MWS Tenant's annual report - Magna West Somerset

Magna West Somerset
Tenants’ Annual Report
& Calendar 2012-2013
This photo is one of our garden competition winners

Annie Cole (middle) met HRH the Countess of
Wessex
Neighbourhood inspection at Orchard Way Barbara Mullan and Neil Bliss receive award for
MWS’s sheltered and supported housing service
The Tenants’ Panel summer fayre
If you would like this information in a different format or language please contact us on the number below.
@MagnaHousing
Magna Housing
Mary Newton, Gardening Competition winner
0800 138 6107
We welcome calls through Text Relay
Magna West Somerset Housing Association Limited, registered in England, charitable I&P Society No. 28643R, registered office address:
Hollands House, Poundbury Road, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1SW
The Williton Jubilee Clock sponsored by MWS
e: westsom@magna.org.uk
w: magnaws.org.uk

How this Annual Report was made
We asked you what you’d
like your 2011-2012 annual
report to look like and what
you’d like to know more
about.
You said, with a resounding voice,
‘a calendar!’ so this year we got
together with a residents working
group (pictured above) and asked
them what kind of calendar they
would like, what they thought we
ought to put in.
We shopped around to make sure
that we got the best possible price
for our calendars.
The residents and members of
staff spent a lot of time and put in
great effort to make this calendar
interesting and, most importantly,
right for you so, if it hits your spot or
not let us know. There is a feedback
form at the back of the calendar.
Please do fill it in and send it back
(no stamp necessary) and you will
be entered for a £100 prize draw!
Back row l-r: Chris Meadows, project officer, Kevin Parry, community
connections officer, Lewis Skinner, MWS resident rep, David Aldwinckle, MHA
director, Anthony Preece, community connections chair,
Front row l-r: Barbara Mullan, community service manager, Amanda Taylor,
personal secretary to the MWS director, David Kendall, resident rep, Derek
Cridland, resident rep, Pat Grafton, resident and Rob Veal, resident
Norma Stevens
The Tenants’ Panel works with
Magna in a variety of ways to help
improve the communities where we
live.
We have specialist focus groups that
get involved in looking at specific
areas.
The gardening contract that we
were involved in saw a few teething
problems, but after meetings with
the Contractor and considering the
rain we had, it is now looking very
good.
We also administer a community
improvement fund and last year, we
sponsored CLOWNS, PALS, Allerford
Village Hall and Brompton Regis
Hall, and also donated items such as
pictures, plants etc., to our tenants in
other sites.
This year, one of the things we have
agreed to continue is to sponsor
an apprentice gardener to work
alongside the MWS gardener/
handyman.
Tenant involvement is very important
at Magna, and it’s important that we,
as tenants, continue to be involved.
On a lighter note, during December
the Panel held two very successful
events at Ingrams Meadow and
Silvermead Extra Care schemes and
Father Christmas attended both of
these events, as did a puppeteer to
the delight of the tenants.
This is our housing association, and
the more tenants that get involved,
the better.
Norma Stevens
Chair Tenants’ Panel
Magna West Somerset Housing
Association

Governance
The MWS board with Graham Colls (right)
Magna West Somerset was
formed 14 years ago and
during this time a lot has
been achieved.
An investment of £29.4m in repairs and
modernisation has made sure that all our
properties now meet the government’s Decent
Homes standard. At the same time we have
built 420 new houses and flats to help tackle
the serious shortage of affordable housing in the
area.
A large part of this success has been attributable
to the financial strength we have had from
being part of the Magna Group alongside our
sister organisation in Dorset.
Until now there has been a complicated way
of organising Magna with a Board in West
Somerset, another one in Dorset and an overall
Group board.
Derick, Norma and Andrew, MWS tenant board
members
Often these three boards have been considering
exactly the same things and this has slowed
down some decisions.
We have consulted you on simplifying these
arrangements and from this autumn the same
board members will have responsibility for
everything that Magna does. This board has
already been appointed and initially it includes
four of the current members of Magna West
Somerset, two of whom are tenants.
You will not notice any difference in the service
you receive – to start with. Looking ahead, I
feel confident that a simpler and more efficient
organisation will have benefits for everyone
who lives in a Magna home or hopes to become
a Magna tenant in the future.
Piers Feilden
MWS board chair
Tony Murray
MWS director
tony.murray@magna.org.uk
01984 635102

