Issue 24 April 2006

I s sue 24 - Ap r i l 2006

Chr i s tmas 2005 P6 Fe r r y goe s l i v e ! P11 B BC B i g Cha l l enge P13Un i t y Fam i l i e s P4

Luminus welcomes the Ferry ProjectCa r l a nd S a l l y C r aw f o r d w i t h G r oup Ch i e f E x e cu t i v e , Chan Ab r aham

Welcome

Page 3: Group Chief Executive's Message

Page 4: Transforming Unity Homes Stilton & Yaxley building up

Page 5: State of the art in Glenariff Replacement Kitchens

Page 6: Tenant Meetings Disability Panel Carols for Christmas

Page 7: Working with tenants

Pages 8 & 9: Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment Garage Improvements Summer Pests

Page 10: News Bites

Page 11: Ferry Project

Page 12: Spotlight Personality Wardens on the Move

Page 13: BBC Big Challenge New website to go live Page 14: Grants from Luminus

Page 15: Out & About in St Neots Kids Spot the Difference

Page 16: Useful contacts

In this edition...

Page 2

We've improved our Complaints Resolution ProcessMaking Life Simpler The existing Complaints Resolution Process consisting of three stages has been in use since 2000. This has now been improved into a simpler, two stage process. The majority of complaints are resolved at Stage one, so it makes sense to combine Stages two and three and in doing so offer complainants the option of either having their complaint reviewed by a Group Director or to have a personal hearing with the Group Chief Executive and a non-executive Board member. The new process is:

Stage one - an investigation by a staff member in the Strategic Services Group

Stage two - a review by a Group Director or the offer of a personal hearing with the Group Chief Executive and a non-executive Board member If someone is still dissatisfied after this, they can talk to the Housing Ombudsman Service.

Now I’ve tried Luminus, I’ll never use another brand

again!

Welcome

CHAN ABRAHAMGROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Page 3

Demonstrating a

more excellent way

of doing business

Chan Abraham, Group Chief Executive, shares about the value of our employees in our success.

As I write to you, I am delighted to announce that Luminus has just won the Gold Award for 2006 from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for our excellent record in Health & Safety, both for our employees as well as for all our customers.

This is good news as we enter our seventh year of “working with communities and building in excellence”. I believe it is fair to say that Luminus is recognised as a reliable and stable force in the communities in which we work – a reputation we want to maintain, while seeking continuing improvement.

None of this would be possible without the commitment of our employees. Each month I receive many compliments about the good work they do – and these far outweigh any negative comments. Our customers tell us they appreciate our prompt and friendly service and our staff being willing to “go the extra mile”.

We are seeking to improve on this good record and we want to hear your ideas about how we can do this. Please feel free to write to me personally and I will ensure that each letter receives a reply. With your help, we will continue on our journey of success, bringing benefit to all our customers.

With kind regards

★ RoSPA Occupational Health & Safety Gold Award 2006

★ BBC Big Challenge Health Works Award 2006

★ Sustainable Communities

Sustainable Construction Finalist 2006

★ NHF iNbiz Performance Award Finalist 2005

★ ODPM National Wardens Diversity Award 2005

★ UK Housing Awards Finalist 2005

★ Housing Excellence Awards Social Landlord of the Year Finalist 2005

★ ODPM National Wardens Team Award Finalist 2005

★ National Business Awards Employer of the Year Finalist 2005

★ National Business Awards Health & Safety Finalist 2005

★ RoSPA Occupational Health & Safety Gold Award 2005

★ i2 Award for Inspiring Employee Commitment 2004

★ National Home Improvement Council Award for

Best Value in Windows 2003

★ Neighbourhood Renewal Unit Wardens

Award 2001

Tried & Tested. . .and continuously improving

TransformingUnity HomesThe Unity Project is now complete. The project involved upgrading 29 homes in Hilsdens Drive and Anderson Crescent, Godmanchester. The homes include new brickwork, fascias, windows and doors as well as new kitchens, bathrooms and boilers. Works commenced by The Breyer Group from Essex in October 2004. The £1.5 million project was completed in December 2005.

