The Grapevine - Christmas 2019

FOLLOW US
Welcome
TO THE LATEST EDITION OF THE
WHAT WE’VE
BEEN UP TO
Keep up to date with what we’re up to throughout the
year by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Just search for @TaiTarian
MANAGED
9031
PROPERTIES
HOUSED
446
NEW TENANTS
Phone numbers:
0300 777 0000
(General enquiries)
0300 777 3000
(Report a repair)
ask@taitarian.co.uk
www.taitarian.co.uk
Christmas Opening hours:
Our offices will close for
Christmas at noon on Tuesday
24th December and re-open on
Thursday 2nd January.
If you need to report an
emergency repair during this
time please call 0300 777 3000.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed this edition looks and
feels a lot different to previous Grapevines. We hope
you like the new format and find it interesting.
SO, WHY HAVE WE DONE THIS?
Well, we want to give you news in a way that’s
easier to use and more interesting to look at.
We’re also very passionate about improving our
environmental performance, so producing the
Grapevine in this way uses a lot less paper but still
gives you the news you need.
It still has the usual updates on what we’re up to,
information on our various teams and of course,
those all-important contact details. If there’s any
items we can’t fit in, then we’ll publish them on
our website and social media feeds, so you won’t
miss out.
Well, we hope you like it. If you do (or even if you
don’t ) please let us know. You can email us
your thoughts at media@taitarian.co.uk, or better
still, drop us a message via Facebook, Instagram or
Twitter. You can find us @TaiTarian
CARRIED OUT
10,720
REPAIRS
ANSWERED
66,027
PHONE CALLS
OUR new
HOMES
It’s been a busy year or so for our development team
with five separate projects completed. We have
created new homes in Skewen, Melyn, Sandfields,
Briton Ferry and Caewern – that’s a mixture of 37
new houses, bungalows and flats.
But we’re not stopping there. We currently have
building work taking place at another three sites –
Parc Newydd in Briton Ferry, Llys Wern in Caewern
and Evelyn Terrace in Port Talbot. Once they’ve been
completed, we’ll have another 46 modern, high
quality and affordable homes available to rent.
In fact, the development at Parc Newydd is our
most ambitious project to date. The last of the old
‘Saltings’ estate flats were demolished recently and
in their place, 31 new homes will begin to spring
up over the course of the next year and should see
them become available in early 2021.
To express an interest in applying for one of
these new homes please visit
www.taitarian.co.uk/buildinghomes
PARC
NEWYDD
18 13
ONE
TWO, THREE
OR TWO
31
OR FOUR
bedroom
bedroom
apartments
houses
NEW
HOMES
89%
OF TENANTS
are satisfied with
how we deal
with repairs
90%
OF TENANTS
told us that we
listen to them and
act on what they
tell us
96%
OF TENANTS
would recommend
us as a landlord
IMPROVING
YOUR GARDENS
Our huge external
improvement programme
really got going this year.
The programme will see
us visit, assess and, where
necessary, carry out work
to improve the outside
areas of around 7000 of
our properties.
If we think your garden
could do with some work,
we may do things like new
fencing, walls or gates and
if necessary we may put in
a new path and rotary line
too. This will ensure you have
a clear boundary around
your home, and that your
garden is safe and secure. It
will also help to improve the
appearance of your home
and community. As you can
imagine, visiting and working
on this many properties is
going to take some time –
seven years in fact. If you
haven’t had a visit from us
yet, don’t worry, we’ll be
with you as soon as we can.
The plan for when we will be
coming to your area can be
found on our website.
Before we start work in
a particular area, we’ll
be holding community
information sessions, where
you’ll be invited to pop along
and meet the teams who’ll
be carrying out the work and
what will be involved.
So far we’ve had great events
in Glynneath, Pontardawe,
Rhos, Alltwen and Trebanos,
with more planned in 2020.
Look out for details nearer
the time.
COPPER
FOUNDATION
Our ground-breaking employment initiative is
going from strength to strength.