October 2012
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Our plans
To continue to work with residents to
develop resident scrutiny.
To develop a new Magna strategy.
To continue to deliver value for money
services.
To complete the service improvement
review of how we deal with complaints.
MWS will work with MHA to carry out a
service improvement review of access
and customer care in Magna.

Resident
involvement
Our CHS accreditation for sheltered & supported
housing
Did you know?...
We are holding a joint tenants’ conference for Magna Housing Association and Magna West Somerset
tenants for the first time, on Monday 22nd October 2012 at Huish Park conference centre, Yeovil.
We use mystery shoppers to measure how we are performing against standards set by you. We give
vouchers to tenants who volunteer to be mystery shoppers.
If you are interested, contact Lisa Holmes at lisa.holmes@magna.org.uk or 01305 216086.
A member of the Tenants’ Panel is always present on our neighbourhood inspections. Staff and
Tenants’ Panel members visit different areas where we have properties to ensure the areas are tidy
and any issues or concerns are listened to. A list of inspection dates can be found on our website and
in Opendoor.
We run various working groups so tenants can help us look at how our services run and whether they
could be improved.
MWS have lots of ways residents can get involved from formal meetings to answering questions, via
email or telephone, and commenting on facebook and twitter.
Donation to CLOWNS
@MagnaHousing
Magna Housing
Neil Bliss
Community involvement
officer
neil.bliss@magna.org.uk
01984 635134

November 2012
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Our plans
To work more with local organisations
in the community to promote our
services and give more involvement
opportunities to our residents.
Make sure residents have their say
on procurement of major contracts,
including kitchen and bathroom
suppliers.
To involve more of our younger residents
and families to get an even better
understanding of what they would like
from us.
Tenant
Involvement and
Empowerment
Standard
Our local offer to you
November 2011

Repairs &
Maintenance
Chris working at one of our empty properties
MWS operative, Rob Lofts, hard at work
5 year planned maintenance
Our in-house workforce installed 30 new Air-
Source Heat Pumps in 11/12, saving money and
providing a more customer-friendly service. The
Magna team of installers proved a big hit with
residents. One lady told us, “They were brilliant,
the nicest crowd of lads you could wish for. I
couldn’t fault them in any way.”
Did you know?...
If you have GAS, OIL or SOLID FUEL heating in
your home we service your appliance every year.
Our contractor, Somerset Gas, will write to you to
arrange an appointment to carry out the work.
Please try to allow easy access so that we can
make sure your heating is safe.
In 2011/12 every oil and gas appliance had a
safety check.
In April we took our building stores back into our
own management (it having previously been
run by a private builders’ merchant). This has
saved £38,000 per year and allowed us to more
effectively manage the service.
Steve adding the finishing touches!
MWS belongs to a buying club, Advantage
South West (ASW). Seventeen social landlords
representing 70,000 tenants across the region
club together to purchase products, giving us the
purchasing power to achieve the best value for
your money
We said we’d prioritise garage repairs and
improvement, and we made a good start in
2011/12. Now we intend to speed up our
progress.
Our plan is to invest more in the garage stock in
the coming five years to catch up on repairs and
refurbishment.
Garage blocks in Watchet, Williton and Monksilver
have been refurbished during the last twelve
months.
We set a target of 99% for tenant satisfaction with
the repairs service in 2011/12, and we came very
close with a score of 98.2%.
John Williams
Technical & property
services manager
john.williams@magna.org.
uk
01984 635037

December 2012
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In 2011/12 we installed
• 62 new kitchens
• 113 new bathrooms
• 45 new external doors
• 30 new energy efficient Air Source
central heating systems
We carried out
• 71 heating upgrades & boiler
replacements
• 17 loft insulations
• 21 pitched roof & flat roof renewals
• 13 full window replacements
97.8 % of our repairs were carried
out within our target dates.
In 2011/12 we achieved our target
of getting repairs “right first time”
85% of the time.
So far in 2012/13 we have increased
our performance to 87%.

