Winter 2012 - Havebury Housing Partnership

AWARD WINNING! 

haveburynews 

Winter 2012 

More on 

page 6 

New allocations and 

tenancy 

policy 

Top tips for fire 

safety in the home 

- page 18 

Get clued up on 

welfare reforms 

- page 15 

Community floating 

support service 

- page 25 

1

Do you want 

to make your 

car safer 

Need a low 

cost storage 

solution 

Do you 

have 

difficulty 

parking 

Do you want 

to reduce 

your car 

insurance 

If you are interested in renting a garage, 

please call 0300 3300 900 or visit 

www.havebury.com/services 

Winter 2012 

In this issue... 

4 News 

6 Homes 

8 Repairs 

9 Resident involvement 

10 Equality & diversity 

12 Neighbourhood 

Investment Panel 

13 Financial focus 

16 Neighbourhood news 

18 Health & safety 

20 Health 

21 Supported housing 

22 Green living 

23 Development 

24 Performance 

25 Community 

26 Helping you get back 

to work 

Have some news to share 

Email us at office@havebury.com 

news 

Volunteer gardening 

Our volunteer gardener 

scheme has made more than 

2,000 house calls this year. 

The team of volunteers attended 

105 addresses in Haverhill and 79 

in Bury with an average of just 

under 11 visits to each property. 

Christmas opening 

Our offices are open as 

follows over Christmas: 

21 December: 9am to 4pm 

22 - 26 December: closed 



29 & 30 December: closed 


1 January: closed 

2 January: 9am to 5pm 



The Haverhill office will 

be closed from 12pm to 

2.30pm on 20 December. 

Our out of hours 

team will be on 

hand to assist 

you in an 

emergency 

when the offices 

are closed. 

Please call 

0300 3300 900. 

The initiative aims to help 

disabled residents or those aged 

65 and over. 

If you would like to benefit from 

the scheme, please contact us on 

0300 3300 900 for further 

information. 

2 3

news 

Classic car recovered from garage 

Atrium 

meetings 

On the following 

dates, Havebury 

will be opening its 

offices at 10.30am 

due to employee 

training. 

30 January 

27 February 

20 March 

24 April 

22 May 

26 June 

24 July 

21 August 

25 September 

23 October 

20 November 

Please check 

www.havebury.com 

for up to date office 

opening hours. 

Twenty five years 

ago, the owner 

of a 1969 Mercury 

Cougar 6.0 litre V8 

coupe parked in one 

of our garages in 

Haverhill. 

It appears that the 

owner moved away 

and we lost contact 

with them earlier this 

year. Unfortunately 

we have been unable 

to track them down 

and, as the garage 

rent was no longer 

being paid, we had 

to remove the car 

and arrange for it 

to be sold. The tax 

disk indicates that it 

was last on the road 

in 1987 and it has 

been deemed to be 

restorable. 

The auctioneers 

managed to get the 

tyres pumped up and 

the engine started 

which helped it sell 

at auction. 

We hope the new 

owner will soon have 

it rebuilt and back on 

the road. 

Prince’s Trust makes an impact 

Sixteen young people on the Prince’s 

Trust Team programme at West 

Suffolk College undertook a project in 

the woodlands on the Parkway estate 

in Haverhill earlier this year. 

At the recent Eastern Region Police 

Forces Community Impact Award, the 

project was chosen as runner up. 

The group chose to make over an 

unused section of the woodlands to 

benefit the community. They wanted 

to enhance the area for local residents 

and encourage a more positive 

attitude towards young adults. 

To raise funds for the project, the 

group organised a number of activities 

including a car wash, street collection, 

market stall selling cakes and a raffle. 

Altogether the group successfully 

raised £380. 

Working in partnership with Steve 

Nutt, one of Havebury’s Lead 

Neighbourhood Rangers, the area 

is now a lovely open space with a 

seating area that members of the 

local community including families, 

children, dog walkers and cyclists 

can benefit from. It now provides a 

pleasant and peaceful place to relax 

and enjoy the surroundings. 

Individuals learned to communicate 

effectively while acquiring new skills 

such as problem-solving and leadership. 

Since completing the Prince’s Trust 

programme, all those involved have 

gone on to continue their education 

with new confidence in themselves and 

bright hopes for the future. 

A full report about the project is 

available on www.havebury.com. 

To find out more about the Prince’s 

Trust, call West Suffolk College on 

01284 716333. 

Before 

After 

Havebury welcomes new 

chairman of the Board 

We have appointed a new 

Chairman in Donald McKenzie, 

who has pledged to maintain our 

strong links with residents. 

Donald, 49, has served as an 

independent director on the 

Havebury Board for the past two 

years and takes the reins from 

Jonathan Free. 

“Working with a large organisation 

and having a background in finance 

means I have a strong skill set to 

offer as Chairman of Havebury’s 

already dynamic Board,” he said. 

“Havebury is a very caring 

organisation focused on our 

communities and on getting the 

best possible value from our 

funding and grants. 

“I am determined we will maintain 

the excellent links we have with 

our residents, employees and the 

communities we serve.” 

New Active Points Scheme 

Everyone in St Edmundsbury can 

register for a free Leisure Card 

and start collecting Active Points. 

You can register by downloading a 

registration form at 

www.acleisure.com under ‘Active 

St Eds’ then ‘Leisure Card/Active 

Points’. 

Every time you take part in an 

activity at Abbeycroft’s centres 

in Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill, 

or at one of our many community 

events and activities, you will 

receive points that can be 

exchanged for money off online at 

400 high street retailers. To redeem 

your points, you must register at 

www.activepoints.co.uk/ 

abbeycroft.html. 

Every 100 points is equivalent to 

75 pence which can be redeemed 

against many high street shops 

online. 

If you have any queries, please 

contact Abbeycroft Leisure at Bury 

St Edmunds on 01284 753496 or at 

Haverhill on 01440 702548. 

news 

We are award 

winning! 

Havebury recently won Gold at 

the Chartered Institute of Public 

Relations PRide East Anglia Awards for 

Best External Publication. 

To be shortlisted to the top three was 

a fantastic achievement and to win is 

testament to the hard work that goes into 

putting Havebury News together. 

However, we are keen to keep improving 

the magazine, and to do this we need 

your views. Enclosed with this issue you 

will find a short questionnaire on what 

you like and don’t like about Havebury 

News and what you would like to see in 

future issues. 

There is also the opportunity to request 

Havebury News in an alternative format 

– maybe you would prefer to download a 

podcast Please take a few minutes to 

complete the survey and post it back to 

us in the Freepost envelope. 

Your comments will help us to ensure 

that Havebury News really is a newsletter 

for our tenants. As a thank you for 

completing the survey, you will be 

entered into a prize draw to win £100 of 

high street shopping vouchers. 

Annual report 

Enclosed with this edition of 

Havebury News is our Annual Report 

for the financial year 2011/12. 

We have kept to the calendar format 

as this has been well received, but we 

have reduced the amount of text as 

requested by some tenants. 

We hope you enjoy reading the report 

and reminding yourselves of what 

we’ve achieved during the last year. 

An apology 

We would like to apologise for 

an error in the last edition of 

Havebury News. 

In the article about Town Pastors on 

page three, we wrongly referred to 

Haverhill Mayor Cllr Pat Hanlon as a 

woman. We are sorry for this error. 

4 5

homes 

New allocations and tenancy policy unveiled 

Havebury has implemented a new 

Allocations and Tenancy Policy. 

This was put together following 

consultation with our partners, in 

line with the Local Authority Tenancy 

Strategy and Housing Assistance 

Council guidelines on letting new 

affordable rent properties. 

What is new in the policy 

Havebury will now be able to offer 

four tenancy types: 

• Fixed term with affordable rent 

• Fixed term with social rent 

• Lifetime with affordable rent 

• Lifetime with social rent 

What is affordable rent 

This new style tenancy will have 

a rent set at 80 per cent of the 

market value and will be a fixed 

term tenancy. This will be a one year 

starter tenancy and then five year (or 

occasionally two year) fixed term. 

For the first time, Havebury will 

be advertising some affordable 

properties with a priority to those in 

work. This includes part time work of 

16 or more hours per week. 