Affordable homes in Stilton Two new affordable homes in Stilton are now complete and occupied by very happy tenants. The homes were designed very much in keeping with the existing buildings and provide modern standards of insulation and environmental awareness. These homes were built on the site of redundant garages and an important task was to provide parking for local residents. The end result is a high quality development that fits into the local street scene and provides much needed affordable homes.

Yaxley Phase 1

Roofs are on the first 26 homes, with the first block of six flats well underway with kitchens, bathrooms and central heating

already installed. The majority of the flats, bungalows and houses now have doors and windows fitted.

External works are progressing fast,

several gardens have top soil and car parking bays are set out with road kerbs and hardcore bases.

The second phase of 29 dwellings has five houses with roof trusses

complete and all other houses have their brick walls rapidly rising

out of the ground. St

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AfterBefore

Glenariff designed for the future • Q

uality Kitchens

Page 5

Quality Kitchens for Cambridge TenantsWe provide high quality kitchen replacements for our tenants and we are delighted to be able to do this in Cambridge. In 2006-07 we will fit 52 kitchens for Cambridge City Council tenants.

Our own in-house team will be carrying out the work with the help of our preferred contractors, who will be carrying out the electric and gas works.

The contract will be carried out in partnership with Cambridge City Council who will be supplying materials to their specification.

We hope this is just the start of our relationship with Cambridge City Council and look forward to working closely with them on other projects in the future.

This scheme of 13 bungalows and five flats is a development of high quality homes with older members of the community very much at the centre of the strategy. The previous outdated sheltered scheme needed to be replaced. The scheme is set out in a ‘cul-de-sac’ arrangement designed to be very much in keeping with the surrounding conservation area. The design also incorporates some state-of-the-art technology including solar panels, wireless warden call system, secure car parking and high efficiency heating systems. The secure environment created makes residents feel safe whilst not excluding them from the rest of the local community.

'State of the art' in Glenariff

Happy tenants in their new kitchens

The Disability Advisory Panel met at Brook House on Friday 10 March 2006. The subject for discussion, which was “Security in the Home”, was agreed by the tenants at the previous meeting. 22 tenants from all over the district had a discussion and suggested ways to make people feel safer in their homes. Areas covered included the style of door chains currently used, promoting safety and security in the home and information on where to get security advice and products. Officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary showed a light hearted pantomime style video called “Little Red Riding Boot”, which highlighted distraction burglary and the STOP-CHAIN-CHECK theme. We will publish in future issues of Luminus News further updates on how we will be acting upon the useful suggestions made by the DAP at the meeting. If you are interested in joining this group, please call Tracey Slater, Tenant Involvement Officer on 01480 428541 or by email to [email protected].

Luminus Group opened its doors on 20 December 2005 for its annual Carols for Christmas event. Local dignitaries, tenants, children and Luminus employees came together, filling Brook House with festive songs and nativity readings. Mrs Vessey of Sawtry attended and said, “It was a thoroughly enjoyable affair and there was a nice feeling of 'Bon Amie' throughout. The musical entertainment was a joy to listen to”. Watford-based music group Face2Face led the singing with beautiful string and piano accompaniment. Readings were given by visiting guests including Vice-Chairman of Huntingdonshire District Council, Cllr Peter Bucknell; Chairman, Cambridge City Council, Cllr Mrs Susan Normington; Mayor of Huntingdon, Cllr Helen Mallett; Mayor of Godmanchester, Cllr Richard Butcher; Luminus Group non-executive Board members and BBC Look East Presenter, James Blatch, who read a Christmas poem.