Repairs &
Maintenance
Mike pruning a hedge
Our bathroom replacement (flannel not included!)
Did you know?...
We carried out a 50% sample survey of tenants
in December 2011.
Your top three priorities were replacement
kitchens, bathrooms and heating. You also
thought repairs to paths, landscaping, mould and
damp treatment, car parking and litter problems
were important.
In 2012/13 we are creating a new centre
for recycling our maintenance waste, in
order to achieve higher standards of waste
management and further reduce our impact on
the environment. The investment will also save
money, as landfill charges and transport costs are
reduced.
Hard at work in one of our empty properties
We said...
• We would carry out an inspection and repair
property “MOT”, where we visit a property and
carry out any small repairs necessary (not major
improvement work). This proved successful
and we carried out 38 “MOTs” in 2011/12. If
you would like a “MOT” of your home please
telephone 0800 7319293 and request one.
(Please note this is for tenants only).
• We would work to improve the average energy
efficiency (SAP rating) of the housing stock, and
we achieved an increase from 65.9 to 67.2. This
was slightly below our target of 68.1, but a big
achievement.
• We have a plan to do more to improve the
energy efficiency and to help reduce the cost
of energy in your home by connecting up some
areas to the gas grid so gas central heating can
be installed to replace inefficient electric storage
heaters.
• We will also provide more advice to you about
what you can do to reduce your fuel bills.
Sean Thompson
Technical & property services
contract manager
sean.thompson@magna.org.uk
01984 635002

January 2013
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In 2012/13 we will:
• fit 45 new kitchens
• provide 64 new bathrooms
• carry out 88 boiler replacements &
heating upgrades
In 2012/13 we will:
• fit 71 new external doors
• carry out 4 external wall insulations
• replace 30 pitched roofs
• fit 30 new air source heat pump
central heating systems
Did you know?...
Magna has a Repairs Focus Group,
made up of interested tenants,
which considers ways in which the
maintenance service can be improved.
If you are interested in joining the
group, please telephone John Williams,
technical and property services
manager, on 01984 635037.

How we let
properties
Mr and Mrs Roberts and son Charlie at Meadow
Close, Wheddon Cross
Did you know?
• 193 homes became empty during 2011/12;
that’s 41 more than the year before.
• We let 254 homes during 2011/12; that’s 75
more than the year before.
• 77 of the 254 lettings in 2011/12 were brand
new homes compared with only 6 the year
before. These included Magna’s 9,000th home in
Allers View, Dulverton.
• It took us an average of 21 days to relet our
empty homes in 2011/12; that puts us in the
top 25% of housing associations for this area of
work.
• 29 mutual exchanges took place in 2011/12; 9
more than the year before.
• We replaced individual tenancy sign ups with
a weekly ‘welcome event’ where new and
transferring tenants get together and find
out about their new tenancy as well as other
services we offer, such as money advice and
ways to get involved.
Tenants at Churchill Way Our One Stop Shop team at St Peter’s House
We said we would…
Relet our empty homes in 21 days or
less.
We relet our empty homes in 21 days.
Achieve 92% satisfaction with the
lettings service .
We achieved 96%.
Help tenants in homes that are too big for
them move to smaller homes.
We introduced a
downsizing ‘cash
incentive’ scheme
from 1st October 2011
and freed up 7 larger
homes for families by
assisting households
to downsize to
smaller, more
suitable homes by
31st March
2012.
Christine Boland
Tenant services manager
christine.boland@magna.org.uk
01984 635132

February 2013
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Our plans for 2012/13
We aim to...
• Relet our empty homes in an
average of 20 days
• Help 15 more households to
downsize using the cash incentive
scheme
• Promote mutual exchange as a way
to move home to take up work or
other opportunities
• Use estate agent style ‘to let’ sign
boards to advertise some empty
homes in addition to advertising on
Homefinder Somerset and Devon
Homechoice
• Achieve 98% satisfaction with the
lettings service
• give tenants more advice about the
cost of moving home and how to
prepare for moving

