Ellesmere Port and Neston - Changing times Home Repairs
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Plus Dane Residents’ Magazine Issue 27 | Spring 2017
Ellesmere Port Home Photo
and Neston Repairs Competition
Changing times What you need to know Win Amazon vouchers
In Your
Welcome Neighbourhood
Welcome to the spring edition of Unity magazine,
which contains important details of our new repairs
policy, information for tenants in Warrington with
regards to the roll-out of Universal Credit, a reminder The Bromley Farm Wellbeing
on the support we are offering to those affected by the Hub has been hosting fun and
benefits cap and a final feature on the management informative cookery courses for
contract in Ellesmere Port and Neston. residents, designed to develop
culinary skills by teaching how
The Ellesmere Port and Neston contract ends on June to make a variety of quick and
30, and we are currently working with ForViva Group, easy meals to take home, whilst
the organisation taking over the contract, to ensure a learning about the benefits of
smooth transition both for staff delivering the services eating healthy at low cost.
and for tenants. Kate Jungnitz, the Director overseeing Find out more on page 19.
the contract for Plus Dane, will talk more about on page
10; but I would like to thank tenants in Ellesmere Port
and Neston for their support over the last five years. “I would like to thank tenants
We have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside you
and your support has made a big difference to what in Ellesmere Port and Neston
we have been able to deliver.
for their support over the last An older people’s health and wellbeing event took
Last year you may remember that Plus Dane signed five years. We have thoroughly place in Joseph Groome Towers in Ellesmere
up to the 5% Club, a national initiative which aims Port. Brio Leisure held a ‘get active’ session,
to encourage organisations across the country to enjoyed working alongside you demonstrating some gentle exercise movements.
ensure 5% of the workforce is made up of apprentices, Other organisations such as Quit 51 offered support
graduate trainees or work placements by 2021. A and your support has made a to stop smoking; Age UK provided information and
year later, and we are already on track to hit that advice; Community Compass promoted their social
target during 2017. In the summer we did a significant
big difference to what we have hub for older people, and Westminster Surgery
recruitment drive to appoint ten apprentices, and due been able to deliver.” offered free health checks for all.
to the quality of candidates we ended up appointing
18 across Cheshire and Merseyside. This year we have Barbara Spicer
plans to recruit up to ten more apprentices and five Chief Executive Plus Dane Housing This year’s Safer Internet Day
graduate trainees – so some exciting plans. had the theme of ‘give a smile’.
Plus Dane staff and the pupils at
Plus Dane’s Board-level commitment to If you or anyone you know is interested in an Marton and District CE Primary
apprenticeships is something we are really proud of as apprenticeship at Plus Dane, then please visit our School in Macclesfield teamed
a business. We have recruited some remarkable young website or check our social media channels regularly up to create their own emojis
people over the last twelve months, who have not only over the coming months, as details of positions which were shared across our
made a difference to the dynamics of the organisation available will be posted there when our recruitment social media channels to send
but genuinely have the potential to be future leaders. begins. more than 80 smiles back to the
internet on the day.
Barbara Spicer
Chief Executive
2 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 3
Keeping Checklist
Your Home in Who needs to do what?
Great Shape
The responsibility for looking
after your home is a joint one.
Before logging any repair,
please check that it is our
responsibility, not yours,
with our handy checklist.
