issue 38 - Eastlands Homes

Summer issue 2012 no 38
Customer
Panel
Approved
StreetsAhead
News and views from Eastlands Homes
Celebrating the
Diamond Jubilee
Page 3
Inside
Grow Your Own
Scheme - Page 6
Sheltered Residents
Online - Page 7
Literacy Beacon
Project - Page 8

The news from Eastlands homes
Contents
Welcome to the
jam-packed issue
of Streets Ahead,
Summer 2012. You’ll
also find the customerwritten
newsletter
Eastspeak, so if you’re a
budding writer, give me
a call now on 0161 274
2164 or email abi.mistry@
eastlandshomes.co.uk
and you could be writing
articles for the next issue!
Since the last newsletter,
we’ve celebrated the
Queen’s jubilee and lots of
you held colourful, vibrant
street parties in your area.
Turn to page three now to
have a look at some of the
photos.
The Customer
Involvement Team are
working hard on the
annual Fun and Feedback
Day which is taking place
on Wednesday 1 August.
All the details of the day
can be seen on page
seven.
I hope you all have a
great summer!
Abi
Editor
Receive the
next issue
of Streets
Ahead by
email!
Would you like to save the environment by
helping us to reduce our paper usage? Or
do you just prefer reading things online?
If so, send your email address to abi.mistry@
eastlandshomes.co.uk with STREETS AHEAD in the
subject line and you’ll receive the September issue of
the newsletter by email.
In this Issue…
Customer Involvement
p5
Equality and Diversity
p8
Community Safety
Money Matters
Star Survey 2012
p9
p10
p16
Fun and Feedback
Day 2012
p7
Green
Scene
p11
2

Diamond
Jubilee
Sheltered
Housing
Service
We have started to carry out
a review of our sheltered
housing service. We recognise
there is already lots of good
work going on and we want
to build on this to improve our
service standards, buildings
and value for money. We know
how important our service is
to customers and as part of
the review we will consult
and communicate with our
customers and staff and other
key stakeholders such as the
City Council.
More than
£1,000 raised
for Manchester
Royal Children’s
Hospital
Eastlands Homes would like to congratulate the
Queen on celebrating her diamond jubilee this
year, marking the 60 years of her reign.
Over the extended bank holiday weekends, customers
everywhere held street parties to celebrate the occasion and
get to know their neighbours!
The main street parties were held in Levenshulme, on the
Anson Estate and on the Coverdale Estate, who benefited from
a £100 community grant towards holding their celebration.
Our staff raised £1,183 for
charity last year through
raffles, sponsored runs and
other initiatives.
The final figure has just been
confirmed by our charity of
the year – Manchester Royal
Children’s Hospital. The
chosen charity for 2012 is
Cancer Research UK.
Are you 60 or
over? Or over 55
and in receipt
of full DLA?
Our
Performance
p12
Tap
Hygiene
p15
Do you want to live in
Openshaw? Then we have
the flat for you NOW on
Botha Close.
Contact Ian Reid on 0161 274
2138 for more details.
3

