nc news - october 2012

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Autumn Issue: Oct 2012Created by New Charter

tenants like you

newsYour NEW LOOK magazine from New Charter

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ALSO INSIDE: Our SWAT team is here tohelp support you through the changesALSO INSIDE: Our SWAT team is here to

The benefit changes arealmost hereFind out how you'll be affected onpages 4-6

Let us help you stay afloat

Young residents win silvermedal at RHS Tatton

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Emma gets ‘keys to herdoor’

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Improving our telephoneservices

8094A_New Charter_newsletter_v6__ 27/09/2012 13:26

Residents like you come together to form theCustomer Communications Group (CCG).The group has played a major role in improving thismagazine for you and here they tell us about it…“Like you, we found the old newsletter corporate.Wewanted it to be more interesting for us, so we decidedto do something about it.“We’ve changed the newsletter into a magazine, whichwe hope you’ll agree is much brighter, friendlier andeasier to read.“We’re all from different neighbourhoods andbackgrounds, and have different things to bring to thegroup.“We’d love to know what you think of the newmagazine. Contact us on 0161 331 2470 or [email protected], or why not join us? We’dlove to welcome some new faces to the group.”The Communications group meets with staff every fewmonths to review the last issue of the magazine andget involved in creating the next issue.

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Look for this icon:If you have a smartphone youcan also find moreinformation on our websiteby scanning this barcode witha QR code reader app.

The Communications team at New Charter writes your newsletter. You can contact them on 0161 331 2470.

Welcome to your new magazine!

Your Customer Communications Group

We’ve developed the site withcustomers in mind andhave listened to thefeedback you’ve given us.Find out more on page 13…

You can also contactus through your TVWe have just celebrated one year of Looking Local, ourinteractive digital TV service for customers. You can viewavailable properties, find out about upcoming events andmuch more.Sky: Channel 539Virgin: Channel 233Online:www.lookinglocal.gov.uk/newcharterhousingtrustYou can then access our pages through ourQuick code 246For more information, just give us a call.

Why not visitour website?

Members of the group are involved indifferent things in their communities.Here Belinda and Lez tell you whatthey’ve been doing recently…

As a local resident, I’ve offeredsome inspirational ideas for theCasablanca development site inStalybridge.We hope it will bean exciting and uplifting newhub for the town. Architectsare now coming up with someideas, and we’ll tell you moresoon. See page 18

are now coming up with some

Our neighbourhood putforward a bid to the ‘YouChoose’ scheme run by thecouncil. We were awarded£1,900 to provide us withSamba equipment and trainingso that we can perform in ourChristmas lantern paradewhich ends up at Dukinfield Town Hall.

they’ve been doing recently…

which ends up at Dukinfield Town Hall.


ContentsMoney matters 4-6

Customer survey results 7

Your gardening stories 8, 9 & 10

Emma gets keys to her door 11

Tenants say ‘bonjour’ to a newexperience 11

Changes to our telephone services 12

Your new website 13

New Charter Academy news 14 & 15

Plans for your neighbourhoods 16 & 17

Animal welfare 17

Development news 18

Your Tenant Management Team 19

Food Glorious Food event 20

How we’re doing 21

A helping hand for you 22

Events and classes 23

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facebook.com/newchartergroup

Don’t forget, you can also followus on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter: @newchartergroup

Development news p18

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New Charter’s offices will beclosed on Tuesday 23rdOctober for staff training.

You can still report anemergency repair on the dayby calling 0800 027 0828.

Offices will be open as normalon Wednesday 24th October.


There are lots of changes comingas part of the Government’sWelfare Reform programme…

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• Your Housing Benefit will be reduced ifyou have a spare bedroom in your homeand you are of working age.This is beingreferred to as the ‘bedroom tax.’

• Benefits will be capped at £500 a weekfor families and £350 per week for asingle person.

• Universal Credit is coming – a newbenefit combining Jobseekers Allowance(JSA), income based employment andsupport allowance, housing benefit,income support and tax credits - all intoone payment.

• You’ll no longer have the choice to haveyour Housing Benefit paid direct toNew Charter (your landlord). Instead,you will have to make sure you pay therent yourself to New Charter.

• For most people, Universal Credit willbe paid monthly in arrears.This meansif you claim at the beginning of themonth, your benefit will be paid to youat the end of the month.

• There will also be changes to CouncilTax Benefit locally.This is currentlybeing debated by the council.

This may sound daunting,and it is…It’s going to be a difficulttime for so many of us,but remember we’re hereto help.

MoneyMa££ers


So ‘SWAT’S’ it all about?

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To help you through the changes,we have created a SpecialistWelfare Reform AdviceTeamcalled SWAT. They are here tooffer advice and support you, ifyou are affected by the changes.

The SWAT team are out and about inyour neighbourhoods, helping people toaddress the impact of under-occupancyand look at ways we can help you.Tofind out when we are in your area, visitour website or ask in one of our Hubs.

There may be some difficult timesahead, but remember SWAT’s onlymission is to help you.