Tenants Conference 2006

Saturday 15 July

Further details to be confirmed in due course

Area Association Meeting & New Tenants Conference 2006Please put these dates in your diary

Area Association

Thursday 2 November

12.30pm – 2.30pm

7.00pm – 9.00pm

Brook House, Huntingdon

If you would like free transport to and from these meetings, please contact us on 01480 428541Page 6

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Disability Advisory Panel (DAP)

Carols for Christmas 2005

We have been working closely with tenants to review our repairs service. During November and

December 2005 we met with different groups of tenants to identify how the repairs service works and ways to improve it. Tenants' comments were very favourable about the standard of service provided and the high levels of customer care shown by staff throughout the repairs reporting process. Some people did comment that a few external contractors were not showing the same level of commitment as Luminus’ tradesmen and we will be working with all contractors we use to improve the service delivered. Two groups have been established in agreement with tenants called the Tenant Services Assessment Group (TSAG) and the Best Value Review Panel (BVRP). TSAG are engaged in a number of activities to assess the repairs service, including mystery shopping, quizzing managers and by carrying out a review of best practice from elsewhere in the UK. The latest TSAG meeting received feedback on the results of the recent survey on our proposed appointment system for repairs. The results are detailed in this edition of Luminus News and show an overwhelming support for such a system being introduced. Our Best Value Review Panel (BVRP) met in December, looked at tenants' comments about repairs and prioritised them in order of importance. These are now being considered by the service managers and at a future meeting of the BVRP, feedback will be given on progress.

Repairs Service • Repairs Service • Repairs Service

Page 7

Working with Tenants to review the repairs service

Would you like to be offered an appointment at the time you request a repair to your home?

Is it acceptable not to give an appointment for work to the outside of your home?

94.7%

5.3%YES NO YES NO

83.7%

16.3%

Our Tenant Involvement Officer, Tracey Slater, has been working with colleagues to carry out an annual ‘health check’ of our Tenant Involvement Strategy. What is the Impact Assessment?The ‘Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment’ will help us find out how effective our current arrangements are for involving tenants in our decision making process and how our services are managed. What did we find out during the Impact Assessment?Based on the information given to us by customers during the process in 2005 and 2006, we have learned that: ✔ Luminus Group encourages people to get involved and provides support

✔ People enjoy getting involved in our activities and are able to do so at the highest level, including Board membership

✔ People who want to get involved, but do not want to join activities which require a great deal of input, enjoy a lower level of involvement

✔ We manage formal complaints effectively and within stated timescales

✔ We provide information in a range of formats which cater to people’s needs

➤ We could do more to publicise the different activities on offer and what they involve

➤ We could provide more information on how their involvement has influenced the services we provide

➤ Although tenants are aware of tenant participation, we could do more to promote the wide range of activities they can get involved in How will this year’s Impact Assessment change the way we manage our tenant involvement activities? ◆ We will promote our activities widely and provide clear information on what is involved in each of them. We will look for new and innovative ways to communicate this information so that it appeals to different people. ◆ We will provide more feedback to customers on how tenant involvement activities have influenced the way we deliver services. This will include giving information on how we deal

with the responses given in our customer surveys. ◆ We will look at how we manage our meetings with tenants and leaseholders to make sure people can participate more actively. If you would like more information about our tenant involvement activities, please call Tracey Slater, Tenant Involvement Officer on 01480 428541 or email [email protected]

Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment

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After discussions with tenants on the Design Review Group, we are pleased to tell you how their meetings have made a difference to our recent garage re-roofing programme.In 2005 as part of our planned maintenance programme, Luminus Group planned to re-roof 136 garages across Great Stukeley, Alwalton, Huntingdon, Alconbury, Houghton, Ramsey and Earith.

The Design Review GroupThe Group helped us work towards continuous improvement in service quality and increased customer satisfaction with work carried out on properties. The Group is made up of tenants and leaseholders who wish to get involved. Group members give their opinion on who should carry out the work and the most suitable fixtures and fittings for use in planned maintenance contracts.

The Garage Improvements ContractThe first stage was for us to identify which of our approved contractors fitted the requirements. We requested quotations from three of the companies and invited them to Brook House to make a presentation showing the Group their proposals for carrying out the re-roofing work.

The Design Review Group MeetingThe meeting was held on the 23 August 2005. Two of the three contractors attended and both explained how they would carry out the work and how much they would charge if they won the contract.