4
Is someone
living in a
property that
shouldn’t be?
IF SO, PLEASE
TELL US!
Eastlands Homes only
has a small number
of houses and flats
available to let and
these are prioritised
according to housing
needs.
Tenancy fraud involves obtaining
properties by deception, for
example people claiming to be
homeless when they already own
a property or are already living
at an address. It also includes
people continuing to claim to be
living at a property when they
have moved out and sublet it.
Even leaving a property empty
and living elsewhere is tenancy
fraud.
We are determined to tackle
tenancy fraud as families or
individuals on the housing
waiting list are denied housing
because people are using the
properties fraudulently for profit
or simply queue jumping.
We carry out Tenancy Audit Visits
to stamp out tenancy fraud in
our properties. Housing Officers
will be calling to homes to ensure
that properties are occupied by
the tenants who signed up for
the tenancy and asking for ID
and details of who is actually
living in the home, please cooperate
with us when we visit.
If you know of anyone subletting
or taking possession of a property
fraudulently, please contact
your local Eastline to report your
suspicions to a Housing Officer.
Service Charges
In addition to renting a property from us, many residents receive
services from us such as grounds maintenance, caretaking and
communal lighting or cleaning. These services are currently paid
within the total weekly rent you pay and we need to break down
that figure between rent and service charges.
We told you in the last edition
that we will be consulting and
communicating with residents
living in Gorton, Ardwick,
Rusholme, Longsight and
Levenshulme over the introduction
of itemising these service charges
and showing these charges
separately from the rent. These
costs can go up or down to reflect
the actual cost of providing the
service. We need to show these
costs separately to the rent you are
charged.
If you are in receipt of Housing
Benefit and your circumstances
Meet your Housing Officer
Each area has their own
Housing Officer who you will
meet when you sign up to
your property, and who you’ll
work with throughout your
tenancy. There are 15 Housing
Officers across three offices. In
the last issue of Streets Ahead
we introduced the Housing
Officers for Levenshulme,
Gorton and Clayton and in this
issue we introduce one more.
Ian Fauguel - Ardwick
Hello, my name is Ian Fauguel and
I have been a Housing Officer for
the past three years. The role of
a Housing Officer is very varied
and interesting. I manage around
500 properties in Longsight and
part of the Ardwick area. I have
a good mix of property types and
my customers are from a range of
diverse cultural backgrounds.
My role involves lots of
partnership working with GMP,
Adult Services, Children’s Services
and Manchester City Council. I
am also responsible for ensuring
that empty properties are relet as
Ian is just one of our 15 Housing Officer staff.
Meet some more in September.
have not changed, Housing Benefit
will normally pay these service
charges following notification from
us.
We will shortly start consulting
with residents groups and
Neighbourhood Assemblies so
that we fully explain the changes
and from April 2013 we will be able
to show you the true costs of the
services you receive.
If you have any questions about
service charges, please contact
your local Eastline.
Ian Fauguel
soon as possible as there is huge
demand
I am always happy to help my
customers with any queries they
may have around their tenancy
or housing related matters and
welcome them contacting me.
I meet customers regularly in
the office but I can arrange
appointments at their home if that
is more convenient.
I thoroughly enjoy the role of
Housing Officer as no two days
are the same. The work can be
very demanding with lots of
challenges yet also very rewarding
at the same time.

Encouraging you
to have an input
The Governments new Localism Act which recently became
law, has set out how customers should have an input into the
running of their homes. This is called co-regulation.
Eastlands Homes have been
involving Customers in the
running of their homes in various
ways:
Service Improvement Panels
– These look at the performance
of specific service areas such as
repairs or housing management
and how these services can be
improved.
Neighbourhood Assemblies
– These look at issues that affect
specific areas and are responsible
for deciding how the community
grants are spent.
You said…
We would like more
stories about our lives and
our areas in Eastspeak.
Our young people asked
if we could have a
Facebook page.
We want to know more
about Eastlands Homes’
performance.
We want more
information on the effects
of the Welfare Reform act.
We want certain meetings
held in the evenings for
people who work.
We want to know how
much services cost and
how you make sure they
provide Value for Money.
Young people asked us if
they could review how we
dealt with young person
anti-social behaviour.
Customer Involvement
Readers and Email panels – If
you want to have an input, but
can’t attend meetings, we will
send information out to you and
give you an opportunity to give
your input
We have various ways for you to
be involved and give your views,
contact the Customer Involvement
team on 0161 274 1013 now to
discuss how to have your say.
We use the feedback from
customers to improve the way we
do things - see below.
We did…
We now have dedicated meetings with
customers to write their own stories.
A Facebook page is now up and
running and has interesting information
regarding Eastlands Homes – Join us by
searching for Eastlands Homes now.
Performance is now discussed at our
Neighbourhood Assemblies and Service
Improvement Panels.
The Financial Inclusion Team have
been talking to customers at our
Neighbourhood Assemblies and Service
Improvement Panels. We put updates in
all our newsletters.
The repairs service improvement panel
will trial evening meetings.
Presentations are given to our value for
money customer panel from various
service areas to discuss costs and
budgets.
We now have a panel of young people
who meet to review our approach.
Hampden
Estate
tidy up
In March, customers
from the Hampden
estate in Gorton took
part in a community
clean up. This follows
complaints about
littering, overgrown
areas and waste
dumped on the
streets.
Eastlands Homes’ Estate
action team were there to
remove large items, MCC
provided a mechanical
sweeper, and skips
were placed around the
estate for customers
to get rid of unwanted
items. The Community
Payback scheme provided
the labour along with
Manchester City Council,
Local Councillors and
customers all joined
in. The local KFC and
Tesco kindly provided
refreshments for the team
hard at work!
An intensive investment
work programme also
began in March on the
estate which will include
work on car parking
facilities, planting shrubs,
fencing and block paving
to improve the appearance
of the area. It is expected
to complete in December.
5

