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Bassetlaw District Council e-Newsletter

Meet the Team Day and Annual Tenant Conference

This year’s Meet the Team Day and Annual Tenant Conference will take place on Monday 7^th October, at Worksop Town Hall and all tenants and leaseholders are invited to come along.

This annual event is a wonderful opportunity to meet the different teams that make up our Housing Service, including Housing Officers, Repairs, Tenancy Sustainment and Tenant Engagement, as well as some of our partners who provide specialist services.

The Meet the Team part of the day will take place between 10am and 11.30am. You are then invited to stay for the Tenant Conference, which takes place between 12noon and 1.30pm.

At the Conference you will be able to hear from our Head of Housing, Alison Craig and the Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Jonathan Slater, on what has been happening over the past 12 months, plus some updates from guest speakers. Numbers are limited so please reserve your place as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Refreshments and lunch will be provided to keep you fuelled throughout the event so please advise us of any dietary requirements you may have. There is level access parking available just outside the Town Hall. Please contact the Engagement Team to tell us about any additional requirements you may have.

Phone: 01909 533263

Email: Anita.Fairweather@basselaw.gov.uk or Joshua.booth@bassetlaw.gov.uk

Annual Tenant Awards

As part of the Tenant Conference, we also like to recognise people and groups for the hard work they do in their communities, and we are asking for your nominations in the category of ‘Community Champions.’

A Community Champion can be:

• Someone who has supported their local community to make a difference for everyone.
• A good neighbour who has gone the extra mile to help someone in need.
• An individual tenant who has been a voice in their local area, assisting others to access information and ensuring all tenants voices are heard irrespective of where they live.

If you would like to make a nomination, please send us a short message telling us what great things the person or group have done and why you believe they should be recognised.

The successful Champions will receive their award and Love2Shop voucher at the Conference on Monday 7^th October 2024.

Make a nomination.

Nominations will close on Monday 30^th September

Children’s Centre drop-in sessions

The Children’s Centre drop-in sessions for all tenants with questions are continuing throughout the rest of the year and we would love to see you to chat about anything related to your tenancy or your community.

All of the session details are listed below, and you will have the opportunity to have a one-to-one chat with a member of our Tenant Engagement Team about anything from issues with your rent, to reporting a repair.

Upcoming sessions:

Harworth & Bircotes Children’s Centre

19^th September – 9:30am to 12noon

10^th October – 9:30am to 12noon

Manton Children’s Centre

25^th September – 1pm to 4.30pm

16^th October – 1pm to 4.30pm

Hallcroft Children’s Centre

9^th September – 9:30am to 12noon

14^th October – 9:30am to 12noon

Housing Ombudsman’s ‘Call for Evidence’ on repairs and maintenance

The Housing Ombudsman has launched their latest ‘Call for Evidence’ to inform their next Spotlight report, titled ‘Repairing Trust’, which will explore common issues in housing maintenance. This follows an unprecedented rise in complaints relating to disrepair across the country, impacting tenants’ safety in their homes.

The Ombudsman wants to hear about your experiences on this topic and the survey will cover four main themes: 

• Issues landlords face when contracting services  
• Problems residents encounter with maintenance services  
• Barriers that operatives experience in delivering these services  
• Lessons learned from successful initiatives within the sector  

The report aims to highlight any positive changes landlords have made to rise to the maintenance challenge and prepare for the introduction of Awaab’s Law, which will see set statutory requirements for landlords to provide repair timescales.

For this report the Ombudsman has put together surveys for tenants, MPs and councillors, landlords, contractors and repairs staff. The closing date for all surveys is 25^th October 2024. If you require any support accessing the survey or know of anyone who wishes to complete the survey and may not have online access, please contact anita.fairweather@bassetlaw.gov.uk or joshua.booth@bassetlaw.gov.uk.

Fill in the survey

Roof repairs, hedge trimming and birds nesting

It has been raised recently that there have been issues around completing roof repairs where tenants have been experiencing problems with birds nesting in roof spaces.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1(1b), states it is an offence to take, damage or destroy a nest of a wild bird whilst the nest is in use or being built. Therefore, we are not able to carry out a repair of a roof, where doing so would put us in breach of this Act. In these cases we will need to wait until the wild bird has left the nest and then carry out the necessary repairs.

In addition to this, due to weather conditions and the bird nesting season, hedges have become overgrown in parts of Bassetlaw. Now bird nesting season is coming to an end we will commence works to cut hedges and will aim to have this completed by the middle of October.

Healthy Neighbourhood Inspections

Healthy Neighbourhood Inspections help us to look for things that will improve your communities, such as removing graffiti, tackling overgrown gardens, and resolving parking issues.

Each area has at least one inspection per year, and they are carried out by your Housing Officer. People from other council departments, Nottinghamshire Police and other agencies may also attend, so that specific problems can be addressed.

We want tenants to be part of these inspections, even if it is just for your street or to raise an individual issue, after all it is your estate, and nobody knows it better than you.

Please join us at one of the inspections that take place in September:

Tenant Support and well-being service

Bassetlaw District Council has partnered with Life and Progress to offer council tenants a Tenant Support and Wellbeing Service (TWSW).

There are no limits to what Tenant Support and Wellbeing Services (TSWS) can help with. They can provides practical information, resources and counselling to help you balance your work, family and personal life. They are available 24/7, 365 days a year to answer your questions, whatever you may need.

Find out more.

We are Hiring!

Bassetlaw District Council is hiring for positions in its housing team and across the council. Here are just some of the positions available:

• Senior Revenues and Benefits Manager
• Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) Planner
• Strategic Sites Planner
• Planning Officer (Development Management)
• Planning Enforcement Officer
• Senior Planning Enforcement Officer
• Project Support Officer (Employment and Skills)
• STEP Skills and Engagement Officer
• Housing Options Officer

Explore all of our current vacancies

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As well as a monthly Housing Newsletter, we also have a Facebook Page dedicated to Housing, Tenants and all the latest news from Bassetlaw District Council. Come and check us out!