Newsletter Highlights
:: Important Christmas opening information
:: Christmas repairs information
:: Written consent needed to keep animals in your home
:: Lord Mayor joins Arawak Walton’s 25-year anniversary celebration
:: Opening of Louise DaCocodia Court
:: Tips for dealing with burst or freezing pipes…
:: A warm Arawak Walton welcome to all our new tenants at Daisy Bank Court
Tenants Newsletter - December 2011
View Newsletter in pdf format
Important Christmas opening information
Friday 16th December - Office closed all day
Friday 23rd December - Office closes at 12 noon
Tuesday 3rd January - Office will reopen
Our emergency services will operate throughout the holiday
period. Please remember we will not act on routine situations.
Any non-emergencies/non-urgent repairs should be reported to our office from Tuesday 3rd January 2012.
Christmas telephone number : 0800 389 4616
The staff and Board at Arawak Walton would like to wish all tenants a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Christmas repair information
The repairs line number should only be used if you have a genuine emergency or urgent repair between 23rd December and 2nd January. For example:
- Total loss of electrical power
- Major burst pipes
- Damage to the structure of the building (significant loss of roof tiles/slates, dangerous brickwork etc)
- Blocked sewers or drains (NOT waste pipes or blocked sinks etc)
- Damage to external doors/windows as a result of break in (you must contact the police and obtain a crime reference number before contacting us)
- Loss of heat and hot water
For Gas leaks call Transco on 0800 111 999
Written consent needed to keep animals in your home
The Association has recently had experience of dangerous dogs when a member of the maintenance team was attacked whilst attending a routine repair.
It says in your tenancy agreement that animals including dogs are not to be kept without the Association’s prior written consent. Dogs are not permitted in flats, maisonettes or in premises which share an entrance with someone else’s home. Tenants in flats who have had written consent to keep a dog may keep the animal but may not get any more.
Any dog or other animal kept by you must not annoy, frighten or cause a nuisance to another person.
If a dog has bitten somebody, attacked another dog or seems likely to attack, you should report it immediately to the Police. They will need to find out who owns the dog that is believed to be dangerous before they can take action.
If you're unsure about whether a dog is dangerous or vicious, please report it anyway.
Useful contact details:
- Greater Manchester Police
0161 872 5050
- Manchester & Cheshire Dogs' Home
0844 504 1212
- Animal Wardens
0845 241 7253
- DogLost
0844 800 3220
Lord Mayor joins Arawak Walton’s 25-year anniversary celebration
Arawak Walton was delighted to celebrate 25 years of serving its community on Friday 21 October 2011.
We were also delighted to see so many guests from Arawak Walton’s past and present including one of its founder members Eloise Edwards and its first Chief Executive Barbara Quarless.
Formed in 1994 following a merger of two BME housing associations, Arawak and Walton, it currently owns and manages over 900 homes in Manchester, Trafford and Stockport.
With its roots in the African-Caribbean community, Arawak Walton is proud to contribute to local regeneration activities and remains committed to tackling social deprivation.
The association highlighted the work it has done with partners, stakeholders and its tenants to improve community cohesion by creating sustainable multicultural neighbourhoods.
The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of the City of Manchester, Councillor Harry Lyons said: “Arawak Walton has a history of meeting the needs of BME communities and champions the provision of quality, affordable homes,”
“The association continues to grow and I am pleased to note that it is continually
improving its offer to its
tenants and the communities in which it operates".
“There are challenges to face in the housing sector at the moment, particularly for small associations. But Arawak Walton, with its strong Board leadership and management, is well placed to meet these
challenges. I wish it well for the next 25 years.”
The event, held at the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme, saw two tenants recognised for outstanding contributions to their local neighbourhoods.
Shirley Lawrence, Board member and elected Chair of Arawak Walton’s Tenants’ Quality Panel, holds a regular tenants’ surgery assisting residents with queries, while Alan Dunaway turned an area of overgrown land in Ardwick into a communal garden, securing funding and undertaking much of the landscaping work himself.