Customer Involvement
It’s not too late
to enter this
year’s Gardening
Competition
The Customer Involvement Team are organising
a gardening competition again this year which is
open to all customers.
Categories are:
Best school or crèche, Best
communal garden, Best
communal border, Grow your
own fruit and vegetables,
Contribution to the community,
and Best individual garden.
The closing date for all entries
is Monday 2 July 2012 with
prizes of £50 for each category
and £200 for the overall winner
up for grabs. Casey, one of our
contractors, kindly donated the
prize for Best school or crèche.
Judging will take place on the 5
and 6 July 2012.
Forms are available at all
receptions or by calling Wendy
Woodfine on 0161 230 1013.
Forms can also be downloaded
here www.eastlandshomes.co.uk
Hearts, Minds
and Voices
Social Club
The new Hearts, Minds
and Voices Social Club
aims to improve mental
and physical well-being by
doing activities like walking,
socialising and networking
in and around Rusholme.
The club is held every first and
third Monday of each month with
the next ones on:
• 2 July 2012
• 16 July 2012
• 3 September 2012
• 17 September 2012
The club meets at the Birch
Community Centre, on Brighton
Grove in Rusholme 1-3pm. For
more information contact Loraine
Butterworth or Lorraine Burgess
on 0161 901 7411.
’Grow Your Own Scheme’
Training
Situated in Debdale Park and
overlooking the beautiful Gorton
reservoir, Debdale Eco Centre
is one of the few eco-centres in
Manchester focussing on organic
gardening. We’ve been working
with the Eco centre to introduce
basic ‘grow your own food’
training courses called ‘Plotting
the Future.’
Lots of our customers have
already completed the free six
week training course and we
can now offer places on the next
course, starting on Thursday 12
July.
The Plotting the Future course
covers all aspects of growing,
composting, companion planting,
organic growing etc. The training
also caters for basic gardeners
with small gardens in their own
homes as well as prospective and
existing allotment holders. Each
topic is delivered over a two hour
session for six weeks, and each
session will run between 2pm to
4pm.
Debdale Eco Centre also offers
one day ‘crash courses’. Call
Wendy Woodfine now on 0161
230 1013 to book your place and
arrange your FREE transport to
and from the venue.
6

Customer Involvement
Getting
our
sheltered
residents
online
Back in April we spent
the day at the North Road
Sheltered Accommodation
in Clayton to help
residents get online.
We took our involved young
people to interact with the
residents and teach them how
to use the computers. Different
activities took place throughout
the day such as “Questions and
Answers” which involved the
young people asking questions
about the resident’s childhood,
they then had to team up and
gather images to make an
intergenerational board of “Then
and Now”.
The young people worked
alongside the residents to show
them how to use the computers
from logging in, to accessing
their preferred area of interest
such as Facebook, Twitter,
Gardening websites and much
more.
The day was a huge success
and everybody enjoyed taking
part.
Video Pod
Football training
sessions
Craft Stall
Rugby Training
Sessions
Drumming Work shop
Fancy having a go on a climbing wall, getting a henna
tattoo, or winning a prize? Then come to our annual Fun
and Feedback Day on Wednesday 1 August 2-5pm at
Ashbury Meadow Primary School in Beswick.
As well as FREE fun activities for all the family, many stalls will
have key information and advice on them on a range of topics to
do with you and your home. So if you have questions that need
answering around the new benefit cuts, or you’d like some help
finding a job, make sure you come along.
Further information and an invitation will be sent to you in July.
Fred the Red
Climbing wall
Fun and
Feedback Day!
Badge Making
DJ
Henna Tattoos
Rodeo Sheep
Inflatable assault course
Moon Beam and
Moon Chester
FREE event
Mrs Daley from Ardwick
won a TV at last year’s
Fun and Feedback Day –
this year, it could be you!
7