Development
Meadow Close celebration
During 2011/12…
A cake celebrating our 9000th home in Dulverton Celebrating our 9000th home in Dulverton
We completed 37 properties for rent on the following three schemes.
Meadow Close (Cutcombe Market) Wheddon Cross.
We have 10 properties on this exciting development. It also incorporates a new livestock market,
homes for sale and business units. It has made a real difference to the village, including boosting
numbers in the school!
Allers View, Dulverton
12 houses were built in December 2011. All of them were allocated to local people in accordance with
Exmoor National Park’s strict criteria. The development includes allotments which are being managed
by the Dulverton Allotments Association on behalf of the Town Council. There is also a wildflower
meadow that residents can use.
Churchill Way, Watchet
MWS has 15 rented homes on this site. The other 18 are low cost sale direct from the developer. The
MWS properties include four 2-bedroom bungalows that we targeted at existing tenants who want to
down size from larger family homes or households with mobility problems.
All these homes are energy efficient incorporating features such as extra insulation, solar hot water
panels and air source heat pumps which should mean lower fuel bills for the residents.
Mukhtar Ali
Development manager -
Somerset
mukhtar.ali@magna.org.uk
01984 635135

March 2013
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Our Plans
We still have plans for more new homes,
despite the difficult current financial
situation.
Former Bampton School, Bampton
We are working in partnership with a
developer to build this site, which is next
to the new school. We are aiming to
acquire 10 affordable dwellings alongside
24 open market homes.
Land at Silvermead, Alcombe, Minehead
We have secured planning permission
and government grant to build 33 rented
properties on this ex-playing field situated
at West Somerset Community College. This
will be our biggest development over the
next two years and will include bungalows
and family-sized houses. Start on site is
expected during the autumn of 2012.
Watery Lane, Williton
We are hoping to purchase 5 houses
on this scheme which incorporates 29
properties in total. If planning permission
is granted, the developer should be on site
during 2013.

Rents
Our Money Matters Adviser, Ian Wood
Did you know?...
• MWS’s average net rent in West Somerset is
£80.35 per week compared to an average of
other housing associations of £80.36 per week.
• We improved our rent collection rates for the 4th
year running.
• We surveyed all households to help us to help
you prepare for benefit changes the government
is introducing in April 2013.
• MWS’s Money Matters Adviser helped tenants
get £17,000 worth of back-dated housing benefit
and over £20,000 in back-dated other benefits.
• We work with five local authorities in supporting
our tenants: West Somerset Council, Sedgemoor,
Taunton Deane, North Devon and Mid Devon.
We said we would…
Reduce rent debt by 0.8%.
We reduced rent debt by 0.4%.
Help tenants with benefits advice, form filling
and appeals.
Our Money Matters Adviser dealt with
over 30 appeals as well as gaining nearly
£40,000 for tenants in back dated benefit
claims.
Do all that we can to sustain rather than end
tenancies.
Through supporting our tenants to reduce rent
arrears, we have reduced the number of Notices
Seeking Possession for the 4th year running:
2011/12 = 134
2010/11 = 165
2009/10 = 171
2008/09 = 209
Nicola Campbell
Senior housing officer (income
management)
nicola.campbell@magna.org.uk
01984 635106

April 2013
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Our plans...
We aim to ...
• Help tenants prepare for the
governments welfare reforms
including housing benefit changes
• Look at how we can help tenants
back into work
•
• Introduce texting as a
way for you to contact
us and pay rent
For texting:
REGISTER -
Your Name -
07944639639
• Continue to reduce rent
debt, this year by a further 0.4%
• Review our pre-tenancy services
to see how we can better help
new tenants prepare for the cost of
moving and setting up a new home

