CELEBRATING SUCCESS AT THE COMMUNITY AWARDS · Community Awards. Providence Street Community Centre played host to a night of celebration and put on a fabulous show to honour all

THE MAGAZINE FOR FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING TENANTSSTREETS AHEAD

DEVELOPING HOMES AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIESFOR PEOPLE WITHIN WEST NORFOLK

SEPTEMBER 2016

CELEBRATING SUCCESS AT THE COMMUNITY AWARDS

PG 2 FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘16

WELCOMEWelcome to the September edition of Streets Ahead. In this issue you'll find our Annual Report, which highlights some of the many things we have been doing over the last year. We also have features on the Sheltered Gardening Competition, the 2016 Community Awards and much more besides.If you have any ideas or things you would like to see in Streets Ahead, please let us know by getting in touch with our Communications & Engagement Team on 03332 404 444 or email us: [email protected]

Throughout the year we write to each and every one of you about something!With this being the case we’ve recently been looking at the possibility of using email more and more to communicate with you - and whilst we do have some of your email addresses we think there are many more that we don’t have.

KEEPING IN TOUCH THROUGH EMAILSo if you’re interested in us emailing you direct rather than using the traditional post, complete the slip below and either drop it into us at one of our offices, post it to: Freepost, RTKA-GSGA-KGTT, Freebridge Community Housing, Juniper House, Austin Street, King’s Lynn PE30 1DZ or email us! At [email protected]

Full name:

Address:

Email Address:

If you send us your email address, we will place your name into a hat to win £50 of shopping vouchers!

WIN £50 OF SHOPPING VOUCHERS!

FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘16 PG 3

THE 2016 COMMUNITY AWARDSFreebridge Community Housing's Chief Executive Tony Hall welcoming everyone to the awards

A red carpet reward came the way of some Freebridge tenants at this year's Community Awards. Providence Street Community Centre played host to a night of celebration and put on a fabulous show to honour all those nominated for a Freebridge community award.The awards give us a chance to shine a light on all the great work done by our residents throughout the year, and included more than 50 nominees across six categories.The Mayor of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Councillor Mr David

Whitby, KL:FM presenter Simon Rowe and Freebridge Chief Executive Tony Hall were amongst those who presented awards.Tony Hall, Chief Executive of Freebridge, said: “Every year we get to hear about the fantastic work that individuals and groups do to help our communities, with little thought for any personal gain.“We have an exceptional group of tenants and their dedication to improving the lives of friends, neighbours and fellow residents is an inspiration to us all.”The judging panel for the awards was made up of Tony Hall, Ray

Johnson, Chair of the Freebridge Board, KL:FM presenter Simon Rowe and Editor of the Lynn News, Mark Leslie. And the evening was closed out with entertainment from ‘Sing Your Heart Out’, a group who through singing workshops bring people together, to enjoy themselves, and gain the very real benefits to mental health that arise from singing.Thanks to everyone who came along on the night and congratulations to all the nominees and winners!


The group 'Sing Your Heart Out' performing at the Awards

COMMUNITY CHAMPIONThe nominees were: June Elyard & Marlene Greff /John Foster & Steve Appleyard / Ann Wilson & Jenny Herring / Janet Davies / Ann Woolard /Margaret Follen & Marion Smith / John Tansley & Laurence Smith / Barbara Davis / Carol Connor / Ken Lambert / Mr & Mrs Badesha

COMMUNITY GROUPThe nominees were:The Engaging Theatre Company / West Norfolk Mind / King's Lynn Samaritans / The Purfleet Trust / Norfolk Knitters

GOOD NEIGHBOURThe nominees were:Wendy Bearton / Michael Harrison / Graham & Sylvia Mattless / Francis Ratcliffe / Ray Wilby / Desmond Spicer / Bobby Matthews / Evie Lusha / Colin Clarey / Cynthia Groom / Josie Wadsworth / Tony Whitelam & Glenda Wilson

Michael Harrison & Steve Clark, Freebridge Board Member

Sandra Hohol from The Engaging Theatre Company & David Harrison, Tenant Panel

WINNER!

