Major Improvement Works Improvement Work to Flats at Alder and Heather Court in Atherstone Went Underway During 2018 Seeing Completion of the First Phase
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North Warwickshire Borough Council January 2019 North Warwickshire Borough Council Tenants’ Newsletter Major Inside... page 3 Garden Competition results page 6 Improvement Maintenance News page 11 Borough Wide Works See page 2 Tenants Forum Building Stronger Safer Communities 2 How to contact us Garden competition You can contact us for a general enquiry in any of the following ways: • by telephone: 01827 715341between 8.30 and 17:15, Monday to Friday winners • by writing to us at The Council House, South Street, Atherstone, Warwickshire, CV9 1DE • by visiting us in person at The Council House Welcome to between 9 and 17:00, Monday to Friday • by email: [email protected] your winter • through our website: www.northwarks.gov.uk If you wish to report a repair, contact us by edition of telephone on 01827 715341, by email or through our website. Tenants Link If you require an emergency repair outside of normal working hours (8.30 to 17.15) you can report this by telephone on 01827 718086. We would like to wish you a Happy New Year for 2019 This newsletter provides information on Housing Services, work of the Borough Wide Tenants’ Forum and TENANT HANDBOOK good news stories. If you would like to view the Tenant Handbook please visit www.northwarks.gov.uk/handbook If you have any ideas that would The Tenant Handbook provides important interest other tenants or any good information on living in one of our homes. It sets news stories you would like to include out in brief your main rights and responsibilities as in the next edition, please contact Julie a tenant, what you can expect North Warwickshire Richardson Borough Council from us as a Tel: 01827 719402 landlord and how you can Email: julierichardson@ TENANT contact us if you HANDBOOK northwarks.gov.uk need further I look forward to hearing from you. assistance. Major Improvement Works Improvement work to flats at Alder and Heather Court in Atherstone went underway during 2018 seeing completion of the first phase. Essential works have been carried out by art contracts whereby the roof has been changed to a new pitch roof. Installation of replacement windows and the application of external wall installation have been carried out by the contractor, Westville. Building Stronger Safer Communities www.northwarks.gov.uk North_Warks_BC northwarksbc 3 Garden competition winners Thank you to everyone who entered our summer garden competition. Once again entries were all to a high standard, making judging really difficult. Members of the Borough Wide Tenants Forum came to our rescue to help judge the five categories in the competition. After a difficult decision winners were chosen. We would like to thank all those who took the time to be part of the competition and for the hard work that goes into the entries. Congratulations to our winners who all received prizes of High Street Vouchers. Winner Mr Smith from Grendon was chosen as first prize winner and Mr Lile from Maxstoke received runner up for entering their colourful front gardens into the competition. Runner Up Building Stronger Safer Communities www.northwarks.gov.uk North_Warks_BC northwarksbc 4 Runner Winner Up Mrs Spencer from Coleshill received Mrs Miller from Chapel End was chosen 1st prize for her rear garden design. as runner up for entering her rear All of the flower beds and borders garden into the competition. All plants in Mrs Spencer’s garden are well used by Mrs Miller in her garden are stocked with various selected shrubs, ‘rescue’ plants that have been used to flowers, fruit and vegetable plants. produce the colourful display. Winner Runner Up Mr Gosling from Coleshill received It just shows that you can use household 1st prize for his colourful flower objects for planting your favourite flowers containers with runner up prize to make them fun and decorative! going to Miss Carter of Atherstone for her unusual ideas and imaginative containers. Building Stronger Safer Communities www.northwarks.gov.uk North_Warks_BC northwarksbc 5 Winner Runner Up Mrs Payne was chosen as 1st prize winner Runner up prize for his vegetable garden for her entry into the vegetable category. All went to Mr Gee from Baxterley. Mr Gee is a of Mrs Payne’s vegetables are planted in pots keen gardener and enters the competition and containers making them easier for her each year with a wide range of vegetables. to tend. Mrs Payne enjoys cookery and has Mr Gee takes pride in his garden and has grown over seventeen different vegetables had people contacting him to ask for his including a selection of herbs to use in her advice and tips on how to grow better recipes. vegetables. Winner Winner Mr Tweed and Mr Johnson from