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The Mayor and Mayoress of Rotherham, Councillor Shaukat Ali and Miss Wajida Naseem attended the opening of a new housing development at Greencroft, Broomvalley in Rotherham on Wednesday 14th April. This was to celebrate the successful completion of seventeen new affordable family homes.

The development was achieved by the partnership working of Arches Housing, Chevin Housing Group, Rotherham Borough Council, Southdale Homes and the Homes and Communities Agency. There is a mix of properties which includes seven large four bed family homes all designed to sustainable Homes code three to achieve high level of energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions.

The Mayor of Rotherham presented the Chief Executive of Arches Housing, Brian Summerson with a certificate of acknowledgement and thank you on behalf of Rotherham Borough Council.

The Mayor, Councillor Shaukat Ali cut a red ribbon to signify the opening of the scheme. He thanked Arches Housing and Chevin Housing Group for their work in providing an excellent scheme of new homes for the citizens of Rotherham.

The information set out below, is an overview of the Association’s performance covering a range of service areas during the third quarter of the current financial year. If you would like further information on how this data is collected, please contact Jamie Taylor on 0114-2288100

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)

New cases reported by category within the quarter

Live, resolved and closed cases at end of the quarter

Complaint satisfaction survey

Repairs & Maintenance

Income Management

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The TSA's new regulatory framework for social housing in England document was published in November and we are currently in the process of consulting with our residents on the proposed standards. For further information on the standards please click on the following link to the TSA website.

www.tenantservicesauthority.org

The statutory consultation period is open until 5th February 2010 so if you have any comments or queries please contact Jamie Taylor on 0114-2288100.

In April 2009, Frank Haslam Milan (FHM) began servicing the gas appliances of Arches Housing tenants after successfully applying for the contract. Gas Servicing was a new venture for FHM and this resulted in some initial teething troubles. In June 2009, Arches Housing and FHM agreed to suspend the contract for a period of 3 months in order that FHM could streamline its processes. During the period from June 2009 – August 2009, Arches Housing employed XL Gas to service gas appliances. With effect from September 2009 FHM began servicing gas appliances again, and they will continue to do so until the end of the financial year.

For a trial period from 21st December 2009 to 31st March 2010 Arches tenants and residents who are suffering from the effects of anti-social behaviour will be able to get advice outside of normal working hours using a new telephone helpline. The ASB Respect Action line, will offer tenants:

• The chance to speak to a trained advisor who can offer advice and support at the time it is needed
• Referral of their problem to the emergency services if needed and to other agencies that can help
• Prompt follow up by Arches Housing Anti-social Behaviour Officer.

The new phone line is being introduced as part of our ongoing work to effectively tackle ASB and provide the best possible service to our tenants who are experiencing problems from ASB.

Anti-social behaviour can happen at any time of the day or night and we recognise that in a serious situation our customers need advice and support there and then. The ASB Respect Action Line will extend our service to customers so that they can get access to professional help and advice on ASB outside of our normal office hours.

To contact the ASB Respect Action Line from 21st December 2009 onwards, customers should call 0800 075 6699. Please note that you should continue to contact our office during normal office hours to report or discuss an incident of ASB.

For further information on how we tackle anti-social behaviour please contact Daphne Roebuck on 0114-2288121 or visit www.archeshousing.org.uk

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New campaign urges residents in Sheffield to be aware of TV Licensing requirements

Did you know you can be fined up to £1,000 if you are caught watching TV without a licence? Well, if you don’t have one, there’s no better time to get one, because TV Licensing enquiry officers are about to step up their visits in Sheffield. More than 1,700 people in Sheffield have been caught trying to evade the licence fee so far this year.

Hot on the heels of the launch of new online and text payment services for payment card members in late 2008, TV Licensing is working in partnership with Arches Housing in Sheffield to ensure that people are aware of when they legally need a TV Licence. This coincides with additional visiting and an information and awareness campaign taking place in the area during September.

Put simply, you need to be covered by a valid TV Licence to receive or record television programmes as they are being broadcast. And that is the case whether you are receiving the programmes via TV or any other device, such as a mobile phone or a PC.

TV Licensing understands that some people find it hard to pay the annual fee of £142.50 for a colour TV Licence or £48 for a black and white licence in one go. For this reason there are a number of different ways to pay for a TV Licence.

