Newsletter - April 2008
A Tribute to Mrs Louise Da-Cocodia MBE, JP, BEM, D1, MA
One of our founder members and longest standing Board members has passed away. Louise Da-Cocodia was a passionate fighter for fairness and justice and was awarded the MBE for services to the community in 2005.
She moved to Britain from Jamaica in the late 1950's and spent most of her life in Manchester, where she had a 26 year career in nursing.
Her daughter Semi said "She was black and proud of it but she didn't focus on that. She fully believed that everyone is equal and worked tirelessly to help the whole community".
"She believed in living life to the full. She never stopped working and she was a brilliant mum. Both I and my brother Richard are immensely proud of what she achieved, though she never sought recognition for it".
"Her crowning moment was receiving an MBE from the Queen. She was a dedication royalist and so proud of that moment."
Mrs Da-Cocodia had achieved so much in her lifetime. To name but a few she was Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Greater Manchester, had always been closely involved with Arawak Walton Housing Association and an advisor on the Moss Side and Hulme task force. She was also a member of the General Synod of the church of England and a lay canon. Louise helped kick start a number of voluntary organisations and business ventures including Cariocca Enterprises, formed to develop business programmes and projects for inner city residents.
Louise will be sadly missed by us all the staff, Board Members and many of the tenants too.
Read messages of condolence sent to us for Louise
Sorry was the hardest word for the out of hours telephone system over Christmas
Christmas. It seems a long time ago now. However for some tenants dealing with the association between christmas and new year was less than festive experience which left them feeling frosty and wanting to roast us over an open fire. The problem we encountered was with our emergency call centre. Their problem was that they have become so successful that they are expanding the number of telephone lines they have available to take calls and the computer system they are using. Unfortunately they had not completed this exercise before Christmas and therefore at peak time’s people could not get through. This would usually mean that you would get a message to tell you that you were waiting in a queue and that an operator will be with you soon. However the new computer system they are installing conflicted with the voice messages and so many people just got engaged tones. Then people put the phone down and rang again which put more pressure on the system. Along with this they had some staffing difficulties and overall admitted to us that they had experienced a Blue Christmas.
We had a number of complaints from you and met with the call centre management to see how they were going to ensure that we never have the problems again. Their action plan is to;
- Triple the number of telephone lines available to them
- Upgrade the computer system to handle calls more efficiently and to allow staff members to work from home (thereby enabling more flexible working)
- Link with another call centre that will take over in the event of a disaster.
We are confident that no tenant was put at risk due to these problems and that everyone was able to get through in the end. However the call centre and Arawak Walton Housing Association says a big sorry to anyone who was inconvenienced.
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"Sustainable ways to work"
A great new project has been set up by Arawak Walton with other housing associations, Places for People, Mosscare Housing Ltd and Tung Sing.
The new project is called “Sustainable Ways to Work” and is for residents seeking training, employment and business support. The purpose of the project is to help tenants such as yourselves locate courses and training to help you into work. Assistance will be there to help you find job opportunities and fill in application forms as well as back-to-work benefits advice and give you help once you have started your job. Essentially we will be there to help you with whatever you need to move into employment and beyond.
For more details on “Sustainable Ways to Work” contact James Gilbert at Places for People on 0161 875 1450 or by send a text to 07966 695 114.
Making your wishes come true (eventually!)
Many thanks to all those residents who returned their wish lists from the last newsletter. It was a great response and gave us a better understanding about what you want from your homes. But did it get you results!!
The wish list was part of an exercise to develop a long-term plan for the maintenance of your property. We also recently completed stock condition survey that estimates how long each part of your property will last from the front door to the chimney pot (if you have one). We use this to help us estimate how long things are going to last and to plan for paying for them when they are worn out. As part of planning however we also listen to all the other things you tell us and send staff and contractors into many of your homes to report their finding. At the end of the day we hope we have compiled enough information about the state of your homes and neighbourhood to tell us where best to spend your money.