Here are some common questions andanswers which we hope will help you…

DOWNSIZING

Question: What is under-occupancy?Answer: This is when you havemore bedrooms in your home thanyou need, based on the rules set bythe Government.

Question: What is downsizing?Answer: Moving to a smallerhome (still suitable for you/yourfamily).

Question: What are theadvantages of the downsizingscheme?Answer: Downsizing will offer youthe opportunity to move to ahome which is still suitable foryou/your family, but will help youfinancially.

The scheme aims to help tenantswho will be affected by thebedroom tax and those under-occupying their homes. Thescheme is as flexible as possibleand we will look at each caseindividually.

Question: What is Homeswapper?Answer: This is where a tenantexchanges their home with anothertenant anywhere in the country.This service is free to ourcustomers and Homeswapper canhelp you find the property youneed.

Question: Why would I useHomeswapper?Answer: We have long waiting listsfor our homes. By usingHomeswapper you can sometimesfind your dream home and movethere more quickly.

TWO’S COMPANY

Question: What isTwo’s Company?Answer: An exciting new schemeto help people share a home with afriend and make bills moreaffordable.

Question: What type ofproperties will be used for theSharing Scheme?Answer: Two bedroom flats andmaisonettes are ideal for sharing.

Question: What are theadvantages of Two’s Company?Answer: Your bills will be sharedbetween you and your friend.The scheme is attractive to thoseaffected by the Government'schanges and people on lowincomes.

Continued on page 6

The SWATTeam

You may have received a personalised postcardlike this from the team


LODGING

Question: If you will be affectedby the bedroom tax, have youthought about taking in a lodger?Answer: You could be affected bythe bedroom tax and could lose upto 25% of your Housing Benefit.For example, if your rent is £85per week, it would mean youwould lose £21.25 per week.Themoney you receive from a lodgercould help you pay the differencefor your spare bedroom and allowyou to stay in your home.

Question: Why take in a lodger?Answer: Lodging can be appealingif you work full or part time andhave a spare bedroom.Tenantswho pay full or part rent can gainextra income from lodgers, ofwhich up to £4250 per year will betax free. (Lodgers cannot be directfamily members).

If you find the changesconfusing and needhelp, contact theSWAT team on0161 331 2000 [email protected] can also visit one ofour Hubs- we're here tohelp.

Universal Credit ….it’scoming sooner than youmay thinkUniversal Credit is coming toTameside in April 2013 - that’s onlya few months away and it’ll soonbe upon us.This is happening six monthsearlier than elsewhere in thecountry, for people claimingbenefits for the first time.Claims will have to be made andmanaged on line. If you don't haveaccess to the internet, there willbe other ways to claim.We’ll let you know as soon as weknow.

What you can do:• Post your views on our blog at

www.newcharter.co.uk – sharingyour story might help you andothers in similar situations

• Tell your friends and neighbourswhat is happening and supporteach other

• Get yourself ready for thechanges – don’t leave it too late.We’re here to help

There are many ways youcan pay your rent to us:• Payment card at the Post Office,

Payzone or Paypoint outlets• Direct debit• Standing order• Credit or debit card over the

telephone 24 hours 7 days aweek

• Online (www.newcharter.co.uk)• Send a cheque to us

NEED HELP???

Need help applying forwelfare benefits?

Contact the WelfareBenefit Team on:0161 331 [email protected]

Need debt advice?

Contact the DebtAdvice Team on:0161 331 [email protected]

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Welfare Reform

If you are experiencingdifficulties paying your rent,you must contact your NewCharterAccount Managerimmediately on0161 331 2215.

YourAccount Manager willbe able to help you resolvethe problem before itescalates.We’re here for you.

Please remember it’s yourresponsibility to ensure yourrent is paid.

HAVE YOU EVERFALLEN BEHIND

WITH YOUR RENTPAYMENTS?


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News round up

Tea party fun for 350 residentsAround 350 people from our sheltered schemescame together for one of the biggestparties in town.

Residents were invited to a special teaparty hosted by us, to help them get toknow each other and make new friends.You may have even been there yourself!

Everyone was treated to an afternoontea and entertainment from The KathleenDoherty School of Irish Dancing andsinger Erick Erickson, to celebrate theQueen’s Diamond Jubilee year.

TheVictorian-themed event was held atNew Charter Academy in August.

Around 350 people from our sheltered schemes

tea and entertainment from The Kathleen

Residents enjoy their afternoon tea (from left,Jacqueline Myers and Brenda Knowles)

Everyone had agreat day out!

The party in full swing

We’re pleased to tell you that once again yourfeedback has told us we’re delivery a greatservice for you.

Each year, we ask a research company to carry out a telephone survey to ask youwhat you think of our services.

This year we’ve been given an overall rating of94% customer satisfactionThis means that we keep the same result from last year - our best ever rating!

A BIG thank you to all of you who took the time to answer the telephone survey- your feedback is reallyimportant to us as it tells us what we’re doing well and what we need to improve on.

During this survey, you told us about a few things we need to look into, including neighbourhood services andlistening to your views more.We’ll be working hard to improve things in these areas, and our neighbourhoodplans work should help with this, (see pg 16). It’s good to hear that 90% of you who answered the survey aresatisfied with the quality of our repairs and maintenance work.