Decision TimeThe Group unanimously agreed that M.R.C. Ltd should be awarded the year long contract, based on their presentation, quotation and approach to customer service.

How the Design Review Group helped us make a differenceThe contract is now almost complete with another 50 garages being improved over the forthcoming months. The contract has been a great success as the photos show!

Garage Im

provements • Sum

mer Pests

Page 9

Design Review Group

influences garage improvements

Summer Pests Insects – they aren’t all bad

Insects arrive with the summer and may interfere with the enjoyment of your home.

If wasps or bumble bees build nests in the structure of your home, contact Luminus for assistance. For all other pest enquiries please contact Huntingdonshire District Council's pest control team on 01480 388319.

AfterBefore

Taking Care to Avoid Distraction BurglariesWhat is distraction burglary?

Any crime where a falsehood, trick or distraction is used on an occupant of a dwelling to gain, or try to gain, access to the premises to commit burglary.Home Office Counting Rules For Recorded Crime (28.2) If you want to protect yourself from a distraction burglary we recommend you follow the following rules:

1) LOCK - Keep your front and back door locked, even when you are at home.

2) STOP - Before you answer, stop and think if you are expecting anyone. Check that you have locked any back door and taken the key out. Look through the spyhole or window to see who it is.

3) CHAIN - If you decide to open the door, put the door chain or bar on first.

4) CHECK - Check ID details thoroughly before letting anyone into your home. Do not agree to any work being done or sign a contract until after you have talked to someone. If you want further information on how to prevent distraction burglaries, book your FREE place on the Distraction Burglary Roadshow Workshop. The workshop is being held on Wednesday 24 May at Burgess Hall in St Ives.To book your place call Angie Walter, St Ives Police Station on 01480 422957.

Planning an Easter Event?Are you planning any Easter events such as an Easter Egg Hunt or Easter Bonnet Competition? If so please send us your pictures to:

Luminus News, Brook House, Ouse WalkHuntingdon PE29 3QW

Supported housing helpOak Foundation has been working in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council to provide high quality supported housing to people with learning disabilities. So far we have helped house 15 people throughout Huntingdonshire and Fenland with discussions taking place for a further nine.

Meet the Birds

Residents of Windsor Court, Somersham,enjoyed a visit from some birds of prey from the Raptor Foundation on Wednesday 29 March. An exciting time was had by all.

New

s Bi

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Marking their partnership with Luminus Group, the Ferry Project’s offices at Wisbech formally

opened on Friday 13 January 2006. The Ferry Project provides much-needed accommodation for homeless people in the Fenland area and has been operating for seven years. It welcomes the opportunity of working with Luminus Group to secure a hopeful future in providing homes and skills training for single homeless people. Currently the Project houses 62 homeless people and with the new partnership hopes to house even more. As well as offering an accommodation service, the Ferry Project also gives support for homeless people wanting help to get back into society. There are also three social enterprises with a small farm “Ferry Project Farming”, a furniture project “Ferry Project Sofa” and a new craft scheme to give residents an opportunity to get involved in the basics of living.

Ferry Project’s SOFA (Shifting Old Furniture Around) operates from a converted factory in March.SOFA is a furniture and household items re-use project, whose aim is to receive items, clean, restore them and sell them (in a good quality condition) to members of the public at an affordable price. Items are sourced from individuals disposing of unwanted items or from house clearances. If you have any unwanted items that you would like to donate, please call SOFA on 01945 467596.

Luminus opens Ferry Project's Wisbech offices

SOFA so good

Ferry Project • SOFA

• Ferry Project • SOFA

Page 11

Tara and Jodie of the Ferry Project

Success story! Carl and Sally Crawford met as residents of the Ferry Project and are now married and working for the Project.

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Huntingdonshire District Council is leading on a new build project as part of the Sapley Square redevelopment on the Oxmoor. They have built a new Shopping Centre with community facilities to replace the old shops. In addition, they have been working with the local Primary Care Trust to build a new Health Centre. We currently have two Neighbourhood Wardens based in the existing offices along with the Oxmoor Opportunities staff and Police. It is intended to relocate all of these staff to the new building once it is completed. The latest completion date we have been given is the end of April 2006.