The results of the wish list were as follows:
| Your Wishes | Our Commands |
New Bathroom |
We plan to replace all these items when they reach the end of their life cycle. The life cycles are as follows Kitchens 20 years, Bathrooms 30 years, Central Heating 30 years, Windows 35 years. |
New Energy Efficient Heating System Double Glazing Improved draft insulation |
All these elements improve the energy efficiency and ultimately reduce carbon emissions through the property. The measure of all the energy efficiency measures give an overall SAP rating for a property. The association’s properties are in the top 25% of associations in the country with an average of 67. However some properties have ratings as low as 42. The association has committed to raising this average to 70 by 2010 and the lowest rated properties will be dealt with first |
| Installing Garden Sheds | We do not install garden sheds as standard and we consider each request against the need to maintain a garden and having little storage space |
Upgrade aerials to receive digital signal |
We have surveyed all our properties to see which ones will not be able to receive the new digital signal. These will have aerial upgrades next year. |
Speed Humps and Zebra Crossing in the road |
The association recognises that it has a responsibility to the neighbourhood and not just for your neighbourhood. We intend to work with partners such as the city and the police and other associations to make safe and harmonious places to live. We will raise your wishes for traffic calming measure at the bi-weekly meetings we have with other agencies in your area. |
| “£5000 to decorate my property” | Please accept our apologies as do not take responsibility for the decoration of the inside of your property. |
We cant give detailed information about when items in your home will be replaced but the asset management strategy will be available on the web site from April onwards.
Why wait for us to improve your home
If you can't wait for the association to get around to replacing your kitchen or bathroom you can do it yourself. The Repairs and Maintenance Policy review recently included a section on tenants improvement to allow you to "Do It Yourself" Provided you get written consent for us before work starts and you meet all relevant regulations.
But is it dead money investing in property you don't own? No it's not! You can get compensation for your improvements at the end of your tenancy providing you had our consent first.
For full details of the tenant improvement policy see the Repairs and Maintenance Policy
Golbourne Avenue meets the highest environmental standards
On Wednesday 19th March 2008 the Association unveiled its latest properties. The project in Golbourne Avenue has been developed in Partnership with Manchester City Council, Southway Housing Trust and the Housing Corporation.
The association were keen to meet the highest environmental standards to reduce the costs for tenants and to do our bit to reduce carbon emissions for everyone’s benefit. The building was transformed from a 2 storey 3 bed property into a 3 storey 5 bed property. The properties included the energy efficient features that you would expect in an Arawak Walton Property such as double glazing and excellent wall and ceiling insulation. However it also strived to use reclaimed materials and incorporated design features that enabled several generations of families to live and work within it.
These features included space for a home office and the ability to use a downstairs room as a bedroom. In addition the property included facilities to enable tenants to separate their waste for recycling and to enable rainwater to be captured to water the garden. Councillor Eddie Newman opened the property and congratulated the association for its excellent example of partnership working and innovative environmental design.
Shareholders wanted!
The association has been advertising for new Board members since the beginning of the year. Following considerable interest we will now be interviewing potential candidates in May. So watch this space for some new faces.
If you are interested in becoming a Board member, firstly you have to become a shareholder. If you are interested in working more closely with the association to make a difference to peoples’ lives, please contact Bindu Mistry on 0161-272-6094 for a Shareholder/Board member pack. This will give you all the information you need on the requirements for becoming a Board member.
Remember if you have any comments or would like to contribute an article to our newsletter, please contact Joanne Moon or Elaine Taylor on 0161-272-6094.
Arawak Walton Performance
As always we like to keep our residents informed about how we are Performing. See for yourself below.
| Jan 08 | Feb 08 | March 08 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voids % (no. of properties) |
1.08% (9) |
1.08% (9) |
1.08% (9) |
| Rent arrears (as a % of weekly rent receivable) |
7.08% |
7.18% |
7.17% |
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