Repairs and maintenance
changes to improve service What we will look after:
• The roof What you look after:
• Drains, gutters and external pipes • Internal painting and decorating
It is important to us that our homes are kept in good When a repair doesn’t pose an immediate danger • Outside walls, doors, window sills, • Keeping yards, paths and gardens clean
condition to make sure they are well-maintained, or causes limited inconvenience, we will carry out window frames and tidy
warm and safe. a repair by appointment, at a time convenient to • Internal walls, floors, ceilings and doors • Testing smoke detectors and replacing batteries
you, within 28 days. However, there will be some • Installations for space heating, water heating, • TV aerials (unless shared)
We know a good repairs service matters to our cases where the repair may be part of a long- sanitation and the supply of water, gas • Replacing plug fuses, light bulbs, florescent
tenants, and we want to make sure the service we term programme of planned works, or there is an and electricity tubes and starters
provide offers value for money and, most importantly, agreement made with the tenant which may be • Basins, sinks, baths, flushing systems and • Bathroom fixtures
meets your needs. outside of this timeframe. waste pipes • Minor repairs e.g. tightening screws,
• Electrical wiring, sockets, switches, gas loose doors, window furniture
Our new Repairs and Maintenance Policy sets out For more information about the repairs and pipes and water pipes • Repairs to improvements or alterations you
what you can expect from this service, what we’re maintenance policy, visit our webiste. • Water heaters, fireplaces, fitted fires and have carried out
responsible for as your landlord, and also what you central heating systems • Maintaining fixtures and fittings installed by
are responsible for. How to report a repair • Major plasterworks you, such as curtain rails
There are several ways to report a repair: • Chimneys, stacks and flues • Clearing blockages in waste pipes and toilets
From April 1, repairs will be categorised as either • Website: You can report a repair online at • Annual gas safety inspection of any gas caused by a lack of care i.e. nappies
emergency or planned. www.plusdane.co.uk/report-a-repair/ appliances • Outside taps and associated pipeworks
• Plus Dane App: You can report a repair by • Access pathways and steps • Repairing damage caused by you or your
In an emergency, we will respond within two hours downloading our app to your smartphone/ • Boundary fences, gates and walls (if erected family/guests
and, where possible, aim to make your situation tablet - you can even take a picture of the by us) • Repairs to any cooker, heater or other
safe within 24 hours. A repair is classed as an problem. To download, search ‘Plus Dane’ on • Garages and stores (if built/owned by us) gas appliance you have had installed
emergency if waiting will either put people in danger, App Store and Google Play. • External decoration (normally completed • Replacing lost or broken keys
make tenants home unsafe or insecure, damage the • Email: customer@plusdane.co.uk every five years)
property, make the existing damage worse, or create • Call: 0800 169 2988. • Shared areas in blocks of flats
unreasonable risk, suffering or difficulty. • Visit or write to any Plus Dane offices.
4 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 5
Are You a Subletting Halton
Victim of Could Cost Services Get
Thumbs Up
a Loan Shark? You Your
Loan sharks can be very persuasive and friendly,
Home The housing-related support
services provided by Plus Dane/
but once you have borrowed money they then SHAP and funded by Halton
become threatening, add massive amounts of Borough Council have received
interest to your loan and even offer to loan you A tenant who was sub-letting his Plus Dane home has lost a court overwhelmingly positive feedback
more money to repay the original debt. case, his tenancy, and must pay thousands of pounds in legal costs. from a recent stakeholders’
survey.
Officially, a loan shark is someone who lends If you’re worried about debt there is lots of Housing officers are warning that anyone suspected of profiting from
money without permission of the Financial Conduct advice and information available. You can talk in renting out their Plus Dane property to someone else will be fully The survey asked professionals
Authority. If someone offers to lend you money, ask confidence to a debt adviser who will never judge investigated, and could meet the same fate. This most recent court from other agencies who make
yourself the following questions: you regardless of how big or small you think your case concerned a man who was not living at the three-bedroom use of the services how satisfied
problem is. They can find ways to manage your Toxteth address kept under his name, but in an expensive home he they were with the assistance on
• Did you get any paperwork? debts and have access to ways of dealing with owned in another area. offer. Some 97% of those who
• Is there a large amount of interest added to debt which you may not know about. completed the form said they
your loan? Suspicions the registered tenant wasn’t using the property as his were ‘very satisfied’, while the
• Have you been threatened? For more information, go online to main or principal home were raised several times over a number of remaining 3% were ‘satisfied’.
• Are you scared of people finding out? stoploansharks.co.uk, a one stop shop to years. Staff reported finding it difficult to access the property when
• Have they taken your bank card, benefit card, get information, access support and report legally required, like for annual gas safety checks, and noted a The survey was undertaken as
passport, watch or other valuables from you? illegal lenders. number of different occupiers. Plus Dane gathered evidence for more part of a continuous improvement
than a year before the case was strong enough to take to court – a plan, and the Plus Dane/
process that took a further four months. Unbelievably, it came to light SHAP team have said they are
the property had been advertised, by the tenant, as available for rent delighted with the feedback.
on the website RightMove three times. After a two day trial at civil One stakeholder described it as
Scrutiny Panel Gets Started court, the tenant was found guilty of subletting. He was ordered to
leave the property, and Plus Dane was awarded costs.