The TV Licensing payment card is designed to help anyone who would prefer to make regular small cash payments either weekly or fortnightly. Those using the payment card can pay over-the-counter at any of over 21,000 PayPoint outlets across the UK, or over the phone. Those using a payment card have also been able to pay and check their account status online or via text message using a credit or debit card.

Similarly, people can save towards the yearly licence fee in small, manageable amounts by using a TV Licensing savings card, making payments via credit or debit card, at a PayPoint outlet or over the phone.

People wanting to pay or save for their TV Licence in person can do so at any PayPoint outlet using cash or debit card payments. To find their nearest PayPoint, people can visit www.paypoint.co.uk/locator.htm or call 0845 155 0404. More people are choosing to pay by Direct Debit, now used by over 12 million licence fee payers, while others choose to pay via TV Licensing’s website or by putting a cheque in the post.

A free licence is available for people aged 75 or over and a short term licence for people aged 74. Anyone who is registered blind or severely sight impaired is entitled to 50% off the cost of the licence fee.

For people who do not have English as a first language, TV Licensing provides literature in 18 different languages and offers an interpretation service over the phone in over 170 languages. To use the translation service, call 0300 790 6044.

TV Licensing would always prefer people to be properly licensed rather than risk prosecution, which is why we make it as easy as possible to pay and work hard to ensure people are aware of their licensing requirements. Unfortunately some people still try to avoid paying for a TV Licence when they need one, and we will enforce the law on behalf of the honest majority who pay.

If you would like more information, or want to buy a TV Licence, please call 0300 790 6071 or visit http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk

The information set out below, is an overview of the Association’s performance covering a range of service areas during the first quarter of the current financial year. If you would like further information on how this data is collected, please contact Jamie Taylor on 0114-2288100.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)

New cases reported by category within the quarter

Live, resolved and closed cases at end of the quarter

Complaint satisfaction survey

Repairs & Maintenance

Income Management

Arches works with Manchester based agency Emerald who have built, redesigned and look after our website, and in conjunction with them we are offering all tenants the chance to win our ‘in to BUSINESS with Emerald’ competition.

The objective is to encourage residents whose landlord is a client of Emerald to submit their business ideas. The most promising submissions will be compiled into a shortlist; and a judging panel drawn from representatives of supporting housing associations and Emerald employees will select the two winners. The selection process will involve face to face interviews where shortlisted applicants will meet the judging panel to explain their submission and “pitch” their idea.

The winning package includes:

• Initial set up assistance and guidance
• Business coaching
• Management consultancy
• Ongoing support throughout the first twelve months
• Access to online support and guidance notes
• Referrals to Business Link and similar organisations
• Advice on marketing, communications and sales planning
• Choice of company name and design of logo
• Domain name and brochure website for new company
• Laptop package or equivalent subject to the nature of business
• Stationery set
• Promotional flyer or small brochure
• Help with identifying and maximising PR opportunities
• Sales and Marketing advice and coaching
• Identifying the products and services offered
• Identifying customer needs from the new business Marketing plan
• Advice on forms of advertising

For further details and access to the application forms please visit the Emerald website on:

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A new partnership has been welcomed as a success for people living in the Rotherham area. Arches Housing and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council have worked together for the first time to provide housing to meet an identified gap for people ready for independent living moving from supported housing.

Housing support providers have been part of the initiative which has provided twenty six homes to date which have been built to eco-homes very good or excellent standard to help reduce residents’ fuel bills. These homes are for the first time offering a choice across the borough of quality accommodation for people who are ready to resettle in to the community and live independently. A Support Worker from one of the agencies benefitting from the scheme said "I hope that as more units are provided a mixture of areas continue to be part of the scheme – it is nice for the first time we are really able to offer a real choice to our client group"

The move-on houses and apartments are let via nomination through Rotherham Key Choices and to be eligible to bid for a property the applicant has to be on Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council’s housing register. The partnership agreement between the two parties protects this arrangement for the future.

All the rents are eligible for full housing benefit and range from £58.00 per week for a flat to £67.00 per week for a 3 bedroom house Referred for the scheme from Target Housing, Barclay quotes - "Best thing ever...", "I’m not going anywhere..."   "You’ve got to see it to believe it..." The success of the initiative has been built through close community consultation by Arches and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in the selection of sites, mixing the units in with traditional general needs rented and owner occupied areas and estates. The support agencies continue their work with the clients initially up to three months. This ensures that the client does not feel isolated in their new home and help the new landlord build a good relationship. Another new tenant from support provider Action Housing said "I am grateful that you didn’t judge me and have given me that chance to prove I can start a new life".