All tenants who completed the survey were entered into a prize draw to win £150 supermarket vouchers.

Well done to our lucky winner, Ms Raggett of Denton!

Great resultsfrom you


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Your gardening stories

Not quite the Olympics, but nevertheless, it’s asilver medal to be really proud of.Young gardeners from our communities volunteered morethan 200 hours of their time outside school to design andbuild their show garden which was exhibited at the RHSFlower Show at Tatton Park in July.

The group of 50 children aged from 8 to 16 workedtirelessly for six months to create handcrafted mosaics,decorative pebbles and willow weaved animals for theirmasterpiece garden titled:‘A year in the life ofDreamScheme.’

Designed and built by the youngsters, the 10m circulargarden was divided into sections to represent the fourseasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

The children presented their garden at the show and talkedto hundreds of visitors, including the press and a famousface from Coronation Street!

They received lots of brilliant comments including this onefrom soap star, Sue Nicholls:“I love to see what thechildren do.They work so hard and they are all so lovely.”

The young people are members of ‘DreamScheme’, a youthproject run by New Charter which allows young residentsto take part in safe and organised out of school activities,by offering rewards in return.

Many of the children have volunteered on gardeningprojects on their estates. They collect rewards for theirwork which they can exchange for fun days out as a group.

Young residents win well deservedsilver medal at RHS Tatton!

Children watering and preparing their garden

Young people with Coronation Street Star, Sue

Nicholls and Linda Sidebottom, New Charter’s

regeneration officer

Children celebrate their silver medal


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Once again, you didn’t fail to impress us withyour beautiful gardens during this year’s NewCharter garden competition.We saw many wonderful sights and heard some reallyinspiring tales.

Judging took place during July and with so manyentries this year, it took two days!

This year, the competition saw some regular facesentering, but it was great to see some new greenfingers on the scene too.This great variety resultedin a really enjoyable and interesting competition.

When judging, we took the bad weather intoaccount as the heavy rain caused several blooms tosuffer. The weather didn’t dampened your spiritsthough! It was great to see that everyone was still soenthusiastic and standards were just as high as usual.

Senior judge, Emma Wilson, Director of communitiessaid: “I was once again overwhelmed by the standardof gardens in our communities. Calvin Marchant, aged 14

Irvin Chappel in Dukinfield

Your gardens wereblooming as always!

“It’s an absolute delight to have the role of judging thecompetition, but deciding on our winners was a toughdecision as each and every one of the entries wasworthy.

“Our overall winner was however so impressive, Ihave never seen anything like it - a real hidden gem!”

The winners this year were:Vick Ashworth for his ‘Individual Display’ onCentral Estate.Ashurst Gardens won ‘Best communal garden’and New Charter Academy student, CalvinMarchant, aged 14 , also caught the gardeningbug scooping ‘BestYoung Gardener’ for hiswork here.Irvin Chappel won ‘Best individual garden’ andwas also crowned ‘Supreme Champion’ for hisgarden in Dukinfield.

Well done and a big thank you to all whoentered this year.We look forward to seeingyou and your gardens again next year!

blooming as always!Gardencompetitionnews


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In Bloom newsWell done to everyone who took part in thisyear’s North West In Bloom competition.There were some fantastic entries this year

with so many residents in your communitiestaking part.The bad weather did present somechallenges, but that didn’t stop your gardensfrom looking bright and beautiful. We hearjudging was very difficult this year.All winning entries will be awardedcertificates and trophies at the awardceremony in Southport this month. Everyone

is eagerly awaiting the results…We’ll tell you how everyone did in thenext magazine.

Green Charter updateWhat have we been up to?It's been rain, rain and more rainwith the wettest May and June onrecord. But we haven't let thatstop us!

Grass cuttingWith the very wet conditions, our teams havestruggled to cut all the grass to our standard,however we saw some better weather in August andSeptember which helped the teams get up to dateand cut all grass to high standards.

You can see some more information on ourperformance on page 21.

You may have noticed the teams are in the processof pruning all hedges and shrubs. During the summer,we have done a ‘light prune’ to keep hedges andshrubs off footpaths, but we will follow this up withmajor pruning during winter, when the hedges andshrubs are dormant.

The teams are also changing…We are pleased to tell you that a member of oursummer seasonal staff, Shane Sandbach has now beenpromoted to a full time gardener in the Ashton area.

We have also invested in more training anddevelopment for the team, so that we can keepimproving the service for you.

We are still a new service, so we know that weneed to keep making improvements. Remember,you can play a big part in this by becoming oneof our Green Charter monitors.

Information from our monitors is reportedback to management who make sure thatany issues are looked into and that we areproviding the best possible service.

For more information about GreenCharter or becoming a monitor, pleasecontact Les Crowther, Green CharterManager on 0161 331 3627 or [email protected]

Children learn to gardenwith our residentsResidents from Ashurst Gardenswelcomed pupils from Broadoak and HurstKnoll Schools to their communal garden.The children enjoyed an outdoor workshopwhere residents showed them how to createtheir own hanging baskets.They also enjoyedexploring the garden, watering the plants andlearning about growing, recycling and theenvironment.The youngsters displayed their baskets in theirschool gardens and have invited the residents tovisit them in their own green spaces.visit them in their own green spaces.

