Tenant Newsletter - August 2023

The council's plans for a major social housing development at Biart Place have secured planning permission.

The plans include 100 new homes for social rent, with 60 one and two-bedroomed flats, 20 maisonettes and 20 two, three and four-bedroomed houses.

In addition to car parking and landscaping, the plans include commitments to sustainable design and construction, including the installation of electric vehicle charging points, solar panels and air source heat pumps.

The homes have also been designed to complement the Victorian-era housing on Clifton Road and surrounding streets.

With planning permission now in place, work on the development looks set to start by the end of the year, with the development scheduled for completion in 2026.

Councillors first approved plans to develop the Biart Place site five years ago after structural surveys revealed both of the tower blocks were beyond economic repair.

The plans have secured a £6.8 million grant from Homes England's Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026, funding which means all of the development's homes can be allocated for social housing.

A further £2 million awarded from the Government's Getting Building Fund contributed towards the deconstruction of the tower blocks and clearance of the site.

Our tenant involvement programme aims to bring our tenants and communities together, and plenty has taken place since we started on the road to recovery from the pandemic.

Below you can see just a sample of what has happened since April, so if you're inspired to get involved and help bring your community together, let us know by emailing RBC.tenants@rugby.gov.uk.

Activity	Number	Outcomes
Estate walkabouts	19 walkabouts conducted	keeping communities clean and safe interacting with tenants in the community reporting issues with homes or the environment
Social activities in independent living accommodation	102 tenants attended	gave tenants a chance to socialise renewed sense of community following the pandemic council staff able to update tenants gave residents the opportunity to discuss improvements to communal recycling and outdoor spaces
Tenant panel	One meeting held	tenants helped to review the tenant handbook tenants shared ideas, asked questions and met fellow tenants
King's coronation celebrations	Eight events attended by more than 100 tenants	encouraged and empowered tenants to hold community events to mark the coronation of King Charles III
Arts and crafts workshops	Two workshops attended by five tenants	gave residents an opportunity to be creative and experience the mental health benefits of arts and crafts
Rent surgery	Eight tenants attended	tenants in independent living accommodation were able to discuss rent issues with friendly, knowledgeable staff
Recycling leaflet for Avon Court	35 leaflets delivered to tenants	tenants were provided with information on recycling
Tanser Court newsletter	486 editions	weekly newsletter keeping tenants informed
Tenant Newsletter	Monthly newsletter emailed to more than 1,000 tenants	promoting the council's tenant involvement programme, together with useful information and news from tenants

 

Rugby Health has launched free Lifestyle Clinics to help residents lead healthier, active lives.

The clinic, based at the Benn Partnership Centre and led by a health and wellbeing coach, offers three sessions at intervals of three to four weeks.

Sessions cover diet and nutrition, tips to relieve stress and get a better night's sleep, and improve your stamina and boost your mental wellbeing.

You must be registered with a GP in Rugby to sign up for the clinic and must commit to attending all three sessions.

You can currently sign up for the following three sessions clinics:

• 9.30am to 12 noon on 20 October, 10 November and 1 December
• 9.30am to 12 noon on 27 October, 17 November and 8 December

For more information, or to book your place at a clinic, email cwicb.rugbyhealth@nhs.net.

In the next few weeks, we'll be posting a survey to all of our tenants to hear your feedback on the housing services we provide.

We know our tenants have a vital role in ensuring we deliver effective services and identify areas where we can improve.

So, please take a moment to complete the survey and return it to us in the freepost envelope provided.

We'll enter all surveys returned to us within three weeks into a prize draw.

Our programme of estate walkabouts gives you the chance to join council officers on a tour of your neighbourhood and help make a difference to where you live.

Officers from a range of council teams join each walkabout, so you have the chance to speak directly to members of our housing team, property repairs service and independent living team.

And our walkabouts achieve results - during a recent walkabout, a tenant reported a mattress which had been fly-tipped and we were able to arrange for it to be removed.

