Should we be supporting community groups?

Posted on: May 8, 2012 by: Gail Helme in: Community

Our view is a resounding “YES!”. Being part of a community group helps members by helping them to find out what’s going on, learning new skills, meeting people and making friends, sharing views and helping to bring people together whatever their age or background.

Community groups are a powerful force for democracy – they can influence, control and own the decisions that shape their lives and the places where they live.

Being involved is a core part of what we’re all about.

Which is just as well, as we’ve been selected as a panel partner for the Government’s ‘Community First Programme’ which will see £150,000 made available to groups across four of our neighbourhoods. This is great news!

So, what’s Community First?  It’s a £30m government-funded initiative running until March 2015. As part of the programme, communities are encouraged to come together and identify what they’re good at and decide what’s important to them to plan for a more sustainable future.

Residents from Farnworth, Great Lever and Kearsley have until Friday, June 1, and Tonge with the Haulgh until Monday, May 21, to submit applications for a share of the funding, with grants ranging from £250 to £2,500 for both new and existing community groups.

To be eligible for funding, projects must meet local priorities that could include ways to improve the environment, bring communities closer together or improve people’s health, wellbeing and welfare.

This is a fantastic opportunity, supporting new and existing community groups to deliver difference-making activities and projects.

We’re committed to creating homes and neighbourhoods we can all be proud of.  So, we’re delighted to have been selected to take part.

So come on you community groups!   Get in touch with your proposals, whether it’s an intergenerational or cultural initiative, a campaign for green spaces, a healthy eating drive or volunteering opportunities – a grant could be made available to support YOU.

Further information on how to apply can be found at http://www.boltonathome.org.uk. Alternatively, phone Barbara Burton on 01204 332852 for Tonge with the Haulgh enquiries, or me (Gail Helme) on 01204 337967 for Farnworth, Great Lever and Kearsley. Good luck!

Bolton at Home taps into water savings

Posted on: April 24, 2012 by: Craig Tyldesley in: Money Matters

 

We’ve been in discussions with United Utilities about collecting water charges with our tenants’ rent. As an organisation, we’re constantly reviewing ways to make Bolton at Home more efficient and, ultimately, provide better value for our tenants.

At a time when utility charges are at an all time high, and with the billing process under increased scrutiny, we believe that directly collecting water rates will bring significant benefits to our tenants.

For a start, there will be a £10 annual discount with the opportunity to save a further £5 by paying via direct debit. Paying water rates with rent consolidates outgoings, making them more manageable for our tenants. In addition to this, tenants have access to our debt and money advisors should they ever be in a position where further support is needed.

Bolton at Home would receive a small commission from United Utilities for collecting the water rates. This is money that can be pumped back into services for all of our customers. Over time, this would have a significantly positive impact and would include us working to reduce bills through tariffs and metering where possible.

At the moment, the water rates collection is just in the proposal stage. We’re in the consultation phase with tenants to ensure that they understand the process and benefits and then we’ll arrange to visit them to sign an open agreement with Bolton at Home.

Ultimately, it won’t happen unless we register sufficient support from tenants. If we do get the go ahead for this money saving scheme, tenants are likely to be able to benefit from the scheme by this time next year.

Tune into Bolton at Home’s water charges show on Bolton FM on Wednesday, April 25 (11.00 to 13.00) when Craig Tyldesley will be talking about the scheme in more detail. You can listen live at 96.5FM, online at www.boltonfm.com or via Bolton FM’s iPhone app.

Bolton at Home hits the airwaves

Posted on: April 4, 2012 by: Anjalee Pawasker in: Community

We hit the airwaves for the launch of our new Bolton FM broadcast this week after partnering up with the station to run a regular Bolton at Home show.

The agreement with Bolton FM, signed on 19 March, means that we’ll have a regular Bolton at Home show hosted by Kevan Williams. We’ll use the broadcasts as an opportunity to share the latest news about what we’re doing in our neighbourhoods, our community events and projects, advertising job vacancies and communicating our business plans.

Boltonat Home CEO, Jon Lord kicked off the first show today, responding to questions customers had sent in advance for a Q&A session. We’re now working towards a weekly slot which will include interviews with our staff and customers, and lots of opportunities for stakeholders to feedback their thoughts.

The broadcast is no only a great way to get important messages out to our tenants and other residents of Bolton, but it also provides us with new opportunities to engage with customers and get their feedback.

We’re always looking for new ways to communicate with our key stakeholders. The Bolton FM broadcast will compliment our other channels, which include the Bolton at Home website, Facebook and Twitter pages, along with our strong regional media presence.

Make sure you tune in to our next show on Wednesday, April 11 (11.00 to 13.00) when we’ll be talking all things energy efficiency. You can listen live at 96.5FM, online at http://www.boltonfm.com/ or via Bolton FM’s iPhone app.

 

Sylvia Simpson blogs about the RESPECT Charter for ASB

Posted on: March 28, 2012 by: Sylvia Simpson in: Community, Our People

Boltonat Home has signed up to the housing sector’s RESPECT Charter for Anti Social Behaviour (ASB). This highlights our commitment to providing high quality ASB services, making us accountable to our customers for the delivery of these services across our estates.

We hosted an awareness raising event at Friends Meeting House on Wednesday, March 14 to see how well we are doing against those commitments.Boltonat Home staff, customers, elected members and stakeholders, including the Greater Manchester Police and community safety services within Bolton Council, were all in attendance.

We’ve had fantastic feedback, with lots of healthy debate and discussion around our ASB services on the day. In particular, we’ve spent time getting feedback on what we do well and areas where we could make improvements to the ASB service.

Taking onboard everyone’s input and comments, we will now be incorporating some of the suggestions into an improvement action plan for the service. This, in turn, will hopefully improve the way that Bolton at Home tackles anti social behaviour – a primary objective of the RESPECT Charter.

A big thank you has to go out to all of those who lent their support. It’s a shining example of the positive work we are carrying out across the directorate. Well done to everyone involved!

 

 

Jon Lord blogs about work placements

Posted on: March 13, 2012 by: Jon Lord in: Community

There has been much debate about the Government’s controversial work placement scheme of late.

Of course offering people work experience is important, and we always aim to provide a quality experience at Bolton at Home. 

The debate on whether work experience placements should be paid for or not isn’t the key issue. What is important is ensuring that people get a choice over where they get their experience. 

It should be related not only to their skills, but also to their aspirations in terms of what they want to achieve and do.

You can view our current work vacancies on the main Bolton at Home website.