In Bloom news

Ann and Anne from Ashurst Gardens withsome

of the school children

Green Charter update Children learn to garden

More gardening news


21-year-old Emma Wilde has beenhanded the keys to her first home aftercompleting our ‘Keys to your door’programme - a new course designed tohelp young people manage a tenancy.Emma was the first person to secure a homefollowing the eight week course.The course is aimed at 18 to 25-year-olds who havenever lived in their own home or held a tenancybefore. People must complete at least five of theseven key sessions, two of which are compulsory andbased on managing your money and being a goodneighbour.Other sections are optional and involve training infirst aid, cooking healthy meals and support withgetting back into work.Emma has also been successful in getting part-timework at a nursing home and hopes to train tobecome a youth worker. She is also helping NewCharter to set up a support group for new young

tenants and furtherdevelop the ‘Keys toyour door’ programme.Emma said:“Keys toyour door has reallyhelped give me thatstep up to manage myown home. Thebudgeting sessions arehelping me to managemy money and thepractical sessions havehelped me to learnnew skills. I feel reallysettled and wouldrecommend the scheme to any young personwho wants to get set up in their own home.”The course doesn’t guarantee a home at the end ofit, but it is designed to make sure that when a suitablehome becomes available, young tenants are ready tomanage their home successfully.The second Keys toyour door programme is now underway.

New Charter was successful in gainingEuropean funding for an exchange programmewith the Association Montigny International inFrance.The project allowed tenants to share knowledge andskills with residents in France on ‘healthy lifestyles andattractive neighbourhoods’.The project started inNovember last year when six resident volunteersfrom our communities were chosen.They had weeklylessons in French.In June this year they visited fellow residents inMontigny, (a town near Paris), where they had healthycooking lessons from a professional chef and alsoexperienced French culture.Our residentsalso representedNew Charter atevents with theMayor andDeputy Mayors ofMontigny, andpresentedinformation abouttheir volunteerwork to largeaudiences.

In July, theresidents fromMontignyvisited us.Theygot involved inplanting dayson estates andpreparationsfor In Bloom.They alsoattendedlocal events and visited ouryoung people’s garden atthe RHS Tatton show.

Residentsthoroughlyenjoyed theprogramme andmade many newfriends.They arecontinuing to keepin contact by email and Skype.Theexperience has provided our residentswith the confidence to share their ideaswith the wider community.

Emma gets ‘Keys to her door’

Tenants say ‘bonjour’ to a new experience

local events and visited ourlocal events and visited our

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Residentsthoroughlyenjoyed theprogramme andmade many newfriends. They arecontinuing to keepin contact by email and Skype. Theexperience has provided our residentswith the confidence to share their ideaswith the wider community.with the wider community.

Residents enjoyinga farewell meal together

recommend the scheme to any young personrecommend the scheme to any young person

Emma outside her home

Residents visiting the mayor inTameside


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If you have telephoned us inthe last 12 months you mayhave noticed some changesin the way we deal with your

calls - hopefully animprovement.

We talked to many customers and you told us:1) You want your calls to be answered the first

time you ring2) You didn’t want to ring lots of different

numbers for different services3) You want a great standard of customer

serviceSo, what have we done?We have brought together the teams who answeredyour calls on repairs, lettings, and general queries toform one big team called ‘Connect’.Connect now handles all your calls in one place.

The team can deal with all your different enquiriesincluding repairs, antisocial behaviour, lettings and anyother questions you may have.We now also have the facility to listen back to calls,so that we can learn from any mistakes and keepimproving our service. Every month, our managerstalk through feedback with the team to let themknow what they’ve done well and what we need toimprove on.We’re already seeing positive results with 30% morecalls answered first time, and 9 out of 10 of yourqueries answered on the first attempt.

Single Number 0161 331 2000Your feedback told us that having many differentnumbers is confusing and you would prefer tocontact New Charter using just one number.We have listened to you and are moving services to asingle number: 0161 331 2000.This is the existingnumber for our switchboard, which many of youalready use.

If you have telephoned us inthe last 12 months you mayhave noticed some changesin the way we deal with your

calls - hopefully animprovement.improvement.

We talked to many customers and you told us:We talked to many customers and you told us:

Connect: Your New Customer Service Team

Sometimes things go wrongat home outside of ourworking hours, and you need‘emergency help’ from us.It could be a serious water leak,power cut or another problemwhich puts you and your familyat risk in your home.We gathered lots of feedbackfrom you on this service and youtold us that we needed toimprove things.We listened toyou and started making plans tochange things.From the 28th August, NewCharter is providing this service.Our own staff are now on call tohelp with your emergency calls24 hours a day.

The team answering your callshas access to all the informationthey need to help you.

