Author Archives: Bolton at Home admin

£10,000 ‘Empty Homes’ initiative will help landlords and tenants

Posted on: April 18, 2013 by: Bolton at Home admin in: Finding a Home, Money Matters

Empty HomesBolton at Home has launched a new scheme to help struggling landlords and other property owners to fill their empty properties and increase the supply of homes in the local area.

The housing organisation has secured a pot of funding from central government under the ‘Empty Homes’ initiative, which will allow it to provide grants of up to £10,000 to bring empty properties back into use.

The scheme aims to help landlords that have properties requiring investment in internal repairs.

In exchange Bolton at Home will take on the management of the property on their behalf for a minimum of five years and will provide them with a guaranteed income from the property. Continue reading…

Lack of housing, not morals, driving up welfare bill

Posted on: March 19, 2013 by: Bolton at Home admin in: Money Matters

Bedroom taxWatching a recent ‘Question Time’ it was nice to see that the issue of housing and welfare benefit reform, particularly related to housing benefits, was on the agenda. Less nice was what appeared to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the social housing market among some of the country’s leading politicians.

According to Michael Heseltine there is a fundamental moral issue that dictates that people on welfare benefits should not receive more than those in work.

Vince Cable, perhaps with a future leadership bid in mind, stated that we should look after our most vulnerable, but said we had to acknowledge that there is a welfare benefits problem.

First thing first, the reason the vast majority of people who exceed the level of the benefit cap do so is because of their housing costs, and this is particularly the case in London. Their weekly living benefits remain at a level most would struggle to live on, and in all probability wouldn’t provide most of the cabinet with enough to cover the cost of a single night out. Continue reading…

Take the First Step

Posted on: November 26, 2012 by: Bolton at Home admin in: Uncategorized

Living in the age of equality of the sexes? I don’t think so.

On Average 2 women a week are killed by a violent partner in the UK (1)

Almost 1 in 3 girls have experienced unwanted touching at school (2)

Only 77% of young men agree that having sex with someone who has said no is rape (3)

This year women and girls across Bolton have decided to Take The First Step and say no to Gender Violence. Respect is what we expect and we are not afraid to say it. An installation has been created by over 50 women and girls as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Continue reading…

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend photos

Posted on: June 8, 2012 by: Bolton at Home admin
Tegan Aspinall at Bolton at Home's Greenway mums and babies group

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Here’s a selection of photos taken at Bolton at Home’s Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend celebrations which turned Bolton into a sea of red, white and blue. Events took place at Greenway Mums and Babies Centre, Eldon Street Extra Care Centre, … Continue reading…

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Community carnival comes to Tonge

Posted on: July 18, 2011 by: Bolton at Home admin in: Community

The summer is always a busy time for community events across our neighbourhoods and this Sunday (July 17) saw the annual Tonge community carnival and parade at the Castle Hill Centre car park.

Boltonat Home’s north neighbourhood management team organised the day, with members of the Tonge community coming together to enjoy an afternoon of entertainment. Bolton FM were the official host and the Mayor of Bolton, Councillor Noel Spencer kicked started the day.

There was a Disney style parade in procession around the site, face and henna painting, a showcase of circus skills, go karts, professional football activities, a climbing wall and fairground rides plus much more. The main stage was dedicated to live performances from local talent including Tonge and the Haulgh Community Choir.

We’re very excited to have once again brought the carnival and parade back to Tonge. This popular event is a fantastic way to bring the community together and enjoy an afternoon of fun activities, many of which are free to enjoy. It’s also a great opportunity to showcase the hard work that is being carried out by our community groups and residents associations.