WINNER!

Ann Wilson (Jenny Herring sadly couldn't attend) & Ray Johnson, Freebridge Chairman

WINNER!


ROLE MODELThe nominees were:Andrew Bickerton / Lesley Farrow / Zofija Margot / Andris Vasilevskis

INSPIRATION TO OTHERSThe nominees are:Darren Cotton / Doreen Crake / David Foulkes

EMPLOYEE ACHIEVEMENTThe nominees were:Sheryl Thompson / Julie Adams / Issy Bishop / Jo Roberts / Colin Davison / The Community Cafe Team / Roxanne Cross / Matt Barber / Marcus Hall / Aly Roberts / Tom Ware / Chloe Lacey / Lisa Ellis / Zoe Hulse / Jen Tann

Guests enjoying the 10th birthday cupcakes before the awards began!

Issy Bishop & Tony Hall, Chief Executive

Simon Rowe, KL:FM & Andris Vasilevskis

David Foulkes & Mayor of King's Lynn & West Norfolk David Whitby

WINNER!WINNER!

WINNER!


HOUSING BENEFIT CAPUpcoming Changes from the Government – Will this affect your rent payment?What is the Benefit Cap?The Benefit Cap is a limit on the total amount of income from certain benefits a household can receive. If you receive more than the Benefit Cap allows, then your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit will be reduced until you are brought back within the cap.How much is the cap?The total amount you can currently claim in benefits (including Housing Benefit) is:• £500 per week for single

parents and couples with children

• £350 per week for single people

But this is about to change...

What changes?As part of the Government’s Welfare Reform, the Benefit Cap will be reduced during autumn 2016 (the exact date depends on where you live and a schedule for the roll-out is yet to be agreed). From this point the Benefit Cap will be reduced to:• £384.62 per week for single

parents and couples with children

• £257.69 per week for single people

Who will be affected?When the reduced Benefit Cap is introduced, the benefits included towards whether

your benefit income exceeds the cap are:• Housing Benefit• Universal Credit• Child Benefit• Child Tax Credit• Incapacity Benefit• Income Support• Jobseeker's Allowance• Employment and Support

Allowance (except when in the support group)

• Maternity Allowance• Severe Disablement

Allowance• Widowed Parent's Allowance

& Bereavement Allowance


ExemptionsIf you meet any of these criteria you will be exempt from the Benefit Cap:• Households where someone

is entitled to Working Tax Credit

• Single claimants of Pension Credit age

• Joint claimants if both are of Pension Credit age

Or if you, your partner or child received any of the following benefits:• Disability Living Allowance• Personal Independence

Payment• Constant Attendance

Allowance

• Attendance Allowance• Carer’s Allowance• Industrial Injuries

Disablement Benefit• Employment and Support

Allowance with a support component

• Armed Forces Independence Payment

• Limited Capability for Work Related Activity element of Universal Credit

• War widows and widowers will also be exempt.

How will a reduction in the Benefit Cap affect you?If you receive more than the Benefit Cap allows then your

Adding a personal touch to a property is what makes a house a home. Making alterations that suit your lifestyle is something that we are all too happy to encourage.

However, when making changes to your property, it is important that, as your landlord, we are made aware of the improvements.

It is one of the requirements of your tenancy agreement and it enables us to make sure that all the works are carried out in line with any related Health and Safety regulations.

Before making improvements please contact our First Contact Centre to request an application form.

LETTING THE LANDLORD KNOWOnce your completed application has been received we will send a surveyor to visit the property so you can show us your planned improvements.Applications will also be checked by our Income Team to make sure your account does not have any outstanding arrears before improvements are approved.Permission can be granted immediately once the surveyor has attended the property and will be followed by written confirmation, which will explain how to carry out the work to Freebridge standards.If your plans are refused we will explain why and offer information on how you can obtain a positive decision in the future.

Housing Benefit will be reduced until you are brought back within the cap. This will mean that you have to pay more towards your rent.