8
Eastlands
Homes is
currently
recruiting
for the
important
position of
Tenant Board
Member
It is a crucial role as the
Board have ultimate
responsibility to oversee
the business of Eastlands
Homes. The Board of
Eastlands Homes is
responsible for:
• Leading the company and
ensuring that it is successful
and is run properly
• The efficient use and
management of approximately
8000 homes in East
Manchester
• Ensuring that Eastlands
Homes achieves its vision:
‘Creating a better future
for its customers and their
children in safe and successful
neighbourhoods’
There will be two separate
processes – one for Beswick,
Clayton and Openshaw and
one for Ardwick, Levenshulme,
Longsight and Rushome. To be
eligible, you must be a tenant
living in one of these areas.
Application packs will be
available from the beginning of
July and applications will need
to be submitted by 23 July.
To talk about the role, or to
receive your application pack,
please call Victor Hassan,
Governance Officer on 0161
274 2140 or Daniel O’Sullivan
on 0161 230 1075.
Equality
and Diversity
Do you know
someone who
struggles to read or
write, and lives on
the Coverdale and
Newbank Estate or
the Anson Estate?
If you do, the Literacy Beacon
Project can help them.
Back in April, we trained up six
customers and six members of
staff to be Literacy Champions.
The Literacy Champions help
people to learn to read or write.
This could be reading a child a
bedtime story, writing a shopping
list or even sending a text
message.
The project is starting off as a
pilot project first in two different
areas, but is planned to be rolled
out to other areas in the future.
Give Lynne Harrison a ring on
0161 230 1078 for a confidential
chat. Lynne will assign an
appropriate champion to work
with the customer.
Literacy Champions
Samantha Minshull, Jean
Noble and Remi Pierre
Omoboye commented on their
role: “We would like to say that
we totally enjoyed the literacy
training and cant wait to get
started. It means so much to us
to help our community in any
way we can, so please don’t be
shy. We all struggle in one way
or another, if any one would like
some help with reading, writing
or form filling just give us a call.
We are always happy to help
and look forward to hearing from
you.”
Excited and proud!
We’re excited to be taking part
and showing our support for the
LGBT community at this years
Manchester PRIDE, and we’ve
already started again to plan our
float!
This year, we’re doing a joint float
with other housing associations
including Mosscare, Guinness
Northern Counties and Affinity
Sutton.
We’d love you to get involved,
so if you’d like to come and
represent Eastlands Homes at
this year’s PRIDE, call Lynne
Harrison now on 0161 230 1013.

Community Safety
Hate crimes
A hate crime happens when
someone is targeted because
of their membership of a
certain social group. This
usually means someone’s
religion, sexual orientation,
disability, ethnicity,
nationality, age, sex, or
gender identity.
If you are a victim of a hate
crime, it can be reported to the
Police on 101 or to us by calling
the Community Safety Team
on 0161 230 1010. All of our
offices are third party reporting
centres for hate crimes which
means that you can come in to
one of our offices and speak to
a member of staff in confidence
about the issue.
Our Community Safety Manager
working with GMP to make your
neighbourhoods safer
Jackie Hynes, Community
Safety Manager at Eastlands
Homes, was recently awarded
the Divisional Commanders
Award from Greater
Manchester Police (GMP) in
recognition of the excellent
teamwork between Eastlands
Homes staff and GMP Officers.
Jackie worked with GMP on
Operation Rolo; a project to tackle
drug dealers and takers across
Manchester. The operation took
place during December 2011 and
led to the arrest of 51 offenders.
The Divisional Commander
Awards are normally only given
to employees of GMP, so this
award is a true recognition of
the hard work from Jackie and
the rest of the team at Eastlands
Homes, helping to make your
communities safer places for you
to live.
Pest Control
Adaptations
To make sure that we get
value for money and a
quality service, we put the
Pest Control service out to
tender.
Manchester City Council won
this with their commitment to
providing high quality, customer
focussed pest control treatments
and all their service delivery
staff are experienced and fully
qualified within the pest control
industry.
Manchester City Council Pest
Control Services will deliver the
following treatments to you free
of charge.
• Mice (inside the property)
• Rats (inside the property and
garden/yard)
• Cockroaches
• Fleas, Bedbugs
• Beetles (inside the property)
• Squirrels (inside the property)
• Wasps (inside the property
or outside on the building
structure blocking access to
the property or its use, e.g.
above a doorway).
We’ve also negotiated a good
price on the things you have to
pay for:
Wasps outside the property in the
property garden - £ 35.00
Garden/Black Ants inside the
property only - £ 40.00
Bees (that are above a doorway
and blocking access) - £ 35.00
If you would like further details on
the pest control service, call your
local eastline now.
If you struggle to get in
and out of your shower
or up and down the
stairs, and feel you
could benefit from an
adaptation such as a
level access shower,
stair lift or ramp, contact
Manchester Equipment
and Adaptations
Partnership (MEAP)
on 0161 277 8600 to
arrange an assessment.
If you meet the criteria,
we can fund and carry
out the adaptations
needed within eight
weeks of assessment
approval to minimise
your wait.
9

