Tenant Newsletter - October 2023

 

Free workshops to help you make the most of your money take place in Rugby next month.

The Money, Money, Maths workshops take place at the Friends Meeting House in Regent Place on Wednesday 1, 8 and 15 November - and if you attend all three, you receive a £25 Argos voucher.

Run by Coventry and Warwickshire Co-operative Development Agency (CDA) and funded by the Government's Skills for Life programme, the workshops can help you save money at your supermarket shop, balance your household budget and save money on your energy bills.

Each workshop runs from 1.45pm to 3.15pm and places can be booked for free if you have less than a grade two qualification in maths.

For more information, and to book your place, visit the Coventry and Warwickshire CDA website.

 

Get ready for winter.

 

Book a flu jab

In Coventry and Warwickshire, one in three people qualify for a free flu jab on the NHS.

Visit the Warwickshire County Council website to check your availability.

Need free, independent advice from experts? Talk to BRANCAB

BRANCAB, the Citizens Advice Bureau covering Bedworth, Rugby and Nuneaton, has a team of highly-trained volunteer advisers who can help you with debt problems, benefits, fuel bills and more.

You can call BRANCAB's freephone adviceline from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday - 0808 250 5715.

For more information, visit the BRANCAB website.

Damp and mould

Damp and mould can occur more frequently during the winter months, and can develop into a bigger problem if not treated straight away.

Councils across Warwickshire, including Rugby Borough Council, have produced a guide on how to prevent damp and mould in your home.

Download the preventing damp and mould in your home leaflet.

Advice and support from the housing team

You can drop-in to the Town Hall and talk to a housing officer every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 4pm.

The new drop-in sessions give tenants the chance to raise issues and seek advice on housing issues.

Tenants can also drop-in to our new rent clinic every Tuesday and Thursday.

If you need advice or support with your rent, visit the clinic from 10am to 4pm.

 

Tenants were invited to a community event to find out more information about the council's plans to fit external wall insulation at homes in Rokeby and Long Lawford.

 

Tenants in Rokeby were invited to a community engagement day to find out more about the council's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) project.

Earlier this year, the council secured a £1 million grant from the Government's SHDF, a sum which the council has match-funded in order to push ahead with plans to improve energy efficiency in more than 100 council homes by fitting external wall insulation.

Tenants in Rokeby whose homes qualify for the project were invited to the engagement day to find out more, with representatives from the council, E.ON, the council's delivery partner, and Green Home Solutions, the company contracted to carry out the work, all on hand to provide information and answer questions.

In the near future, we plan to invite tenants who live in eligible homes in Long Lawford to a similar community engagement day to find out more the project and the benefits of external wall insulation.

 

Download the Rugby Borough Council app and never miss your bin day again.

 

Stay on top of your bin collection dates with the Rugby Borough Council app.

With details of your bin collection dates based on your home address, you can also choose to receive free alerts to remind you to pu the right bin out on the right day.

Download the app and you'll never forget your bin day again.

Available for iPhone and Android, the free app includes council news and information, together with food hygiene ratings for restaurants and takeaways near you, and forms to quickly report dog fouling and fly-tipping.

Find out more and download the app via the council's website: www.rugby.gov.uk/app.

 

TENANTS at Mercer Court collected £180 for Macmillan Cancer Relief during a recent fund-raiser.

Ten residents at the council's independent living accommodation took part in September's charity event, selling cakes, hot drinks and raffle tickets to raise cash for a fantastic cause.

If you're interested on holding a fund-raiser at your independent living scheme, let your independent living co-ordinator know or send an email to 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.

 

Join our Facebook group and find out about what's happening in Rugby, together with the latest news from the council.

You can also let us know your thoughts about housing issues and chat with other council tenants from across the borough.

Visit www.facebook.com/groups/RBCtenants and send us a request to join the group.

We look forward to hearing from you on Facebook.

 

Severn Trent Water has launched the WaterSure scheme to support residents struggling to pay water bills.

WaterSure caps water bills to Severn Trent's average yearly charge - for 2023/24, this comes to £213.41 for your fresh water and £205.94 for sewerage.

To qualify for WaterSure support, you must be a Severn Trent customer, have a water meter and receive eligible benefits.

You must also have either:

• three or more children under 19-years-old living with you whom you receive child benefit for
• a medical condition requiring the extra use of water

You can find out more information on WaterSure - and apply - on the Severn Trent Water webiste.

Thank you to all the tenants who attended August's Tenant Panel meeting 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.

 

More than 110 tenants have taken part in events and activities during July, August and September.

From gardening schemes, home improvements, energy efficiency programmes and a tenant scrutiny panel to a 100th birthday party, coffee mornings, estate walkabouts and a charity fund-raiser, tenants have helped:

• raise £180 for Macmillan Cancer Relief
• give feedback to help us deliver a better service
• tackle social exclusion
• increase the use of communal gardens at independent living schemes
• keep communities safe, clean and connected

Want to get involved in your community? Email Freya and Daanish at rbc.tenants@rugby.gov.uk

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.

You can download the estate walkabout programme can be downloaded below.

Email rbc.tenants@rugby.gov.uk to confirm your attendance and find out the start time and meeting place for your chosen walkabout.

Download the 2023 estate walkabout programme.