer locations across Sedgemoor. Services Team. Neighbourhood Matters Issue 9: Spring 2020 5 Hamp, North Petherton and South Bridgwater Villages Same Day Repair Scrutiny The HiS Scrutiny Group joined us at the lovely Canalside Conference Centre in Bridgwater to look at our Same Day Repair service. We are proud to offer an award winning service and it is important to us that we work together with customers to continually improve our services. The group, who are all HiS customers, supported by Jane Eyles, Tpas (Tenant Engagement Litter Pick Experts) Associate looked at what works well and what not While we were out and about for our regular so well and have made a few recommendations that we will Walkabout, we also teamed up with Together Team look to implement over the South, Sedgemoor District Council, councillors and coming months. various community members to hold a litter pick. The group will work alongside us to test the improvements Despite almost being blown away by the wind, we all managed to and we will update you fill several bags of rubbish from all over the estate.