We also want to encourage people to 

move closer to gaining paid work by 

achieving employability skills. So the 

working priority will include those 

attending higher or further education 

or taking vocational courses. 

What happens at the end of the fixed 

term 

At the end of the fixed term, a 

‘needs’ criteria will be used to assess 

whether the tenancy should continue. 

This will be based on tenants’ income 

as well as the accommodation and 

its suitability for each household 

member. If it is found that the 

accommodation is no longer suitable, 

support will be given to help tenants 

find an appropriate affordable home. 

New assessment of bedroom 

entitlement 

In line with new welfare reform 

changes using the Local Housing 

Allowance, people may find they are 

not entitled to as many bedrooms as 

they were previously. 

One bedroom is allowed for: 

• Each adult couple 

• Any other adult aged 16 or over 

(including full time permanent 

carers required for an existing 

member of their household) 

• Any two children under 10 

• Any two children of the same sex 

aged under 16 

• Any other child 

To help tenants move to smaller 

homes which are more appropriate 

for their needs, they will be given 

increased priority to help them move 

more quickly. 

What if I am a Havebury tenant 

wanting to move 

Existing Havebury tenants and 

tenants of other registered providers 

and local authorities will not 

have their tenure downgraded by 

transfer. Existing tenants who bid 

on affordable rent properties will 

maintain their tenancy type but pay a 

higher rent. 

homes 

Where are you sleeping tonight 

There has been a change in 

guidance for landlords about 

tenants sleeping in rooms with open 

flued gas appliances, for example in 

a room where there is a back boiler 

behind a gas fire. 

Previous guidance advised that this 

was acceptable for a temporary 

period if additional safety checks 

were conducted. However, the new 

guidance says that the appliance must 

be isolated immediately. 

Your safety is of paramount 

importance to us and sleeping in 

a room with an open flued gas 

Immersion 

heaters 

It is not common to have 

a problem with your 

immersion heater, but you 

should look out for the 

following warning signs: 

• Excessively hot water 

coming out of the hot 

water taps 

• Excessive noise from 

the hot water cylinder 

• Hot water coming out 

of certain cold water 

taps (some storage 

cisterns also feed 

cold water taps in the 

bathroom) 

• Steam/moisture in the 

roof space 

If you notice any of the 

above: 

• Turn off the immersion 

heater 

• Open the hot taps on 

the bath for a few 

minutes to let some of 

the water out 

• Call Havebury on 

0300 3300 900 

appliance could put you at risk of 

carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Carbon monoxide is highly poisonous 

both to people and animals. It 

is difficult to recognise as it has 

no colour, smell or taste. If you 

experience drowsiness, headaches, 

nausea or chest pains when using a 

gas appliance, report it immediately 

to Havebury. 

It is common for back boilers and fires 

to be removed, the opening blocked 

up and the chimney capped when 

the heating system is replaced. It is 

important that you do not unblock any 

Look after your animals 

If you keep family pets, you 

should make sure that they 

do not become an annoyance 

to your neighbours or the 

community around you. 

It is your responsibility to 

ensure dogs are kept under 

control and secure within the 

garden of the property and 

that any fouling is cleared up. 

Your dog will tend to be 

noisier when you are not at 

home so please try to leave 

toys to keep him or her 

amused when you are out. 

It is also your responsibility 

to keep dogs under control in 

public parts of the community 

and to clean up after them. 

Try not to let them become 

a nuisance by being noisy, 

especially late at night or 

early in the morning. 

Local offer 

standard 

Tenancy 

standard 

Actions 

Undertake 

targeted 

home checks 

Performance measures 

Current 

target 

Sept 

2012 

Targeted home checks 40 55 

Percentage of reported 

sub-letting investigated 100% 100% 

fireplace or reinstate an unused open 

fire without first seeking Havebury’s 

permission. 

There have been several instances in 

the UK where solid fuel back boilers 

have been left in a sealed condition 

and sometime later a coal fire has 

been lit in front of the boiler. This has 

led to the disused back boiler heating 

up and then exploding. 

If you are unsure or believe you could 

have a redundant back boiler, you 

should contact us immediately. If 

you have any other concerns, please 

contact us on 0300 3300 900. 

How 

we’ve 

done 

Improvement 

6 7

epairs 

Take extra precautions this winter 

Burst water pipes in your home can 

lead to extensive damage, causing 

distress and incurring considerable 

and unnecessary expense. Remember: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

The stop tap is where the mains 

water pipe enters your home 

and is usually found under the 

kitchen sink. Make sure that it 

is accessible and turns easily. 

Let the Repairs team know if it 

doesn’t 

Make sure that dripping taps are 

repaired 

Ensure that all waste pipes and 

overflow pipes are not leaking 

If you go away in winter 

Where possible, leave on some low 

background heat or contact the 

Report 

repairs 

online 

24/7 

Repairs team for advice. Your system 

can be drained down free of charge if 

you expect to be away for two weeks 

or more. 

Frozen pipes 

If a pipe freezes, turn off the main 

stop tap. Drain all hot and cold taps 

throughout your home. As long as you 

have been using your heating every 

day, it is quite safe to continue to 

do so. It will help to thaw out the 

affected areas. If you know where the 

pipe is frozen, you can put hot water 

bottles on it or a thick cloth soaked in 

hot water. 

NEVER use a naked flame and NEVER 

use a hot air paint stripper. Always 

watch for a split in the pipe which 

You can now report 

certain repairs and 

book an appointment 

online 24 hours a day, 

365 days a year. 

Simply visit our website 

at 

www.havebury.com and 

go to ‘Report a Repair’. 

You will be guided 

through some useful 

screens that help you 

diagnose the problem. 

can lead to flooding when it defrosts 

later. 

If you need water, make sure your 

cold tap over the sink is on and turn 

on the mains stop tap. 

If a pipe bursts, collect water in the 

bath for washing and flushing the 

toilet, turn off the main stop tap and 

open all other taps. 

If you cannot stop the flow, open all 

cold taps to drain the system. Turn off 

the central heating and let any solid 

fuel heating die down. 

Remember you can contact the 

Repairs team on 0300 3300 900 at any 

time of day. 

If you need assistance 

you will be given 

dates and times for an 

appropriate technician 

to visit you. 

Unlike our current selfservice 

system, you do 

not need to pre-register 

or sign up. 

In an emergency, we 

would urge you to call us 

any time on 

0300 3300 900. 

Get involved with us 

Could you represent the views of 

your peers and neighbours to 

Havebury Do you feel your voice 

is being heard Can you spare any 

time to help us make decisions 

that affect tenants 

We’ve been looking at our 

involvement groups to make sure 

that we’re including a good range 

of people, but some tenants and 

areas across St Edmundsbury 

aren’t currently represented. 

We’re keen to make sure we’re 

hearing as many views as possible 

so if you think you’re not being 

heard we’d like to change that. 

Listed below are some of the 

people that have little or no 

involvement with us. This means 

that when we make decisions your 

age group, village or estate might 

be missing out. 

If you live on the Mildenhall or 

Nowton Estate in Bury St Edmunds, 

the Chimswell or Parkway areas 

of Haverhill or one of our villages, 

Havebury Area Monitors 

Our Area Monitors have been 

working with Chelmer Housing 

Partnership and Greenfields 

Community Housing to carry out 

estate inspections. 

These help provide ideas for 

environmental initiatives, such as 

enhancing communal areas and 

alleyways and coming up with ideas 

to improve grounds maintenance, fly 

tipping and litter. 

Since 2011, members of the three 

organisations have visited Chelmer 

Local offer 

standard 

Tenant 

involvement 

and 

empowerment 

Actions 

Invest in 

community 

improvements 

through the 

Neighbourhood 

Investment 

Panel 

Performance 

measures 

Investment of the 

Neighbourhood 


Budget 

Match fund the 

Neighbourhood 


budget 

you could help by telling us the 

priorities of your friends and 

neighbours where you live. 

If you’re aged up to 45 you’re also 

under-represented in our main 

groups. This might mean we’re not 

considering your views as much as 

we could. 

You could help us by being part of 

the Sounding Board or a Havebury 

Area Monitor if you don’t have 

much time, or you could join the 

Tenants’ Forum for more in depth 

discussions on a broad range of 

issues. Whatever you decide to do, 

even an hour here and there can 

make a big difference in ensuring 

we’re looking at the bigger picture 

and considering your views. 