Meet the team

Keeping in touch with us

New Out of Hours Emergency Service for youNew Out of Hours Emergency Service for youTo access the service, ring0800 027 0828 between thehours of:

- 6pm-8am Monday to Fridayand- All day Saturday and Sundayand Bank Holidays


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Keeping in touch with usYour new website is here!

In August, we launched our brand newwebsite and we hope you like it!It is much brighter, easier to use and quick to findinformation.The main area for customers is the 'Customer Zone',where you can easily pay your rent, request a repair,find a home and much more.We'd love to know what you think.Here’s some information on the new site…

www.newcharter.co.ukWant more information or want to tell uswhat you think? Contact theCommunications team on 0161 331 2131or email [email protected]

This is the new home page forwww.newcharter.co.ukClick on ‘Customer zone’ – this is whereyou’ll find pretty much everythingyou need.

This is the home page for the CustomerzoneIt’s easy to view available properties on the new website.Click on the ‘Find a home’ tab, go to available propertiesand select ‘click to view what’s available.’ You can also log into your account here to bid on properties. Remember –you can request a repair on the website by following theclear ‘Request a repair’ link.

If you’re a leaseholder, there’s a section of thewebsite with information for you - againfollow the link from the Customer zone page.We also now have a calendar to show youthe events and classes which are coming up.You can find this by clicking on the ‘Events’tab. Hope you find this useful!

Customerzone

Find ahome

Requesta repair

Calendarof Events


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New Charter Academy studentsstepped into the shoes of BlueBadge tourist guides as theydesigned and performed anexclusive tour of the RoyalExchange theatre inManchester for family andteachers.

Pupils from the NewCharter Academy tookguests on their own journeythrough time called‘Welcome To Our Space’. Ittook two months to create

with support from experts at the theatre.

The young people took to the main stage toact out scenes from the bustling tradingmarkets of the old Cotton Exchangethrough to the day in 1996 when the IRAbomb hit Manchester. Guests were alsotreated to a behind-the-scenes look at thewigs, make-up and wardrobe departmentsas well as a talk on the theatre as itoperates today - all presented by thestudents.

The project is the first of many to comefrom a new three-year partnership setup between the theatre, the Academyand New Charter Homes.

We set up the partnership to giveresidents in our communities morecultural experiences and raiseaspirations among young people.

Over the next three years the theatrewill run arts-based projects at theschool and in the wider communityto bring different groups of peopletogether and break down socialbarriers.

The project will also give peoplemore opportunities to experience thearts and help support residents getback into work through volunteeringand valuable experiences.

Students take guests back in time onguided tour of Manchester theatre

Young people talk to guests about the theatre's wardrobe department

Students at the theatre


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During August, New Charter Academy studentscelebrated achieveing a set of GCSE and A levelresults to be proud of.The results days marked the end of a successfulacademic year for New Charter Academy - its first inits £43m campus.In GCSEs, this year, 70% of students achieved five A* - Cgrades with 103 gaining five A* - C’s including Englishand Maths.Many students have now gone on to study A levels andan increasing number have enrolled at the Academy’ssixth form.The Academy also celebrated its first set of A levelresults with a 100% pass rate achieved by its very firstgroup of sixth formers. Many of these students have nowgo on to study degrees at university, including Pharmacy,English and even Aerospace Engineering.The academy opened its doors to sixth form students just twoyears ago to support local young people to continue their studiesbeyond GCSE level. It currently offers 17 A level courses rangingfrom English, Maths and Science through to Classical Civilisationand Film and TV Studies.

Results to be proud of

Kajal Khilosia, theAcademy's highest Alevel achiever this yearwith 2 A's and 1 B

GCSE students - between them, these studentsachieved one A*, 22 A’s, 12 B’s and four C’s.All four will continue their education at NewCharter Academy’s A level centre

Back on Neighbourhood WatchedNew Charter’s work has featured again in theBBC One documentary,‘NeighbourhoodWatched.’The programme showed the work of NewCharter and another North West landlord. Thecameras followed our day-to-day work for ninemonths to film the TV programme which aims toshow people the ordinary, and extraordinary workof housing officers.This third series was on TV during August andSeptember. We hope you saw it, but if you didn’t,you can catch up on BBC iPlayer!

Staff out and about in a neighbourhood (Credit

for photo: Matt Squires)

Residents visit parliamentAndrew Gwynne (MP for Denton) invited theYewTree & Pendle residents group to visit Parliament,to see him in action – a once in a lifetimeopportunity.Councillor Claire Francis and New Charter’sneighbourhood officer, Dolores Lewis went withthe residents to London, where they visited MrGwynne at the House of Commons.It was a really exciting opportunity for theresidents as they were able to watch their MP askthe Chancellor, George Osbourne a questionabout the economy. Afterwards, the residentsenjoyed lunch in Parliament and finished the daywith an open-top bus tour.

From left: MP Andrew Gwynne and Dolores Lewiswith the residents in London


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Your neighbourhoods

Your Neighbourhood Plansare coming soon!You may remember that we told you we are developing new‘Neighbourhood Plans’ for each of your neighbourhoods.