If you think that you’ll be affected by these changes or just want advice, then please contact the Income team on 03332 404444.

We are delighted to see that our green-fingered tenants have been busy making their outdoor spaces bloom into life this summer. One such tenant is Kathryn Jones from Stoke Ferry, who got in touch to encourage us to spread the word about the benefits of gardening. Mrs Jones highlighted the positive impact that gardening can have on the community and wildlife.She said: “A garden can give you an opportunity to be artistic and experimental, it is also a wonderful way to view wildlife and the changing seasons.“Gardens can be home for a lot of wildlife and gardeners can do a lot to help. You can have bird tables and feeders, leave some places overgrown and even leave food out for the hedgehogs.”

So in the last issue of Streets Ahead we decided to open up our annual garden competition to all Freebridge’s tenants – and the good news is there’s still time to enter!

It doesn't matter whether you're a gardener of many years or someone just starting out - everyone is welcome to enter. All we need is a picture of your gardening efforts. We've got two categories for you to enter: Best garden and Best window box or 'garden in a pot'.Email your (high resolution if possible) pictures to us at [email protected] or send prints to Streets Ahead, Freebridge Community Housing, Juniper House, Austin Street, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1DZ Closing date for the competition is now the 14 October 2016, so you've still time to get those pictures to us! Prize winners will receive a certificate and £50 shopping vouchers, after judging has taken place by our Tenant Panel - Good luck!

A BLOOMING GOOD SUMMER


Kathryn in her colourful garden in Stoke Ferry

FETE SMILES ON HILLINGTON SQUAREAnyone who visited the Hillington Square fete this year will have welcomed in the summer sun in style.

Now into its third year, the fete is as popular as ever and again played host to a number of local organisations and charities, who came together to take part in the summer celebration.

Charities such as The Matthew Project, The Engaging Theatre Company and MIND all pitched their tables alongside other local companies and charities in support of a fantastic day.

There was a range of activities for all the family to enjoy including: a bouncy castle, DJ, face painting, a crafts table and

many more stands with fun and games.The Mayor of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Councillor David Whitby, was on even hand to take part in the fun and provide the official opening of the fete.Thanks to everyone who came along on the day, hopefully we'll see some of you again next year!

Crazy Bananas the Clown made balloon creations for everyone to enjoy! Steady!


Since the last Streets Ahead we’ve continued to meet many of you on our Out & Abouts - visiting South Lynn in June, Bircham, East Rudham, West Rudham and Syderstone in July and Hunstanton and Heacham in August.The Out & About in July, which saw us visit some of our more rural villages, coincided with the National Housing Federation’s Rural Housing Week. This annual event aims to raise awareness of the positive economic and social impact

that affordable housing can have on rural communities.We know that tenants in our rural communities often face challenges that differ from those living in urban areas. Key services such as transport and communication networks can make getting in touch with us difficult, which is one of the reasons we come out to see you.The ‘Out & About’ programme allows our employees to meet people in their own homes, carry out minor repairs, listen to any concerns or queries and

make sure that contact details are up to date.During our visit to Bircham, East Rudham, West Rudham and Syderstone we visited almost 100 properties and completed a variety of minor repairs along with a number of inspections on the day.We’ve still several more Out & About events planned for this year, see below, so if you see us in your area make sure you come and say hello!


1098

7 Downham MarketFriday 28 October 2016

FairsteadFriday 2 December 2016

Terrington St Clement, Clenchwarton and the

TilneysFriday 24 February 2017 North Lynn

Wednesday 29 March 2017

Freebridge employees Kelly and Leon speaking to one of our tenants

GOING OUT & ABOUT IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Every year we use this report to give you an overview of what has happened at Freebridge over the last 12 months. As time passes it’s always good to take the opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved over the year, which in turn helps us to understand what we’ve still to do.