Garages are allocated

on a first come first served basis.

Meet...

Oxmoor Neighbourhood Wardens on the Move

Garages to rent

AlconburyAlwaltonBramptonColneEaton SoconEllingtonEynesburyFarcetGodmanchesterGreat Paxton

HoughtonHuntingdonNeedingworthOfford DarcyRamseySomershamSt IvesSt NeotsWarboys

We currently have garages available in the following towns / villages:

Luminus Website update

Michael ThayneCustomer Relations Manager

Michael has been with Luminus Group since November 2002. His team of 14 customer service professionals delivers repair request and reception services to an average of 6000 telephone callers and 1500 visitors per month. Surveys carried out informed us that the majority of customers are highly satisfied with the service they receive.

Commenting on the service, Michael said, ‘I am rightly proud that my team answers over 90% of calls within 10 seconds, which is well above what many call centres manage to achieve. However, I know the challenge is to continue to improve and adapt our services to meet the needs of our customers’.

As of April 2006 Michael will undertake the added responsibility of managing customer relations for Luminus Group. When asked to comment on the new role, he said, ‘It’s a really exciting challenge; great and successful relations between an organisation and its customers are paramount to its success’.

He added, ‘I see myself as a champion of the customers’ cause and envisage working very closely with customers to ensure we can match Luminus Group’s aspiration to deliver excellence right across the customer facing services we provide’.

‘Equally, I see myself working closely with our customer facing staff because Luminus Group needs to understand what staff require to enable them to deliver an excellent service to our customers’.

Michael will be communicating his actions and progress through future editions of Luminus News, so keep an eye out for his articles.

Daren James

Lisa Harris

Exciting News!!

Luminus’ new and improved website is now live.

Please click online and view www.luminus.org.uk

Luminus has been successful in winning the Most Improved Employer and Unsung Hero awards in the BBC’s Big Challenge Award for the Cambridgeshire region.Steve Riches from BBC Radio Cambridgeshire visited Brook House to present the Awards which were won thanks to the hard work of Angela Hamilton, Special Projects Officer and Simone Russell, Regulation and Service Review Manager who set-up and run a Lite Lunch club for Luminus employees, which promotes healthy living to its club members. Chan Abraham, Group Chief Executive presented Angela and Simone with health spa vouchers to congratulate and thank them for their successful contribution in winning the awards.

Garages to rent

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Page 13

Luminus wins BBC Award for Healthy Workplaces

Luminus Website update

Steve Riches, BBC

Prizes for Angela and Simone

Some Luminus Lite Lunch Club

members

Wyton on the Hill Community Association

Hilary Lodge Communal Group

Ashton House Social Fund

Mellors Court Social Fund

Thongsley Community Association

The Close Social Club

Medway Social Club

Holme Village Hall Youth Group

Windsor Court Communal Fund

Huntingdonshire Community Church

Mill House Residents Association

Children of Upwood Playscheme

St John’s Little Learners

Cromwell Square Residents Association

Oxmoor Community Action Group

Eynesbury Community Association

Crown Gardens Social Fund

Norfolk Road Residents Association

Friends of Somersham Library

Langley Close Community Fund

Lions Cross House

Somersham Carnival

GO4IT

Luminus Group is committed to supporting

and working closely with

tenants, residents and community

groups that meet our criteria of equal

opportunities and work to benefit the communities they live in. We offer financial support to groups of up to £200 per year towards

costs for items such as local newsletters, meeting costs, publicity materials and general committee expenditure. These grants cannot be

used for any personal expenditure or for anything that doesn’t benefit the development of the group. We also offer support with training in

basic meeting and committee skills, producing a newsletter and how to set up new resident/tenant groups. We can provide training in writing

constitutions, putting together basic accounting systems and producing publicity materials such as posters, leaflets, meeting agendas, minutes and

reports.

