Sheffield moves to tier 3 'Very High' alert in fight against COVID
Sheffield came out of lockdown on 2 December and entered into tier 3 'Very High' alert category.
Some tier 3 restrictions will be different this time compared to when Sheffield was in tier 3 before lockdown started on 5 November.
To find out more on the restrictions, click the button below.
Find out more about the tier 3 restrictions
New council homes boost
We are working hard to increase our council housing stock by 3,100 by 2029. As well as purchasing existing and new properties, we are also building our own new homes.
Currently there are 255 new build properties in progress on five sites across Sheffield and a further 345 at development stage. These include general needs and independent/supported living accommodation. The sites in progress are Weakland (Birley), Knutton Crescent and Adlington (Parson Cross), Daresbury and Berners (Arbourthorne).
We are expect that 12 houses will be ready for let before the Christmas break, available through Choice Based Lettings on the Sheffield Property Shop website. These consist of eight 2-bed houses on Weakland Crescent/Weakland Drive and four 4-bed houses on Knutton Crescent.
In early 2021, the remaining 25 Weakland properties - a mixture of 2-bed, 3-bed and 2-bed wheelchair adapted houses – will be ready to let.
These houses are built to a high standard, with high thermal performance to reduce energy bills. All houses include level access and lifetime homes features, which enable any future adaptations to be incorporated easily and cost effectively. Properties include driveways and private gardens as standard.
It’s great to see these houses being completed and soon to be occupied by our tenants!
 New Build 2 Bed Property at Weakland
 New Build 4 Bed Property at Knutton Crescent
Rent free weeks
This year the rent free weeks will be weeks beginning Monday 14th December 2020 and Monday 21st December 2020.
If you are in arrears, you should continue to pay during the rent free weeks. Whatever you pay will directly reduce your arrears by an equal amount. If you are unable to pay toward your arrears, we are here to help with advice and support. Contact an Income Specialist on 0114 2930000 as early as possible.
For more information you can visit the Council Housing webpage or call the Income Management and Financial Inclusion Team on 0114 2930000.
Christmas is virtually here!
Several of our Tenants and Residents Associations (TARAs) have made good use of social media and online video technology to keep in touch with people and share information during recent months.
Christmas might be a bit different this year but that hasn’t stopped people from planning fun, festive activities in these socially-distanced times.
Norfolk Park TARA is hosting on their Facebook page Christmas Lights Bingo from Tuesday 1st Dec until Thursday 24th Dec, 6-8.30pm.
Enjoy a cuppa and afternoon tea on Zoom
Our Community Engagement Team set up informal coffee mornings early on in the first lockdown to keep in touch and maintain relationships with people they couldn’t see in person.
This was also an opportunity to help others use video conferencing tool Zoom – which many of us had never even heard of before – providing support and training to people who wanted to try new digital routes.
The team recently piloted a new ‘afternoon tea’ session for zoomers who are not necessarily morning people. This went really well, so we will be holding 'afternoon tea' sessions every Thursday at 3pm.
The coffee mornings run every Tuesday at 10.30am – contact the team for a link if you are interested.
If you would like to attend a coffee morning or afternoon, please contact 0114 2735566, let your Governance Officer know or email getinvolved@sheffield.gov.uk
Please note there will not be a coffee morning on Tuesday 8th December.
You can Zoom from a smartphone, tablet or laptop. If you are not already using Zoom, don’t worry; we can help you get started.
Keeping sheltered residents safe
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, staff in the Older Peoples Independent Living Team have been working hard to keep residents safe and well by providing:
- Regular contact by telephone and intercom offering help and support
- A chat with those who have been lonely and isolated
- Advice about social distancing, self-isolation, accessing Covid tests and support
- Welfare visits, as well as some regular presence on site to manage buildings
- Daily cleaning of all communal areas and touch points at schemes
- Weekly fire, health and safety checks
- Opportunities for residents to borrow books, games and activity packs
- Activities that residents can access virtually to keep them connected, active and socially included
As residents are unable to use the communal lounges for Christmas activities this year, we’ve found different ways to do things. All residents have been invited to decorate a window of their flat and our staff are trimming up some of the communal windows too. We’ll share photos of the decorated windows with everyone at a later date.
Contacting us
As we’re sure you’ll understand, we are prioritising urgent and serious situations so only call us if this applies to you. Please bear with us if it takes longer than usual to answer your call.
There’s lots of information about our services online. Don’t forget you can still pay your rent, check your rent balance and set up a Direct Debit (the easiest way to pay your rent) on our website.
You can email us here, write to us (Housing and Neighbourhood Service, PO Box 5967, Sheffield S2 9GH) or follow us on Facebook for the latest updates.
Our Housing Offices remain closed until further notice.
Keeping up to date
Find out about the latest changes to services on our website. We will continue to send you fortnightly bulletins with the latest news and information you need.
Sheffield City Council is issuing regular updates by email about advice and changes to services during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Keep informed by signing up now
You can also follow us on Twitter for the latest news or check out our website.
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
Click the share button above and then choose the social media or email icon at the top of the page to share this news.
|
