Work starts on new Community Centre
Work has started this week on a new
Community Centre for Collier Row.
The first phase is the demolition of the
existing Highfield Community Centre and the play area behind Highfield Towers
during which there will be restricted parking.
Some of the regular clubs which use the
centre will also be moving until the new building is in place.
The new
building should be open by mid-summer this year,
If you are interested in hiring the
new community hall please contact Joanne Mahony.
The
second phase, due to take place later in the year, will turn the adjacent
field and scrubland into a pocket park accessible for Collier Row residents.
More information
available here.
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There will also be a new play area, which is being part funded from a £10,000 grant from Tesco Bags of Help fund where the 5p you pay for a carrier bag goes, |
 Cracking down on tenancy fraud
A crack down on tenancy fraud has seen 63 homes made available and
saved the Council more than £3 million since January last year.
More than 26,000 visits have been made by the Tenancy Audit Teams with
367 referrals to the Fraud Team.
This has led to 27 Council properties being returned for letting to
people in real need, due to breaches of tenancy agreements and 36 Right to Buy
applications were halted as conditions were not met.
As part of this crack down Council officers will be making unannounced
visits on all Council properties.
The specialist officers can call anytime between 7am and 8pm, usually
calling outside normal office hours as that is when people are most likely to
be in.
All the officers carry ID badges with a telephone number on which you
can call to check they are genuine Council officials.
More information is available here.
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Are you getting them?
 If you live in Council sheltered housing schemes your personal copy of Sheltered Times should be coming through your letter box this week, thanks to your Scheme Officer. You can also read it online here.
At the Heart magazine will be reaching 12,000 Council tenants and leaseholders through Royal Mail next week so do look out for your copy or read it online here.
It's Party Time!
If you’re
looking for a hall for a family celebration or event Hacton Lane Hall in Hornchurch
could be just what you need.
With competitive
prices and good facilities, including on site car parking, this is an ideal
venue. Reserve
your booking online here.
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 Do it in a day means our contractor, Breyer Group, will be carrying out
all the repairs at a specific location on the same day.
Tenants
should still report repairs in the normal way, so Breyer Group knows how many
staff and what equipment may be needed
to do the repairs. But
if you see the contractor is working in your street and you have a non-urgent
repair, you can report it directly to them and they will try to get it fixed for
you on that day.
Breyer
Group will be in the following areas on these Wednesdays:
08 March 2017
The Rotunda, Fambridge Court, Cottons Court.
15 March 2017
Farnham Road, Hilldene Avenue, Chippenham Road, Kings Lynn Drive, Dartfields, Rothbury House, Crediton House, Wantage House, Ingleton House, Stratford House, Ripon House, Keswick House, Ringwood House, Morpeth House, Matlock House, Lincoln House.
22 March 2017
Malan Square, Bader Way, Wood Lane, Thomas Sims Court.
29 March 2017
Leyburn Crescent, Leyburn Road, Southall House, Ulverston House, Runcorn House, Talgarth House, Wallingford House, Coleford House, Denbigh House, Chesham House, Havant House, Atherton House, Middlesborough House, Lampeter House, Enfield House, Helmsley House, Langport House, Orton House, Pulborough House.
05 April 2017
Carnforth House, Marsden House, Bracknell House, Brackley House, Bedford House, Arnside House, Heathfield House, Hungerford House, Lodden House, Marsden House.
12 April 2017
Morecambe House, Minefield House, Macclesfield House, Lynmouth House, Luton House, Thrapston House, Haslingdon House, Halifax House, Glossop House, Epsom House, Gillingham House, Camelford House, Wilmslow House, Wolverton House, Newmarket House, Portmadoc House, Northampton House, Nelson House.
Get details of the scheme here.
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 Find out about Universal Credit
Universal Credit will replace six existing benefits and is now being rolled out in Havering.
Havering Council has produced a special information booklet that you can read online here.
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Is it up to me?
Tenants and leaseholders are responsible for many basic
repairs to their properties, so before logging a report please check if it is up
to you to do the repair or whether the Council is responsible. Find out
full details of your responsibilities here.
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Like us on Facebook
Facebook is an ideal way to keep in touch with family and
friends, and now you can use it to keep informed about what’s happening with
Havering Council Housing Services.
If you ‘like’ us you will then get alerts when we add news
to our page, including details of job opportunities, training courses, events
and useful information. Like us on Facebook.
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 If you want to check what we’ve
said before, back copies of At
the Heart online can be found here.
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Act fast to book your appointment!
Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet
Member for Housing, Councillor Damian White, and his colleague Councillor
Jason Frost, will be holding two surgeries from 9am until 6pm at The Salvation Army, 50 High Street,
Romford Town Centre, RM1 1JJ.
Book
your appointment here.
 Havering Council's Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Damian White, is holding his regular housing surgeries for tenants and leaseholders on:
Friday 24 March, 4pm – 6pm, Hitchin Close Council Offices, Hitchin Close, Harold Hill RM3
7EQ
Friday 28 April, 4pm – 6pm, Hacton Hall, Haydock Close, Hornchurch, RM12 6EA.
Details of future housing surgeries can be found here.
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Recruitment Fair will offer new jobs
 On Tuesday 14 March head to the Thames Gateway YMCA in Rush Green Road, Romford, RM7 0PH to find out more about job vacancies and training opportunities to help you find a new career.
New look web pages
There’s a new look to Havering Council Housing Services
web pages from this month.
The improvements should also make it
easier to find what you’re looking for.
Do check them out here and then let us know what you think here.
Help make your area green and clean
 Are you
fed up with the way your area looks? Is there somewhere that needs tidying up, painting
or where some bulbs or plants would make a big difference?
All the
sessions starts at 10am and we’re aiming to be finished by 1pm but you don’t
need to be there the whole time, every hour you can spare will be put to good
use so if you want to help out please let us know using the form on the
website.
The
events are:
Friday 17 March in Oldchurch Gardens, Romford
Friday 28 April in Artesian Gardens, Hornchurch
Wednesday
31 May in Bevan Way and Hacton Lane, Hornchurch
Thursday
22 June from 10am in partnership with Delta TMO
Friday
14 July from 10am in partnership with Highfield Community Group, Collier Row
Thursday
3 August from 10am in partnership with Petra TMO
Thursday
28 September from 10am in Rainham
Friday
10 October from 10am, bulb planting at sheltered housing schemes
Sign up to help here.
Have an egg-citing Easter
Children in Collier Row can have an eggciting time on
Wednesday 5 April when the Highview Residents’ Association holds an afternoon
of Easter fun.
From 2pm until 4pm there’ll be lots to do outside Highfield Tower in Hillrise Road and it’s real value for money.
The first two children in any family pay £1 each for their
ticket, it’s just 50p per ticket for any further children from the same family,
and that gets them a free drink and a cake to decorate for Easter as well as an
Easter egg.
Plus there are lots of free activities to help pass the
time.
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People are on the move
From Tuesday 17 January properties which become void are matched against the housing needs of residents in the Housing Regeneration Programme area and direct offers are made where matches occur.
In the first month several matches have been made and people have started moving to their new homes.
The homes which become empty in the regeneration area are being used as temporary accommodation instead of using bed and breakfast facilities.
Decant Assessment Forms have been sent to everyone who has had a one-to-one meeting - if you haven't yet returned your form please do so as no offer of a new home will be made until we have your form back.
Residents' Groups on the regeneration estates are holding meetings to discuss the Local Lettings Plan, which is now available on the Housing Regeneration Progamme web page.
Meetings continue to inform
residents about plans for these possible future developments.
Further details for each area
can be found at:
Chippenham Road, Farnham Road and Hilldene
Avenue,
Harold Hill
DELTA TMO estate, Gidea Park
Maygreen Crescent and Park Lane, Hornchurch
Napier House and New
Plymouth House,
Rainham
Oldchurch Gardens, Romford
Waterloo Estate, Romford
Sheltered Housing schemes.
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There are a number of Job Clubs in Havering which offer help and support including:
Every Monday, 9am until 12noon
Mardyke Community Centre,
South Street, Rainham, RM13 8PJ
Every Wednesday, 10am until 1pm
Betty Strathern Centre, 41 Myrtle Road, Harold Hill, RM3 8XS
Every Thursday, 9.30am until 12.30pm
Highfield Towers Community Hall, Hillrise Road, Collier Row, RM5 3DQ
Every Friday, 10am until 1pm
Havering Citizens Advice, 9 Victoria Road, Romford, RM1 2JT
All job clubs are
open to any Havering resident who would like help to find work.
For more information complete the request form here.
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Sign up to the My Havering service and you
can then access a wide range of services 24 hours a day, seven days a week
through the website.
Council tenants and leaseholders can get secure access to all their housing
information online through SeeMyData.
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Got a question?
If you have a question about any aspect of housing, there is
now just one form to complete, which will then reach the right people to answer
your question.
Just
complete the online form here.
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