“a very valuable service that has
saved numerous tenancies from
eviction”. Plus Dane/ SHAP offers
“This has been a difficult case, but we are delighted with this a range of services in Halton to
outcome,” said Housing Manager Ali Phillipson. “We are not help people with support needs
Members of the Customer Scrutiny Panel have The panel is also looking at producing a 12-month complacent about taking a case all the way to court - there is a to live independently and prevent
started their pilot review: ‘How well does the sign-up programme of services they will be reviewing over huge amount at stake if we lose. It is a difficult and time-consuming homelessness. This includes
process prepare tenants to settle into their homes the coming months. Look out for them reporting their process, and our housing officer Karen Buttery and other colleagues enabling clients to maintain or
and neighbourhoods?’ recommendations - and Plus Dane’s response - in worked very hard to gather the evidence we needed. Plus Dane secure a tenancy, manage and
future editions of Unity and on our website, where will not tolerate subletting - we will investigate every report we reduce debts, access benefits
Working with Plus Dane’s Engagement Team, the you can also see a short film introducing the panel receive thoroughly.” advice, take part in education,
panel has developed a project plan which will and their work. training or employment, and
hopefully see them producing their recommendations Subletting a housing association property for profit is unfair, and simply improving general
for improvement in April. Currently they are gathering If you would like to find out more about the undermines the system in place for allocating homes to those most wellbeing. It also offers a
information, attending briefings and getting on with Scrutiny Panel please contact engagement officer in need. It is considered a breach of tenancy, and could be taken specialist mental health support
group tasks so they can submit their report to Plus Irene Crone on 0151 703 2026 or email all the way through the civil court system. If tenants in receipt of service.
Dane’s Board. irene.crone@plusdane.co.uk. benefits are making money through subletting, this is benefit fraud - a
criminal offence that could be a matter for the police. If you suspect a Contact Plus Dane/SHAP
neighbour may be subletting a property, contact your housing officer. through the telephone
numbers on the back page.
6 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 7
Congleton Office Universal
Credit rolls out
No longer accepting cash payments
in Warrington
We are changing the way you can make payments in There are a number of quicker, more convenient
Congleton to make it easier for you, without leaving ways to make a payment to us, such as online or Warrington is the latest local authority concerning issues around work and childcare, and accessing
the comfort of your own home. over the telephone. Plus Dane tenants and customers to roll out Universal information from Job Centre Plus; and support provided
Credit’s ‘full digital’ service. Since February, claimants by Plus Dane.
From April 1, our Shepherds Mill office will no For example, the safest, easiest and cheapest way have no longer been able to apply for benefits such as
longer accept cash payments over the counter, to pay your rent is by direct debit. It’s completely Income support, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment We will be looking at these areas in some detail to
bringing it into line with the other offices across the flexible and you can even choose the frequency and and Support Allowance or Housing Benefit, and now ensure our services are tailored to support customers
organisation. amount you wish to pay. You can set up a direct debit need to make a Universal Credit claim online – and on Universal Credit.
or find out more information by visiting our website, must have a bank account to complete it.
Only a very small number of our tenants and or speaking to one of our customer service advisors
customers still pay this way, and those affected have on 0800 169 2988. Plus Dane tenants and customers in the Halton area Please note: Tenants and customers in Halton
been notified about the change and advised about were the first to make the switch to the Universal Credit who were already claiming Universal Credit
alternative ways to pay bills. Those who still want to pay bills by cash can do so at full digital service in July last year. Along with other before the full digital roll-out last July may be
. their local Post Office or Paypoint outlet. housing associations in the region, we recently carried aware that they must put in a new claim or face
out a survey to better understand their experience of losing their benefits. Please do not ignore any
the process, which was presented to the Work and appointments to attend your local Jobcentre
Pensions Select Committee in parliament back in Plus to make this new claim in person, as your
Improving your
January. Universal Credit payments will stop.
