 Hello,
Welcome to Housing Matters, your residents’ newsletter from East Devon District Council.
We’d love to hear your feedback on the new format. To share your thoughts, please visit our new Resident Engagement Hub, where new subscribers can also sign up.
If you're new to using the internet or need support, our Communities Team offers digital confidence sessions. We can also assist with any costs. Please contact us for more details.
In this issue:
Council buys five new homes in Exmouth
 Using Right to Buy receipts, we recently purchased five new build properties in Exmouth to add to our housing portfolio.
Plumb Park is an attractive development located in Exmouth, which is situated at the mouth of the River Exe. There are several shops and restaurants nearby and the A376 and railway line provides great links to Exeter. These properties are all four-bedroom homes. They are very energy efficient with an EPC rating of B.
The properties will provide much-needed additional, council-owned accommodation and help us meet housing need.
Tenant Garden Competition announcement
Whether you have a glorious garden, a productive veg patch or some pretty pots it’s time to get planting for your chance to win a prize in our Tenant Garden Competition.
There are nine categories, with the overall winner receiving £100. The closing date for entries is Monday 23 June 2025. The judging will take place in the week of Monday 7 July 2025.
Competition categories include:
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Back garden and Front garden.
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Eco garden and Vegetable garden.
- Garden designed and maintained by a tenant with a disability.
- Garden designed and maintained by a young person.
- Containers and hanging baskets.
- Communal and friends together.
- First time entrant.
To enter, email the Communities Team or call 01395 51453 with your name, address and the categories you would like to be considered in. Alternatively, please speak to your MSO.
New rent and service charges
 You should have received your Notice of Variation by now. This important letter tells you about the rent and service charge increases from 7 April 2025.
Please do not throw this letter away. If you claim any benefits or universal credit, you’ll need to have this letter to hand on 7 April so you can report your new rents to the DWP in your online journal.
In September each year the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure is set. This is used to establish the limit on annual rent increases for social housing. Your council rent is increased in line with this guidance. As a non-profit housing provider, the rent collected is put straight back into the housing stock to be used for repairs and maintenance. Further details can be found on the GOV.UK website.
If you have any queries, please email the Rental Team or phone 01395 517444.
Resident Connect Festival – save the date
 Our annual tenant event is back and better than ever! The event takes place at Holt Bar and Terrace in Budleigh Salterton on Thursday 21 August 2025 (10.30am-3.30pm).
With activities for all ages, free lunch and refreshments, and opportunities to meet housing staff and local services, there’s something for everyone.
The festival is completely free, conveniently located on the 157 bus route, and has parking available.
Book your slot and vote for those community stars who deserve special recognition.
Tenant satisfaction results are in
 Every three months, we ask Acuity, a specialist research company, to carry out a tenant satisfaction survey on our behalf. The latest results are now in, and they look at tenant satisfaction with the housing service between October and December 2024 (Q3).
These results show that overall satisfaction has reduced; 57% of tenants said they were satisfied in Q3, compared with 63% in Q2 (July-September 2024). Most other measures showed increases despite the fall in overall satisfaction.
The highest ratings in Q3 are for the provision of a safe home (68%), how we treat tenants fairly and with respect (64%) and the time taken to complete repairs (63%). However, two measures fall below 50% satisfaction: the way we listen to tenants’ views and act upon them (44%), and satisfaction with the handling of complaints (21%).
You can find the full report on our website. The report focuses on the headline figures but also includes tenant comments to help understand the reasons behind the scores.
 My Computer My Way: Empowering Digital Accessibility
 My Computer My Way is an innovative online resource developed by a charity called AbilityNet, which was set up to help make digital devices more accessible for everyone. It provides step-by-step guides to help users adapt their phones, computers, and tablets to meet their specific needs.
Key Features
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User-Friendly Guides:
- The website offers easy-to-follow instructions on how to adjust various settings on your device. These include enlarging text, changing colours, and enabling voice commands.
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Personalised Adjustments:
- Users can search for guides based on their specific needs, symptoms, or conditions. These include everything from having a hand tremor to being dyslexic.
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Wide Range of Devices:
- The guides cover a broad spectrum of devices, including desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
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Accessibility Features:
- The website also highlights the built-in accessibility features like screen readers, magnifiers, and voice control.
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Support and Resources:
- In addition to the guides, users can also book free home visits for IT support if they are older or disabled.
Meet the Littlehamsters community group
 The Littlehamsters are a small group of local residents who have come together, to explore – and take action around – the factors that impact the health and wellbeing of those who live in Littleham, particularly around our estates.
The Littlehamsters will be back in the Community Corner as part of The Wave – Littleham
Community Cafe at the Littleham Leisure Centre on Tuesday 24 April 2025. They plan to be there every fourth Tuesday in the month, 11am-1pm, providing a neighbour-to-neighbour listening ear and acting as a conduit to other services and help.
Or maybe you’d just like a chat! They’re looking forward to seeing you. Look out for yellow shirts and balloons! You can find out more about these wonderful residents online.
Football volunteers needed in Littleham
 Littleham Football4All is an initiative headed by Nick White, the Coastal Churches Youth and Family worker. Young people over 8 years old are welcome to join the team fortnightly on Monday evenings from 7-8pm on the Crescent in Littleham to learn football skills for free and play informal matches.
Nick has already had great success in securing funding, equipment, permissions, and group leaders, so the initiative is aiming to begin after Easter. For more information, please contact us on the emails below, or just turn up on the day. Football4All is now recruiting for local volunteers to help run fortnightly sessions on Monday evenings. If you would like to volunteer or know anyone that would like to help, please contact the Communities Team or Nick White directly.
A variety of volunteer roles will be available so you would not necessarily have to volunteer every session, but if you could commit to regular sessions – i.e. fortnightly or monthly – it would help to make the group much more sustainable.
Spring Community Hub events
 As Easter approaches and the schools close for the holidays, the Community Hubs will be running Easter craft workshops at our community centres across the district.
We will be making very jolly bunny decorations which will be accessible to all ages and abilities. Come along and enjoy a home-cooked lunch, good company and be creative!
Local textile artist Alison Shelton-Brown is also visiting the Hubs to introduce us to the ancient Japanese craft of Kumihimo braiding. Traditionally, these braids were made on a wooden device called a Marudai or ‘round table’ and were used for lacing Samurai armour. But you can just make yourself a bracelet or pendant if your armour is a bit rusty!
Hubs run across four days at eight centres. All details can be found on our website. We welcome everybody and all activities and lunch are free. We can organise transport for you if needed. Please email project officer Lucinda Cliff or phone 07816 533803 or 01395 517453.
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