If you’d like more information on 

any of our groups, or to receive 

a Be the Difference leaflet that 

lists all the options, please call 

Ellie Darling or Sarah Moulding on 

0300 3300 900. We look forward to 

hearing from you! 

Housing communities in Chelmsford, 

the Mildenhall estate in Bury St 

Edmunds and, more recently, a 

Greenfields neighbourhood in Powers 

Hall End, Witham. 

The visits have given the team from 

Havebury the opportunity to learn 

from the other agencies about what 

works, what we could do differently 

and what could be improved. 

If you are interested in becoming a 

Havebury Area Monitor, call us on 

0300 3300 900. 

Current 

target 

Sept 


50% 63% 

50% 37% 

resident involvement 

How 

we’ve 

done 

Improvement 

Elections held 

Congratulations to Sandy Norris 

and Kevin Jefferson who were 

re-elected as Chair and Vice 

Chair respectively of the Tenants’ 

Forum at its Annual General 

Meeting. 

The Forum made changes to their 

constitution at the meeting which 

means that Sandy and Kevin will 

be in place for the next three 

years, unless one of them leaves. 

Green Flag 

West Stow Country Park has 

been awarded Green Flag 

Award status for 2012/2013. The 

Green Flag Award recognises well 

managed, high quality spaces. 

The team at West Stow thanked 

the regular volunteer team from 

Tayfen House who pulled out all 

the stops to get the areas around 

the car park and visitor centre 

looking good prior to the visit. 

Big Day Out 

Members of the Havebury team 

were at the Big Day Out on 

Haverhill’s recreation ground. 

Organised by the town council, 

this annual event is aimed 

at young people and their 

families. This year there was a 

sporting theme to tie in with the 

Olympics. Thank you to everyone 

who came to see us - we look 

forward to seeing you again next 

year! 

8 9

Equality and diversity 

Customer needs survey: It’s all about you 

If you have filled out one of our 

customer needs surveys, you 

will know that we like to collect 

information on our tenants. This 

is to ensure we improve and 

tailor our services to your needs. 

We are putting together a new 

action plan which will include: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

Publishing customer needs 

data in the Equality and 

Diversity section of Havebury 

News 

Finding a tenant champion to 

liaise with our Development 

team 

Improving the reporting 

repairs process for people 

with literacy difficulties or 

for those whom English is not 

their first language 

We will also continue to use the 

data to improve our services in 

other ways. 

For example, some tenants told 

us that a simpler version of 

some of our literature would be 

beneficial. So we are currently 

looking at producing some 

pictorial guides and log sheets 

for anti-social behaviour. 

The full version of the plan will 

be available at 

www.havebury.com when it is 

completed by our team. 

Currently 85 per cent of our 

tenants have answered our 

questions about gender, age, 

ethnic origin, sexual preference, 

religion and disability. 

Here’s what we know about our tenants 

Ethnic origin 

Disabilities 

Age range 

Over 

70s 

60s 

Under 20s 

50s 

20s 

40s 

30s 

Under 20: 0.5% 

20s: 10.4% 

30s: 16.1% 

40s: 19% 

50s: 12.3% 

60s: 13.9% 

Over 70: 27.8% 

Under 20 

20s 

30s 

40s 

50s 

60s 

Over 70 

Equality & diversity data collection 

Nearly one in three 

Havebury tenants are 

over the age of 70 

Known Unknown Declined % Known % Answer 

Gender 7392 5 0 99.9 99.9 

Age 7170 227 0 96.9 96.9 

More than 40 per 

cent of our disabled 

tenants have limited 

mobility 

Almost all 

tenants are 

white British 

White British: 97.2% 

White other: 1% 

White Irish: 0.5% 

White Polish: 0.4% 

Mixed white other: 0.2% 

Black other: 0.2% 

Asian other: 0.2% 

White Portuguese: 0.1% 

Black African: 0.1% 

Mixed white Caribbean: 0.1% 

26.2% of our 

tenants 

are disabled 

Blind: 1.4% 

Deaf: 3.5% 

Deaf and blind: 0.3% 

Disabled - other: 56.1% 

Dyslexia: 2% 

Hearing impaired: 12.8% 

Learning difficulty: 3.5% 

Limited mobility: 40.2% 

Mental health problems: 9.4% 

Sight impaired: 6.1% 

Speech problems: 1.7% 

Wheelchair user: 9.8% 

Ethnic origin 6881 489 27 93.0 93.4 

Sexual 

preference 

3003 691 3703 40.6 90.7 

Religion 3091 975 3331 41.8 86.8 

Disability 6701 696 0 90.6 90.6 

Equality 

Impact 

Assessments 

The Equality Impact Assessment 

(EIA) schedule is up to date and 

our Equality and Diversity Forum 

members are doing a fantastic 

job reviewing our policies and 

procedures. 

This ensures that any discrimination 

or potential discrimination is 

eliminated. 

For a full list of completed EIAs, visit 


10 11

Neighbourhood Investment Panel 

More projects supported through the 

Neighbourhood Investment Panel 

The Neighbourhood Investment 

Panel has given nearly £1,650 

to a football project in Bury St 

Edmunds to inspire young people. 

The grant will pay for the first 

year of the Southgate Community 

Project, holding football sessions for 

youngsters every Tuesday evening at 

Nowton Park. 

The initiative is being run by the 

Suffolk Football Association (SFA) 

in partnership with the Southgate 

Community Centre and Sporting 87 

Football Club. 

SFA’s Football Development Officer 

Nathan French said: “We were 

approached by the trustees of 

the community centre to offer 

something proactive and positive for 

the young people in the area. 

“The trustees knew that the young 

people were very keen to engage in 

sport and that they would benefit 

from the structure of weekly 

sessions. 

Other projects to have 

benefitted from funding: 

Painting Bury Lavender 

Cancer Research day: £1,500 

Haverhill Rovers 

Three portable goals: £2,000 

St Edmunds Place 

Build a shed: £474 

Ipswich Court 

Cobblestones project part 2: £10,440 

Ashwell Road 

New drying area: £8,481 

Wollaston Close 

New drying area: £4,836 

St Edmunds Place 

Replace artificial plants: £781 

Anselm Avenue 

Environmental work: £15,642 

Stanton Village Hall 

Two new air con units: £2,000 

“We were really delighted with 

the donation from Havebury which 

helped to pay for the hire of the 

Astroturf, the coaching fees, 

printing of flyers and equipment.” 

He added: “Particularly with it 

being an Olympics year, it is a great 

time for young people to engage 

in sport. It really does have the 

power to break down barriers and 

Bailey Lane, Clare 

Create pedestrian access: £420 

Dance, Make Your Move 

Competition in aid of Red Cross: £850 

Eastgate 

Recycling facilities: £1,142 

Great Barton 

Allotment fencing: £1,400 

Fresh Festival 

Young entrepreneur event: £911 

Stansfield Village Hall 

Toilet refurbishment: £4,154 

Stanningfield 

Shelter for young people: £5,181 

Barrow 

Under tens’ football club: £2,000 

bring societies together.” The free 

sessions, which are open to boys and 

girls under the age of 18, take place 

from 8pm to 9pm. 

Organisers are also looking for local 

businesses to act as sponsors for the 

project in the future. 

If you would like more information, 

call Nathan French on 07432 735987. 

FinancialFocus 

Times are 

tough... 

We know just how difficult managing your finances can be. 

Whether it’s trying to budget family meals for under £5, or 

by finding a cheaper water tariff (see page 22), please take the 

time to read these articles and also the inserts included with this 

edition of Havebury News to help you save money. 

Meals for a fiver competition 

Send us your recipes 

and you could win a 

Cookworks hand blender. 

We want to hear from you 

with recipes which are 

nutritional, quick to make 

and cost under £5. 

The five best recipes will 

be included in the next 

Havebury News and those 

lucky winners will receive a 

Cookworks hand blender. 

Each member of the 

household over the age of 18 

may enter. There is an insert 

which will explain more. The 

winners will be notified by 

Friday 25 January. 

Keep on keeping in touch 

We have updated 54.7 per cent of 

details about the people living 

in our homes. To say thank you to 

everyone who has responded to us, 

we will automatically enter your 

household for each Keep In Touch 

competition (look out for the logo). It 

is really important that we know who 

is living with you so we can help with 

Welfare Reform changes. 