Money Matters
Under Occupation
Do you have a spare bedroom? Do you receive Housing Benefit? If
your answer is yes to both these questions and you are of working
age, it is likely that from April 2013 your Housing Benefit will be
reduced.
From April 2013 your Housing
Benefit will be reduced if you
have more bedrooms than your
family needs. The government
uses the “National Bedroom
Standard” to define the number of
bedrooms you need. According
to this standard:
• Two children of the same sex
can share a bedroom until the
age of 16
• Boys and girls can share a
bedroom until the older child’s
tenth birthday
• A couple (aged 16 or over) who
live together as partners should
have their own room
• A single person aged 16 or over
should have their own room
• A non resident overnight carer
should have their own room
IF YOU OR YOUR PARTNER IS
OF PENSIONABLE AGE, THIS
DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Eastlands Homes has over
1,500 customers that could be
affected by these changes and
Right to Buy –
Think before you buy
we will be writing to and visiting
these customers over the next
six months to offer advice and
assistance on a whole range
of money matters and housing
options.
For further information please
contact Eastlands Money Matters
Team or our Housing Options
Officer, Ashleigh Hogan by
phoning Eastline or visiting your
local Eastlands Homes reception.
If you have lived in your
home for more than five
years you will be eligible
to buy it at a discount,
so long as you can prove
that you can afford the
mortgage payments. The
amount of discount you
can get depends on how
long you’ve been a tenant.
Unless you can buy your home
with cash, you'll need to get
a mortgage from a bank or
building society. Loan companies
operate in our areas that offer
loans to customers but the
interest rates are much higher.
Customers wishing to exercise
the ‘right to buy’ or ‘right to
acquire’ should always get
independent advice. You can get
free independent advice from
The Money Advice Service by
ringing them on 0300 500 5000.
When thinking about taking out
a mortgage you should make
sure you will have enough
money to pay your mortgage
each month and other bills like
buildings insurance, Council
Tax, utility bills, etc. You will
be responsible for repairs and
maintenance to your home and
if you buy a flat, you’ll probably
also have to pay a ‘service
charge’ towards the upkeep of
the whole building and repairs.
The value of your home can go
down as well as up and if you
don’t pay your mortgage you
could lose your home.
The government revived
the Right to Buy scheme for
council tenants (and Housing
Association tenants with a
preserved right to buy following
a stock transfer) from 2 April
2012.
For further information please
contact the Money Matters Team
or Eastlands Homes Right to Buy
Team on 0161 276 7362.
10