As we reached the end of the 2015/2016 year we looked back a little further than we usually do, as the 4 April 2016 marked our tenth birthday. It was good to look at what we’ve done during that time as well as those things we’ve achieved in the last year. This has included:

• completing the second phase of the regeneration work at Hillington Square, with residents returning to Valentine Place in December

• appearing for the third year running on the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies Not For Profit list

• bringing 59 new homes back into use for people to live in across West Norfolk

• seeing our employees raise over £6,000 for our three chosen charities

• visiting almost 1,000 of you in your own homes on our Out and About scheme

Whilst looking back can be helpful, we know that the next ten years ahead of us are what we now need to be concentrating on.With the recent changes that the government has introduced in respect of housing, we know that those years will bring many challenges as well as

opportunities too. We remain as committed as we ever were to you our tenants, and to developing homes and creating opportunities for people within West Norfolk.

Tony Hall, Freebridge’s Chief Executive

Welcome to Freebridge Community Housing’s 2015/2016 Annual Report


Ray Johnson Chair of the Freebridge Board, Tony Hall Chief Executive with some of our new tenants at Keeble Court in King's Lynn


As our mission statement makes clear one of the main aims of Freebridge is 'developing homes for people within West Norfolk'.

This year saw us develop or acquire 59 new homes across the area, as well as return 49 refurbished properties to tenants and leaseholders in Valentine Place, the second phase of the regeneration project at Hillington Square.

In addition to the new homes we finished, we began planning future work on a number of sites across West Norfolk including at Priory Road in North Wootton, where we are demolishing a number of old non-traditionally built properties in order to rebuild more energy efficient modern homes.

We are proud to be able to report that all of our homes now meet the Decent Homes Standard. When Freebridge began its work back in 2006, only 26% of the properties we owned met this level, so it’s great to know how much of an improvement we have made in the last 10 years.

Here’s how we performed with our repairs service in the 2015/2016 year:

EMERGENCY REPAIRS• 100% completed within the target date set (our

target was 100%)

URGENT REPAIRS• 99.7% completed within the target date set (our

target was 99.1%)

ROUTINE REPAIRS• 98.5% completed within the target date set (our

target was 98.2%)

How satisfied are you with the repairs and maintenance service provided by Freebridge?• 85% (our target was 90%)

And here’s what we spent on repairs and maintenance in the 2015/2016 year:

• £1,010,000 Planned repairs/maintenance (Spent) £1,415,000 Planned repairs/maintenance (Budget)

• £3,376,000 Routine repairs/maintenance (Spent) £3,591,000 Routine repairs/maintenance (Budget)

• £5,898,000 Major improvements/repairs (Spent) £5,507,000 Major improvements/repairs (Budget)

Some of our newly built properties at Coronation Avenue, West Winch

FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘16 PG 13FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘16 PG 13

Freebridge is an organisation that puts the community at the heart of everything we do, and as such we are committed to supporting our local communities in any way we can.

We are always on the look-out for opportunities throughout West Norfolk, and as a result support many projects and events that have a direct and positive impact on both our tenants and the wider community.

In 2015/2016 some of the things that we were involved with included:

• making improvements to the facilities at the Providence Street Community Centre which is now home to a wide range of community groups and organisations

• raising over £6,000 through employee events for our three chosen charities - who this year were the East Anglian Air Ambulance, King’s Lynn Samaritans and the Macmillan Cancer Care Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

• supporting the Discovery Centre in North Lynn with their work on the Community Allotment, helping young people to understand where food comes from and what it takes to grow plants and vegetables

• holding the Freebridge Community Awards at

the Providence Street Community Centre, where we celebrated the people and community groups that help support a better West Norfolk

• running the Sheltered Scheme Gardening Competition, which saw many residents of our Sheltered Schemes brighten up their gardens, showing off just how green fingered they are!

• working with the King’s Lynn Academy as part of their Inspire & Inform Mentoring Programme, where Freebridge employees worked alongside pupils to help them develop various skills

• supporting the Norfolk Says No campaign as part of Domestic Abuse Awareness week, providing advice and the opportunity to attend drop in sessions for anyone wanting to talk

• awarding a number of community groups funding from the Freebridge Community Fund - with successful bids this year coming from Three Holes Village Hall, The Purfleet Trust, Sing Your Heart Out, The Pandora Project and The Forward Day Centre

• supporting the Festival Too music event, the largest free music festival in Europe - which we’re sure some of you attended!

