North edition - Nottingham City Homes

6 News from Nottingham City Homes August 2012 North Edition: Aspley•Bestwood•Bilborough•Bulwell News from Nottingham City Homes August 2012 North Edition: Aspley•Bestwood•Bilborough•Bulwell 7
Round your way. . .
Round your way. . .
Pictured: NCH staff sign the ‘Man Enough’ pledge.
L ve Aspley
Week of Action
Aspley residents were encouraged to get
involved in their local community during the
Aspley Week of Action held in July.
The week started with the Ambleside School
Summer Fair – an event that was open to the
whole community with activities and games
for children and young people – including a
ladies only Well Woman session for some free
pampering, and a football tournament.
Nottingham City Homes was heavily involved
– holding a ‘Man Enough’ sign up event at our
Harvey Road depot, giving staff the opportunity
to voice their opposition to domestic violence
(pictured).
We also attended a series of ‘Did you know’
events, including one at Brocklewood School
(pictured), where residents had the chance
to find out about a range of city council
and Nottingham City Homes services.
Getting safer – but don’t
get caught out!
With hopes still high of
an ‘Indian summer’ this
September, it’s easy to
forget, particularly in warmer
weather, about home
security.
We’ve fitted thousands of
brand new secure-by-design
windows across the city to
make your homes more
secure. In Broxtowe and
Bells Lane estate in Aspley,
we’ve seen burglaries drop
by 41%. But we mustn’t be
complacent.
We’ve put together ten top
tips to keep your house
safe:
Pictured: NCH attended a series of
‘Did you know!’ events.
1 Close windows when you are not in ground floor rooms
and lock doors even when you are in the garden
2 Lock doors and windows when you leave the house
3 Do not leave laptops or car keys near windows
4 Close curtains at night before you put on lights
5 Use timer switches to put on a lamp or radio when you are
out at night or on holiday
6 Contact the police and ask about SmartWater for your
property. Use it to mark your electrical items and things of
value to help identify your possessions if you are burgled
7 Keep hedges and fences low at the front of your home so
neighbours or passers by can see if anyone is behaving
suspiciously near your home
8 Fit trellis and grow prickly plants near to your back fence to
deter anyone from climbing into your garden
9 Burglars do not want to be seen – fitting exterior lights can
10
deter burglars (but before you do, ask us first!)
Intruder alarms can deter burglars.
Bullock
hits 3,000!
It was all smiles in Bilborough as Mrs Hall
(pictured) was presented with chocolates
and flowers after her home became the
3,000th that our decent homes contractor,
Bullock, completed as part of our Secure
Warm Modern scheme.
Bullock is one of three contractors that
are fitting new kitchens and bathrooms to
thousands of eligible homes across the city.
Mrs Hall, 91, was ‘over the moon’ that her
home was recognised with this milestone.
More importantly, she’s delighted with her
new kitchen!
Shaun Nee, Senior Liaison Officer for
Bullock, said: “Mrs Hall is 91 years young
and has coped very well while the works
were completed. We hope she has many
years of enjoyment in her new kitchen and
wish her all the best for the future.”
If you have a question about Secure
Warm Modern, you can contact the
team on 0300 333 8100, email SWM@
nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk or visit
www.nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk/
improving_your_home
Pictured from left to right: Andy Holmes (Bullock TLO), Pete
Cook (Bullock Stream Manager), Scott Lee (NCH Technical
Officer), Mrs Hall, Paul Bradbury (Bullock Project Manager),
Sheila Gennard (NCH Project Liaison officer).
Saving energy and cash in
in Bulwell Hall
More than 350 homes in Bulwell Hall are set to benefit from external wall
insulation – helping tenants save a small fortune on their heating costs.
The work, by energy company E.ON and
managed by Nottingham City Homes, will cost
£2.35m and be funded through the Government’s
Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP).
As an added benefit, E.ON will also be spending
an extra £350,000 installing solar panels on
some homes.
The 358 homes were built with solid brick walls and
are now being clad with a ‘decoratively appealing’
insulation to dramatically reduce heat loss.
Energy costs can be a large element of family
household bills and it is widely recognised that
wall insulation significantly reduces heat seepage,
therefore reducing domestic energy costs. The
insulation also reduces carbon emissions.
Bulwell
The CESP programme is designed to help
people in some of the most deprived parts of the
country to cut their bills.
Councillor Alan Clark, Portfolio Holder for
Energy and Sustainability, said: “We have
worked with E.ON on other energy saving
schemes successfully – and with Nottingham
City Homes project management we are
confident these homes will get the benefit of
heat and energy saving in time for the winter.
“With the offer of installing additional solar
panels for selected homes as part of the works,
this is a really positive move that will make
homes warmer and cheaper to run. It will cut
tenants’ energy bills and will also significantly
cut the city’s carbon footprint.”
Congratulations to our team at Bulwell Housing Office who won housing
office of the month for June.
Our team of tenant ‘mystery shoppers’ rated Bulwell for
office accessibility, the friendliness and helpfulness of
staff and presentation of staff, the notice board displays
and information available to customers, the tidiness of
reception and other public areas.
Telephone calls were answered speedily, politely, and
with respect and sensitivity. The helpfulness of staff also
scored highly.
The office scored top marks for the way in which it dealt
with customer enquiries, complaints, ASB cases, and
visits to new tenants.
All of our offices are judged monthly by mystery shopper
volunteers from our team of tenant services inspectors.
is supreme in June
Pictured: Tenant Services Inspectors Michael Savage (left)
and Peter Reynolds (right) present Bulwell with the award.
Simple
steps to
prevent
fires
Ever been distracted by the phone when
cooking the tea Before you know it the
kitchen is full of smoke, tea is burned, the
smoke alarm is bleeping frantically and you
have to start flapping a tea towel to shut it up!
If this sounds familiar, then you’re not
alone. Cooking is one of the most common
causes of house fire and it is also the
reason behind many of the false alarms that
Nottinghamshire firefighters are called out to.
Thankfully, it is also extremely preventable
and fire and rescue service experts are
urging people to:
• Use the extractor or open a window
when cooking.
• Turn handles away from the edge of
the cooker.
• Take care when cooking with hot oil.
• Clean cookers regularly to prevent a
build-up of grease.
• Take saucepans off the cooker if you
are called away.
• Don’t put towels or sleeves where they
could catch light.
• Fit smoke alarms and test them
regularly to make sure they are
working; they could save your life.
‘Buy it, Fit it, Test it’.
For more information
Look on the ‘Your Safety’ pages of
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
website – www.notts-fire.gov.uk – or call
into your local fire station.