The Green Scene
Tips and ideas on how to save
money and the environment
At each reception, we now have containers where
you can bring in old batteries to be recycled.
What batteries can be
recycled?
Any portable battery can be
recycled. This means any
battery which is sealed, can
be hand-carried without
difficulty, and is not an
automotive or industrial
battery.
Why recycle batteries?
Batteries may contain a
variety of heavy metals, such
as lead, cadmium, nickel and
mercury. All of these can
be extremely toxic to both
humans and the environment.
If a battery is burned, it can
send dangerous fumes into
the air.
Those batteries used to power
your remote, camera and other
appliances can be recycled.
They are valuable for the
metal and plastic that they
contain, which can be reused.
Hearing aid and watch
batteries are also valuable
because the silver and lithium,
among other materials, that
they contain are rising in
demand to be recycled.
Who is recycling our
batteries?
BatteryBack are the company
we are using to pick up the
batteries. They take them
to two recycling plants in
Belgium for safe disposal.
For more information visit
www.batteryback.org
Flush saver's pack
Flushing the loo takes
up one third of the water
we use every day. Fitting
a save-a-flush device in
your cistern saves around
one litre of water every
time you flush. Why not
send for your free save-aflush
today?
The save-a-flush device
contains super absorbent
polymer and silica sand, which
absorbs water when it is placed
in the toilet cistern.
To receive a free save-a-flush
register your details here
www.unitedutilities.com/
watersaverspack
Please note that if you live in a
house or flat built after 2000, we
advise you not to fit the savea-flush
in your toilet cistern.
Toilets fitted after 2000 tend to
have a low-level flush, using
only six litres of water, which
is already water efficient. The
toilet may not flush properly if
a save-a-flush is fitted in these
toilets. The save-a-flush does
not fit in a dual flush toilet (with
two buttons) as these are also
water efficient.
Make sure you keep the device
out of reach from children and
animals. Information on how
to install your save-a-flush is
shown on the packet.
If you do not have access
to the Internet you can
contact Nicola Buckley at
Eastlands Homes on 0161
274 2390 who will order on
your behalf (up to three per
household)
11

Our Performance
Facts and figures from January to March 2012
12
How do YOU think we’re doing?
Your
Complaints
• Complaints received: 60
• Outcomes: 48% upheld /
partially upheld
• % tenants satisfied with the
way their complaint was
handled: 78%
Complaint
Number
Type
received
Allocations 1
Home ownership & leasehold
services 1
Tenancy management 6
Tenant rents & service charges 4
Repairs & maintenance 28
Investment programme 14
Staff & customer services 4
Other issues 2
Your
Compliments
• Compliments received: 20
other
staff
investment
repairs
Complimented Number
Department tenant rents received
Neighbourhood Services 9
Repairs & tenancy maintenance 5
Investment 3
Chief Executive home owner 2
Overall service 1
Ways to Complain, allocation Comment
or Compliment us
We want to hear from you and
will act on every complaint we
receive. You can call, write, email,
visit us in person or online at
www.eastlandshomes.co.uk or
request a complaint form from us.
We are pleased to hear what we
are doing well too! Let us know
by using any of the contact
methods listed above.
We monitor our performance
closely so we know how we’re
doing and where we need to
improve.
You can keep an eye on our
performance too – every issue
of Streets Ahead includes the
latest on how we compare
with some of the targets set in
our Customer Service Charter.
If you have any ideas on how
we can improve this page,
please let us know – whether
you want more, less or different
information. Just email
overall
eastline@eastlandshomes.
co.uk or call your local
Eastline team.
chief exec
investment
Investment repairsProgramme
Ardwick, Gorton North, Gorton
South, Levenshulme, neighbourhood Longsight
and Rusholme:
Total number of
improvements as from
April 2009 until
31 March 2012:
17,198 including:
• Double Glazed Windows and
Doors: 4138
• Electrical Rewiring: 1194
• Kitchens: 3409
• Bathrooms: 3395
• Boilers: 3186
• Cavity Wall Insulation: 126
• External Wall Rendering: 337
• Structural Improvements:
714
• Roofs & Chimneys: 714
Beswick, Clayton & Openshaw:
Total improvements to
31 March 2012: 18,059

