We’ll be back after the holidays…
Meanwhile, here’s a festive-filter-fun photo by Forfar photographer John Bell of the main building of our award-winning development at Academy Court. Thank you, John!
Month: December 2018
Taking Tenant Participation Forward in Angus
In September, we started our consultation on the next tenant participation strategy and we asked our tenants to give us feedback on the current strategy.
We sat down to a great meeting with our Tenant Steering Group to discuss our current and future Tenant Participation Strategies (see photo below). We got a good discussion going with positive feedback coming about our current strategy and some great ideas for additions to our new strategy.
When looking at the new strategy our group looked at good practice from other areas. Although other local authority areas are different from our own, we can still learn from these good practices to make it work for Angus and our tenants.
We will now be pulling together a new strategy which will then go out in draft form for tenants to check over to ensure they are happy with the content and action plans. If you would like to become involved in the editing of the new strategy, please contact Angela Quirie on HousingQPP@angus.gov.uk .
Our tenant group were also updated on how their response to the Housing 2020 and Beyond consultation was taken. As part of our response process, views from a group of our tenants and some from RSLs across Angus were fed into our response at a meeting held with Scottish Government representatives and were greatly welcomed.
Further formal consultation on this initiative will take place next year, if you want to get involved please contact us on TenantParticipation@angus.gov.uk .
Properties to let in Arbroath, Brechin, Kirriemuir and Montrose Now!
We and our Housing Association partners have 9 properties available for rent now on our Houses for Immediate Let pages:
Universal Credit support sessions in December
After the initial Universal Credit support sessions in November, more sessions are taking place in this month. If you or someone you know is affected by Universal Credit, please come along to one of the sessions below.
Making a Stand Against Domestic Abuse
We’re proud to support the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Make a Stand campaign to support victims of domestic abuse.
Our first step in this campaign was to appoint a champion to drive our activity in this area. We’re delighted to say that Councillors Craig Fotheringham and Lois Speed have both agreed to fulfil this role, as they understand how important this issue is. Our champions are pictured below at the launch of our work in this area.
Cllr Speed said:
I had absolutely no hesitation in signing the Make a Stand Pledge as unfortunately domestic abuse is a huge problem throughout the country, and sadly Angus is no exception. I’m very pleased that our Housing Team have taken such a robust response to help tackle these issues. I look forward to seeing greater awareness being raised, policy change come to fruition and further supports be made available. One incident in Angus is one too many and I hope that together we can all play our part in helping to protect and keep our most vulnerable citizens safe.
We’ll carry out further work over the next nine months to:
- Devise and implement a policy to support victims of domestic abuse
- Make sure information for victims of domestic abuse is readily available on our website and other public places
- Make sure our staffing policies support people working for the Council who experience domestic abuse
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, you can call us in confidence on ACCESSLine 03452 777778. You can also contact Angus Women’s Aid on 01241 439437 or their national helpline on 0800 027 1234.
Academy Court Wins SURF Housing Award
We’re pleased to report on more success for our Academy Court project. Last night the project (under its former name of Chapelpark) won the
SURF Housing Award
It was chosen from 17 other projects at a celebratory dinner on the 6 December 2018 in the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow by Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Communities, Aileen Campbell MSP.
The judges said that as well as showing a great regeneration rationale in the community, what made the project stand out above the others was our team mentality and multi-discipline co-ordination.
John Morrow, Service Leader – Housing, and Catherine Johnson, Housing Strategy Manager are pictured with the award at the ceremony.
Find out more about the project on page 10 of the Awards Publication 2018.
SURF is the Scottish Regeneration Forum which aims to promote and recognise work to regenerate communities nationally.
Keep Warm this Winter and Reduce Your Gas and Electricity Bills
As we mentioned in our previous post, it’s that time of year when you notice the drop in temperature and your first instinct may be to turn up the heating and use it for longer periods. This could mean an increase to your fuel bills and we know that managing these costs can be difficult. Your household circumstances, your property, your lifestyle, your heating system – all can affect your bills.
If you are worried about your energy bills this winter, there is help available regardless of whether you own or rent your home. Home Energy Scotland (HES) offers a wide range of advice and assistance free of charge, such as:
- reducing your energy bills
- managing fuel debt
- switching energy supplier (simply by switching supplier, you could save £100s per year!)
To speak to one of their advisors you can call (free phone) – 08708 808 2282 – or simply fill out this form – and one of their advisors will call you back. It’s that easy.
You can also arrange for a free home visit by a member of the Home Energy Advice Team (HEAT). They’ll get to know you and your property to provide tailored advice, helping you heat your home for less.
For more information about HEAT and how they can help you, free phone 0808 129 0888, email heat@scarf.org.uk or visit their website.
Angus Council Housing News 