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Hello!

We hope you are keeping safe and well.

You can listen to this email by clicking on this link. Inside this email:
• 93% of Belle Isle Back Tenant Control
• Help from your fuel provider
• A phone message from BITMO’s Tracey
• Fire risks from electric bikes and scooters
• GATE programme for October
• October half term food & activities
• Please check your heating
• What is cuckooing and how can you help?

93% of Belle Isle Back Tenant Control

We were delighted to be able to announce at the BITMO Annual General Meeting last week that tenants have voted in favour of BITMO continuing to manage the Belle Isle estate for a further five years. As you know tenants are asked every five years whether they support Tenant Management, and this is the fourth time that Belle Isle tenants have overwhelmingly supported continuation.  Being tenant- led means that BITMO tenants continue to benefit from everything that BITMO provides that is unique in Leeds.  There is no other estate in Leeds that has a housing office that is open five days a week, a tenant-run community centre open five days a week and one Saturday a month,  which provides free activities for children in the school holidays, a community café and a whole range of support for people who need it, not to mention our caretaker service. No other estate in Leeds has a dedicated team of caretakers to look after the estate, do minor repairs, and help people out when they need it.

For more information on BITMO's plans for the next five years and how you can help, you can read Chief Executive Deborah Kelly's post on the BITMO website.

Contacting Utility Companies if you are Struggling to Pay

BITMO Financial Inclusion Officer Michele Pearson has put together a useful list of phone numbers and links you can use to contact British Gas, Eon, OVO, Utilita and Yorkshire Water if you are getting behind with your bills. They all have commitments to help struggling customers, so please contact them.

A phone message from BITMO’s Tracey

In the next week you may get a call to your mobile phone from 0113 868 2973. It will be a recorded message from BITMO’s Tracey. Tracey has some questions for you so that BITMO can find out what help some of our tenants need in getting online. Please answer Tracey’s questions by pressing numbers on your phone. It will take a few minutes, help BITMO to provide better digital support to Belle Isle tenants and you could win a £25 supermarket voucher.

The phone call will start “Hello, this is Tracey from Belle Isle TMO”

Fire risks from electric bikes & scooters

Have you got an electric bike or scooter? There are risks of fire when you are charging them.Please read this advice from BITMO’s Head of Repairs Curtis Jenner – and pass on the advice to any friends or neighbours you know who have electric bikes or scooters.

BITMO’s GATE programme for October

Got a child in Year 3 or 4? There’s still time to join the free English and Maths tutoring every Tuesday at BITMO’s GATE.

October half term food & activities

BITMO’s Board funds free food and activities for Belle Isle families during the school holidays.

Have you checked your heating?

Now that we are entering the colder months, it’s important to make BITMO aware if you have any problems keeping your home warm. Please follow these simple steps:

If your heating or hot water isn’t working properly, then you need to contact BITMO so that we can arrange a repair. Here are some things to check before calling us:

• Check it’s switched on, that the programmer is ‘calling’ for heating and the thermostat is turned up
• Prepayment meters – if you’re on a prepayment meter for your gas or electric, make sure you’ve got credit available on both. If you have recently run out of credit on either your gas or electric, you may need to reset your boiler by turning it off and on again. If there’s a fault on either of the meters you will need to contact your supplier
• Dripping hot water taps – dripping hot taps can affect how well your boiler is working. Repairing a dripping or leaking tap can often fix any problems with the boiler
• Check the radiators - If you’re experiencing problems with just one or two radiators make sure they are turned on and set to the maximum temperature

Remember that heating your home effectively during the winter is essential to helping prevent damp and mould.

Here are other things that you can do to prevent damp and mould

During colder months, condensation can be a problem as moisture in the air meets cold surfaces like windows or walls.  Mould can then grow in areas affected by condensation. We know that it's difficult because of the high cost of heating your home, but please try to follow this advice to reduce condensation:

• Ventilate your home - open windows and use trickle vents, especially when cooking or showering, to allow moisture to escape
• Use extractor fans – make sure that any extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms are working effectively
• Keep lids on pans - when cooking, keep lids on pans to reduce steam

For more advice to help prevent issues coming up, watch Leeds’ damp and mould prevention video and visit their damp and mould webpage.

Cuckooing advice from West Yorkshire Police

Cuckooing is when an organised crime group or a perpetrator take over someone’s home through force, deceit, or coercion. It is often included with "County Lines" activity, when gangs take control over a vulnerable adult's address, as a site to store, supply, or produce drugs from. Properties can also be used for pop-up brothels, storing weapons, or other illicit and unwanted activity.

Help become more aware, watch this short video and find out more about cuckooing.

And finally .....

Reduced service at Hunslet Community Hub – Leeds have cut the amount of days you can see a Customer Services Officer at Hunslet Community Hub. The service is now available on Tuesdays & Thursdays only. At other times you can use the phones to ring their Call Centre or use their computers to access Leeds services online. Meanwhile BITMO is proud to keep its housing counter open five days a week Monday to Friday 9am-12pm and 1-5pm (closed Wednesday afternoons). You can walk in and see one of our housing staff who know the area where you live.

There are now four community orchards in Belle Isle, with another one possible near Woodville Square. Would you like to see one near you? Or help look after one of the existing ones? Please use this link to let BITMO know.

Contact BITMO

Keep up-to-date with BITMO services and local news by visiting the BITMO Facebook Page and the BITMO website.

Belle Isle TMO works in partnership with Leeds City Council to serve the residents of Belle Isle estate.

Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation Limited                                     Registered under the Co-operative and Communities Benefit Societies Act No.29817R. Registered Office: Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle, Leeds, LS10 3QH