Repairs Service
Type Our Target 11/12 Quarter 4
Emergency Repairs – within 3 hours 100% 100%
Urgent Repairs – within 5 working days 100% 100%
Routine repairs – within 10 working days 100% 98.81%
How are we going to improve?
Our challenging targets continue to be met in all but very few cases. We have identified a
technical issue that prevented us from completing this small number of repairs on time and
hope to improve in this area.
Eastline – Customer Service Calls
Calls answered within service standard of 20 seconds 93% 86.9%
How are we going to improve?
During the last three months we have improved in this area and have put plans in place so that
this continues. This includes improvements to the way we record and solve customer queries
and a continued focus on our busier and quieter times of demand.
Rent
Current rent arrears (%) 5% 5.17%
Former tenant arrears – rent collection (%) 25% 22.4%
Rent loss from empty properties 1.12% 0.98%
How are we going to improve?
We have seen some good progress and we are reducing the amount of rent arrears. We are
reviewing the resources at each office to make sure we have the right number of staff in the right
places.
Empty Properties
Empty properties as a % of the properties we own 1.12% 0.92%
Average re-let times of empty properties 20 days 23 days
How are we going to improve?
We continue to turnaround properties more and more quickly and hope this pattern will
continue in the coming months.
Nuisance & Anti-social Behaviour
Cases referred 167
Cases resolved and closed* 156
Legal actions taken 10
* Includes cases from a previous period.
13

Community Grant
helps 12 local groups
Congratulations to the 12
local organisations who
were awarded a total
of £1,790 by customers
on our neighbourhood
assemblies in our latest
round of community grant
applications.
The successful groups include:
• Friends of Clayton Park: £200
towards Jubilee celebration
party
• Mill Court Tenants Group: £190
towards new gardening club
• Peterchurch Tenants
Association: £150 towards
planting initiative
• Waytars tenants / residents:
£250 for equipment in new
community facility
• Lingfield Road Tenants &
Residents: £175 for new seating
area
• Friends of Birchfields Park: £100
towards community fun day
• Rose Court: £150 towards
community ‘pamper day’
• Healthy Ardwick: £100 towards
football competition
• Brailsford, Mosely, Braemar and
Balmoral Residents Group: £100
towards Jubilee party
• Coverdale and Newbank
Community Association: £100
towards Jubilee party
• Gortonia Community Arts
Association: £50 towards digital
photography workshops
• Gorton Visual Arts: £225 towards
craft session for residents of a
sheltered housing scheme
The Eastlands Homes
Community Grant supports
projects and activities
operating in east and
south-east Manchester.
Applications are encouraged
from all of our areas, but
must benefit the local
community in order to be
considered.
Application forms and further
information is available at
www.eastlandshomes.co.uk/
communitygrant or on request
by visiting your local Eastlands
Homes office or calling your local
Eastline team.
Applications for consideration
in the Summer submission
must be received by 5pm on
Tuesday 31 July 2012.
Concessionary Gardening
We recently carried out a tender process for the concessionary gardening service.
‘Greenfingers’ were chosen and have been supplying the service since April.
If you receive the concessionary
gardening service you will
notice that the workers wear
high visibility vests with both
Greenfingers and Eastlands
Homes logos on the back. You
can contact your local Eastline
each month to find out the
approximate date that the
gardeners will be attending your
home.
After each maintenance visit,
the contractor will leave you
a feedback form for you to
complete and return. Your
feedback is vital as it allows us
to deal with any problems and
get these sorted to ensure that
you are happy with the service
you are receiving.
Early feedback has said
that the new service is
working well:
“The best up to now,
very pleased”
“The workmen were great,
they did a great job, best
workers ever.”
If you don’t currently use the
concessionary gardening
scheme, but would like to, call
your local eastline now to see if
you are eligible.
14