For those of you who haven’t Kept in 

Touch, we will be contacting you soon 

or you can contact us on 0300 3300 

900 or www.havebury.com. 

Word 

search 

One of the words on the enclosed competition card 

cannot be found… which word is it 

You could be in with a chance of winning an HP 650 

Windows 8 15.6” 4GB laptop (first place) or a Kindle 

Fire (second and third places). 

Festive postage 

Every penny counts, especially over 

the festive period. If you receive 

Pension Credit, Employment and Support 

Allowance or Incapacity Benefit, you can 

buy up to 36 stamps in books of six or 12 

at 2011 prices. 

You can take up the offer at Post Office 

branches between 6 November and 

Christmas Eve. All you need to do is take 

a letter with you from the Department of 

Work and Pensions or a Post Office Card 

Account Statement. 

The documents must be dated within 

the past 12 months and must name the 

relevant benefits that you receive. 

For more information, visit 

www.royalmail.com/stampoffer or call 

Royal Mail Customer Services on 

08456 016 248. 

It’s good to talk 

BT Basic is a simple, low cost 

telephone service that’s easy to 

understand and helps you keep in touch, 

even if money is a bit tight. If you’re on 

a low income, BT Basic lets you make 

and receive calls – and helps you manage 

how much you spend. 

How much does BT Basic cost 

£14.40 every three months. This includes 

£4.50 to spend on calls. 

How often do I need to pay 

Every three months. 

Who can get BT Basic 

You can usually get BT Basic if you’re 

claiming one of these benefits: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

Income Support 

Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance 

Employment Support Allowance 

(income related) 

Pensions Credit (Guaranteed Credit) 

You must be the named account holder 

to apply. Visit www.bt.com or call 0800 

100 400. 

12 13

FinancialFocus 

Home contents insurance 

In the event of a fire, theft or 

water leak, remember that your 

possessions are at great risk if you do 

not have home contents insurance. 

The damage to your items is not 

usually covered by Havebury’s 

insurance - so you could be left with 

the substantial expense of having to 

replace your ruined belongings if the 

worst happens. 

Water leaks 

Every year, Havebury deals with a 

large number of water leaks in our 

tenants’ homes. 

These can be through the ceiling or 

the roof, from radiators, or as a result 

of burst pipes or flooding. The effects 

Don’t get caught out if you’re locked out 

Havebury will charge you if you 

lock yourself out of your home 

and we have to gain entry for you. 

This can cost from £52 to £100 plus 

VAT depending on the level of work 

required to gain access and then 

repair the lock. 

You should consider getting 

additional keys cut and leaving 

them with trusted friends or family. 

of this can be devastating with 

possessions often ruined with no 

chance of recovery. 

Condensation and mould 

During the colder months, 

many of our tenants report 

problems with condensation and 

mould. It is important to make 

sure that you keep your home 

well heated and ventilated 

to prevent condensation and 

mould growth. 

Remember! 

Havebury’s insurance does not 

cover mould damage to your 

belongings when it is caused by 

condensation as a result of your 

living conditions. 

Alternatively you can contact 

Suffolk Police to find out about 

their Safekey scheme. Visit 

www.suffolk.safekey.org.uk or call 

08444 121 802 for more details. 

If you have our recommended Pay 

As You Go home contents insurance, 

the insurance company will arrange 

for your locks to be changed free of 

charge. 

Register online for housing info 

St Edmundsbury residents can 

now register online for access 

to their full Housing and Council 

Tax Benefit award and payment 

information. 

Just log on to 

www.angliarevenues.gov.uk 

choose Online Services and set 

up an account. 

Havebury is only able to see 

the final award and payments if 

they are paid to us; we cannot 

access your income and personal 

details. 

Even if Havebury has assisted 

you with your claim, it is 

processed by Anglia Revenues 

Partnership and you are legally 

obliged to inform them of all 

changes in circumstances. 

Havebury works with insurance 

brokers Jardine Lloyd Thompson to 

run an affordable home contents 

insurance scheme designed with 

tenants in mind. 

Cover is quick and simple to 

arrange so please don’t put it off. 

For more information visit our 

website or contact Carrie Burroughs 

at Havebury on 01284 722171. 

Benefits help 

enants offered non-Havebury 

Tproperties at short notice are able 

to claim discretionary Housing Benefit 

for the mandatory four week notice 

period on Havebury properties even if 

they have moved. 

This may relate to a move to a care 

home or into any other alternative 

accommodation. Tenants can also 

claim for a trial in a care home before 

making a decision to give notice. 

Please inform Anglia Revenues 

Partnership and Havebury as soon as 

any decision is made. 

Welfare reforms: Persons of pension 

age living with partners of working age 

One of the most complicated groups 

affected by under-occupation 

rules and Universal Credit are couples 

where one partner is under pension 

age and the other has reached the 

state pension age for a female (even 

if that partner is a male). 

Currently they are treated as a 

pensioner couple and gain lots of 

protection and advantages in their 

benefits. 

When Universal Credit comes in, 

any such couple making a new claim 

following a change of circumstance 

will be treated as a working couple 

with lower entitlements. They will 

have no pension credit entitlement 

and are likely to be affected by under 

occupation rules. 

The Government has said that any 

couple already on Pension Credit 

when these changes come in will be 

protected and remain a pensioner 

couple. It may be beneficial for 

some male Jobseeker’s Allowance/ 

Employment and Support Allowance 

claimants between 61 and 65 to 

transfer to Pension Credit now to top 

up their income - as long as it does 

not affect their National Insurance 

(NI) record considerably. 

You may also consider claiming small 

amounts of Pension Credit that 

may not have previously seemed 

worthwhile. You can request a 

statement of NI contributions to see 

if you have 30 full years by contacting 

the Future Pensions Centre on 0845 

3000 168. A statement can be sent 

within ten days that confirms your 

record. 

If you feel any of the above may 

apply to you it is worth asking for 

personal advice from the Benefits and 

Welfare team at Havebury on 

01284 722120. 

Important benefits information for carers 

Although those in 

receipt of State 

Retirement Pension cannot 

usually claim Carer’s 

Allowance for looking 

after a partner or friend 

on Attendance Allowance 

or Mid or High Disability 

Living Allowance, they 

are able to have their 

responsibilities recognised. 

By claiming an underlying 

entitlement to the 

allowance, they will 

receive a premium that 

may increase their Pension 

Credit and Housing and 

Council Tax Benefits. 

If you would like assistance 

with this, please contact 

Pension Credit direct on 

0800 99 1234 or Havebury 

on 01284 722120. 

Any award should be 

notified to your council. 

All stays in hospital of four 

weeks or more should be 

notified to all relevant 

benefit departments and 

authorities for patients 

and carers. 

14 15

Neighbourhood 

News 

Vinefields 

impact day 

Havebury led an impact day 

at The Vinefields in Bury St 

Edmunds alongside Suffolk Police, 

St Edmundsbury Borough Council, 

Bury St Edmunds Town Council, 

Suffolk County Council’s highways 

department and Bury in Bloom. We 

spoke to many tenants and residents 

to complete 33 questionnaires about 

life in the area. 

Please can we remind all tenants that 

it is your responsibility to dispose of 

any bulk items. You can do this by 

contacting St Edmundsbury Borough 

Council directly on 01284 757320. 

There is a charge for this service 

but if you are in receipt of certain 

benefits, a discount is available. 

We would also like to remind tenants 

that The Vinefields is in a drinking 

free zone area and would therefore 

ask that you refrain from drinking 

alcohol in the street. 

Following the feedback given on the 

day, Havebury will be looking into 

refurbishment of the locality, the 

possibility of creating more garden 

areas and setting up a focus group for 

tenants. 

Our impact days and Pride in Your 

Postcode events are an opportunity 

for you to come along and tell us 

what it is like to live in your home 

and neighbourhood. Keep up to date 

via www.havebury.com. 

Here to help 

REACH Resource Centre on the 

Clements Estate offers numerous 

ways to help you in times of need. 

The centre offers debt counselling 

and a client aid project 

(www.acts435.org.uk) from which 

money can be put towards court 

hearings, emergency gas and electric, 

cookers, microwaves, beds and so on. 