“It’s a really proud day for us,” said Cym D’Souza, Arawak Walton’s chief executive. “The turnout has been fabulous. Our tenants, partners and friends are together celebrating. It shows how much support there is for the association.
“We have schemes that are models of community cohesion. That’s been our legacy. We can prove that different people from different cultures and religions can live, work and enjoy life together.”
Photography by Jonathan Keenan http://www.jkphotography.com
View slideshow of photos taken at the 25th Anniversary celebrations
Opening of Louise DaCocodia Court
The Association has named its latest development after founder member and it’s first chair Mrs Louise DaCocodia. Louise was a passionate fighter for fairness and justice and was awarded an 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.
The scheme ‘Louise DaCocodia Court’ on City Road in Old Trafford was developed through our partners Adactus Housing Group. We worked closely with Trafford Council and Trafford Housing Trust and all apartments were let within the first week of the scheme being handed over in March 2011.
The scheme was officially opened on Friday 21st October 2011 by Councillor Whit Stennett, Chair of the Association Mrs Jayne Gouldthorpe and Louise’s children, Sarah and Richard, pictured above. The opening was well attended by local authority partner Trafford and our development agent Adactus, Board members and a scheme tenant.
Louise achieved so much in her Lifetime, alongside her work with Arawak Walton. She helped kick start a number of voluntary organisations for inner city residents and worked tirelessly to help the community.
Louise is sadly missed by staff, Board members and tenants. The naming of this scheme is a tribute to Louise, for her hard work and dedication to Arawak Walton Housing Association.
Tips for dealing with burst or freezing pipes…
Last winter some tenants had problems with freezing and burst pipes. If your pipes do freeze, you will need to act quickly to reduce the risk of them bursting.
You should:
- turn the water supply off at the stopcock
- try to thaw the pipes by placing warm towels or a hot water bottle on them or using a hairdryer on its lowest setting.
pipes must be thawed slowly.
If your pipes burst you should contact the repairs team and also inform any neighbours who may also be affected.
A warm Arawak Walton welcome to all our new tenants at Daisy Bank Court
The Association took ownership of Daisy Bank Court, a sheltered scheme in Victoria Park, at the beginning of November 2011.
We would like to warmly welcome our new tenants and hope that they enjoy living in their homes.
Moss Side Christmas Festival 2011
Come along and join Arawak Walton and partners for an afternoon of fun and games.
9th December, 3pm-5pm Moss Side Community Park
There will be card making, badge making, face painting, games, a Santa’s Grotto and a DJ providing entertainment.
There will also be hot drinks and mince pies.
Tenants Quality Panel
The Arawak Walton Tenants Quality Panel has been running for two and a half years and has considered a range of issues that affect tenants’ relationships with the association.
At the latest meeting in October 2011, members discussed the Tenancy Strategy and the Home standard of the Local Offer. They agreed to include a commitment to achieving 95% customer satisfaction with the repairs service. Members also received feedback on the 3rd postal survey of the year.
The panel will continue to meet quarterly throughout next year. If you are interested in joining the panel email Shirley Lawrence your tenant volunteer and Chair of the Panel at:
lawrences@arawakwalton.com
website redesign
Our website has recently been re-designed by our website developer Foveo Consultants Limited.
You can find previous copies of tenant and stakeholder newsletters under the News section.
How are we performing?
As always we like to keep our residents informed about how we are performing. See for yourself below.
| Jul 11 | Aug 11 | Sep 11 | Target | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voids % (no. of properties) |
0.33% |
0.77% |
0.55% |
1.1% |
| Rent arrears (as a % of weekly rent receivable) |
5.59% |
5.55% |
5.67% |
5.8% |
| Repairs Completion Statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11 | Aug 11 | Sep 11 | Target | |
| Emergency | 100% |
100% |
100% |
98% |
| Urgent - completed within 7 days | 99% |
100% |
99% |
98% |
| Routine - completed within 21 days | 99% |
99% |
98% |
98% |
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