The initiative, which was launched in 2017,
trains individuals who have found it difficult to
get a job and helps them find a route back into
employment. The recruits spend 12-months with
us and during that time they receive appropriate
training and on-the-job work experience to gain
knowledge and expertise in a number of fields.
In the new year we will be looking for new
starters to join the foundation. Keep an eye
on our social media pages to see how you
can get involved.
MAKING
HOMES
warmer
Our external wall insulation programme is an
investment by us to make our homes more
energy efficient, whilst reducing heating bills
for you.
Normally, the work includes extracting
old cavity wall insulation from homes and
replacing it with more effective external
wall insulation. The work also includes the
rendering of homes, and in some cases roofs
being replaced.
Work is currently ongoing in Cwmafan where
almost 100 properties will be completed,
whilst we are also working in Cimla,
Sandfields, Bryn and Velindre.
CHRISTMAS 2019
TAI TARIAN

WORKING
IN THE
COMMUNITY
We’re not just about
building new homes and
improving the ones we’ve
already got. We like to get
involved in and support our
local communities too – in
fact, it’s really important
to us, so that’s why we
have our Community
Benefits programme.
To put it simply, the
programme asks all
our contractors to give
something back to the
community – that might be
a donation to a local group,
employing local people or
maybe getting involved in
our Community Challenge.
Some of the organisations
we’ve helped so far include
Coedffranc Primary School,
Cwmafan Juniors Rugby
Club, Baglan Scouts group
and Neath Foodbank.
Elsewhere, a new
community garden was
built in Croeserw, essential
repairs were carried out to
the YMCA in Neath and
help was provided to get
Men’s Shed in Crynant
up and running whilst
some contractors have
created job opportunities
for local people or have
taken on graduates of Tai
Tarian’s Copper Foundation
employment initiative.
£18,846
GIVEN OUT
so far
FIFTEEN
COMMUNITY
GROUPS
helped
SIXTEEN
CONTRACTORS
involved in
community
benefits
Back to
nature
Throughout the year, we have worked with several
schools and groups to create wildlife gardens and
create homes for bugs and bees in our communities.
Many of our Haven schemes had wildflower
meadows created in the grounds whilst we also
worked with Ysgol Cwmnedd and Cwmnedd
Primary to create a nature garden in Nant
Hir, Glynneath.
We’ve planted 420 trees and created a brand new
nature trail at Croeserw and have also donated
beehives to Awel y Môr and Tywyn primary schools
thanks to our Community Benefits programme and
our partnership with the Bee 1 organisation.
Look out for our Community Challenge which will
be returning in 2020. Our staff and our contractors
will be working together to give makeovers to some
worthwhile community projects
BACK OF BACK
OUR
TEAMS
We have various teams here
at Tai Tarian, all striving to
deliver a service to you,
our customers.
Here are some of the key
teams you may need to get in
touch with from time to time:
TENANCY RELATIONS
If you have any questions or
concerns about your tenancy,
then you will need to speak
to this team. We have a team
of Tenancy Relations Officers,
each one responsible for a
particular area. Check out
our website to see who
covers your area.
This is the team you also
need to speak to if you want
to report any anti-social
behaviour or if you feel that
things are getting on top
of you and you need some
specialist help to manage
your tenancy.
INCOME, FINANCIAL
INCLUSION AND
UNIVERSAL CREDIT
TEAMS
The Income team are the
people you will need to speak
to if you have any queries
about your rent or want to
know what your balance
is. Alongside them we have
our Financial Inclusion and
Universal credit teams.
They’re there to help you if
you’re struggling to make ends
meet and can offer advice on
how to manage your finances
so that you don’t fall behind
with your rent. They can
also help with any claims for
Universal Credit you need
to make.
REPAIRS
If you need to report a repair
to us, then this is the team
you will speak to. The team is
made up of planners, who will
schedule in the work for you,
the inspectors, who will assess
what work needs to be carried
out and the ‘trades’, the people
who will carry out the work.