The centre also runs the Foodbank 

and Furniture Bank projects. They’re 

open five days a week as follows: 

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 

from 2pm to 5pm and Tuesdays, 

Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am 

to 1pm. For more information, visit 

www.reachhaverhill.org.uk. 

Recently, Gatehouse in Bury St 

Edmunds set up a Foodbank alongside 

its existing services providing 

furniture to disadvantaged families 

and individuals living on benefits or 

low income. For more information, 

please contact 01284 754967 or email 

info@gatehouse.org.uk. 

Anti-social behaviour - some useful advice 

Betweeen April and September, 

our Neighbourhood Advisors 

received 64 new complaints of antisocial 

behaviour. Noise complaints 

were the most common, making 

up over half of all complaints. In 

order to avoid being the cause of a 

complaint, here are some handy dos 

and don’ts: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

DO make sure any music you play 

isn’t audible outside your home 

DON’T attach loudspeakers or 

televisions to party walls 

DO try to put loudspeakers on 

stands or tables 

DO use headphones if you want 

to have music, television or 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

video games at a higher volume 

DON’T use household appliances 

late at night or very early in the 

morning 

DO avoid dragging furniture on 

hard floors 

DON’T lay laminate or wooden 

flooring if you live in a flat 

DO put in the best underlay you 

can under your carpets 

DO report any sticking or stiff 

doors to our Repairs team so 

they don’t need to be slammed 

DON’T shout to someone in a 

different room 

DO use common sense and think 

about how your actions could 

impact on people living nearby 

For any anti-social behaviour issues, 

call your Neighbourhood Advisor on 

0300 3300 900, email 

asb@havebury.com or follow the 

links from the website. 

Outside of office hours, you can 

leave a message on our 24 hour 

voicemail service on 0800 0758 999. 

Do you know your neighbourhood ranger 

There are five neighbourhood rangers who cover 

all the estates and villages in which Havebury has 

properties. 

The team is led by Lead Neighbourhood Rangers Steve 

Nutt and Kevin James (pictured below). Each ranger 

has their own area to manage and part of their role 

is to get to know local residents, establishing a good 

rapport with the community. Through these links, the 

rangers are a point of contact for issues to be reported 

and are very much the eyes and ears on the estates. 

The rangers each have a van and are equipped with 

mobile phones and tablet PCs so they can keep in 

touch with the office and respond rapidly to any 

problems or issues. 

What you can expect from your Neighbourhood Ranger: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

A visible presence in your neighbourhood 

Monitoring of grounds maintenance and cleansing 

contracts 

Reporting and monitoring the removal of fly tips, 

rubbish, graffiti and untaxed vehicles 

Showing prospective tenants around their new 

homes 

Monitoring of empty properties 

Carrying out fire risk assessments 

Working with other agencies, residents and 

community groups to improve the neighbourhood 

Steve Nutt 

Number of new anti-social behaviour 

cases 

April to 

June 


July to 

Sept 


36 28 

How many were noise related 22 (61%) 16 (57%) 

Number of related visits, warnings, 

letters or other low level 

interventions 

97 82 

Number of legal notices served 5 3 

Number of anti-social behaviour 

injunctions granted 

Number of evictions for anti-social 

behaviour 

Number of resolved anti-social 

behaviour cases 

Kevin James 

2 2 

1 1 

23 30 

Local offer 

standard 

Neighbourhood 

and community 

standard 

GABRIEL 

NICA 

DEBBIE 

ROBINSON 

GAVIN 

PHILP 

Actions 

Attend 

community 

events with 

partners 

Ensure that 

tenants feel 

comfortable 

reporting antisocial 

behaviour 

Support 

activities for 

young people 

Carry out 

inspections on 

grass cutting 

and hedge 

trimming 

ESTATES: 

Nowton Estate, Bury St Edmunds; High 

Street, Haverhill; Clements Estate, 

Haverhill; Old Haverhill; Cambridge Way, 

Haverhill 

VILLAGES AND OTHER AREAS: 

Clare, Wickhambrook, Stoke By Clare, 

Kedington, Cavendish, Stradishall, Lidgate, 

Hundon, Gt Bradley, Cowlinge, Poslingford, 

Withersfield, Gt Wratting, Stansfield, 

Barnardiston, Denston, Little Thurlow 

ESTATES: 

Mildenhall Estate, Bury St Edmunds; Town 

Centre, Bury St Edmunds; Parkway Estate, 

Haverhill 


Barrow, Risby, Gt Whelnetham, 

Stanningfield, Horringer, Ely, Mildenhall, 

Chedburgh, Ousden, Red Lodge, Rede, 

Chevington, Hargrave, Hawstead, Brockley, 

Denham, Whepstead, Nowton, Gt Saxham, 

Hawkendon, Depden 

ESTATES: 

Howard Estate, Westley Estate and Priors 

Estate in Bury St Edmunds; Chimswell 

Estate, Haverhill 


Ixworth, Stanton, Fornham All Saints, 

Barningham, Rougham, Pakenham, 

Bradfield St George, Gt Barton, 

Bardwell, Sapiston, Fornham St Martin, 

Honington, Hopton, Hepworth, Barnham, 

Gt Livermere, Stowmarket, Fakenham 

Magna, Flempton, Ingham, Market Weston, 

Thelnetham, Bradfield St Clare, Coney 

Weston, Mundford, Troston, Stour Vale, 

Euston, Ampton 

Performance 

measures 

Attendance at 

community events 

Tenant 

confidence 

Current 

target 

Sept 


21 29 

80% N/A 

Speed of response 85% N/A 

Youth activity 

report 

Tenant 

inspections 

Tenant 

inspections 

standards 

1 3 

15 54 

90% 81% 

How 

we’ve 

done 

Improvement 

16 17

health and safety 

Top tips for 

fire safety in 

the home 

What would you do if 

someone was choking 

Choking is a very common and 

potentially life threatening form 

of emergency. There is no way to 

completely avoid the risk of choking, 

but with a few easy to follow actions 

you can greatly reduce the risk of 

permanent damage or even death. 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

The person may be holding their 

throat, gasping for air or waving 

their hands around anxiously 

Ask them if they are choking 

Turn them so they are facing 

away from you, put your arm 

round their waist and bend them 

forward 

Hit them firmly on their back 

between the shoulder blades to 

dislodge the object. This creates 

a strong vibration and pressure in 

the airway, which is often enough 

to dislodge the blockage, allowing 

them to breathe again 

If necessary, call 999 or get 

someone else to do it. 

health and safety 

What should I do if the back blows 

don’t work 

If five firm back blows do not dislodge 

the object, stand behind them, join 

your hands around their tummy and 

form a fist. Pull your hands sharply 

inwards and upwards. Repeat up to 

five times. 

This is sometimes called the Heimlich 

Manoeuvre or abdominal thrust. Don’t 

attempt this technique on a child 

under one. 

What should I do with children over 

the age of one 

Treat them the same as adults. A 

common myth is that you should 

hang them upside down by their 

feet to dislodge the object. This is 

not effective and may cause further 

injury if you happen to drop them. 

How do I treat a baby who is 

choking 

For children under the age of one, 

hold them face down along your 

forearm with their head lower than 

their bottom. Hit them firmly on their 

back up to five times. 

Did you know 

●● 

Around 500 people die in fires in 

the home and over 10,000 are 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

injured every year 

You are twice as likely to die in 

a fire if you don’t have a smoke 

alarm that works 

90 people die each year because 

the battery in their smoke alarm 

is flat or missing 

Over half of home fires are caused 

by cooking accidents 

More than five fires per day are 

started by candles 

Every three days someone dies 

from a fire caused by a cigarette 

Faulty electrics (appliances, 

wiring and overloaded sockets) 

cause around 7,000 house fires 

across the country every year 

Havebury positively encourages safety 

within the home and has put together 

some simple guidelines on how you 

can prevent fires from starting. 

Lights, candles, appliances, cooking 

and smoking all pose fire risks, but 

by taking a few simple steps you can 

minimise the risk around your home: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

Don’t leave mobile phones 

charging when you go to bed 

Never overload sockets, keep it 

to one plug per socket and turn 

off any electrical appliances when 

not being used 

If bulbs blow, ensure they are 

replaced 

Some bulbs get hot so ensure they 

are not touching anything that can 

burn easily like paper or fabrics 

Keep ovens, hobs and grills clean 

and in good working order. A 

build up of fat and grease can 

ignite a fire 

Don’t leave candles unattended. 

