E-bulletin January 2010

Happy New Year and welcome to our latest Chief Executive and Chairman's e-bulletin.

We aim to bring you the top stories from plus dane group and to demonstrate the real impact that our neighbourhood investor philosophy is having on the ground. We hope that you enjoy reading our e-bulletin. If you have any comments, or would like to find out more about our work, please contact us.

Best wishes

Ken Perry                                                                                  John Pollard
Group Chief Executive                                                                Chairman
ken.perry@neighbourhoodinvestor.com                                john.pollard@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

New worklessness pilots

Plus dane group recently established two new worklessness pilots to support tenants and residents into education, training and employment in the Everton and Liverpool 8 areas. The latter scheme will run for 12 months and focus on the Windermere Green area of Princes Park Ward in Liverpool 8. Ian Brereton from the Liverpool City Council Streets Ahead Team is based in the Park Road office and can be contacted on 08001692988.  Ian has specialist knowledge of the local labour market and of the employment sectors operating in the Liverpool 8 area. 

The Everton Ways to Work pilot is in conjunction with Job Centre Plus and will be providing named officers for all housing associations to work with. The officers will be based within the housing associations where possible, in addition to a range of community venues.  Contact Paula Thompson on 0151 955 4286 for details. Both services will provide a wide package of support for local people.

Heath View nears completion

The first residents have move into our new £6.3m extra-care facility, Heath View in Congleton. Heath View offers the opportunity to combine an independent lifestyle with 24/7 access to care & support. It comes complete with a bistro, hairdressing salon, health and well being suite, and extensive gardens. An official grand opening ceremony, with a celebrity guest, is planned for mid-March. In the meantime we wish the tenants the best of health and happiness in their new homes.

Praise for Safer Homes scheme

The Safer Homes initiative, led by our Enterprise team, has so far exceeded its targets. The project received £90,000 funding from the Home Office and aims to reduce crime and the fear of crime for people living in Liverpool 8. As well as fitting 400 homes with spy holes, safety locks and other devices, it provides training for three long-term unemployed people as well. The team aimed to complete 100 homes by the end of the 2009, but actually managed 119 – thanks to the efforts of the trainees, who gave up some of their planned holiday time to work right up to Christmas. We have been delighted to receive phone calls from customers praising the team for their polite, professional attitude.

New service launches for plus dane group

Two new services, both funded by Supporting People grants, were launched by plus dane group this month. Both were won after a highly competitive tendering process. The Generic Floating Support service is for up to 120 clients in Liverpool. The service can support vulnerable people who have a home and need assistance to maintain their independence. The service can help people improve their life skills, manage and reduce debt, access health services, education and employment opportunities, as well as basic support such as setting up utility accounts. For further information contact John Foster on 0151 703 2074 or john.foster@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

Our new Young Offenders service will enable young people who are at risk of offending to access and sustain suitable independent housing while refraining from criminal activity. The service will provide a minimum of 20 units of floating support at any one time. For further information contact Emmanuel Mensah at emmanuel.mensah@neighbourhoodinvestor.com.  

Support for struggling homeowners

Housing Minister John Healey has urged struggling homeowners to seek early help, take control of their finances and avoid repossession – pledging extra government support to help them stay in their homes. Liverpool, Knowsley and Halton are on the government’s list of 56 ‘repossession hotspots’. As the government’s HomeBuy Agent for Cheshire & Merseyside, HomesHub is working with Local Authorities to manage a record number of Mortgage Rescue cases. With 15 completions to date and 46 live cases, HomesHub is offering expert guidance and support to struggling homeowners across Merseyside.

Free impartial advice is available at www.direct.gov.uk/mortgagehelp or from the National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.

HomesHub is already working with a number of different housing associations and is actively seeking new housing association partners to help deliver Mortgage Rescue in Merseyside. For further information, please contact Ben Clay, HomesHub Project Director, on 0151 708 4612 or at ben.clay@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

Awards round-up

The plus dane sponsored World in Princes Park, delivered in conjunction with Brouhaha International, was named as winner of the National Association of Neighbourhood Management (NANM) Award in the Best Local Economy category. The judges praised the event for having a hugely positive impact on the local community and economy.

Our group-wide Beat the Chill campaign, which tackles fuel poverty and promotes winter warmth and wellbeing to both our customers and the wider neighbourhoods, has also been shortlisted for the Tenants Participation Advisory Service Awards 2010 Northern Region. It is up for the Best Practice in Supporting People Award, and the winner will be announced on 3 February 2010.

Plus dane group rises to the challenge during cold snap

The recent snowbound conditions presented severe challenges to all of us. Our offices in Merseyside and Cheshire were forced to close or have revised hours during the worst of the weather, but emergency call services remained in place, and staff went the extra mile to ensure our customers were safe. In Cheshire, colleagues travelled out in plus dane 4X4 vehicles to deliver emergency supplies to sheltered accommodation schemes, and in Merseyside, our INES team worked very hard to clear pathways of snow and ice. Our more vulnerable customers were also contacted individually for a wellbeing check. Although we were obviously left with something of a backlog of routine repairs to catch up on, a concerted team effort resulted in superb business continuity under very difficult circumstances.

Sampson is on the move!

Plus dane’s penguin, Sampson the Neighbourhood Hero, is on the move. Sampson, who was sponsored as part of Liverpool’s Year of the Environment, attracted many admiring glances as he stood in a prominent position on Lord Street in the city centre. When the penguin parade public art project comes to end this month, Sampson will continue to be the centre of attention, with relocation to Cheshire. He is likely to be seen out and about at various neighbourhood events.