Thank you to everyone who we have worked with in 2015/2016 - we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future.

Celebrating our tenth birthday at the Freebridge Community Awards

It remains as important as ever to us that our tenants are happy with the services that we provide. With the increasing challenges that Freebridge faces, we need to know when we are doing something well, when we get something wrong, and when you have any ideas about how we can improve what we do.

We look at the compliments, comments and complaints we receive very carefully to make sure that we learn, improve, and provide you with high quality services that you are happy with.

Every three months, we produce a complaints and compliments report on our website which provides further details about the feedback that we receive, along with the lessons we have learnt and the changes we have made as a result - these are available to view at www.freebridge.org.uk

In the last year we received 61 complaints and 94 compliments, see the table (below) for more details.

What was the

complaint about?

How many complaints

did we receive?

How many complaints

were closed at stage 1 of our

complaints process?

How many complaints were closed

at stage 2 of our

complaints process?

How many complaints were still

working on at 31 may

2015?

What was the

compliment about?

How many compliments

were still working on at 31 may

2015?

Our staff 10 8 0 2 Our staff 82

Our properties 6 4 0 2 Our

properties 3

Our customer

service45 38 3 4

Our customer

service4


Getting feedback from our tenants whilst 'Out & About'

FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘16 PG 15FREEBRIDGE COMMUNITY HOUSING • STREETS AHEAD • SEPTEMBER ‘16 PG 15

As we’ve already mentioned, the Government recently introduced changes in respect of the levels that rents can be set at, which means that value for money is one of the main focuses here at Freebridge.

On a day-to-day basis we make sure that we compare the amount we spend with other housing providers so that we can make improvements wherever we can. By doing this we saved around £500,000 in the 2015/16 year.

We understand that we need to continually improve our approach to buying the products and services we spend our money on, because by continuing to do this allows us to carry on providing the services that our tenants rely on.

If you are interested in understanding the work we’ve done around value for money we have produced a detailed Value for Money Statement which can be read on our website at www.freebridge.org.uk

Also available on our website is a copy of our Statutory Accounts.

In 2015 /2016 we spent our money in the following way:PLANNED REPAIRS/MAINTENANCE £1,010,000ROUTINE REPAIRS/MAINTENANCE £3,376,000MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS/REPAIRS £5,898,000MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS/REPAIRS AT HILLINGTON SQUARE £4,818,000MANAGEMENT SERVICES £10,747,000

Some of the completed work at Hillington Square, King's Lynn

It is important to us at Freebridge that we continue to get more done whilst at the same time continuing to get better at what we already do. To help us do this we continually seek feedback from our customers, employees, partners and stakeholders.One of the ways we achieve this is through our tenant satisfaction survey. Our new survey process, which we introduced in 2015/2016, sees members of our First Contact Centre calling tenants to ask them questions about the services we provide.Unlike previous satisfaction surveys we have run, this one sees us asking tenants their views throughout the year and also gives you more opportunity than ever to provide us with your feedback about the work we do.As well as telling us what we’re doing well and what we need to improve on, it also helps us understand what’s important to our tenants, which is information we use to help us plan for the years ahead. Below are the figures from the satisfaction surveys we conducted in 2015/2016How satisfied are you with service provided by Freebridge?• 82% (our target was 85%)How satisfied are you with the repairs and maintenance service provided by Freebridge?

• 85% (our target was 90%)How satisfied are you with the value for money for your rent and service charges?• 77% (our target was 74%) How satisfied are you with the overall quality of your home?• 85% (our target was 83%)How satisfied are you with your neighbourhood as a place to live? • 85% (our target was 83%)How satisfied are you with how we keep you informed about things that might affect you as a resident?• 83% (our target was 84%).

