Avon Area PanelAnnual Review 2013/14

Introduction

Welcome to the Avon Area Panel Annual Review for 2013/14. This booklet outlines some of the things the Panel have been involved in during the last 12 months.

Over the last year we have developed our Local Priorities and worked with Radian staff to improve services to residents. We have produced this leaflet to tell you about what we have achieved and what we have funded in the Avon area.

If you would like further information on the Area Panels or would like to apply to become an Area Panel member please contact Stephanie Stanley on 01425 485011 or visit our website: www.radian.co.uk

Lorraine ThompsonChair, Avon Area Panel

Your Area Panel

Radian’s four Area Panels (Avon, Rother, Solent & Thames) were established in late 2010 to give residents a stronger voice in how local housing and community services are provided and can be improved. The majority of members on each Panel are residents.

As well as helping improve services for residents, Area Panels are an important voice on many aspects of local housing and community priorities, including improvements to housing stock, development of new homes and issues of design and adaptability. The Panels also make decisions on funding applications for Life Improvement Grants, Community Grants and Kick Start funding. You can read about some of the projects we have funded later in this booklet.

The Avon Area Panel covers over 2200 homes in the regions of Bournemouth, Christchurch, New Forest, Salisbury, Isle of Wight, Poole and Totton.

Avon Bournemouth Christchurch Isle of Wight New Forest Poole Salisbury Totton

Solent Eastleigh Fareham Gosport Portsmouth Southampton Test Valley Winchester

Thames Aylesbury Vale Bracknell Forest Guildford Reading Slough South Bucks Windsor Wokingham Wycombe

Rother Basingstoke Chichester East Hampshire Hart Havant Rushmoor

• Ringwood

• Eastleigh

• Petersfield

Windsor •

Who are your Area Panel members?

Lorraine Thompson - Chair (Resident) - “I value the opportunity to be Chair of the Avon Panel and became involved in order to make a difference in the community. From working with Shared Owner residents to tackling anti-social behaviour, as a Panel we look at the different services Radian provides and work with staff to make improvements. We work hard as a Panel but it is very rewarding and a lot of fun!”

Sarah O’Mara - Vice Chair (Resident) - “I joined the Area Panel because I have always had an interest in providing good customer service and identifying ways to improve this service. I would also like to help people who are having a difficult time by identifying ways that may improve their lives.”

John Branscombe (Independent) - “I am delighted to be a member of the Avon panel. Radian has a strong vision with clear objectives and a highly professional work ethic that really appeals to me. I love working with people and teams and strongly believe in equality, fairness, doing the right thing and doing it right! I work to assist Radian, its staff and tenants in progressing and solving various ‘day to day’ and longer term issues.”

Gaynor Sawicki (Resident) - “I have been a resident of Radian for sixteen years now and for the last fourteen years I have been involved in various committees. Two years ago I was lucky enough to become a member of the Avon Area Panel. I find that the meetings I attend are interesting and informative and the Panel members are always striving to improve the quality of life for all residents.”

A big thank you to Patrick Kimber, Tim Evans and Michael Luckie who have recently stepped down from the Panel. Thank you for your time and the commitment you gave the Panel.

Your Local Priorities

Each year the Area Panel looks at how we can improve services toresidents and develop what we call ‘Local Priorities’. This year we set three Local Priorities which were to:

• Increase residents knowledge of how to tackle Anti-social behaviour (ASB) and what local agencies can do to help.

• Look at service charges locally and how these are devised.• Increase interaction with residents in the Avon area through

Area Panel members joining Community Involvement staff on door-knocks.

Read on to find out what we’ve done...

Increase residents knowledge of how to tackle Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) and what local agencies can do to helpThe Avon Area Panel regularly review customer satisfaction for the area and use this information to prioritise which services to work with. Satisfaction with Anti Social Behaviour was a subject discussed and along with the Community Safety team the Panel felt it could be improved, from this we developed an ASB Conference. The aim was to promote what Radian can do to help residents suffering from Anti Social Behaviour and what powers other organisations, such as the local Council or Environmental Health, have.

The event, held at the RNLI in Poole was attended by Radian residents. They met with Radian’s Neighbourhood Officers and the Community Safety Team who deal with high level Anti Social Behaviour.

There were presentations giving helpful advice and demonstrations from Dorset’s Environmental Health Team who played samples of noise nuisance they had recorded to demonstrate how it can impact on people’s lives.

Feedback from those who attended was really positive with one resident commenting on their evaluation form that they “found the information extremely helpful and think that all aspects of ASB was covered”

Your Local Priorities

Your Local Priorities

Look at service charges locally and how these are devisedFollowing on from local focus groups held with residents in January 2014, the Area Panel decided to look at service charges as there were some concerns around how they were devised.

The Panel used a case study of an area in Hythe to map out how the service charges were put together and what the breakdown of the charges were. A resident from Hythe met with a representative from Radian’s finance department to run through the charges and explore how they were compiled.

The matter was resolved in Hythe and the Panel continue to monitor the satisfaction results relating to this matter.

Increase interaction with residents in the Avon area through Area Panel members joining Community Involvement staff on door-knocks.Meeting residents and hearing their feedback is very important to the Area Panel. It gives us a chance to experience first hand what residents feel about Radian and how we can improve the service locally.