It is hoped that the scheme will continue to flourish and more units will be provided every year through the partnership.

To help improve the accessibility of our website we are pleased to announce that we have recently purchased a program called BrowseAloud which is a computer based package that reads aloud all website content. BrowseAloud can be downloaded directly free of charge from our website by clicking on the icon which is located in the bottom left hand corner of our home page.

Once downloaded, you will be able to move your cursor over the words on our website and they will be spoken aloud. By introducing this feature on to out website, we hope to assist users who may have literacy difficulties, mild visual impairments and those who speak English as a second language.

The second phase of the Tenant Services Authority's National Conversation starts on 9 June and will run until 8 September 2009. This is your chance to help the TSA fine-tune the standards it has drawn up for social housing landlords. These draft standards are based on what you told the TSA earlier this year about the things that matter most to you.

There are many ways you can take part. The TSA will be at a number of events this summer, where they will be talking to tenants and landlords. Details of where they will be and when – and how you can join them – are available online at: www.nationalconversation.co.uk

You can also get involved in the National Conversation using the website. You’ll find a short questionnaire you can fill in, or you can have your say on one of the forums or by uploading a video of yourself. You can also take part by texting short answers to questions on the website.

There’s a document with more questions that you can download too, if you want to.

You can hold your own local events as well. The TSA has called these 'Local Conversations'. They don't have to be very formal – they could be a group of you getting together in somebody's home or they could be part of another meeting that's already been planned. To help you, the TSA has put together a resource pack you can download, which contains some important questions, information notes, a leaflet, a form to fill in and a prepaid envelope to send the form back in (you do not need a stamp).

Councillor Mazher Iqbal and Clive Betts MP opened our new homes scheme on Friday 3rd April 2009 at Acres Hill Road & Nidd Road, Darnall, Sheffield. The properties include five 4 bedroom houses, six 3 bedroom houses and four 2 bedroom bungalows for rent as well as six 3 bedroom houses for shared ownership. We achieved ECO-Homes very good sustainability rating which takes account of Energy, Transport, Pollution, Environmental impact of materials, Water, Land use and Ecology and Health and Well Being.

Councillor Iqbal and Clive Betts MP presented a key and a bouquet of flowers to a new tenant, Mrs Marsh, who will soon be enjoying her new two bedroom bungalow at Acres Hill Road. Mrs Marsh said that she was very pleased with her new home which had excellent facilities to support her with lifetime needs.

The event was a huge success which included viewing the new homes, looking at an exhibition of the history of the scheme and networking with fellow professionals and Darnall residents. It was attended by local residents’ representatives of Sheffield City Council, contractors and developers and staff from the association.

Mazher has been keen to support Arches Housing Limited in building new affordable homes in Darnall and he was in discussions with the association about developing Acres Hill Road long before the first brick was laid. There is a huge demand for new homes in the area, where there is a large waiting list for family housing.

The new homes were built in partnership with Sheffield City Council who supported the project and sold the land to the association, Homes and Communities Agency who provided grant funding, Synergy Solutions Limited who did that project management and Clayfield Construction & Company Limited who was the main developer for the scheme.

The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Ann Russell, opened a new development at Bennett Street, Kimberworth, Rotherham comprising of six 2 bedroom apartments for shared ownership and three units for move-on at affordable rents on Thursday 12th February.

Arches Housing Ltd have built the new homes in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, the Housing Corporation, Transform South Yorkshire, Synergy Solutions Ltd. and Clayfield Construction & Company Ltd... The homes were designed to Eco Homes Excellent Rating to achieve high level of energy efficiency.

The Mayor of Rotherham unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening and the naming of the development as Dean Court, which was in honour of a founder board member of Arches Housing Ltd, Christopher Dean who attended the opening ceremony. For more than 25 years, Christopher has been a voluntary board member of Arches Housing Ltd.

The Mayor of Rotherham thanked Arches Housing Ltd for her invitation to perform an official opening ceremony. She was pleased that Arches Housing Ltd was contributing to the delivery of Rotherham’s affordable housing programme and that the new homes were being built to low energy usage standards which provides affordable warmth and less adverse impact on the climate.

Christopher Dean responded to the Mayor’s remarks by saying that he had always supported measures to reduce carbon emissions and provide affordable warmth for tenants.