Freebridge’s Tenant Panel is also involved in helping us improve what we do. Over the last year the panel members have met with Freebridge employees and Board members to look into a variety of issues that face the organisation and it’s customers.In the last 12 months the Panel have been involved in many things including:• Learning more about the Government’s welfare

reform, and the implications that the reform has on Freebridge and our customers


The Freebridge Tenant Panel at one of their regular monthly meetings

• Supporting Freebridge’s efforts in helping inform and advise people about things they can do to keep affordably warm through a number of Energy Saving events run by Freebridge’s Energy Advisor

• Work-shadowing Freebridge employees in their day to day roles, to find out more about the work we do

• Judging applications made by community groups to the Freebridge Community Fund

• Learning about new policies and processes within the organisation, and providing a tenant’s perspective and recommendations on any suggested changes

• Sitting on our Complaints Panel, along with Freebridge Board members, to review complaints made about the services we provide

• Forming part of the interview panel for slecting new Tenant Panel members.

Other things we’ve done at Freebridge during the year include:• Continuing to support tenants with Benefits

and debt advice, through the work our Benefits Advisor and Tenancy Support Advisor do

• Taken on the running of the Community Cafe at Hillington Square as part of the regeneration project

• Helped almost 100 tenants apply for a Warm Home discount, resulting in savings of over £13,000

• Employed a new Financial Inclusion Advisor whose role is to support tenants who need help around issues like setting up a bank account

• Completed over 200 energy saving visits, resulting in financial savings of almost £25,000 to the tenants who’ve received the advice

• Increased the number of monthly bookings at the Providence Street Community Centre by over 500%.

And finally we continued to make visits to you through our Out and About programme. During the year we visited 917 of you in your own homes in North Lynn, Gaywood, Watlington, St Germans, Islington, Middleton, West Winch, Fairstead, Southery, Methwold, Feltwell, Hockwold, Northwold, North Wootton, Dersingham, Snettisham, Ingoldisthorpe, North Creake, South Creake, Docking, the Burnhams, Brancaster and Syderstone. Whilst we visited we got the chance to say ‘hello’ and get feedback from on the services we provide as well as carrying out a number of repairs there and then.


Chloe Lacy our Energy Advisor helping a tenant understand their energy bills

Our Community Fund that helps local community groups

One of the many activities that take place at Providence Street

ON HAND TO HELPWe all need a little extra help sometimes. But if you ever find yourself in need of free impartial advice, King's Lynn and West Norfolk now has a range of specialist housing and debt advice services on offer.Access to the three new service providers will be available through telephone, internet or face to face meetings.Shelter will provide help with housing arrears, utility bills, debt collection and loan arrears.You can find out more information via www.shelter.org.uk or by calling 0344 515 1860.

The West Norfolk Advice Hub will offer help to those trying to get on the housing list, into social housing or at risk of becoming homeless.Find out more about the services on offer at www.west norfolkadvicehub.org.uk or by emailing [email protected], Norfolk Citizens Advice will continue to offer access to a full range of advice services for those in an immediate crisis or just considering their options.You can contact Norfolk Citizens Advice via www.norfolkcab.org.uk or by calling 03444 111 444.

Further information on all these services are available on the King's Lynn and West Norfolk County Council’s website.

Thank you for taking the time to read Freebridge Community Housing's Annual Report for 2015/2016.If you have any questions about what you've read or just want to get in touch you can contact us as per the details on the back page of this Streets Ahead magazine.



Interested in finding out about what energy you use? And the opportunity of receiving up to £50 in shopping vouchers? Then read on...

TIME TO GET SMART!

Freebridge tenants are being offered £50 in shopping vouchers to encourage them to take part in research looking at household energy use.The new ‘SMART UP’ scheme will be run by Freebridge in collaboration with the UK charity, National Energy Action.The first 65 eligible households, who take part, will receive a £30 shopping voucher when they register, along with a £20 ‘thank you’ voucher at the end of the project.If you are not one of the lucky 65 you can still take part and will be entered into a draw to win one of many prizes, including a £200 shopping voucher.Signing up is free and you will be part of research contributing to Britain’s energy future.As part of the research Freebridge’s Energy Advisor,

If you’re looking for a way to take back control of rising energy bills the ‘Big Switch and Save’ could be the answer.Local authorities across Norfolk are encouraging residents to sign up for collective switching schemes that can help save you money on energy bills.

