NEWS Spring Edition 2016

In this edition...

• New homes for delighted Tenants • Bringing services to you - Consultation • £11m spend this year on your homes • Join us on Estate Walkabouts Tonya with her beautiful dog - “Our brand new house is so lovely”

www.sbha.org.uk Tel: 01750 724444

SBHA Welcomes New Director, Henry Coyle Delighted Tenants move into their new homes at Stonefield and Deanfield, Hawick SBHA has appointed Henry Coyle as Director of Assets and Property Services. From Peebles, Henry has over To welcome them to their new homes, staff from SBHA and SBTO visited the new twenty years experience in the social housing sector. Tenants with some Easter treats. Henry comments - “SBHA has a strong track record of working with Tenants and I look forward to working in partnership with Scottish Borders Tenants Organisation to continue to improve repair and maintenance services and ensure that we deliver great places to live. This year we will develop new ways of working with Tenants to address issues that matter to them, with a strong emphasis on improving communal areas and open spaces.”

Getting involved in decision making

SBHA has recently recruited new Board Members. We would like to welcome Julie Black (left), David Gwyther (centre) and working in your community John Montgomery (right) to SBHA’s Board of Management. David Dixon, Hazel Clayton, Robin Hill and Phillip Morrison- Gale have also been recruited onto the Housing Services and Thomas, Lynn and daughter Morgan, Technical Services Sub-Committees. pictured above, and right with Linda Wood listening to tenants from SBHA, said: Julie Black “we are loving our new home, and pictured with her son McRae how energy efficient the houses enjoying an Easter egg are, especially having the solar panels.”

Julie, a Tenant member from Jedburgh says, “I expressed an interest in SBHA’s decision making process and I am looking forward to getting involved and making a real difference for Tenants and the services they receive from SBHA. I’d like to encourage more young families to become involved, as SBHA is much more than just a landlord.” For more information on opportunities to get involved, contact Alison Notman, Tenant Participation Manager on 01750 724444 or [email protected] Iga pictured with her son Victor (left) in Stonefield said: Rent Consultation - what you told us.... “we love our new home, and are looking We asked you to tell us your thoughts on our proposed rent increase of 2.6% - thank forward to the playpark being built for you to everyone who answered our telephone survey and who sent us their feedback (the the children of Stonefield.” winner of the £50 voucher is on page 6). 93% A lot of you said that you wanted us to focus on making your home easier and more affordable to heat, and in 2016-17 we are going to felt their rent was good Value for Money spend £4.1million on this. Your rent pays for all of the services you receive from SBHA, including the 24 hour Emergency Repairs Service, Repairs 85% Appointments, Tenancy Support and Advice and our £11 million about thoughtwas the Home Investment programme. low increaseor too 2 right 3 Creating Great Places to Live What’s on Site - £11 million Investment in your Homes and Community Galashiels ~ 45 Kitchens Peebles ~ 327 Bathrooms You said... your priorities are making homes easier to heat; improving the 7 External Wall Insulation external appearance and surrounding Estate. 5 External Wall 4 New Build Insulations Kelso ~ 73 External painting We did… Borders-Wide Energy Efficiency Improvements This year £4.1m is earmarked specifically for energy efficiency improvements. We are currently applying external Innerleithen ~ Newtown St Boswells ~ wall insulation to 5 of our homes 3 External Wall 142 External Painting in Peebles (pictured left) which will Insulations be followed by 3 in Innerleithen. We have St Boswells ~ also 122 External Painting completed a similar Hawick ~ project on Jedburgh ~ 7 homes 55 Kitchens Creating great places to live 98 External Painting in Langlee, 139 Bathrooms Galashiels 48 External Painting 34 New Build (right)

We did… External Painting HELP Project The 2015-16 programme is just coming to an end with the next Home Expenses: Work is starting on 4 new works due to start in homes soon. We plan to spend over £700,000 Lessening the Pinch build homes at Torwoodlee, on making your homes look great this financial year. Pictured below (right) is the finished result at Howden Road, Jedburgh. Galashiels

We did … Keith Goodfellow, Development

Creating great places to live Estate Improvements Officer (pictured You asked us to target our money on right) said: improving estates, so we have completed the external surveys, allowing works to “It’s great to improve your Mike Wagner pictured with Nicola McIlwraith be part of the estates to start have secured funding for SBHA for another year team providing this year. of the HELP project. This means we continue to work with Changeworks new homes in to give you advice on reducing your household the Borders.” bills. You can get advice on: • Changing to a cheaper tariff; • Saving energy; • Making your home warmer; • Reducing condensation; and Also, a first in Scotland, we used drones to take aerial • Lowering household food costs. photographs of properties in order to carry out maintenance For advice, please contact SBHA or inspection works, giving us more detailed results and Changeworks direct on 0131 468 8665 or saving time and money. email: [email protected] Street Elevation of the 4 homes at Torwoodlee 5 4 Information for you Estate Walkabout ~ join us!