Director of Communities,Emma Wilson tells youwhat it’s all about…

Why are we doing this?We want all your neighbourhoodsto be great places to live in.We want them to lookgreat, have great services and feel safe.Yourneighbourhoods should be a place for both workand enjoyment.

As you know, we already do a lot of work in yourneighbourhoods, but we want to build on this.Tomake your neighbourhoods even better, we wanteveryone to work together as a community todecide how their area could develop and grow.

We also want your help to tell us which servicesneed improving and keep those that you like anduse.

What are we doing?We are producing a ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ for eachof our 32 neighbourhoods.

Each plan will include action points of things weneed to address in that area. Each plan will run forthree years and will be reviewed every year withresidents like you, to check how we’re doing.

We are setting up a tenant group who will workwith managers to monitor progress and ensure weare on track with everything.

The plans will highlight the main issues for yourneighbourhoods and explain what needs to bedone by us and our partners, to make things betterfor you.We will be working closely with otherorganisations on some of the wider issues in ourcommunities, such as employment and crime.


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Some of the plans are shown below:

What next?We will be launching the plans before Christmasand we will be sending you more informationabout what’s in the plan for your area.Remember, you are the best people to tell uswhat it’s like to live in your neighbourhood andyou can play an important role in helping us tomake things better. It’s your chance to tell uswhat you want to see.We are launching a customer group whichyou can be part of.This group of tenantswill be developing the neighbourhood plansbased on what you, as residents want tosee.Why not represent yourneighbourhood and make a difference?Please contact Sue Cox on 0161 331 2416 ifyou’re interested in joining.Emma says: “On behalf of my team, I’d like tothank all residents who have helped us so farwith completing surveys, taking part in toursof neighbourhoods and helping us to preparethe plans.“Your feedback and ideas have had a massiveimpact on the action points in the plans.Thank you.”

Action Aim By when?

Direct customersand families to otherservices foremployment andmoney advice asmuch as possibleWork with partnersto offer workexperienceplacements forpeople who havebeen unemployed forlong periods

To increase people’sopportunities ofgaining employmentand maximisingincome

Jan 2013

Increase the council’sactivity in tacklingdog fouling

To reduce the level ofdog fouling inneighbourhoods

April 2013

Work with partners(e.g NHS) to helpmore people gethealth advice andaccess services

To improve the healthof people in ourneighbourhoods andprovide more support

June 2013

CleanCarecaretaking team totarget fly tipping andlitter problemsmore, in certainareas

To improve the lookand feel ofneighbourhoodswhich have problemswith litter

Nov 2013

If you are thinking about getting apet, especially a dog or cat, youmust check your TenancyAgreement first to make sure youare allowed to do so.

You also need tomake sure thatyour property issuitable for a pet,and that you have

the time to care for a petproperly and give it the love andattention it deserves.If you already have a dog,remember to keep it on a leadand don’t let it out on its own.You should supervise it at alltimes. Please also remember toconsider others, by picking upyour dog’s waste.This also makes

it easier for Green Charter to cutthe grass in your communal areas.If you have any queries aboutpets, please contact your HousingOfficer.

AnimalWelfare

We believe that all pets deserve a goodhome.They should be treated properly andnot cause a nuisance to neighbours.


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In the struggling climate, weare fortunate to have gainedfunding to help us build newhomes in our communities.New Charter’s director ofdevelopment and investment, SeanStafford tells us more:“The past few months have beenextremely busy for the team.When building new homes, it takesa lot of time from the planningstages with Government toactually starting to build.You’ll nowbe able to see our hard work payoff, with building happening on anumber of sites in yourneighbourhoods.”

Here’s an update on what’s‘developing’:Wellington Road,Ashton;Wakefield Road, Stalybridge;and Birch Lane, DukinfieldWe are building 59 new homesacross these three sites.

Work is well underway andfamilies will be living in them byFebruary next year.Buckley Street, Uppermill;Owl Mill, Lees; and WhitelyStreet, ChaddertonHere, we are building 29 newhomes.The ones at Uppermillshould be available by Christmas.Whiteacre Road,AshtonWe are doing structural works andmajor improvements to threederelict terrace houses.Work willbe complete by March 2013.Casablanca site,StalybridgeThis site has been an eyesorefor many years.We’redelighted to now be makingplans to develop a multi-purpose facility includinghousing and commercialunits.

Full details of the final design arenot yet known, but we’ll be talkingto local traders and people todecide what the area really needs.We’ll keep you updated withprogress.Brookdale, St Petersfield,AshtonIn August, our new Brookdaledevelopment was officially openedby CouncillorVincent Ricci,Deputy Mayor of Tameside, and wehad a fun day for local residents tomark the occasion. Families arenow enjoying living in the 31 newhomes.

Mr Sanni and family have moved into oneof the new homes at Brookdale

Development onWellington Road

Marking New Charter’s purchase of theCasblanca site. Pictured left to right: MPJonathan Reynolds, Sean Stafford andCouncillor David Sweeton

Development newsWe've been busy creating more homes in your neighbourhoods


19

The 2011/12 Tenants’ Annual Report has now been launched.This report is written for tenants, by tenants, and tells you everything New Charterhas done over the last year involving residents like you.It is available on our website, at our Home and Community Hubs and also onrequest from the Resident InvolvementTeam.You can call the team on 0161 331 2400.New Charter’s corporate Annual Report is also now available.To request a copy, contact us at any of our offices/hubs or call a memberof the Communications team on 0161 331 2206.