Keep them away from curtains, 

furnishings and other decorations 

and ensure they are placed in 

proper holders to prevent them 

from falling over. Extinguish when 

unattended 

Keep candles, lighters and 

matches out of the reach of 

children 

Make sure smokers put out their 

cigarettes and check for any that 

may still be smouldering before 

going to bed 

Check your smoke alarms are 

working on a weekly basis and do 

●● 

not be tempted to remove the 

batteries 

Plan your escape route in the 

event of a fire and make sure 

your family and any guests know 

where the door and window keys 

are kept 

Protect your child against burns and scalds 

Kitchen equipment, cooking and 

food and drink are responsible 

for more than half of all burns and 

scalds. 

Follow these safety tips to protect 

your children: 

In the kitchen 

●● 

Keep children away from the 

front of the oven 

●● 

Use a kettle with a short or 

curly flex and keep it well back 

from the edge of the kitchen 

●● 

worktop 

Turn the saucepan handles 

towards the back of the cooker, 

and use the back rings where 

possible 

Hot drinks 

●● 

Never drink tea or coffee while 

you are holding a baby or child 

●● 

Keep hot drinks out of reach of 

babies and toddlers 

●● 

Never pass hot drinks over the 

heads of babies or children 

In the bathroom 

●● 

When you run a bath, put cold 

water in first, then add hot 

water 

●● 

Always test the bath water with 

your elbow 

If your child has a burn or a scald 

●● 

Flood the injured area 

immediately with cool water for 

10 to 15 minutes 

●● 

Once the burn has cooled, 

remove clothing from the 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

injured area 

If material is sticking to the 

skin, don’t try to remove it 

If the burn or scald starts to 

hurt again – flood again with 

cool water 

Don’t touch the injured area 

or burst any blisters – this can 

cause infection 

If possible, remove rings, 

watches etc from the injured 

area in case of swelling 

Loosely cover the burn or scald 

with non-fluffy material 

●● 

●● 

Don’t put any creams, grease or 

antiseptic spray on the injury 

If the burn or scald involves 

the face, hands, feet, joints or 

genitals, it should be seen by a 

doctor. Any burn or scald larger 

than a postage stamp should 

also be seen by doctor 

18 

19

health 

Help for anyone affected by dementia 

Have you been told you have 

dementia and need some advice 

and guidance Or are you caring for 

someone with dementia 

The Suffolk Dementia Helpline knows 

that people with dementia and their 

families often struggle to get the 

advice they need when they need it. 

This service provides tailored 

guidance to any Suffolk resident who 

has had a diagnosis of dementia, and 

their family carer, giving them more 

choice and helping them understand 

what services are available and how 

to get them. 

The trained team will be available to: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

Find information that you need at 

the time and in the way that you 

need it 

Answer any questions you have or 

help you find the answer 

Help you with understanding 

dementia and its treatments 

Advise on support that is available 

to you 

Let you know how to get help 

locally 

Check your financial entitlements 

and help you get them 

If you or someone you care for has 

had a diagnosis of dementia, please 

ring 01473 353055. 

If you have not had a diagnosis of 

dementia but are concerned about 

memory loss and would like more 

information and advice, please ring 

Suffolk Dementia Helpline on 

01473 353350. 

Register for a personal health plan today 

Are you looking to give up 

smoking Would you like to 

learn how to eat more healthily 

and become more active If so, 

Live Well Suffolk can help you 

take the first steps to enjoying a 

healthier lifestyle. 

Live Well Suffolk has a team of 

community based Health Coaches 

who have the specialist knowledge 

and experience to advise and 

guide you every step of the way, 

changing your habits and showing 

you how to be more healthy. 

If you would like a personal oneto-one 

appointment, free sessions 

are available at the David Holland 

Pharmacy in Norton Road on the 

Clements Estate, Haverhill every 

Wednesday from 10am to 1pm. 

Each 30 minute pre booked 

appointment will discuss your 

personal health plan and give 

you tailored advice and guidance 

on health issues such as weight 

management, eating plans and 

suggestions on how you can boost 

your daily activity levels. 

Smokers are also welcome to book 

an appointment, with specialist 

one-to-one Stop Smoking clinics 

available to support those looking 

to kick the habit. Each clinic will 

give tips, advice and medication to 

make the quitting process easier. 

For more information, visit 

www.livewellsuffolk.org.uk or call 

01473 229292. 

Supported housing 

Card making at Redwood 

Josephine Sandford, Pamela Keith, Mary Smith, Annette Carver and Vera 

Ashby have been enjoying their new hobby of making lovely cards at 

Redwood Gardens. 

At the moment, the group sends their cards to family and fellow tenants but 

they are hoping to expand and sell them in aid of charity in the future. 

Coffee time 

Beetons Lodge sheltered 

housing scheme raised £250 

through a Macmillan coffee 

morning. 

Tenants and their families gave 

cakes, many of which were 

home made. Coffee and cake 

were on sale during the course 

of the morning, followed by an 

auction to sell off any remaining 

goodies. 

There was also a raffle, with 

entertainment provided by 

singer and guitarist Brian Roy. 

Scheme manager Gill O’Donnell 

said everyone thoroughly 

enjoyed themselves, and that 

they are looking forward to 

doing it again next year! 

Anyone for darts 

Residents at Redwood Gardens have 

been practising their darts and are 

looking for groups from other schemes 

or community projects who might be 

interested in setting up some friendly 

matches! Call 01284 755090 for info. 

Local offer 

standard 

Supported 

housing 

standard 

Actions 

Discuss support needs 

with tenants in 

sheltered 

accommodation when 

reporting a repair 

Encourage social 

activities 

Performance 

measures 

Support needs 

discussed 

during repair 

call 

Sheltered 

scheme social 

activities 

We 

love our 

shed! 

Hats off to the 

Neighbourhood 

Investment Panel for 

supplying Thingoe Lodge 

with a garden shed. 

Over the summer, some 

of the residents were 

busy making the outside a 

colourful area for everyone 

to enjoy. At the end of a 

very hard day gardening, it 

is a delight to be able to pop 

the tools back in the shed 

instead of carrying them 

round to safety inside. 

The shed is also big 

enough to sit in and on an 

autumnal day with a coffee, 

it’s lovely to listen to the 

birds singing. 

A big thank you must go 

to Wendy, our scheme 

manager, for all the support 

she has shown and indeed 

just for always supporting 

all of us. We may name the 

shed “The Wendy House”! 

by Thingoe Lodge resident 

Elaine 

Current 

target 

Sept 


85.0% 75% 

105 284 

Congrats to 

Joyce Johnson 

of Thingoe 

Lodge who has 

reached the 

grand age of 

101! 

How 

we’ve 

done 

Improvements 

20 21

Green Living 

Can you manage your water bills 

Ofwat, the organisation that 

regulates water and sewerage 

providers in England and Wales, 

says that Anglian Water increased 

household water bills by an average 

of 4.71 per cent in 2011-12. The 

question is, how can households 

manage these increases 

For many, the biggest decision is 

whether to switch from rateable 

bills to a water meter. Generally, 

if there are more bedrooms in your 

house than people, it might be 

worth looking into a meter. If you 

have had a water meter installed 

and you do not use much water, 

speak to Anglian Water about their 

SoLow tariff. 

Meanwhile, customers receiving 

benefits who may use more water 

could still save money on the 

AquaCare Plus tariff. For more 

information or to apply for either 

tariff, call Anglian Water on 

08457 91 91 55. 

Remember, all households are 

entitled to have a water meter 

installed free of charge. You can 

also request to have your water 

meter removed free of charge 

providing it has not been installed 

for more than one year. 

If you are still having difficulty, 

contact the Consumer Council for 

Water Eastern on 0845 795 9369. 

Water companies have a range of 

tariffs available to help tenants, 

from those who have low usage 

of water and where a meter may 

be beneficial, to those with large 

families, those on low incomes or 

who may have medical conditions 

which mean that above average 

water use is commonplace. 