By joining your local ‘Big Switch and Save’ you become part of the next collective switch auction.The scheme gathers all the information of the registered users together, suppliers then compete to offer the best deals to secure the groups business.The use of ‘people power’ helps drive the price down for customers.Once you have registered you will be informed of the best deal available, at which point you decide whether or not you want to switch. It's as simple as that!

Chloe Lacy, will offer you free energy saving advice and resources, whilst collecting information about how you use energy in the home.To take part you must have a smart meter already installed. Smart meters will be offered to all residents by 2020, and are the new generation of gas and electricity meters that make monitoring energy use much simpler.If you have a smart meter you should also have an In Home Display (IHD) energy monitor. This allows you to see how much energy you’re using in near real time, and what it’s costing you.

TAKING ACTION OVER ENERGY BILLS

To register, or find out if you have a smart meter, contact Freebridge Community Housing on 03332 404 444.

To find out more visit www.bigswitchandsave.co.uk

SHELTERED SCHEME GARDEN COMPETITION BLASTS OFF!Residents have been showing off their horticultural handiwork in the annual Sheltered Scheme Garden Competition.The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Space’, and many of the entrants were out of this world!The competition was open to all residents who live in one of Freebridge's Sheltered Schemes, and featured a variety of categories giving everyone the opportunity to enter.The award ceremony was held at Grove Gardens in Gayton and featured many nominees across the eight categories.A huge thank you to everyone who took part and congratulations to the winners whose names are across the page.

Michelle Gant, Director of Engagement at Freebridge, said: “The garden competition is one of the highlights of the summer for Freebridge.


Sheltered garden competition winners!

“It is a fabulous display of hard work and creativity, not to mention the opportunity that it provides in bringing together residents from all our sheltered schemes.”

Garden of Special Achievement award winner Robert & Florence Hammond

Space scheme entry • Southern region winner:

Beaupre Hall, Outwell• Northern region winner:

Grove Gardens, GaytonSpecial Achievement Award• Robert & Florence Hammond

Best use of small space• Christine Hicks• Neil Parnell• Patricia Leigh• Gillian Berrisford• Josie Wadsworth

Best kept individual garden • Angela French• Bob Matthews• Bob & Eva Howes• Margaret & Stan Follen

Best hanging basket, pot or container • Pauline Arter• Tony Whitelam

Best vegetable area• Laraine Carter• Derek & Ann Wright

Longest carrot• John Tansley

Best climbing plant • Ray & Shirley Howlett

Best real flower arrangement• Peggy Hall• Margaret Fox• Heather Hawkes

RURAL BUS ROUTES ROLL INTO TOWNA new rural bus service is helping provide residents in some of our more remote communities with easier access to the shops and amenities of King’s Lynn.The ‘Go To Town’ service, which began in July of this year, is run by West Norfolk Community Transport, and recieves funding for the service from Norfolk County Council as well as the communities along the route.The new routes run from Docking, Bircham, Flitcham, West Raynham and Massingham into Kings Lynn town centre.The service operates just like a normal bus service, no booking ahead and you pay the driver as you board, stopping at all bus stops along the way.Further information and timetables are available from King’s Lynn Bus Station.

Plants or flowers in the most unusual container • Maureen Ball• Joan Hornett• Nancy Newell

WINNERS!