Not everybody knows whatTMT do, so wethought it'd be helpful to tell you more...TMT is a group of nine tenant volunteers and theycarry out scrutiny projects. But what is ‘scrutiny’?

Basically, a scrutiny project is an investigation intoNew Charter’s work or services. It involves:

1.Looking at New Charter’s service promisesand checking if we do what we say

2.Looking at other companies for new ideas3.Making suggestions for improvements and

checking these are happeningA scrutiny project includes research, interviewingresidents and staff and carrying out mystery shoppingexercises.

Why do they do this?The Tenant Management Team are an important friendof New Charter and are there to make sure you aregetting the best possible service from us.The teamworks closely with senior managers and the HomesBoard to make a real difference to tenants’ lives.

What have they looked at?Over the last year they have looked at different areasof New Charter, including rechargeable repairs andresident involvement.They also attend conferences totalk about their work and have helped anotherlandlord develop a website for customers.

Why do people get involved?Personal reasons are endless.You can gain new skillsand take part in training, build your confidence, meetnew people or gain the experience you need to helpyou get back into work. However everyone who getsinvolved really cares about their communities andwants to make a real difference for New Charterresidents like you.

What if I am interested?We’re always keen for new faces to join us. Contactthe Resident Involvement team on 0161 331 2400 oremail [email protected], we’d love tohear from you.

TMT plays a reallyimportant role atNew Charter inmaking sure servicesare right for you andthey help thecompany to develop.

Your TenantManagementTeam (TMT)

Tenants’ Annual Report

19


As we've changed the design of yourmagazine to make it much brighter andfriendlier, we'd also like to give it a newname.We're looking for somethingfriendly, snappy and original.Do you have any ideas for us? We’dlove to hear from you.

20

Family Learning Day

Food, Glorious FoodAt New Charter’s head office:Cavendish 249, Cavendish StreetAshton-Under-LyneOL6 7AT

Food themedactivities

Learn allabout the ‘honeybee’ and ourplans for a NewCharter hive onour rooftop

Food themedactivities

our rooftop

Decorate acupcake in our

family friendlyworkshops

Learn how to

Grow Your Own

fruit and veg with

our GardeningClub

Saturday 27th October11am - 2pm

A FREEevent foryou

Contact: Hannah on 0161 331 2583 for more information

We need a new name!Please contact theCommunications team on0161 331 2470 or [email protected] your suggestions.


Our performance matters at New Charter.We are proud of the service we offer you,our customers and regularly check thatwe’re on target.

We set goals for each area of the companyand here we tell you how we’re doing in theareas which matter most to you.

How we’re doingPerformance Our traffic light system tells

you how we are doing.

On target, going well

Repairs service 94.2%

Repairs completed within settimescales

99.5%

Improvements to your homes 92%

Customers very or fairly satisfiedwith the way their antisocialbehaviour complaint was dealt with

90%

Customers very or fairly satisfiedwith the outcome of their antisocialbehaviour complaint

84%

Telephone services 97.2%

95%

98%

96%

87%

85%

95%

Green Charter service% of tenants satisfiedwith the service

Standard of grass cutting 68%Left the site clean 66%Areas left safe after work 92%Grass/shrubs cut up tofences/boundaries 82%

Weeding done 45%

You told us that you’d also like to see performanceresults for Green Charter. Many residents have kindlygiven us their feedback, here’s the latest results…

We know that we’ve still gotimprovements to make. Please bearwith us, the service is still quite new andwe’re working hard to make thingsbetter for you.Remember, your feedback is so importantin helping us to make improvements.Contact Les Crowther, Green Chartermanager if you’d like to give us yourcomments on 0161 331 3627.Read more about what Green Charter'sbeen up to on page 10.

21

Below target, lookingto improveBelow target, looking

OK, work in progress

Are we ontarget?

Percentage of tenantssatisfied with the service

Ourtarget

Performance areas


22

A helping hand for youIf you need help to carry out a range of small DIYjobs inside or outside your home, we can help!The New Charter Fix It service is here.Our dedicated Fix It workman has the tools,knowledge and skills to carry out a number of jobssafely for you in your home, at a reasonable cost.We can help you with putting up shelves, hangingbaskets, changing toilet seats, building flat packfurniture and even changing light bulbs.The service costs just £17 per hour, whatever thejob, and you have the security of knowing amember of New Charter staff is in your home -not an unknown tradesperson.Our workman has the tools for the job, buttenants must provide the materials. Fix It isavailable to all New Charter tenants, but you musthave a clear rent account to use the service.