If you are in debt with your 

water bills and are experiencing 

hardship, please contact the 

Anglian Water Assistance Fund on 

01733 421060 and they will send 

you an application form. Or you 

can download the form by visiting 

https://awaf.app.charisgrants. 

com/ 

Success for Suffolk textile recycling scheme 

The Suffolk Waste 

Partnership’s new trial 

textiles recycling scheme 

was successfully launched 

in July. It is aimed at 

reducing the 7,000 tonnes 

of clothes and textiles 

being sent to landfill in 

Suffolk each year. 

Two specially designed 

textile recycling bags, with 

instructional guides, were 

delivered via the Royal 

Mail to all Suffolk homes. 

The scheme has already 

recycled approximately 

220 tonnes of textiles and 

provided approximately 

12,000 replacement bags. 

Of this, West Suffolk has 

collected 60 tonnes. 

If for any reason you were 

not left a replacement 

bag, you can collect them 

at the council offices 

in Brandon, Mildenhall, 

Newmarket, Bury St 

Edmunds or Haverhill. 

They are also available 

from the Bury St Edmunds 

Tourist Information Centre. 

More scheme information 

and advice is available at 

www.stedmundsbury.gov. 

uk/waste or via the Waste 

Management Team on 

01284 757320. 

Development update 

Planning permission 

A proposed development of 

seven new homes at Goddard 

Place in Harleston near 

Stowmarket will comprise 2 

three bedroom semi-detached 

bungalows; 2 two bedroom 

semi-detached houses; and 3 

three bedroom terraced houses. 

Planning permission was 

granted in October. The land 

purchase has completed and 

we anticipate commencing 

construction with Cocksedge 

Building Contractors in 

Heath Road, 

Norton 

Havebury has recently 

been successful in 

securing two Section 106 

properties in the picturesque 

village of Norton in mid 

Suffolk. 

These are currently under 

construction through Hopkins 

Homes which is Havebury’s 

first venture with this local 

developer. 

There will be a two bedroom 

as well as a three bedroom 

property available amongst a 

small development of eight 

homes in total. These are 

due to be completed at the 

time of going to press. 

January. The new homes have 

been designed to Code for 

Sustainable Homes Level 3. 

Central heating and hot water 

will be provided by individual 

air source heat pumps. Five of 

the new homes will be rented 

by Havebury as affordable 

housing through Mid Suffolk’s 

Gateway to Homechoice. 

The remaining two homes will 

be sold on the open market. 

There are two affordable Section 

106 units being constructed in the 

village of Haughley in mid Suffolk 

(pictured above). 

A pair of semi detached two bedroom 

homes within a development 

Empty homes 

Havebury has 

been awarded 

partnership status 

with the Homes 

and Communities 

Agency with a view 

to tackling the issue 

of long term empty 

properties. 

The intention is to 

bring them back into 

use for residential 

accommodation as 

opposed to them 

falling into further 

disrepair. 

It is also hoped that 

local households will 

be able to access 

affordable housing 

either through renting 

or shared ownership 

schemes which will 

support economic 

activity in the area. 

Havebury has been 

awarded grant funding 

through the Empty 

Homes bid to be 

allocated to properties 

eligible for purchase 

and repair. There have 

been offers accepted 

on three potential 

sites within the local 

authorities of Forest 

Heath District Council 

and Breckland Council. 

The Development team 

is working to deliver a 

programme that makes 

best use of the grant 

so a number of newly 

converted homes can 

be provided to help 

with the demand for 

affordable homes in 

the area. 

Homes at Dial Farm, Haughley 

comprising seven homes in total will 

be available by the end of March. 

The developer Landex is producing 

a high standard of workmanship and 

we are very much looking forward to 

seeing the finished product. 

22 23

Performance 

STAR 

Survey 

Don’t forget you 

can complete 

your STAR survey 

online at 

www.havebury.com/ 

tellus. 

Every two years 

we will send out 

a survey of six 

questions; this is one 

of your opportunities 

to tell us how 

satisfied you are 

with the services you 

receive. 

Each completed 

survey will be 

entered into a prize 

draw. 

Your 

feedback 

H 

ere is a summary of 

complaints received 

between July and 

September 2012. During 

this time, we received 130 

compliments. 

24 

Department 

Information Services and 

Performance 

Housing Services People 5 

Housing Services Property 14 

Aids and Adaptations 3 

Repairs 5 

Rents 1 

Neighbourhoods 4 

Sheltered 1 

Total 34 

1 

Below is an update on our performance, which is monitored throughout the year 

by employees, the Board and the Performance and Scrutiny Panel. 

Local offer 

standard 

Home standard 

Performance indicators 

Current tenants’ arrears % 

(minus outstanding housing benefit) 

Target 

Sept 


Sept 

2011 

2.5% 1.5% 1.85% 

Average re-let time (weeks) 3.2 4.9 2.62 

Stock failing the Decent Homes Standard % 0 0 0 

Overall satisfaction (STAR survey) % 90% 89.2% N/A 

Compliance with gas servicing % 100% 99.89% 99.4% 

Actions 

Invest in our tenants’ 

homes to a high level 

of satisfaction 

Trial new methods of 

energy 

Provide support to 

people who cannot 

live in their homes 

comfortably 

Confirm an 

appointment when a 

repair is reported 

Technicians to call 

ahead before they 

arrive 

Responsive repairs 

should be completed 

right first time 

Performance measures 

Satisfaction with kitchen 

installations 

Satisfaction with bathroom 

installations 

Satisfaction with heating 

installations 

Standard Assessment 

Procedure rating of housing 

stock 

Assistance with Home-Link 

bidding 

Current 

target 

Sept 


90% 100% 

90% 100% 

90% 100% 

72% 72% 

100% 100% 

Repairs appointment made 80% 78.8% 

Repairs appointment made – 

confirmed by tenant 

80% 87.1% 

Calls ahead of repair 80% 57.3% 

Repairs completed right first 

time 

Repairs completed right first 

time – confirmed by tenant 

80% 95.5% 

80% 80.6% 

Status 

How we’ve 

done 

Improvement 

Improvement 

With the support of local parents, 

the Seckford Foundation is hoping 

to open a new secondary school in 

September 2014 on the site of Ixworth 

Middle School. They will be putting 

in their bid to the Department for 

Education in December this year. 

We have traditionally had a long 

history of school choice after our 

children leave primary school. 

In this area, your parents and 

grandparents may have memories of 

attending either Beyton or Ixworth 

Secondary Modern Schools before 

they were converted to middle 

schools. 

The imminent restructure to a two 

tier system of education in this 

area will leave our children for the 

first time in living memory with no 

choice upon leaving primary school. 

If we all join this campaign, then 

we can retain that choice which we 

have come to value so highly. 

We are fortunate in this area to 

have a highly regarded upper school 

but with the proposed increase to a 

community 

A message from the Seckford Foundation 

school of over 2,000 pupils, it is 

possible that it will not be right 

for every child. 

We passionately believe that 

there will be a need for a 

small secondary school with an 

emphasis on pastoral care and 

a focus towards a traditional 

curriculum, particularly the core 

skills of English and maths. 

For this bid to be approved, we 

need to prove to the Department 

of Education by 17 December that 

local parents want this school to 

open. 

To find out how you can support, 

and for more information about 

the proposed new school, please 

visit our website at 

www.seckford-foundation.org.uk 

or call 01394 615186. 

Community Floating Support Service extended 

Our Community Floating 

Support Service has 

now been extended across 

St Edmundsbury. 

The aim of the service is 

to identify and organise 

individuals’ support 

requirements, enabling 

them to live independently 

in their own homes. 

Alternatively, it could be 

to offer confidential advice 

and guidance to help them 

achieve a goal. 

The service offers support 

in areas such as home 

maintenance, safety and 

security, energy efficiency, 

maximising income, 

claiming benefits, managing 

debt and organising 

adaptations. 

Assessing your individual 

support needs is achieved 

by way of an interview in 

your own home at a time 

that is convenient to you. 

Members of the service 

were represented at the 

Haverhill Golden Age Network 

Event, where independent 

advice was provided to a 

steady stream of visitors and 

community professionals 

during the day. 

The event, sponsored by 

Haverhill Town Council, was 

a huge success. Thanks go 

to Jeff Hayford, Pat Spring, 

Simon Harburt and David 

Bullock. 