Neighbourhood
Management
Did you know?
• Staff and tenants carried out 32 neighbourhood
inspections in 2011/12. The top 6 issues were:
55 untidy gardens, 19 external property repairs,
13 paths needing repair, 12 untaxed vehicles on
Magna land, 11 issues on garage sites and 10
damaged fences.
• Derick Cridland is a Tenants’ Panel member and
keen supporter of the inspections and attends
as many as he can. Derick told us:
“The Tenants’ Panel has seen a big
improvement and our estates are generally
good. Six years ago, when we first started the
walkabouts, some of the areas were terrible
but since we’ve been doing these regular
inspections things are much better; they’re
good and they’re getting better.”
• A focus group of interested tenants meets
every 3-4 months to discuss tenancy and
neighbourhood management issues. The
group were involved in the 2011/12 service
improvement review and worked with staff
Bridie Screen on a neighbourhood inspection Out and about in your neighbourhood
on the Tenancy and the Neighbourhood and
Community Local Offers.
• If you would like to come along to one of these
sessions, or to find out more about the group,
contact Christine Boland on freephone 0800 138
6107.
• We dealt with 98 new cases of nuisance and
ASB in 2011/12. On average, 67% of all the
cases we dealt with were classified as serious or
very serious ASB. A further 29% were classified
as general nuisance and 4% were classified as
very minor.
Our plans for next year
• With tenants, introduce a pictorial guide for
assessing the condition of neighbourhoods.
• Focus on untidy gardens during the
neighbourhood inspections as this was the most
noted issue in 2011/12.
• Work with tenants on improving estate signage.
• Increase the ways we notify tenants about
estate inspections, including the use of texting.
Lee Ellis
Senior housing officer
(tenancy and neighbourhood
management)
lee.ellis@magna.org.uk
01984 635120

May 2013
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We said we would…
Introduce a programme of tenancy
audits/visits.
We started a programme of tenancy visits
and aim to do around 400 per year.
Monitor satisfaction with the cleaning
and caretaking service.
88% of residents thought the cleaning
service was OK; 12% of tenants were not
satisfied.
Give you feedback after each
neighbourhood inspection.
We published feedback on our website and
in Opendoor about the issues you raised
and we found on the neighbourhood
inspections.
Carry out a service improvement review
of estate management with MHA.
We did! Some of the things you told us
needed doing helped shape our plans for
this year.
Work on a Tenancy Standard with
tenants.
We worked with
the Tenancy and
Neighbourhood
Management Focus
Group and the
Tenants’ Panel to
produce the Tenancy
Service Standard.

Sheltered &
Supported
Housing
Jayne Bliss, extra care
scheme manager,
Ingrams Meadow
Elaine Floyd, extra
care scheme manager,
Silvermead
Did you know?...
We won the CareFocus award for meals volunteers Our home help service
We have a sheltered and supported housing focus group of tenants who worked with us to develop
services standards for all sheltered and supported housing residents.
We have 532 sheltered and supported housing properties in West Somerset, Sedgemoor and the
Taunton Deane area. We also deliver services to non-Magna residents.
Our team of sheltered and supported housing staff help keep over a thousand people independent in
their own homes each year. This reduces the need for other more expensive and institutional services.
Ingrams Meadow, Extra Care Scheme, has a 5 star kitchen. We provide a mid-day meal to our residents
at Ingrams, Silvermead Extra Care Schemes and to Meals on Wheels 365 days of the year.
Ingrams Meadow has recently opened a small shop for residents to use when they are unable to get
out to the shops.
Silvermead have a vegetable garden and produce is sold at a very low price to residents so seeds can
be bought for the following year.
Ingrams Meadow has a lovely library most of the books have been donated for the residents to enjoy.
The County Library delivers books every three months in large print and we have our own selection of
talking books for residents to use as they wish.
Barbara Mullan
Community services manager
barbara.mullan@magna.org.uk
01984 635112

June 2013
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Our plans...
Include working with our sheltered
and supported housing focus group to
continually improve services.
To listen to our sheltered and supported
housing customers to ensure we deliver
services which are wanted and needed.
To continue to offer value for money to
our residents, for example minimizing
the costs of our Careline service.
We plan to make wardens more
available by using a drop-in service in
the community halls.
We have recently achieved accreditation
with the Telecare Services Association
for our Careline service, which we will
continue to improve.
We have made changes to the way we
let our community rooms. The rooms
still remain free to sheltered housing
residents.