TENANTS CONTENTS Tenants are working with our Staff to make changes to their estates, see examples INSURANCE below of things Tenants have changed for their area, things that are important to them. Damage caused by flooding can cause such upheaval. SBHA is responsible for your property; • Langlee, Galashiels Tenants - decorated communal area and stairwell by SBHA you are responsible for your carpets, flooring and and repaired pathways in the Estate. contents. Pictured is flooding in the Borders this • Church Road, Hawick Tenants - SBHA put up additional bins to reduce dog year. We fouling and cleared the area of mess. encourage all our Tenants • Silverbuthall, Hawick - SBHA cut back trees and shrubs making a pathway more to have open. Contents Insurance to What do you want us to improve avoid having in your area? Join us on Estate to pay to Walkabout. replace your possessions. opportunities to get involved Contact: Susan Falconer, Housing Officer and Colin Thistle Tenants Risks on 0345 450 7286 or email Sandilands, Maintenance Officer (right) work in [email protected] or visit their the Selkirk Area and say: website: www.thistletenants-scotland.co.uk “We’d love for Tenants to come

information for you ‘Tear off and Tell us’ with us on estate walkabouts, just Winners come along!” Gas Susan and Colin are inspecting Bannerfield £50 Winners, drawn from the last few Serving Drive and surrounding streets on Thursday 12th ‘Tear off and Tell us’ surveys on the back May and will meet you at the shop at 10.30am. page are Susan Piper from Galashiels and Repairs (left) and Margaret Russell from Peebles. All of SBHA’s gas servicing and repairs are now being undertaken by Richard Irvin Energy Other Estate Walkabouts Solutions. As usual, all of our contractors will carry ID which you can check when they arrive. Meet at May 2016 Who To report a repair, you should now contact SBHA Broughton Wednesday 11th, 10.00am Amy Taylor direct on our 24 hour Freephone repairs line (Springwell Brae) 0800 0193 222. Galashiels Wednesday 18th, 10.00am Lisa Pegg If you smell Gas contact Scottish Gas (2-12 Croft Street) immediately on 0800 111 999. Galashiels Wednesday 4th, 11.00am Shirley Whillans (65-75 Balmoral Avenue) Galashiels Wednesday 11th, 10.00am Kath Menzies Thank you for completing BMG’s (Wood Street Garages) CONGRATULATIONS ... Tenant Satisfaction Survey Galashiels Wednesday 18th, 11.00am Roger Postle to the following Tenants who returned (St John’s Church,Hawthorn their Repairs Satisfaction Slips and won £200 Winner Drive, Langlee) the monthly draw of £25 Store Vouchers: St Boswells Thursday 26th, 10.00am Leigh Gilfether Thank you to all Tenants who (Jenny Moore’s Road) Draw Winner completed and returned their November 2015 Ms D Rodger, Walkerburn Tenant Satisfaction Survey. Kelso Thursday 12th, 11.30pm Helen Bulman (foot of Grovehill) December 2015 Ms L Hislop, Selkirk Katrina Rabbitt from Hawick, pictured with her grandson Jedburgh Tuesday 24th, 2.00pm Bev Richardson January 2016 Mrs P Rae, Hawick Jayden, is BMG Research’s (Blair Avenue Flats) lucky £200 Winner, drawn February 2016 Mrs A Sheldrick, Kelso Hawick Wednesday 18th, 10.00am Irene Sparkes out from all returned Tenant (bottom end of Fraser Avenue) 6 March 2016 Muriel Davison, Jedburgh Satisfaction Survey forms. 7 Tear off and Tell us ......

Bringing Services to You - Consultation £50

We will shortly be able to offer you more choice in how you receive services from us. Things are being modernised, we already have text-messaging, and are working on self- service so you can pay your rent, report and monitor the progress of a repair on-line. One of the biggest changes is that Housing Management and Technical Staff will be working in the community more, with less time spent in offices, reducing Area Office opening times to the public to deliver this. They will also have the IT to deal with your query in your home. So you can still come in to see us, come to a local Surgery near your home, phone in, or we can come to your home!

In this Tear off and Tell we want your views on these proposed changes:- (Please circle whether you Agree or Disagree)

1) I’d like to see more Staff working in my Estate/Area Agree Disagree 2) It would make things easier for me if Staff came to my home for an appointment Agree Disagree

3) Set days to drop in to see the Staff in my area, e.g. local surgeries, would work well for me also Agree Disagree

4) I’d like to attend the next Estate Inspection and meet Not Interested with Staff to improve my area. Interested 5) I feel reducing the area office opening times to enable Staff to be out in the Estates is a good idea, Agree Disagree

6) Do you have any other comments about our plans to modernise services and bring the service to you?

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Please return to: SBHA, South Bridge House,Whinfield Road, Selkirk, TD7 5DT

8 Registered as a Scottish Charity - No. SC030751