Some key themes came out of the survey including:
Repairs Service Problems with delays with the first claim; issues around
budgeting, because payments are made monthly;
A major three-year improvement plan is underway Director of Repairs Mike Price explains:
within Plus Dane’s repairs and maintenance service,
with the aim of maximising productivity and efficiency
“The single supply agreement will strengthen Plus
Dane’s commitment to delivering a high quality,
The Benefit Cap
while guaranteeing excellent standards of service efficient, ‘right first time’ approach to maintaining
Help if you’re struggling to cope
and value for money for tenants and customers. our tenants’ homes.”
In the long term, it is hoped that the majority of This single supply agreement will help to increase the
repairs and planned investment work across the number of jobs our trades teams can complete per The benefit cap has now been fully rolled out across the Independence Team has been contacting customers
organisation will be performed by our own teams day – something that is already on the rise. Over the country. This means that the total amount of benefits to offer advice and support to anyone who may be
rather than external contractors. course of 2016, this improved from 3.6 jobs a day a claimant can now receive for themselves and their struggling to pay their rent or need help to secure
per team member to 4.5. family is now a maximum of £20,000 per year. employment.
To support the delivery of an efficient repairs
service, Plus Dane recently appointed Travis Perkins It will also allow for the team to budget more It has been predicted that 116,000 claimants will be If you think you may be affected by any of
to be our single supplier of materials. Our repairs and effectively as a result of increased cost certainty, affected, with some families losing as much as £115 these changes and you would like further
maintenance teams previously managed numerous keep more appointments and increase the number a week as a result. Our own data shows this includes advice please contact our Financial
suppliers across Merseyside and Cheshire, of jobs completed in one visit through increased approximately 150 of our tenants. Independence Team on 0800 169 2988 (free
leading to a lack of consistency in the quality and availability and reduce vehicle costs by carrying from landlines and most mobiles), or email
availability of materials used to carry out repairs and increased van stocks and reducing the number of We understand that this could be a very worrying Financial.independence.team@plusdane.co.uk
improvements. visits required to collect materials. situation for some people. Plus Dane’s Financial
8 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 9
Over the length of our Ellesmere Port and Neston contract, we have:
Ellesmere Port Resolved more Nearly 70,000 home 51.1m - Total
and Neston
than 450 anti social visits carried out by asset management
behaviour cases Support Officers budget spent
End of contract nears
Brought in £510,000
of external funds to
support the delivery
This will be the final edition of Unity for our Ellesmere not only by our own staff and volunteers, but those of projects
Port and Neston customers. of many partner organisations in the area. Most 3057 new kitchens 2048 new bathrooms
importantly I would like to thank you, the residents, installed installed
Plus Dane has managed homes across the borough giving your own spare time to participate in our
on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester council for spring cleans and other events and working as
the last five years, and our contract comes to an end community champions and more. It has all been 22 Safeguarding Laid enough flooring
on June 30. The new contract has been awarded much appreciated and helped to shape the services referrals sent to in the kitchen and
to the Forviva Group, who will begin a ten year we deliver. We could not have done this alone, and I Cheshire West and bathroom contract to
management contract from July. Over that time Plus extend my thanks to everyone who has assisted us cover 7 football pitches
Chester protecting
Dane has enjoyed great working partnerships with along the way. 4889 properties
vulnerable people from
customers and the Council, and is proud to completed
look back over some of the achievements we have abuse or neglect
external works
made together. (Feb-Dec 2016)
“Our engagement projects
Our engagement projects have offered our have offered our customers a 297 Tenancy
customers and the wider community a wide range Sustainment
of employment and health and wellbeing support. wide range of employment and referrals, with 125
This includes setting up three successful Live Local 2244 new heating
Work Local skills and employment fairs, supporting health and wellbeing support.” cases referred for
systems installed
people to take the next step on their journey to further help
employment through work clubs in Westminster Kate Jungnitz - Director for
Ellesmere Port and Neston 624 properties had
and Wolverham, and the Move On fund. We also Fitted more than 11 miles
electrical rewiring
supported people to set up their own businesses of kitchen worktops
through Pop Up in the Port, with all of these creating
hundreds of job opportunities over the lifetime of I couldn’t finish without paying tribute to those of
our contract. you who have worked with us through our more
Supported 275 tenants
formal structures as members of the scrutiny panel, into employment
Our Money Advice Team has been able to help empty homes inspectors, as customer feedback
Brought in £19.6 million to
people struggling to navigate their way through champions and on other panels and resident groups
welfare reform measures like Universal Credit and the – thank you. The time you have given to work with us support the building
Benefit Cap, helping to keep more customers paying to improve services for the benefit of all tenants of new homes
rent and avoiding falling into arrears in challenging is much appreciated.
times, and securing significant additional income.