Scheme entry winners


HOW WE PERFORMED

Overall satisfaction

Satisfaction with repairs

Satisfaction with rent and service charges

Satisfaction with their home

Satisfaction with the neighbourhood

Satisfaction with being kept informed

81%

80%

85%

85%

91%

85%SATI

SFAC

TION

SUR

VEY

[Emergency repairs] responded to within target time (24hrs)

- all contractors

[Urgent repairs] dealt with within target

time (1 week) - all contractors

[Routine repairs] dealt with within target

time (1 month) - all contractors

14 DAYSAverage re-let time for empty properties - ‘net’ figure including allowance for major repairs

7 Tenants were evicted for non-payment of rent, 2 Tenants were evicted for other reasons

85%

91%

81%

80%

85%

85%

YEARLY TARGET

85%

90%

74%

83%

83%

84%

99.6% 99.1%

1.67%Rent arrears of current tenants (excluding Housing, Benefit Arrears) as a percentage of the total rent due for the year

DURING APRIL - JUNE 2016

100%

Every month our First Contact Centre call 100 of our tenants to ask they how they think we are performing. The above results are from the calls we made in April, May and June.

YEAR TO DATE

AchievedAlmost thereNeeds improvement

of 1046 repairs reported




FEEDBACK

We are always keen to hear your feedback about the things we do at Freebridge. Here are some of the comments our teams have received recently from when you’ve been in touch - green shows positive comments and red are where you’ve told us where we need to try and improve or see what we can do differently. We always appreciate your comments and use them to improve the services we provide.

If you have anything that you would like to tell us you can swrite to us at: Freebridge Community Housing, Juniper House, Austin Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1DZ, email [email protected], tweet @freebridge or message us through our facebook account.

I’m writing to you about Daina, who came to visit me today. I wanted to say how lovely she was. She was very friendly and made sure I understood everything. Please let her know how happy I was with her.

Thank you to Ben and Chris. They were very polite, did a fantastic job and tidied up after themselves as well. They’re absolute stars and a credit to your company.

Freebridge should be doing more to push for more social housing in the area for younger people in particular - when new plots are built more houses should just be for social housing.

The 'social sector size criteria', often

known as the 'bedroom tax', was introduced by the

Government in 2013. If you'd like to know more about who is and isn't affected

by it please call our Income Team on

03332 404 444

I would like to just say a huge thank you to Freebridge for allowing the Level 1 Work Skills students to work with residents at Emmerich Court. This opportunity has provided such valuable experience for the students and has seen many of them blossom into much more confident young people.

Your Support Advisor, Carly, has been helping with me with money and budgeting issues, thanks to her help I’m living a happier life. Thank you to Carly!


Think Freebridge should re-consider charging the bedroom tax for people in army!

You need to be more realistic, don't lead people on, be honest from the start. And you need to make sure you look after existing tenants.

As you can see from our Annual Report, on page

12, we remain committed to developing new homes, and last year developed or

acquired 59 properties.

DEVELOPING HOMES AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIESFOR PEOPLE WITHIN WEST NORFOLK

WRITE TO: Juniper House, Austin Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1DZTELEPHONE: 03332 404 444Out of office hours our main number diverts to our 24 hour emergency service.EMAIL: [email protected] US AT: Juniper House, Austin Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1DZWe're open between 8:45am - 5.15pm (Monday-Thursday), 8:45am - 4.45pm (Friday). And closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.WEBSITE: www.freebridge.org.uk FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/freebridge TWITTER: @freebridge

The views expressed in this publication are those of contributors, and not necessarily those of Freebridge Community Housing.This entire publication is under copyright, and is not to be duplicated or reproduced in any way without permission.Designed by: Danielle Cowell | Printed by: Barnwell Print | Circulation approximately: 7,000

IF YOU NEED ANY HELP TO UNDERSTAND THIS NEWSLETTER PLEASE GET IN TOUCH.

HOW TO CONTACT US

A STAKE INFREEBRIDGE:BECOMING ASHAREHOLDERFreebridge Community Housing is inviting its tenants to become shareholders. Shareholders have the right to attend the Annual General Meeting and vote on major issues in the running of the organisation.Shareholding is designed to increase tenants’ stakeholding in their housing provider and is a way to become involved in what Freebridge does.If you need more information about how to become a Freebridge shareholder or just want to know more contact the Governance Team on 01553 667754 or email [email protected]

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CELEBRATING SUCCESS AT THE COMMUNITY AWARDS · Community Awards. Providence Street Community Centre played host to a night of celebration and put on a fabulous show to honour all