Community
Services
Dawn Law, our new community services team
leader
Did you know?
We have several additional services including
home help, meals on wheels, garden handyman
and a Careline service.
All of these services can be provided to our own
residents and the wider community. We currently
have over 600 Careline customers in West
Somerset.
All of these services are designed to help people
stay independent at home.
There is a charge for these services.
Our meals on wheels volunteers won an
outstanding volunteers award.
If you would like to know more about these
services please contact Kimberley Mason on
01984 635136.
Mrs Atkins celebrating her 99th birthday We even deliver on Christmas day!
Peace of
mind at
the touch
of a
button!
24 hours a day,
7 days a week
365 days a year
Free, no
obligation
demonstration
Helping
you to live
safely in
your own
home
Preparing meals
Housework
0800 138 6107 • support@magna.org.uk
www.magnaws.org.uk
Free installation
Rental or
purchase options
to suit your
pocket
A range of
specialist
equipment for
all your needs
November 2011
0800 138 6107 • support@magna.org.uk
www.magnaws.org.uk
Befriending and
sitting service
Welfare visits
Dog walking
Laundry
Shopping
November 2011
Help
in your
home
and
garden
CRB and security
checked staff
Freshly
cooked
meals
delivered
hot to your
door
Fresh ingredients
from local
suppliers
Plenty of choice
for everyone
0800 138 6107 • support@magna.org.uk
www.magnaws.org.uk
Open to everyone in West Somerset
who is aged 60 and over, or who has
a disability or long term illness
We provide all
our own tools
and equipment
November 2011
0800 138 6107 • support@magna.org.uk
www.magnaws.org.uk
Open to everyone
within a 10 mile
radius of Watchet
Freshly cooked in our
5 star rated kitchen
Delivered daily,
weekly, every
other day -
you decide
November 2011
Kimberley Mason
Community services officer
kimberley.mason@magna.org.
uk
01984 635136

July 2013
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Our plans...
Are to continue to develop services
where we have the skills and expertise
to do so. This includes:
TSA Careline accreditation
We plan to take the Careline equipment
out to local residential care homes.
Home Help
We have expanded this service and
employed more staff. It continues to be a
valued service and it helps keep people
independent at home for as long as
possible.
Garden / Handy Person
We continue to offer a first class service
with competitive rates. This service
comes highly recommended by its
current customers.
We are always desperate for new
volunteers for our meals on wheels
service, please contact Kimberley
Mason on kimberley.mason@magna.
org.uk or 01984 635136.

Aids &
Adaptations
Did you know?
Alcombe Lodge stair lift An adapted shower room
We have a Minor Aids and Adaptation Standard which we developed with residents.
We told you in last year’s annual report we were going to have specially trained staff that can carry
out assessments for disabled adaptations in your home. We now have seven members of staff who
have successfully qualified to do this.
MWS will fund minor adaptations up to £1,000 without the need for
a financial assessment.
Minor adaptations include grab rails, stair rails, lever taps and
some ramps. In certain circumstances we may help with costs
towards mobility scooter storage.
Robert Kennedy
Surveyor
robert.kennedy@magna.org.uk
01984 635032

August 2013
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Our plans...
Include promoting the aids and
adaptations service so all residents know
about it.
We aim to provide a quick and efficient
service, carrying out urgent requests
within 5 days and routine requests
within 20 days.
We aim to carry out minor adaptations
to the highest standard, and we will
clean up after ourselves when we have
finished the works in your home.
Major adaptations
Major adaptations usually cost more than
£1000. There are means tested grants
available to help pay for these.
Major adaptations include level access
showers, stair lifts, hoists, and in some
cases, an extension to your home.
Permission has to be granted by Magna
before a major adaptation is carried out.