Important:Remember, there arestill a lot of boguscallers out and about.Recently we’ve heard of severalgardening scams where unknowntradespeople pose as qualifiedgardeners.They often ask for moneyup front to start a job, but then leave amess and your home unsafe.Please beware of other boguscallers/workers on the phone and onyour door step.We know that many ofyou are very cautious but these peoplecan be very creative and manipulativeso do take care.You can always check if somebodyis genuinely from New Charterby doing an ID check –call 0161 331 2000.

Stay MINTEDThe Money informationNetwork Tameside (MiNT) is holding aconference to guide you on 'making the most ofyour money.'THE EVENT IS FREETOEVERYONE ANDINCLUDES A FREELUNCH.You will be able to choose twoworkshops to attend, from:• Welfare reform• Affordable heating bills• Money skills• Loan shark awareness• Healthy eatingThe conference is on Thursday 18th Octoberfrom 9.30am to 3.00pm at Dukinfield Town Hall.To register your FREE place or for moreinformation, call 01204 454 915 or [email protected]

For more information or to make an appointment, please contact Fix It on 0161 331 2000or email [email protected]


Tuesday 16th October2pm - 4pm

Tame your computerdemonsBasic IT skills…continuedVenue: Cavendish 249

October 2012

Can you use a computer? If not, this isthe course for you.This is the end of asix week programme helping you touse a computer to keep in touch andsurf the internet.

Events and classes

23Contact the resident involvement team for more information and to book your place on 0161 331 2400.

Thursday 18th October6pm - 8pm

Business PlanningVenue: Cavendish 249

Have your say on New Charter'sbusiness plans for the year ahead.

Tuesday 4th December6pm-8pm

Thursday 13thDecember1.30pm-3.30pm

Sheltered Forum MeetingVenue: Richmond House,Stalybridge

Do you live in sheltered accommodation?Come along, have a brew and meet otherresidents.Discuss any issues affecting you.

December 2012

Jewellery Making MasterClassVenue: Cavendish 249

Learn how to create beautiful pieces ofjewellery, either for yourself or as a gift.(Run by a fellow resident).

Thursday 1stNovember6pm onwards

A fun and glitzy evening where werecognise the hard work residentslike you do in your communities.

Thursday 8thNovember1pm-3pm

Are you a member of a residents group?Are you new to a group or want to trya different role? We can help you withthe training you need.

ResidentAwards EveningVenue:New CharterAcademy,Broadoak Road,Ashton

Tenant/ ResidentAssociation CommitteeSkillsTrainingVenue: Cavendish 249

Saturday 10thNovember9.30am-12pm

Each year, we review current events andclasses and discuss future ideas. Pleasecome and give your views…what wouldyou like to see?

Resident InvolvementAnnual ReviewVenue: Cavendish 249

Thursday 15thNovember6pm-8pm

Learn how to make your money gofurther, look at ways to save money andget help with budgeting.

Money Money Money!Venue: Crowswood EstateOffice, 3 Crowhill, Stalybridge

Monday 26thNovember2pm-4pm

Are you a Poirot or Columbo? Do youlike to investigate things? Why not comealong and learn how to become amystery shopper or resident inspectorfor New Charter – you can help uscheck if we’re doing a good job for you.

MysteryShopping/ResidentInspectors overviewVenue: Cavendish 249

November 2012

Why not tearthis out and

stick it on yourfridge?

✃✃

✃✃

✃

If you need transport for any of the events, we can arrange this for you.


Contact us

English

Polish

Portuguese

French

HOMES LIMITED

Bengali

Emergency housing & repairs calls:0800 027 0828Operates during the following times:- Before 8am and after 6pm Monday to Friday- During weekends and Bank Holidays

Antisocial behaviour helpline:0800 027 0522 (24 hours a day)

Head Office:New Charter Housing Trust Group, Cavendish 249, Cavendish Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7AT

Our Hubs• 2 Henrietta Street, Ashton• 9 Albert Street, Denton• 12 Clarendon Street, Hyde• 63 Grosvenor Street,

Stalybridge

Our Hubs open at9am Monday to Friday(except Tuesdays, whenthey open at 10.30am).

Please note, Denton andStalybridge Hubs closedaily between 12.30-1.30pm.

All Hubs close at 5pmMonday to Wednesday;4.30pm on Thursday; and4pm on Friday.

Urdu

Email: [email protected]

facebook.com/newchartergroup

Twitter: @newchartergroup

If you need help understanding this document, please call us on0161 331 2261 and we will arrange for somebody to help you.

Jeśli potrzebuje Pan/Pani pomocy w zrozumieniu tegodokumentu, prosimy o kontakt pod numerem 0161 331 2261,a my zorganizujemy kogoś do pomocy.

Se necessitar de ajuda no que respeia à compreensão destedocumento, queira por favor contactar-nos no nº. 0161 331 2261e iremos colocar alguém à sua disposição para o ajudar

Si vous avez besoin d’aide pour comprendre ce document,s’il vous plaît appelez-nous au 0161 331 2261 et nous nouschargerons de quelqu'un pour vous aider

Emergency housing & repairs calls:

Main switchboard:0161 331 2000


nc news - october 2012

Documents

new magazine

new website

new chartertenants

new charter4

new faces

younewsyour new look

new charter academy

communications team