Consistently achieved
The graphics on these pages show more detail on
A priority for Plus Dane has been to maintain our successes over the last five years.
100% properties with a
and improve the properties we manage to a high valid gas certificate
standard throughout the contract thanks to our It has been our pleasure to manage your homes Achieved more
skilled in-house repairs teams. Neighbourhoods and be able to make a positive difference to the than £1.25m savings in
have been improved, maintained and made safer community during the time of Plus Dane’s contract.
financial gains for our Fitted 384 new roofs 1116 client referrals to
Money Advice clients our Money Advice team
10 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 11
Ellesmere Port Everton Brow
and Neston New homes now built and occupied
success stories
Plus Dane’s Everton Brow development of 23 to the Homes and Community’s Agency’s Affordable
homes for affordable rent has been completed and Homes Programme Grant 2015 – 2018.
is now fully occupied.
It is part of Plus Dane’s development strategy to
It features a mix of two-bedroom houses and deliver more than 600 new-build homes across
one-bedroom flats, located on a newly-created Merseyside and Cheshire over the next three years.
road called Yeoman Close.
Claire Griffiths, Executive Director of Property, said: “We are delighted to be
“Plus Dane has a long-standing presence in the
Everton area and has always been proud to be part able to offer a range of
of the community. We are delighted to be able to
offer a range of new-build properties for affordable
new-build properties for
rent in the area.”
affordable rent in the area.”
The Everton Brow development was funded by a
Claire Griffiths - Executive Director of Property
combined investment of £30m from Plus Dane, and
funds made available from a successful application
12 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 13
Community News Photo Competition
Keeping community spirit alive Prizes up for grabs
Pinehurst Community Association, based in Anfield,
Liverpool, holds events for local people of all ages
throughout the year, to bring together those in the
neighbourhood who may be feeling isolated, or “We are only a group of volunteers who are trying to
struggle to afford a day out. keep the community spirit alive,” said group co-
chair Billy Marrat. “On behalf the committee I would
The association holds successful bingo nights and like to thank the people of the Pinehurst estate and
table top sales to raise funds, and hosted a variety surrounding area for all their fantastic support. It
of special trips last year, including a family day out makes all the hard work well worth it.”
to Southport, a seaside crabbing trip in conjunction
with Merseyside Police, a trip to Blackpool Lights for There will be more to come this year – local residents
parents and children, and a free Halloween party in can keep an eye out for leaflets coming through
Pinehurst Junior School. Older people were able to their door promoting upcoming events, look out
attend a Christmas dinner in Southport, and a night for information posters, or check out the Pinehurst
out at the Royal Court theatre for a show and a meal. Community Association Facebook page.
Eyes on the Street
Sutton Way Working Group
Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities. It poses Last summer, Plus Dane took the proactive
a threat to humans and wildlife, damages our approach to install CCTV in the area, in an effort
environment, and spoils enjoyment of where we live. to capture those regularly dumping rubbish in the
communal yards. You don’t need a fancy camera, just a bit of There are two categories, one for children and
Sutton Way in Ellesmere Port has attracted fly-tippers imagination to enter our spring photo competition young people (under 18) and one for adults. What
for many years, dumping anything from bin bags to In addition, Cllr Tony Sherlock has paid for signage – and there’s £50 worth of Amazon vouchers up are you waiting for? Closing date for entries is 5pm
full house clearances! As a result, Plus Dane has on Sutton Way that has had a massive impact on the for grabs! Friday, April 21. Winners of the £25 vouchers for
been spending around £1,200 a month on clearing amount of fly-tipping in the area. Historically after each category will be announced via social media,
the illegally dumped rubbish. the Christmas period the communal areas would be What are you up to this spring? Maybe a trip away, and in the next edition of Unity.
heavily littered - this year they were clear. And what’s or meeting up with friends? Whatever you do, why
No one organisation can tackle fly-tipping in more, Plus Dane has reduced its monthly bill to clear not take a photo on your camera or phone and send Competition rules available upon request.
isolation. Sutton Way Working Group, made up the rubbish from £1,200 to £600. it to us - you can upload it to our Facebook page,
of local councillors, council officers and Plus tag us on Instagram at plusdanehousing, or email to
Dane Housing Officers Juliette Boland and Paul The group says: “We all need to work together to communications@plusdane.co.uk.
