makes it right - Raven Housing Trust

June 2011
The newsletter for Raven Housing Trust residents
Eastenders star
makes it right
Parashoot - new tenancy
support service
**New!** Your local
neighbourhood news
You said, we did
The play, especially written for the group, was performed
after months of work by young people and social business
Holistic Harmonies, who worked in partnership with Raven
to run a series of workshops for young people in Redhill
including several Raven residents.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
What’s inside
2
6/7
11
Shane Ritchie, who plays Alfie Moon in BBC’s Eastenders,
visited the Harlequin Theatre, Redhill on 3 May to
support local young people appearing in “Make It Right”.
3
8
12
Changes to rent: your
questions answered
Homeowners News
Putting the
heart into art
4
9
Raven phone service
compares well
Sun energy for
Raven homes
5
10
Local offers: how are
we doing?
Summer activities for
young people
New look website! www.ravenht.org.uk
News
News
Raven responds
to government changes
Make it right
CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1
Later this year rents for new build homes will be linked
to the cost of renting that home in the private sector.
New government rules for grant money to build new
homes mean Raven will set the rent for new build homes
at 80% of the cost of renting that home privately.
Ritchie is patron of Holistic Harmonies
and was keen to show his support,
both on performance night and
beforehand, when he showed up to
rehearsals one weekend, working
with young people on a scene from
the play.
Ritchie seemed keen to hang around
after the performance and had his
photo taken with members of the
cast and the theatre group. He was
also keen to ensure he had plenty of
Eastenders fans present, quipping to
the audience ‘I hope you’re all taping
it right now’.
At the same time, many Raven homes that become
empty and available will be re-let at 65% of rent charged
in the private sector. We are calling these affordable rents.
If you rent a Raven home and stay there, the way we
set your rent will stay the same. This is known as a
social rent.
The workshops were funded by
Raven’s Community Investment
Committee fund. See p4 to find out
more about how you can use this fund
to improve your area.
Worried you might lose your home? Here’s Parashoot
A new tenancy support service for
East Surrey, Parashoot, is available
to people at risk of losing their
home and who need help with
claiming benefits, managing debts
and reaching other services.
The service, jointly run by Raven
and Prospect Housing and Support
Service, is for anyone living in East
Surrey, and is available to people in
both rented and private homes.
to your housing manager or local
council housing department, who
will be able to refer you. All details,
including the application form,
are available from
www.ravenht.org.uk/parashoot
Applicants must be referred and
assessed by their local council. If
you think you need support, speak
or call
News in brief
Tenant board member elections
This year, all residents will have the opportunity to vote
in the tenant board member elections. You will be able to
read about the skills and experience of all the candidates
which will help you to make an informed decision. Watch
out for the papers which will be included with the August
rent statement.
Manage money on the move
An iPhone app is now available to help you keep track
of direct debits, so that you you’re always up to date,
wherever you are. Direct debit is the easiest way to pay
your rent or service charges – why not set one up today?
Download the app for free from
www.thesmartwaytopay.co.uk
2
01737 272500 for a leaflet.
Raven’s insulation programme puts
borough second in south east
According to official figures, Reigate & Banstead Borough
Council are ranked second in the south east for the number
of homes insulated, largely thanks to Raven’s insulation
programme. Last year Raven insulated over 700 homes,
which should result in lower energy bills for residents.
Help set our annual budget
We had a phenomenal response to our budget setting
questionnaire at Christmas, with over 300 replies, and
we’d like your help again. Can you help Raven make
decisions about how next year’s budget is spent? We are
looking for residents to take part in a survey in July. This
would take around 30 minutes and is available by post,
email or by phone. You will get a report on the results of
the survey which will say how they have influenced the
new budget. To join in, contact Angela Ellis on 01737
272411 or email [email protected]
Raven Times | June 2011
01737 272400
If you rent a Raven home and choose to move to another
Raven home, the rent for your new home will be set at the
new affordable rent. There are a few exceptions – such as
if you are moving into a sheltered home or are downsizing
from a house.
Questions & Answers
If we are successful in getting the government grants we
have applied for, we hope to build around 190 homes
over the next four years. This is much less than in recent
years, comparing to 200 new homes we built or bought in
the last year alone. Some new homes will be for rent and
some sold under shared-ownership terms. If we don’t get
the grant Raven will still build new homes but we won’t
be able to build as many, and we will still need to review
rent levels.
We know residents think it’s important to
keep building new homes - you told us this
in our budget survey earlier this year. But, as
the government will no longer provide the same
financial support to build low-cost housing, we
have had to look at alternatives. We consulted
the Residents’ Federation on the proposals and
as a result made some changes to protect older
people and the most vulnerable.