Coleshill were awarded 1st prize for Finally our young gardener prize was tending the community awarded to Oliver Carter for his flower garden and taking pride in where they live. basket and for his efforts helping out in the family garden. Oliver has a small Mrs Beckett from Fillongley received runner area of the garden to look after and up for replenishing and maintaining flower enjoys taking out the weeds and helps planters to brighten up the communal to plant new flowers. Well done Oliver! garden around the flats. Building Stronger Safer Communities www.northwarks.gov.uk North_Warks_BC northwarksbc 6 Maintenance News Every year the Housing Division Properties at Delves delivers improvement programmes Crescent, Wood End, before impro for the Council’s properties. Our vement work programmes are based on the Government’s Decent Homes Standard which considers the age of components and their condition. Programmes include heating upgrades, roof replacements, improvements to kitchens and bathrooms and the provision of new windows and external wall insulation. We are aware from the feedback that we receive that some tenants welcome the work that we propose and are impatient for it to be done. Others are concerned about the upheaval which is understandable. We would like to thank everyone who agrees to have improvement work done in their home for their co- operation. We will continue to have work programmes in future years to improve heating systems, replace kitchen and bathroom facilities, install new roofs, upgrade electrical installations and provide external wall insulation. We are also going to start a programme of works to refurbish our blocks of flats. Whilst we have a contractor to undertake the improvement works we also have a designated Surveyor who looks after the programme. That Wood End, after work means if you have any concerns or Delves Crescent, problems you can contact one of the Council’s team. Building Stronger Safer Communities www.northwarks.gov.uk North_Warks_BC northwarksbc 7 Electricalfor electrical safety tips Government statistics show DON’T take electrical appliances NEVER drill holes or fix nails into that electricity causes more such as a hairdryer or radio into walls or partitions without knowing than 20,000 fires a year - the bathroom. Water carries what is hidden behind them. Walls electricity efficiently and when the and partitions conceal electrical almost half of all accidental two mix, the result can kill. cables, gas and water pipes. A UK house fires. Each year, cable and metal detector will help about 70 people are killed DON’T use a bulb with a higher identify the presence of concealed wattage than specified on the and 350,000 are seriously cables and metal pipes. lamp. Using a bulb with a higher injured due to an electrical wattage than required for a light ALWAYS make sure that accident in the home. fitting will increase the risk of fire. straighteners are switched off and unplug when not in use, left in a By taking a few simple steps, you DON’T trail flexible cables under safe place and that the cable is not can vastly reduce any risk to you carpets, rugs or across walkways. wound around the straighteners. and the people you live with. Not only are they a major trip This will reduce risk of an electrical hazard, but also a potential fire DON’T overload sockets by fire. Take care when using risk. Repeated stretching and plugging in more than one piece straighteners as they can get hot treading on the cable may damage of electrical equipment at a time very quickly and increase the risk the cable insulation. as this could cause overheating. of the user suffering burns. If you do not have enough sockets DON’T try to force a foreign 2-pin Finally keep safe, look out for and need to use an adaptor, use plug into a 3-pin socket as this can danger signs when using electrical a bar adaptor which does not put cause danger of electric shock or appliances: pressure on the contacts in the fire. Always use a convertor plug socket. when using an appliance which • Frayed, cut or damaged leads has a foreign plug. Where possible • Cracked or damaged cases on DON’T leave TVs, videos and this should be a short term plugs or appliances DVD players and music systems solution and you should look to • Burn marks on plugs, leads or on standby. By switching off all change to an appliance which has appliances appliances when not in use you a British 3-pin plug. • Blowing fuses will not only save money on your • Loose cord grips in plugs or electricity bill and conserve energy, NEVER leave drinks or other appliances but will reduce the risk of an liquids on or near electrical electrical fire. appliances such as a TV. If spilt, the liquid could drip into the appliance DON’T leave a lap top turned on which could cause a fire, as well as when not in use as it can overheat giving you an electric shock.