Tracey, meet regularly to discuss this and other make a real difference to the lives of people in
local matters. Sutton Way.” Anyone who is caught fly-tipping may
face prosecution.
14 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 15
A map of the canal system in England is similar to
Liverpool Local looking at the motorway network. There is now just
2,000 miles of canals in England compared to 4,800
Waves of Hope History miles in the mid-19th century. Canals were originally
financed by merchants, bankers, coalmine owners,
textile manufacturers and pottery barons connecting
Support programme A look at our canals industrial cities such as Liverpool and Leeds,
enabling Britain to become the first industrial power.
reaches halfway point
Canals today are mostly used for recreational
purposes; here are some facts about a few in
our area.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal was the
longest single canal ever built in Britain, 127
miles in total. It passes through 91 locks with
a summit of 148 metres. In April 2009, a link
was opened to Liverpool’s Central Docks,
allowing boats access to the city centre.
Shropshire Union Canal was brought about
The Liverpool Waves of Hope programme, funded Frontline Liverpool Waves of Hope staff are currently at a meeting in Ellesmere, Shropshire in 1791.
by the Big Lottery and managed by Plus Dane, has being trained in Trauma Informed Care, a practice The canal connected the rivers Dee, Severn
reached a significant milestone. that aims to give a better understanding of the and Mersey. The Wirral line opened on July 1,
different ways people can experience trauma, 1795 and hence, Ellesmere Port was born.
The five-year, £10m programme is now at the halfway and the impact it can have on their lives. Moving
point and looking at ways to share what has been forward, this will be used to profile all new clients and
learned and build a legacy for its work supporting service users, providing them with better support,
people with multiple needs, including homelessness, and helping them to rebuild a sense of control and
offending, substance misuse, and mental ill-health. empowerment. The training is being delivered by The Trent and Mersey Canal was one of
This month, Liverpool Waves of Hope has launched Mersey Care NHS Trust. the earliest canals to be built, in 1777. One
a new service user hub in the city, to provide a notable feature is the Anderton Boat Lift, built
space where people can meet informally, take part in in 1875 to raise cargo boats from the River
activities and share their experiences. “The hub will be a safe Weaver to the Trent and Mersey Canal.
The hub is based at The Basement on Parr Street space for people with lived
in Liverpool city centre, and is open every Thursday.
Service users say it will be a safe space for people
experience of multiple
with lived experience of multiple needs, to help build needs, to help build
confidence and have a more proactive voice The Macclesfield Canal is 26 miles long and runs
in development of support and services available confidence and have a from Marple in Cheshire to Hall Green, near the
to them. Harecastle Tunnel. It was opened in 1831. It served
more proactive voice.” mills, quarries and mines around Macclesfield,
Congleton and the Peak District, and was still being
used for freight carriage until the 1960s.
16 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 17
Neighbourhood Inspections Plus Dane Voices
Getting better thanks to you Hundreds of you sign up to take part
Nearly 700 of our tenants and customers across There will be least four consultations to get involved
Merseyside and Cheshire have signed up to be part with throughout the year, whether you prefer being
of Plus Dane Voices so far – and we’d still like to hear contacted by email, text, or phone.
from more of you!
For example, in October last year we consulted our
Plus Dane Voices is your opportunity to have your Plus Dane Voices on how we deliver our Income
say - and help support changes to services affecting and Housing Services. Four key recommendations
At the start of the year, Ellesmere Port and Neston Scrutiny Panel and Neighbourhood Management you. were drawn up from the feedback, and these will
Housing Scrutiny Panel, a group of tenant volunteers team will then work together to ensure the relevant be used to directly influence change. Sharing how
who work in partnership with Plus Dane, embarked action plan is in place to improve this service area for We understand that services are best improved by your feedback has helped shape our services is very
on a scrutiny review looking at how effective our the benefit of all. those who use them, and that providing a flexible important to us. Detailed results from this and future
regular neighbourhood inspections are. and simple way to provide feedback helps support consultations are available on our web page.