We worked with the Community Involvement Team to plan door-knocks in the Avon Area. We chose the areas based on feedback from Neighbourhood Officers and used a ‘Community Insight’ tool which maps out areas based on census information including unemployment, health and crime.

We wanted to visit areas that may not have had door-knocks in the past. Feedback from residents we have met so far has been very positive and we look forward to meeting more residents over the coming year.

Grants & Funding

Community GrantsThis year the Panel awarded a total of £14,480 to local community projects through the Community Fund, including the following:

• The Totton Carnival was awarded £500 to assist their community event which gives voluntary work experience to young people. The Panel also awarded £200 towards the town centre Christmas lights committee to brighten up the shopping area and bring a festive feel to the community.

• New Forest Academy received £1000 to help provide materials and tutors for their summer school, which allows students to take part in sports and creative sessions as well as cooking healthy lunches and learning about making right food choices.

• St Michaels Community Centre in Salisbury received £1500 to provide a café for local families, which includes a support service offering benefits and housing advice. We also supported Little Acorns Toddler Group with £1650 to provide a regular weekly session and summer events.

• The Food Friendly Club offers sessions on low cost, healthy cooking. In response to need identified within Radian’s Community Investment Plans, they received £2280 to provide workshops in Salisbury and Totton.

Grants & Funding

Community Grants• £1000 was awarded to Action For Children to support the

Blackfield Neighbourhood Centre, providing some much needed storage equipment for the centre and supporting play schemes during the summer holidays.

• We supported various projects for young people in the Avon area. Turn Up For Fun (TUFF) received £1,350 to run activities for young people in Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Lymington and Brockenhurst. Amesbury Development Centre for Young People in Wiltshire were awarded £1000 to provide positive activities to engage young people, increase opportunities and reduce ASB. Life Education Wessex were funded £1500 to provide health and drug education using their interactive mobile classrooms at schools. The Unit – which is run by Salisbury City Council and provides drop-in services for 13-19 year olds was awarded £1000 for a project for young people to design and create a mural.

• We also supported: Poole Quarter Residents Association with £750 to provide two fun days for the community; Street Watch with £250 to purchase a tablet PC to record their patrol reports and improve communication with the local police; and Damerham Village Fair with £500 to provide a community event in a rural area.

Grants & Funding

Life Improvement GrantsLife Improvement Grants are awarded to specific projects that are designed to improve security or improve the environment in areas where we have homes. In 2013/14 the Area Panel approved grants to the following projects:

• Installation of a mesh over the open areas of an underground storage facility at a block of flats in Liberty Way, Poole, to prevent damage to items stored there.

• Putting up a new fence in Buckthorn Close, Totton, to protect gardens surrounding a green area and allow children to play there without disturbing residents.

• Creating a new patio at a property in Poole so that residents with disabilities can access and enjoy the garden in their wheelchairs.

• Improving security and access to a block of flats in Great Mead Park, Lyndhurst, by installing a new intercom and door entry system.

• Creating a new secure bike storage area at a block of flats in Newfoundland Drive, Poole, following a number of bike thefts from the previous storage.

• At Cormorant House in Poole the bin store was frequently being damaged by strong winds and the door was often left open and unlocked. A new hard-wearing galvanised metal gate was installed to improve security and allow residents to see inside before entering.

• Installing a new roofed bin store at Flaxfields End in Fordingbridge, to resolve issues with bulky items being dumped in the previous one.

• Supplying audio monitoring equipment for the Avon area office to allow quicker and more effective monitoring of anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance complaints.

Our Annual Budget

Radian also support the Panel by providing a budget to help us perform our duties and support local residents. Some examples of how we use this money include supporting local projects, Life Improvement Grants and hiring venues to meet with local people.

Here is a breakdown of our spending for the last two financial years:

Description 2012/13 2013/14

Carers Allowance 649.85 489.50

Subsistence & Expenses 4104.95 521.99

Mileage 830.48 1093.70

External Courses / Conferences 3243.37 9167.50

Refreshments & Catering 1046.87 190.00

Consultancy Fees 9510.00 0.00

Advertising 60.00 90.00

Life Improvement Grants 12355.69 19792.55

Community Grants 5715.00 14480.00Kick Start Funding 900.00 600.00

Grants & Funding

Kick Start FundingKick Start Funding is awarded to young residents aged 11-18 to assist in taking up a new hobby or learning a new skill. In the past year we have awarded funding to:

• Provide piano lessons to a young person with learning disabilities to help them to engage with others and increase in confidence.

• Enrol a young person into a local rugby club and provide sports equipment for them to compete. This has improved their ability as a rugby player and increased their confidence both on and off the pitch.

Tell Us What Is Important To You!

We need your feedback about what matters to you and your community to help us set local priorities for the coming year.

You can tell us what is important to you in a number of ways:

• Email the Area Panel at chair@avonpanel.co.uk

• Complete an Online Comments Form on our website by visiting www.radian.co.uk and clicking on ‘Contact Us’

• Contact the Avon Community Involvement team on 0300 123 1 567