Value For
Money
Where the money goes
Chris Parsons & Nick Blackshaw in our stores Fitting a new kitchen
Our income for 2011/12 was £10.8 million.
There were three main areas of spend:
maintenance, management and interest
payments.
We borrow money to buy and build homes. We
repay our borrowings over 30 years.
Our financial statements are on our website,
www.magna.co.uk, under ‘facts and figures’.
We regularly review and manage services, with
efficiency as a number one priority.
We review all services to ensure they are
delivered in the most cost effective way possible.
Did you know?...
In 2011/12, Magna tendered its communal
electricity and gas supplies, resulting in a saving
of £35,000. This reduced service charge costs for
residents.
In 2012, Magna tendered its insurances and
this produced a saving of £39,000 for MWS for
2012/13.
Where the Money was spent
in 2011/12:
£3.7 million on
maintenance costs
£2.1 million on
interest payments
£3.5 million on
management costs
Any surplus in our accounts each year is used to
reduce MWS’s overall debt.
Tony Murray
MWS director
tony.murray@magna.org.uk
01984 635102

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Money Saving Tips
Don’t burn money to heat your home
• Switching suppliers is one of the
simplest ways to save money (go
to our website or contact Ian Wood,
Money Matters Advisor on 01984
635125 for advice).
• Close your curtains at dusk, this will
help stop heat escaping through your
windows.
• Do not leave TVs, computers or other
electrical equipment on standby.
Switch them off completely.
• Turn off lights in empty rooms.
• Use a small ring or low flame for small
pans.
• Use a toaster rather than a grill to toast
bread.
Borrowing money
Sometimes it’s necessary to borrow
money, but “money lenders” often
charge very high interest rates.
A credit union can offer loans at a low
interest rate if you save a little money
on a regular basis with them.
Credit Unions: Moorvale (Taunton &
West Somerset) 01823 336425
Bridgwater & District 01278 447100
Ilfracombe 01271 867268

Resident
involvement
Did you know?...
The tenants’ panel administer a community
improvement budget of £40,000 each year. This
budget funds improvements to areas where you
live.
Anyone can apply for a grant of up to £5,000. This
can be for a range of improvements.
Improvements made during 2011/12 were
installation of CCTV, improvements to patio areas
on sheltered schemes, storage for bicycles at
some of our flats and a number of sponsorships
where our residents would benefit.
In 2010 we carried out a survey of all
our residents and 89% were satisfied
overall with the services they received
from us.
We will be carrying out another survey during
2012 and we will publicise the results in our
Our tenants’ conference Amanda Taylor, Clive Barclay and Lynne Smith
Opendoor magazine, on our website and in next
year’s annual report.
MWS will pay reasonable expenses for residents
who get involved. These include child care, travel
and transport and contributions towards IT. Also,
MWS have a range of training they can offer
involved tenants including NVQs.
MWS tenants’ panel hold 2 events a year with
the aim of getting residents’ views of services we
offer and to encourage people to get involved.
During 2011 a summer family event was held
in Dulverton and Christmas events were held at
our 2 extra care schemes, Ingrams Meadow, in
Watchet and Silvermead in Alcombe, Minehead.
@MagnaHousing Magna Housing
Barbara Mullan
Community sevices manager
barbara.mullan@magna.org.
uk
01984 635112

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Our plans
Carrying out any improvements
identified in the Service Improvement
Review of Resident Involvement.
Making any improvements identified
from the 2012 STAR survey in our plans.
Developing further the ways people can
get involved to make a difference to the
areas they live in.
Looking at the feasibility of setting up
“buying clubs” in local areas. This
would give a discount for items such
as blinds, curtains, etc, for new and
existing residents or reduced cost for oil
heating.
We are also looking at the feasibility of
setting up fuel clubs for our residents or
joining existing ones.