If you are interested in finding out more about our this process.
They participated in the inspections, talked to tenant volunteers on the Ellesmere Port and Neston To register for Plus Dane Voices, visit our
customers, interviewed staff and reviewed reports, Housing Scrutiny Panel - who they are, how they Our engagement team has been busy promoting website, search for ‘Voices’ and complete the
which included identifying good practice from other have helped to improve the services you receive or if Plus Dane Voices, and over the last six months the short online form. Alternatively, you can email
landlords. you are considering this type of volunteer role might interest has been fantastic. plusdane.voices@plusdane.co.uk
be for you, contact engagement officer Karen Traynor
Their own report will soon be published, detailing the through the phone number on the back page.
panel’s findings and recommendations. The Housing
Health and Plus Dane, in partnership with Everybody Sport and
Plus Dane Board Wellbeing in Recreation, is now offering Taste for Life cookery
courses to people living in Congleton and Alsager.
Recruits a Tenant
Cheshire
Taking place at the Bromley Farm Wellbeing Hub
and Radway Estate, the six week courses will show
participants how to cook low cost, healthy nutritious
As Unity goes to press, Plus Dane is in the process meals from scratch, understand and read food
of appointing a new tenant member to its Board. labels, learn to forward plan and prepare meals,
The Board determines the strategic direction and Eleven people applied for the role and the Tenants and customers in the Alsager, reduce food waste, source healthy balanced recipes
policies of the organisation, and scrutinises its work, shortlisted applicants recently went through a full Middlewich, Sandbach and Crewe areas who are and more.
holding senior staff - including the chief executive - interview process. looking for friendly support with personal issues
to account. can take advantage of a new service providing Usman Ashiq, Strategic Partnerships Manager at
Sir Peter Fahy, Chair of the Board said: “A tenant or tailored one-to-one help and advice sessions. Plus Dane said: “These cookery classes will equip
Last year a new tenant and customer engagement customer has a unique and direct insight into how local residents with the confidence, knowledge
strategy was launched to enable us to make sure we perform as an organisation and the services we The free service, in partnership with Alternative and inspiration to eat healthily whilst developing
customers’ voices are heard, listened to and deliver. This position offers a real opportunity for the Solutions, provides a range of support such as their cookery skills. These popular classes will be
acted upon, to help shape, improve, and scrutinise right person with an appetite for fresh thinking to managing symptoms of illness, housing support, delivered throughout the year and will be accessible
Plus Dane. make a big difference to the future of Plus Dane.” benefit advice, LGBT advice, debt management, to all Congleton residents.”
and for those who are struggling to find or stay in
As part of this, a vacancy on the Board was We look forward to introducing the new tenant work, the service offers employment advice and Contact Usman for more details on 01260 288422
reserved for a member who is a tenant or customer. Board member in the next edition of Unity! guidance. or usman.ashiq@plusdane.co.uk.
18 | Plus Dane Unity Plus Dane Unity | 19Looking for an affordable way
to get on the property ladder?
Shared Ownership could be the key.
Buying a share in a new home is a great way to get your
foot on the property ladder – it’s affordable, flexible and
can cost less than renting the same home privately!
You can purchase from 25% to 75% with the option
to buy more shares when you can afford them.
Eligibility criteria applies.
To find out more visit:
www.helptobuynw.org.uk
Contact Us
www.plusdane.co.uk Email: communications@plusdane.co.uk
Tel: 0151 708 4608
0800 169 2988
Or write to:
Free from most UK landlines and mobiles
Nicky Speed, Communications Manager
If you are a Cheshire West & Chester Council Plus Dane Housing, 13-15 Rodney Street
tenant living in Ellesmere Port & Neston contact: Liverpool, L8 3SB
0151 373 2520 Download our FREE App by searching Plus Dane
in either the App Store or Google Play.
For general information and repairs email:
customer@plusdane.co.uk
If you have any comments about Unity Magazine
please let us know. We also welcome any ideas for @plusdane facebook.com/plusdane
stories that you might have. You can submit your
comments and suggestions in the following ways:
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