Tap Hygiene
It is important that taps that are used for drinking water
are kept clean. The water coming out of your tap is safe but
bacteria can live in the kitchen and some can grow both on
the outside of the tap an inside the lip of the spout. They
are not visible to the naked eye, but the tap can become
contaminated from foods or items washed in the sink. For
this reason, you should never allow food to come into contact
with the end of the tap.
Key water tips
• Regularly clean household
taps thoroughly using a
mild household disinfectant
ensuring that you wash inside
the spout.
• After cleaning the tap, run it for
a few moments to remove any
remaining disinfectant.
• Don’t leave the dishcloth on the
tap to dry.
Taste and odours
Customers occasionally report
that their tap water has an
unpleasant taste or odour. These
complaints are often of a chlorine
smell or a chemical, bitter or
medicinal taste. Sometimes this
taste occurs only in boiled drinks,
especially tea, or when a glass of
water has stood for some time.
There could be several causes,
the commonest of which are
given below. However, if you get
a sudden or unusual taste or smell
with your drinking water contact
you water company so that they
can investigate the problem.
Outside taps and
hosepipes
A hosepipe connected to an
outside tap can present major
risk to water quality in the home.
If there is a sudden reduction in
mains pressure, contaminated
water could be sucked back
through the hosepipe into your
home.
Key water tips:
• Outside taps should be
protected with a double check
valve to prevent backflow. Now
hose taps are available with a
double check valve built into
the tap. Separate double check
valves are also available.
• Never place the hosepipe
outlet into the drains, garden
ponds, buckets or watering
cans containing chemicals like
fertilisers or pesticides.
• Hosepipes should be fitted with
a self-closing flow control (such
as a trigger spray gun) and be
hand held when in use.
Returning to a vacant
property
If your home is empty for two
weeks or more and water has
not been used, then the quality
will deteriorate. This can lead to
taste and odour problems and in
extreme cases illness.
Ground Maintenance
Continental Landscapes have been awarded the Grounds Maintenance contract to
maintain over 300,000 sqm of Eastlands Homes open and communal spaces.
This will involve:
• Carrying out litter pick prior to
cutting grassed area’s
• Cut all open space grassed
area’s
• Clear footpaths abounding
grassed area’s of clippings
• Cut back hedges and shrub’s
twice a year
• All grass collected at first cut
• Weed treatment to all hard
standings
• All shrub area’s to be tended
to on grass cycle and to be
weed and litter free
• Pedestrian mowing routes to
be edged.
As part of their commitment
to employing local people on
their contracts, Continental
Landscapes have employed two
people from CVs provided by us
from our local residents, and will
continue to use this a source, for
recruiting new staff as required.
Continental Landscapes will be
working with us to create a tram
of Green Inspectors made up of
customers who will act as our
eyes across our estates.
15

STAR survey 2012 –
make your views count!
One in four of our customers have been sent a
STAR survey with this edition of Streets Ahead –
have you been selected?
This year we are sending the
survey to all our customers in this
way, asking for your views on our
services. So if there isn’t a survey
in this time, look out for it in a
future edition of Streets Ahead.
The STAR survey, otherwise
known as the Survey of Tenants
and Residents, will be carried
out every year and will help us to
make more improvements to the
work we do and the services we
provide.
If you have received a survey this
time, make sure you return it by
Tuesday 31 July to be in with a
chance to win up to £250 of high
street vouchers in our big survey
prize draw!
If you have any questions about
the survey, please call your local
Eastline team or email eastline@
eastlandshomes.co.uk
Save time and money!
Complete the survey
online by visiting
www.eastlandshomes.
co.uk/star - you will
need to quote your
unique survey number
to take part.
Big survey prize draw
winners
Congratulations to the
winners of our first prize
draw of the year: Mr and
Mrs Nicholls of Rusholme
won the top prize of
£250, while Mrs Mayne of
Gorton and Mr Thomas of
Clayton both won runnerup
prizes of £50 each.
How to contact us
☎
☎
Call Us
Lines open 8am – 5.30pm weekdays.
Belle Vue House: 0161 230 1000
(if you live in Gorton North
or Gorton South)
☎
Cornbrook House: 0161 276 7300
(if you live in Ardwick, Levenshulme,
Longsight or Rusholme)
☎
Eastlands House: 0161 274 2390
(if you live in Beswick, Clayton
or Openshaw)
An out of hours service is provided
for emergency repairs.
✉
✉
✉
✉
Write or visit: Receptions are
open 8.45am – 4.30pm weekdays
Belle Vue House, 27 Garratt Way,
Gorton, Manchester, M18 8HE
Cornbrook House, 217 Stockport
Road, Ardwick, Manchester, M12 4DY
Eastlands House, Victoria Street,
Openshaw, Manchester, M11 2NX
Email: eastline@eastlandshomes.co.uk
Web: www.eastlandshomes.co.uk
If you would like information in another language or format such as large print or audio, please ask us.