Homeowners/
leaseholders
Did you know?...
MWS has 38 shared owners and 63 leaseholders.
Holyoake development Our 9000th home at Allers View
Shared owners generally buy a share of a property (anything from 25% to 75%) and pay a rent on the
remaining share.
Leaseholders are generally people who have bought 100% of their flat through the right to buy, or right
to acquire schemes.
MWS is generally responsible for buildings insurance, communal repairs and maintenance, such as
external painting and roofing on leasehold flats but is not responsible for insurance or repairs and
maintenance on shared ownership houses.
MWS shared owners and leaseholders meet with staff every 6 months to discuss any issues of concern
and give their feedback.
If you are a shared owner or leaseholder and would like to come along to one of these sessions, or to
find out more about them, contact Amanda Taylor on 0800 138 6107.
MWS is producing a new handbook for homeowners which we will issue later in 2012.
Christine Boland
Tenant services manager
christine.boland@magna.org.
uk
01984 635132

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You may qualify for low cost home
ownership if you:
• have a household income of less
than £60,000 per year.
• are unable to afford to purchase
a home suitable for your housing
needs within a reasonable travelling
distance of your work place.
• can demonstrate access to savings
or sufficient funds to pay, if required,
a deposit (which may be 5% or
more of the purchase price), legal
fees, stamp duty and other costs of
moving.
• can sustain home ownership in the
longer term.
• are not already a home owner or
named on a home mortgage.
• have a good credit history.
For more details visit
www.southwesthomes.org.uk or call
them on 0300 100 0021
MWS are not developing any new
shared ownership homes at the moment
but other landlords are. If you are a
shared owner and want to sell your
share of your home, MWS and other
landlords advertise this ‘resale’ property
on the South West Homes website for up
to 8 weeks.

Customer Service
Supporting People
& Feedback
Our local offers to you!
Homes Standard
Our local offer to you
November 2011
Did you know?
Collecting feedback from our customers Staff talking to residents
Between April 2011 and March 2012, we received 24 formal complaints, 10 more than the
previous year:
• 11 concerned housing management issues
• 8 were about repairs and maintenance issues
• 5 were about community services
There were more complaints about anti-social behaviour and letting issues than the previous year.
We enthuastically look at these complaints and draw any lessons from them to help us improve our
customer service.
Feedback received from residents
When a complaint is closed, a questionnaire is sent to the complainant asking if they were satisfied
with the way the complaint was handled. 15 replies were received back and feedback was that:
• 80% of those who responded were satisfied with the outcome of their complaint.
• 87% were satisfied with the way staff dealt with the complaint.
MWS is a top performer compared with satisfaction from other residents’ landlords in 2011/12.
< If you would like a copy of any of our local standards or our leaflets, please call 0800 138
6107
Amanda Taylor
Personal secretary to Tony
Murray
amanda.taylor@magna.org.uk
01984 635131

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Recent compliments
received:
“Thank you for the fantastic job the
gardener/handyman did clearing
gardens. They had spent 4 days doing
the job. The garden was severely
overgrown but now the sunlight is
shining in the garden for the first time in
ages.”
“Thank you for the successful efforts of
the money matters advisor to help with
the Inland Revenue with out of date
claims which they had refused to deal
with.”
“A thank you to the MWS staff and Legal
team in Dorchester for all the help with
dealing with a home owner ASB matter
and enabling them to move property.”
“Thank you and how pleased tenant
was with the work to the gully drain.
The area was left clean and tidy with
everything put back as it should be
and trades were very pleasant and
personable.”
“A resident telephoned to say that she
really enjoyed her meal. She had bacon,
egg and chips. The egg was poached
instead of scrambled which she really
enjoyed. She also said that she loved the
bacon and the pudding was excellent...
chocolate sponge and chocolate sauce!”

What do you think?
We would love to know what you think about
our annual report and calendar 2012-13.
Please complete this feedback card and post
it back to us by Friday 16 November 2012
and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to
win a £100 high street voucher!
Just cut this form out and post it back to us,
you don’t even need a stamp!
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Magna Housing Group
Hollands House
Poundbury Road
Dorchester
Dorset
DT1 1SW
Magna West Somerset Housing Association
St Peter’s House
Bridge Street
Williton
Somerset
TA4 4NR