Community Floating 

Support Team 

0300 3300 900 

Jeff Hayford, 

Independence and 

Advice Co-ordinator 

01284 722101 

Sharon Semple, 

Supported Housing 

Manager 

01284 722100 

25

helping you get back to work 

Improve your career prospects with a course 

The Employment and Training team 

is pleased to be able to offer you 

a chance to participate in our new 

career and development programme. 

This seven week course involves 

attendance one day a week, working 

with a highly qualified careers advisor 

who will aim to guide you into realistic 

and suitable employment. 

The first three weeks involve one-toone 

sessions with an advisor who will 

help you develop an individual action 

plan. They will look at your current 

skills and any training gaps, while you 

will also be helped to identify barriers 

to work and ways to overcome them. 

The remaining sessions will be working 

within small teams to encourage group 

working and confidence building. 

This is with a view to finding suitable 

employers, securing interviews and, 

ultimately, becoming employed. 

Throughout this programme we will be 

working closely with you to offer any 

Paul Unwin from Bury St 

Edmunds took part in 

a Havebury new business 

course which he says he found 

invaluable. The 50 year old 

former plumber and builder 

explained that he has been out 

of work for some time due to ill 

health. 

Paul said: “I have decided to 

set up my own website building 

business called Diamond Light 

Media. Going on the course 

gave me lots of tools and advice 

relevant training or work placement 

opportunities. 

Our team will also offer ongoing 

support following completion of 

the programme to ensure that you 

in areas like business planning 

and setting up a cash flow 

forecast, and helped me ensure 

my idea was viable. I am hoping 

the business will be up and 

running soon and hope to take 

on a sales person in the coming 

months to help it to grow.” 

Further details of Paul’s 

business can be seen at 

www.diamondlightmedia.co.uk 

and an example of a local 

company website that he built 

is www.very-english.co.uk 

continue into successful employment. 

If you or a member of your household 

are currently unemployed and 

would like help to gain work, please 

contact a member of the team on 

0300 3300 900. 

Other opportunities 

Other services offered by the Employment and 

Training team: 

●● 

●● 

●● 

●● 

Work placements: These are very useful 

in providing new work based skills and 

confidence building, especially if you have 

been out of a working environment for six 

months or more. 

Career guidance software: If you or a 

family member are unsure about what 

career to choose or want to change your 

job but are not sure how, please use our 

free facility which is located in the Bury 

reception area. Assistance is available if 

you are unable to use a computer or unsure 

about using the software. 

Computer basics IT training: We offer a 

monthly programme of basic IT training 

for tenants. Please see page 27 for further 

details. 

Workshops: There are still some places 

available for the Employability Skills and 

Goals Motivational workshops which are 

scheduled to take place in January and 

February. For further details about these 

courses and times, please contact the 

team on 0300 3300 900. 

helping you get back to work 

Get involved in allotment project 

REACH Volunteer Phoebe Chamberlain, REACH Projects Director Henry Wilson, 

Havebury Lead Neighbourhood Ranger Steve Nutt and Foodbank Manager Ann Merrigan. 

Havebury has an allotment 

area behind Maple House in 

Bury St Edmunds (pictured right). 

We would like more tenants to 

become involved in this project to 

grow fresh fruit and vegetables. 

The benefits of getting involved: 

●● 

Grow healthy fresh food 

●● 

Meet new people 

●● 

Gain skills and knowledge 

●● 

Make new friends 

●● 

Support the community 

●● 

Enhance your CV 

●● 

Improve health and wellbeing 

Free computer courses for tenants 

Thursday 7 February 

●● 

How to use a computer 

●● 

How to use the internet 

●● 

How to stay safe online 

●● 

Getting the best from 

your mobile phone 

Thursday 7 March 

●● 

How to use email 

●● 

How to create a letter 

●● 

Digital photography 

tips 

●● 

How to watch TV/video 

clips online 

Thursday 4 April 

●● 

How to use a computer 

●● 

Introduction to social 

networking 

●● 

●● 

Half the produce from the 

allotment goes to volunteers with 

the remainder being donated 

to the Foodbank at the REACH 

Resource Centre in Leiston Road. 

The first donation is pictured 

above. 

The Foodbank is open from 2pm to 

5pm on Mondays and Thursdays, 

10am to 1pm on Wednesdays and 

Fridays and all day on Tuesdays. 

For more information, call 

0300 3300 900. 

How to shop safely 

online 

How to create a 

spreadsheet 

Thursday 2 May 

●● 

How to use Skype to 

communicate with 

others for free 

●● 

How to use the 

internet 

●● 

How to use email 

●● 

How to create a 

letter 

If you are interested 

in booking a one hour 

session with us please 

call 0300 3300 900. 

26 27

Useful telephone numbers 

ALL REPAIRS including out of hours 

0300 3300 900 

Repair appointments are now available 

MAIN SWITCHBOARD 

0300 3300 900 

Our operators will ensure that your call reaches its destination or a message is taken! 

Useful Numbers 

SMS text service 07781 482888 

Anti-social behaviour hotline 08000 758999 

Anglian Water 0845 7145 145 

Electricity (emergencies) 0800 7838 838 

Gas (emergencies) 0800 111 999 

Housing and council tax benefit 01284 757269 

St Edmundsbury Borough Council 01284 763233 

Homelessness 01284 757605 

Home-Link 01284 757178 

Waste collection/recycling queries 01284 757320 

Street lighting faults (Suffolk County Council) 08456 066067 

Council tax enquiries 01284 757275 

Our offices are open 9.00am - 5.00pm (Monday-Thursday) 9.00am - 4.00pm (Friday) 

For up to date opening times, keep an eye out for posters or visit our website. 

Contact addresses 

BURY ST EDMUNDS 

Havebury House,Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 3SP 

HAVERHILL 

Havebury House, Manor Road, Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 0EP 

Don’t forget to check our website 


or visit us on 

Safer neighbourhoods 

To contact these officers, please call 101 and you will be connected to a 

member of your Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT). 

SNT Officers for St Edmundsbury 

BURY ST EDMUNDS EAST/WEST 

Sgt Hill PC Arondel PCSO Stacey 

PCSO Smith 

PCSO Strahm 

PCSO Walker 

PCSO Hartup 

buryeastwest.snt@suffolk.pnn.police.uk 

BURY ST EDMUNDS CENTRAL 

Sgt Hill PC Frith PCSO Morgan 

PC Ellis PCSO Last 

PC Fox 

burycentral.snt@suffolk.pnn.police.uk 

ST EDMUNDSBURY RURAL NORTH 

Sgt Jay PC Collins PCSO Pardoe 

PC Tate PCSO Burke 

PCSO Ruston 

stedsruralnorth.snt@suffolk.pnn.police.uk 

ST EDMUNDSBURY RURAL SOUTH 

Sgt Bartley PC Sinclair PCSO Packman 

PC Sippitt PCSO Wilson 

PCSO Shields 

stedsruralsouth.snt@suffolk.pnn.police.uk 

SNT Officers for Haverhill 

HAVERHILL NORTH/SOUTH 

Sgt Bartley 

PC Bourne Clements Estate 

PC Potter Parkway & Old Haverhill 

PC Wright & Chalkstone Estate 

PCSO Woodward 

PC Oldroyd & Town Centre & 

PCSO Scott Industrial Estate 

haverhill.snt@suffolk.pnn.police.uk 

Keep up to date at www.suffolk.police.uk 

Need a copy of Havebury News in large print, on audio or a translation 

Please call the main switchboard on: 0300 3300 900 

havebury aktualności. Czy potrzebujesz egzemplarza o większym rozmiarze, na nośniku audio lub tłumaczenia 

Aby otrzymać tę informację na egzemplarzu o większym rozmiarze, na nośniku audio lub tłumaczenia, zadzwoń: 

0300 3300 900. 

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эту информацию, распечатанную в большом формате, на аудионосителе или ее перевод, звоните: 

0300 3300 900. 

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para o 0300 3300 900 se quiser receber esta informação num formato de impressão maior, em áudio ou traduzido. 

Havebury News is published by The Havebury Housing Partnership. Printed on paper made from 80% recycled materials HAVE109 12/12 

28

Winter 2012 - Havebury Housing Partnership

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