View as a webpage - Share

Bassetlaw District Council e-Newsletter

Community Champions are celebrated

Bassetlaw people who have gone out of their way to make a difference for other tenants and residents, and in their neighbourhoods, have been recognised as Community Champions.

Malcolm Pike, Stan Davis, Mick Langley, and Nina Thiedeman were all nominated by their peers for giving up their time to help other tenants by striving to improve the Council’s housing services or for making a difference in their community.

The accolades were presented as part of Bassetlaw District Council’s Annual Tenant Conference and Meet the Team event at Worksop Town Hall where attendees heard about the current tenant satisfaction measures, an update from the tenant engagement team and were informed about support and wellbeing services.

Pictured: Jonathan Slater, Deputy Leader at Bassetlaw District Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, alongside Bassetlaw's Community Champions: Malcolm Pike, Stan Davis, Mick Langley, and Nina Thiedeman.

Age UK Warm and Wise

If you are aged 50+ and would like to be warmer and wiser about energy, Age UK are here to help.  They can:  Fit free energy saving measures such as draught excluders, timers and LED light bulbs.  Give advice on how to reduce energy usage and bills.  Advise you on how to maintain a healthy temperature at home.  Provide energy saving tips, information and signposting.  Support is available through home visits, telephone, or online.  Find out more by contacting their friendly team: Telephone: 0115 8599 209  Email: warmandwise@ageuknotts.org.uk

Equans organise clean-up

Back in September, Equans, one of our maintenance partners, organised a community clean-up day on the Wimpey Estate in Harworth and Bircotes.

Some of their staff were joined by colleagues from the Housing Team at Bassetlaw District Council, as well as volunteers from the local community.

In total, they collected more than 80 bags of rubbish as well as a large amount of bulky waste that has helped to make the area look and feel a lot better.

Amy Wheatley, Social Value Officer at Equans, said: “Being able to help within the communities that we work in gives residents a real sense of togetherness. It allows us to build up trust and relationships in some of the most deprived areas and the team effort really did go a long way during the day!”

Family Hub drop-in sessions

The Family Hub drop-in sessions for all tenants with questions are continuing throughout the rest of the year and into 2025. 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. You will have the opportunity to have a one-to-one chat with a member of our Tenant Engagement Team, who will be able to talk through and support you with any questions you have or something you would like to report. Upcoming sessions: Harworth & Bircotes Family Hub – 9:30am to 12noon 14th November 2024 12th December 2024 9th January 2025 Manton Family Hub – 1pm to 4.30pm 20th November 2024 18th December 2024 15th January 2025 Hallcroft Family Hub – 9:30am to 12noon 18th November 2024 6th January 2025

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 survey will cover 4 main themes: 

• issues landlords face when contracting services  
• problems residents encounter with maintenance services  
• barriers 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. The Ombudsman wants to hear about your experiences on this topic.

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.

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 October:

We are hiring!

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

• Housing Officer (Tenancy Management)
• Voids Co-ordinator 
• Legal Administrators (part-time, temporary) 
• Property and Development manager
• Benefits and Welfare Manager
• Building Surveyor
• Grounds Maintenance Operative 
• Planning Enforcement Officer 
• Senior Planning Enforcement Officer
• Gas Fitter