tenants Summer
Newsletter 2023
Annual Tenants Conference
Seamill Hydro Hotel, 39 Ardrossan Road, West Kilbride KA23 9NB
26th of July 2023
10:00am – 4:00pm
Useful Contacts
Report a Repair
0800 068 1466
Lemon Aid Fuel Poverty
01294 468360
Cunninghame Furniture Recycling Company
0800 221 8083
Scottish Water
0800 077 8778
Power Cut
105
Scottish Power
0800 092 9290
Police
101
Police (emergency)
999
NHS 24
111
Environmental Waste North Ayrshire
01294 310000
Environmental Waste East Ayrshire
01563 554400
Environmental Waste Dumfries & Galloway
030 33 33 3000
Whats in this issue?
Page 1……………….Annual Tenants Conference
Page 2-5…………..Cost of Living/Energy Crisis
Page 6-7……………………………..Tenant Services
Page 8-10………………………Development News
Page 11…………………………CFRC Summer Sale
Page 12…………………………………Staff Spotlight
Page 13-15……………………Tenant Competitions
Contact us
Telephone: 01294 468360
Email: enquiries@chaltd.org
Annual tenant
conference
You are invited to Cunninghame Housing Association’s 12th Annual Tenants’ Conference, a friendly, informative and free event held on 26th July 2023 in the Seamill Hydro Hotel from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Last year’s Conference was enjoyed by over 70 tenants and feedback was very positive.
To book your place at the conference or arrange free transport to and from the venue please contact Hazel Clark on 01294 607585 or click the button below:
Tenant satisfaction survey
Our 2023 Tenant Satisfaction Survey is under way. Face to face interviews are being conducted by experienced researchers from an independent research company, IBP. Interviews will last about 20 minutes. The Association fully appreciates all tenants who give their time to help shape our future housing services.
The first results and trends from the survey will be presented to our Annual Tenant’s Conference in the Seamill Hydro on 26th July 2023.
financial
inclusion
Free school meals, clothing and footwear grant 2023/24 applications are now open! You may be eligible to qualify for this grant if you receive certain benefits. Please visit your local authority’s website for more information as each Council process is different. Click the buttons to access these websites.
If you qualify for a clothing and footwear grant you may be entitled to an award of up to £157.50 per child (awards vary depending on local authority).
Currently all P1 to P5 pupils receive free school meals. Pupils from P6 upwards may also be eligible for free school meals. Click the links to apply if you think you are eligible.
Changes to Childcare
Costs on Universal Credit
From 28 June 2023, families on Universal Credit can receive childcare costs of £951 for one child or £1,630 for two or more children (an increase of 47%). The first month of childcare costs will now be paid up front when entering into work or having an increase in working hours
At present, families on Universal Credit can receive £646.35 Childcare costs for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children, but they have to pay childcare up front first and then receive back 85% of the costs.
Lemon aid
Over the course of 2022/23 we assisted/ issued the following to CHA tenants;
save on you electricity bills
We understand that these are challenging times with energy bills at unprecedented rates. Here are some top tips to save money on your electricity bills.
Turn appliances off when not in use.
Unplug chargers and devices even
if they are turned off.
take shorter showers to save on water.
wash your clothes at 30 degrees if
they are not heavily stained.
clean appliances such as extractor
fans and fridge coils.
dry clothes outside on a line or a clothes horse.
use natural sunlight before truning on a light.
dalry external wall insulation
Work is underway for CHA to improve the energy efficiency of 97 homes in Dalry through the installation of External Wall Insulation (EWI).
The £2.4 million project is being managed jointly with Warmworks, a consultant committed to providing affordable warmth and drive the reduction in carbon emissions. It is supported by £1.02m from the Scottish Government’s Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund and will improve the energy efficiency of these homes, making them cheaper to heat and ultimately reducing energy bills for tenants.
We are committed to supporting the Government’s ambitions around climate change and understand the impact energy price increases have had on our tenants. This project offers the opportunity to achieve both objectives whilst improving the appearance of our timber properties in Dalry.
Our contractor, Insulated Render Systems Scotland, began on site in May, and it is hoped the project will be completed by early 2024. Some of the first homes are now rendered.
green street development
The latest CHA development at Green Street / Vernon Street in Saltcoats town centre is nearing its completion.
Designed to Housing for Varying Needs standards, the new homes are fully accessible and barrier free.
Work on the £3.58 million project commenced on site in April 2022 and was supported by £ 2.05 million of grant funding from Scottish Government and a £ 215,000 contribution from North Ayrshire Council.
The sprinkler systems in all apartments, together with the highest standards of Secure by Design, should enable a safe and secure environment for the new tenants.
cunninghame furniture recycling company summer sale
8th – 22nd of july
Selection of items free of charge
Up to 50% off selected reuse stock
10% off new graded white goods
Click the button to find out more about CFRC.
Staff Spotlight
Ewan Hart
Direct works joiner
What is the one thing you wish people knew about your job?
There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes from the tenants first contact with repairs. The job gets passed onto the scheduling team and planned into our diaries.
We always want to meet the job timescales. Sometimes this can’t be met due supplier problems.
We don’t always have what we need in stock and order from local merchants in order to finish the repair.
What is the your favourite part of the job?
We don’t always have what we need in stock and order from local merchants in order to finish the repair.My favourite part of the job is getting to meet our tenants and identifying/repairing faults within their home.
Its gives me great job satisfaction to know with my knowledge and expertise I have built up over the years, I can go out and carry out repairs aiming for right first time. I always want to leave the people happy with the service Direct Works gives. I feel since I have joined Direct Works, I work in a warm and welcoming team. I am lucky to be part of it.
What is on your bucket list?
The one thing on my bucket list was to go to Australia and in 2019 I went! I would recommend anyone thinking of going to do it. I was diving off the coast of Hamilton Island and swimming with sharks, it was one of the best experiences of my life.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of work?
I have two children – one 22 and the other 18 and I spend most my time running after them. I like to scuba dive in my free time.
What is Your Role within the organisation?
I am a joiner within the responsive / void team in the Direct Works department.
How long have you worked for CHA?
I have worked for Cunninghame Housing Association since 17th April 2023, and I have been a joiner since 1989.
garden competition
Our CHA Annual Garden Competition is back for 2023. If you are responsible for maintaining your own garden or you take care of a common area, please enter our popular competition today.
If you think one of your neighbours have put a lot of effort into maintaining their garden or common area, then please nominate them. The judging will take place in July/August 2023. Ian Macpherson, Community Participation & Engagement Officer will take the lead on this along with some of our tenant group members and the Association’s Board members.
There are fantastic prizes for our North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway tenants. Call Ian Macpherson on 01294 606012 or click the button to enter.
prizes
maintaining your garden
With the good weather and long summer nights on their way, here are five tips on how to maintain your garden this summer.
Tend to the grass.
Prune your plants.
Clean your BBQ
Clean out your garage or garden shed.
Plant seeds that will be ready to harvest in Autumn
estate walkabouts
As part of our commitment to improving the quality of neighbourhoods where our tenants live, we are planning a programme of estate walkabouts. These will involve walking round areas containing Cunninghame homes and identifying issues that might need to be tackled.
If you would like to get involved or think your area would benefit from an estate management walkround, please phone Ian Macpherson on: 01294 606012.
The walkabouts will give our tenants an opportunity to speak to Cunninghame staff to discuss issues about their neighbourhood or home. Our walkabout schedule will be publicised on the CHA website and social media.