You can view the September programme of walkabouts in the table below. Email rbc.tenants@rugby.gov.uk to confirm your attendance and find out the start time and meeting place for your chosen walkabout.

Date	Walkabout location
Tuesday 5 Septembver	Sun Street, Windsor Street
Thursday 7 September	Helvellyn Way and shopping parade, Millbeck, Dunnerdale, Fornside Close, Beckfoot Close
Tuesday 12 September	Church Lawford: Coronation Road, Kings Newnham Road Kings Newnham: Fitzalan Close Long Lawford: The Crescent, The Ryelands
Thursday 14 September	Rosewood Avenue, St Andrew's Crescent, Anderson Avenue, Charlesfield Road, Magnet Lane, Main Street, Bilton, Lawford Lane
Wednesday 20 September	Pettiver Crescent, Bromwich Road, Astley Place, Foresters Place, High Street, Duffy Place
Tuesday 26 September	Cambridge Street, Butlin Road, Clifton Road, Townsend Road, Eastlands Place, Sheriff Road, Lawrence Road, Portland Road, Chamberlain Road, Bucknill Crescent, Kilworth Road, Fox Close, Crick Road, Deerings Road, School Street Clifton-upon-Dunsmore: Shuttleworth Road, Station Road Newton: Leys Estate, Newton Lane
Thursday 28 September	Bleaberry. Borrowdale, Copeland, Grizedale, Skiddaw, Eskdale, Thirlmere

 

Thank you to all the tenants who attended the Tenant Panel meeting earlier this month at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum.

Panel meetings give tenants the opportunity to work with us to improve our housing services and highlight issues we can work together to resolve.

At the meeting on Tuesday 8 August, tenants helped review parts of our Tenant Handbook and the housing team's key performance indicators (KPIs) from the first quarter of the current financial year.

A discussion also took place on who tenants should contact first in a range of different instances in order to ensure a swift response.

Whether incidents of anti-social behaviour, neighbour disputes or parking problems, tenants gained a greater understanding on who to call - whether the police, a housing officer or independent living co-ordinator, or the council's community wardens.

We'd love to welcome you to the next meeting of the Tenant Panel, which takes place at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum from 1pm to 2.30pm on Wednesday 8 November.

For more information, email rbc.tenants@rugby.gov.uk.

A Long Lawford tenant celebrated her 100th birthday with four generations of her family, friends and the Mayor of Rugby, Cllr Maggie O'Rourke.

Violet Hollinshead marked the milestone with fellow tenants at Hirst Close and Round Avenue, and received a letter of congratulations from King Charles III.

Violet's family said: "Violet is the life and soul of our family, and we all love her to pieces."

If you know a council tenant with a special birthday of anniversary coming up, let us know by emailing rbc.tenants@rugby.gov.uk.

If you want to speak to us about your housing, please get in touch with us.

Your feedback allows us to address your concerns directly and gives us valuable information about how we deliver our services.

Whether it's a comment, compliment or complaint, we want to hear from you. You can call us on (01788) 533533 or simply complete an online form on our website.

Report a repair or issues with anti-social behaviour

If you want to contact us to report a repair required at your property or issues with anti-social behaviour from council tenants, please use the online forms on our website to ensure we can deal with your request efficiently and effectively.

Report a repair

Report anti-social behaviour

If you have an issue with your rent, please call us immediately (01788) 533533 so we can try to help. You can find more information about your rent on our website.

View more information about your rent

Housing Ombudsman

The council has signed up to the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code, which aims to enable landlords to resolve complaints raised by tenants quickly.

Under the code, we have published a self-assessment which details how we deal with complaints.

If you make a complaint to us and do not agree with our response, you have the right to appeal. If you remain unhappy with how we have handled your complaint, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman.

The Housing Ombudsman website contains a range of information which you might find useful.

Visit the Housing Ombudsman website