IF YOU NEED TO GET
IN TOUCH WITH ANY
OF THESE OR ANY
OTHER TEAMS THEN
GIVE US A CALL.
For repairs related queries just call 0300 777 3000
For anything else just call 0300 777 0000
You can also email ask@taitarian.co.uk
OUR
PROJECTS
Corporate Plan
Early next year we’ll be launching our new Corporate
Plan. This is the plan which will determine what
direction we take and what our priorities will be for
the next five years.
We put the plan together following lengthy discussions
with our staff, tenants and others in the community
who we regularly work with.
The main areas we will concentrate on between 2020
and 2025 will be:
• Planet
• Communities
• Homes
More details and the plan itself will be published
in March 2020 so keep an eye out closer to
the time.
Rent Review
Over the past six months or so, we’ve been working with
a group of tenants to take a look at the rents we charge.
We’ve looked at how much rent we charge and what we
base those charges on and whether we need to change
things in the future.
As well as meeting several times with the group, we also
carried out a survey amongst a bigger group of tenants.
Almost 1500 of you filled in the survey, so thank you if you
took part.
The results will now be discussed by the group and be used
to determine how we decide on our rents in the future.
Fusion
Our Fusion projects sees us using arts and culture to
help and encourage tenants back into work or training.
Amongst the work we’ve done so far is a project with
Ysgol Bae Baglan where we worked with the kids on
financial literacy, numeracy and the other skills they’ll
need in life. They also learnt business skills by
producing and selling items featuring Port Talbot’s
famous Banksy mural.
So far, the project has supported 45 families to improve
their financial literacy whilst it has encouraged 30
individuals to volunteer in a bid to improve their
chances of finding a job.
VOLUNTEER
WITH us
WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR’S
RESOLUTION GOING TO BE?
If you’re thinking of getting
involved in your community
and giving something back
by volunteering then get in
touch with us.
Volunteering can be very
rewarding and offers you a
chance to make a difference.
We have lots of ways for you
to get involved with us.
You can become a Customer
Assessor, where you’ll be
rating the standards of the
service you receive from us.
You could also join one of
several groups, such as our
Rent Review panel, which
looked at how we set our
rents and if they’re fair or how
about becoming a member
of our Academy where you’ll
get involved in reviewing our
performance and suggest
ways of improving.
Everyone who volunteers
with us gets given Time
Credits – vouchers which can
be exchanged for a variety of
goods and services in local
shops and cafes.
To find out how you
can get involved email
involved@taitarian.co.uk
GOING GREEN
Doing our bit to help the
environment and fight
climate change is very
important to us.
That’s why we recently
announced that we are
aiming to be a carbon neutral
organisation by 2030.
We must respond to the
climate crisis with urgency.
It is time to stop waiting to see
what others will do. We will be
the leaders!
What does this mean?
Well, being carbon neutral
means that we’ll try and
reduce the amount of carbon
dioxide we produce. One
of the ways we’ll do this is
through using renewable
energy like wind or solar
power to heat our offices.
Any carbon that we do
produce will be cancelled out
through activities like
planting trees.
It’s an ambitious target, but
one we are confident we can
achieve if we do things like
improving the energy efficiency
of our existing homes and
using renewable energy
sources in our new builds
where possible.
In the community we’ll be
undertaking an extensive tree
planting programme whilst
you’ll be gradually seeing
more and more of our vans
running on electricity in the
near future.
We’ll also be asking our
staff to use their cars less by
encouraging them to share
lifts to work or to commute
by bike or on foot. We’ll make
also make it easier for them
to work from home or in the
community meaning they
don’t have to travel as far.
We are convinced that we
can achieve this thanks to
the passion and commitment
of our staff. We would also
encourage you to make your
own commitment to achieving
the change and to address the
climate emergency too.
Follow our journey toward
carbon neutrality by keeping
updated on our progress
through our social media
channels, our website, and
local news outlets.