|
Welcome to our October edition of our Housing Bulletin. In this edition, I have some special news to share. Following the wider changes that took place in the Council over the Summer, I have decided to move on from the Council soon. I have greatly enjoyed my time at Waltham Forest and would like to thank you all for the support you have given me over the last five years. It has been a pleasure working with you all. I will be here until Wednesday 30 November 2022, and I will be tying up any loose ends before I go so hope to get a chance to say goodbye to you all in person.
I wish you all every success in the future and I am very proud of everything we have achieved together.
Kind regards
Darren
 |
|
Sharon Louison tells us what’s it like to be the Place Officer of Hoe Street and Chapel End Wards on Wednesday 12 October.
“This morning I visited Attlee Terrace and St Mary’s Church with Cllr Andrew Dixon, Cllr Miriam Mirwitch, Cllr Ahsan Khan, PC Luke Emin, James King from the ASB team and Alan Moss, the local Vicar. The aim of the walkabout was to show the Councillors the problem areas on the estates and how we are trying to improve them.
|
“After the tour I went back to the office, via Tesco's, and worked on my admin - emails, action plans and prepared for my estate inspections tomorrow at Tower Hamlets Road. My inspection sheet highlights the specific areas which need checking to ensure the cleaning and ground maintenance is all on track. I also identify and report any repair issues and keep a look out for any fly-tipping or overflowing bins and record when necessary.
“After a well-deserved drink and bag of popcorn, I caught up with a resident about a Positive Place submission in Attlee Terrace and helped another with a submission request. It was time to log off – no day is ever the same, I really do love my job, from being a Complaints Officer for many years, this is an exciting role where I get to meet the people I help.” |
|
 |
 Earlier this month we organised an estate tour for our new portfolio leads Cllr Khan and Cllr Baptiste. They visited Stocksfield Road Estate, Central Parade and Avenue Road Estate.
The tour highlighted:
-
Estate investments – emphasising our Positive Places Programme, regeneration works, our Planned and Building Safety Works Programme.
-
How the estate is managed – outlining the Caretakers, Place Officers and Ground Maintenance schedules.
-
Any resident consultation – including estate car parking and regeneration works.
-
Resident engagement activities – discussing events and how these have fed into our Positive Places ideas.
It was a successful visit providing Cllr Khan and Cllr Baptiste with further insights of the challenges some estates can face.
|
Each year local authorities must report the number of rough sleepers on a particular night. This information is then submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to help inform the national statistics of homelessness in the UK.
|
|
 |
This years’ count will be taking place on Friday 18 November between 1am-3am, and we would welcome your enthusiasm to join us so we can reach every rough sleeper in the borough.
If you are interested in volunteering or would like to find out more information please contact Pauline Jones, our Rough Sleeper Coordinator.
In March 2021, the government launched the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) providing more longer-term accommodation and support for rough sleepers who had been housed in temporary accommodation during the Covid-19 pandemic. We successfully bid for and was allocated capital and revenue grant funding for two projects under the RSAP, which in London is administered by the Greater London Authority (GLA).
-
The first RSAP project to complete was the ‘Housing First’ scheme. The Council bought back ten flats in council owned blocks previously sold under the Right-to-Buy with £1.5m capital grant. All ten flats were bought in February and March 2022, refurbished and furnished, and by July 2022 all were occupied by former rough sleepers receiving peripatetic ‘floating support’ to live independently.
-
The second RSAP project to complete was Heavitree Court (opened earlier this month - photos below). Repurposing an obsolete sheltered housing scheme owned by Notting Hill Genesis to provide 23 self-contained units of accommodation. The flats have been refurbished, the cost of this work was met by a RSAP capital grant. Residents are moving in shortly, with phased occupation up to December 2022. We have leased Heavitree Court for 10 years starting in April 2022.
|
This month we completed the handover of the Sixty Bricks development at Sansom Road which will provide 31 homes for social rent tenants.
The new homes will be a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments in five and six storey blocks with a landscaped communal garden. We are looking forward to welcoming our new tenants very soon!
|
|
 |
 Go through the keyhole and find out about all the energy saving ideas which were implemented at the Eco Show Home.
We recently welcomed a family, previously living in temporary accommodation, to their new home - the Eco Show Home on Greenleaf Road, Walthamstow. We will be keeping in touch with the new tenants to find out how they are getting on with the smart technology, how comfortable and warm the home is and how this is reflected in their energy bills. We will also monitor some elements of the home’s performance via remote sensors and will estimate the carbon savings made per year by retrofitting this council home.
Our Housing Teams have been working hard on numerous activities to keep our residents up to date, involved, consulted and celebrate.
Some key highlights include:
- Residents of North Birkbeck took part in an estate action evening, learning about environmental themed activities plus had a chance to get rid of large bulky items.
- We facilitated both STAR and Scrutiny Panel meetings earlier this month for our panel members.
- We hosted a Housing Surgery alongside a candle decorating workshop to celebrate Diwali for our residents at The Outset Centre, Walthamstow. It was a good turnout, helping answer residents' housing questions. (photos below)
- Next month have numerous events being hosted on our Aldriche Way Estate, such as energy café, employability sessions and first aid courses.
 We are delighted that our work with Aston Group on the Eco Show Home, in Greenleaf Road Walthamstow, has been recognised at the Inside Housing Development Awards and won in the ‘Best partnership - up to 100 homes’ category.
These awards celebrate the very best residential developments across the UK, recognising the teams, schemes and solutions that have made a positive impact on the communities we serve.
Last year we launched our Positive Places programme; working in partnership with residents to improve the look and feel of their housing estates.
Following the last three-month submission window we received some great suggestions from residents and every entry will be carefully considered for funding at the Positive Places review panel next month.
Contractors have recently started work on our flagship project Attlee Terrace Estate playground park – new equipment and mural (working design pictured below) and we look forward to sharing photos of the final project.
The Council are offering free flu jabs to all staff aged 18 and over, at a variety of venues across the borough. Anyone who gets vaccinated will receive a £1 hot drink voucher to redeem at Fellowship Foods (ground floor of the Assembly Hall at Fellowship Square). |
|
 |
|