In 2005-06 Luminus awarded 24 grants to local community and resident groups. These grants were used to help produce community newsletters, contribute towards community fun days, purchase equipment for youth clubs, committee/meeting running costs, activities for older residents and for purchasing gardening tools and materials.

The grant stream for 2006-07 will be open for applications from the 1 April 2006. For further information and a grant application pack please contact Patrick Brown, Community Development Manager on 01480 428575.The following groups received funding from us in the past year: G

ran

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Grants paid out

Out & About inOut & About inSt. Neots

The busy market town of St Neots lies on the banks of the River Great Ouse and is the largest town in Cambridgeshire with a population of 30,000 residents. Located on the A1 between Bedford (14 miles) and Cambridge (16 miles) it is often described as the “crossroads of East Anglia”. Its location on the main rail route from London to Edinburgh has led to rapid residential growth and flourishing industries. St Neots offers a variety of features to both residents and visitors, with large open spaces, recreational facilities, markets and high street shops. It is a popular venue for a number of annual events including a music and arts fair in May and a carnival in August. Tony Morgan is our Neighbourhood Warden for St Neots and he works closely with the local community, creating, promoting and sustaining a cleaner and safer environment for all. If you require further information about St Neots, please visit www.stneots-tc.gov.uk

See if you can spot the TEN differences in the two pictures below. The correct answer will win a £10 voucher. Last month Mr D Cordey of Saunders Close won £10 for correctly guessing all 10 differences.

Please mark the 10 differences on the right and send the completed entry to: The Editor, Luminus News, Brook House, Ouse Walk, Huntingdon, PE29 3QW

* For children aged 12 and under

Kids* Spot the Difference for £10Wyton on the Hill Community Association

Hilary Lodge Communal Group

Ashton House Social Fund

Mellors Court Social Fund

Thongsley Community Association

The Close Social Club

Medway Social Club

Holme Village Hall Youth Group

Windsor Court Communal Fund

Huntingdonshire Community Church

Mill House Residents Association

Children of Upwood Playscheme

St John’s Little Learners

Cromwell Square Residents Association

Oxmoor Community Action Group

Eynesbury Community Association

Crown Gardens Social Fund

Norfolk Road Residents Association

Friends of Somersham Library

Langley Close Community Fund

Lions Cross House

Somersham Carnival

GO4IT

Original Spot the 10 Differences

Page 15

If you have any comments or would like Luminus News in large print or as an audio cassette, please contact Kelly Linay on 01480 428707 for more information.

Published by Luminus Group • Registered Office Brook House,

Ouse Walk, Huntingdon, PE29 3QW

Tel No: 01480 428777 • Fax No: 01480 428555

E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.luminus.org.uk Designed by Prototype Design 01923 333888

✆

For help to understand this newsletter please ring 01480 428721

General tenancy enquiries concerning mutual exchanges, changes to tenancies, garden maintenance, service charges, lettings, boundaries, anti-social behaviour, tenancy disputes and Neighbourhood Wardens.

01480 428777General Enquiries (Luminus Group Services)

01480 428333Service Centre

01480 428522Revenues

01480 428521Benefits Advice - Sue Cargill

Between 9.00 am - 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday 9.00 am - 5.00 pm and Fridays 9.00 am - 4.30 pm.

For reporting all repairs.

Emergencies: where a vital service has broken down and is likely to cause risk to you, your family or neighbours, your home or your belongings. This will be made safe within 24 hours.

Enquiries about your rent account.

01480 428531Tenant Liaison Officer - Linda Bevens

01480 428541Tenant Involvement Officer - Tracey Slater

Advice about housing benefit and other benefits.

Enquiries about improvement work being done in your home.

Information about how you can become involved with Luminus Group.

Emergency repairs include: • Gas & Central Heating problems (DO NOT ring the contractors direct) • Total loss of water supply • Major water leak (which is causing a flood) • Toilet blockage or toilet not flushing (where there is no alternative toilet in use) • Blocked flue to a boiler or open fire • Total loss of electric power

01480 428588Neighbourhood Services