Jonathan Higgs, Chief Executive
I am a Raven tenant. Will my rent increase?
You will only move to an ‘affordable rent’, linked to rents
charged in the private sector, if you move to another
Raven home.
properties are on a social rent then you will continue
to pay a social rent. If you swap with someone who
is paying an affordable rent, you would take on that
affordable rent.
What is the benefit of moving to a Raven home if the
rent is going up?
The rent on Raven’s homes will still be considerably
lower than a similar home in the same area that is rented
by a private landlord. And unlike private landlords,
Raven offers many additional services to individuals
and communities: benefits advice, youth services, local
neighbourhood wardens, with a customer service centre
that is available around the clock.
Which of the re-lets will be charged at affordable rents
and which ones at social rents?
Many homes that become available from later this year
will be let at rents which are 65% of the market rent
(ie the amount charged by private landlords for a similar
home in the same area). The exceptions are:
What happens to my housing benefit?
Eligibility for housing benefit doesn’t change. If you
move to a new home and are charged a different rent, the
amount you receive in housing benefit may change.
I want to move to a different Raven home.
How do I do that?
The process remains the same: apply through the
choice-based letting scheme run by your local authority.
However, your new home may be let at an affordable rent
rather than a social rent. If you downsize to a smaller
home from a house, we will guarantee that the rent on
your new smaller home will be at the social rent level as
we want to encourage people to move to smaller homes
to free up larger houses for people who need more space.
What if I do a mutual exchange with another social
housing resident?
If you decide to do a mutual exchange you will take on
the rent of the property you are exchanging to. If both
www.ravenht.org.uk
Raven Times | June 2011
• homes for older people in sheltered accommodation
• some homes reserved for people who are vulnerable
• homes where residents have moved to a smaller
home from a house.
This new development in Langley Green is
one of 200 homes Raven has built or bought
in the last year – which compares to the 190
homes proposed over the next four years with
the cut in government funding.
3
News
News
Local Offers – How are we doing?
At the time of going to press, it has only been eight weeks since we launched our new Local Offers booklet,
which sets out our promises to you about the service standards which you can expect. While we can’t report
back on our quarterly performance, we can provide interim figures for some of our promises.
Look out for a full report in the next issue of Raven Times and on our new website.
Raven phone
service compares well
No one likes to wait a long time for the phone to be
answered. Raven’s customer service team works hard
to answer your calls quickly so you are not hanging
on the line. We try to answer your call straight away
but sometimes we get too many calls to deal with
immediately.
People phoning Raven’s customer service team wait, on
average, 19 seconds. But how does this compare with
other organisations?
A recent issue of Which? magazine reported that people
had to wait much longer when calling their bank, utility
company or broadband provider.
According to Which?, the average wait time for
different providers was:
• 2mins 37 secs - broadband provider
• 1 mins 8 secs – utilities companies
• 1 min 56 secs - banks
The costs of calls varied too, from free to 35p a minute.
Calls to Raven are free if you use our freephone number
0800 289 255 or are charged at the local rate if you
call 01737 272400.
While we don’t want to keep you waiting, we don’t
want to rush you either. Our customer service team are
trained to answer all your queries, and are there to help.
If you want to call us, the busiest times for the centre are
Monday and Tuesday mornings up until 11am, so if you
want to have the best chance of not waiting at all for us
to answer, call us at other times.
Got an idea for your
community but need funding?
If you want a say in improvements
or projects which happen in your
neighbourhood, or have an idea but
need funding to get it off the ground,
then the Community Investment
Committee (CIC) could be right up
your street.
The CICs are a panel of residents just
like you who hold the purse strings
to a pot of £48,000. They get together
four times a year to consider proposals
4
which benefit Raven residents. There
are CICs in the North, South and
Central areas who are all on the look
out for new members. They also
welcome proposals from residents and
community groups.
As well as the “Make It Right”
performance at the Harlequin, previous
projects funded by CICs include:
• Merstham Christmas play with
Holistic Harmonies
• New sheds in various areas
including Delta House in Horley
• Planting new trees, hedges and
flowers all over the borough
• New washing and drying area at
Timperley Gardens
To join your local CIC or put forward
an idea to the panel, contact the
Community Involvement Team on
01737 272473 or email
[email protected]
Raven Times | June 2011
01737 272400
Our offer
Target
Our performance so far
Answer 85% of your calls within 20 seconds
85%
85.37%
Reply to letters and e-mails within 7 working days
95%
92.9%
Tell you what has changed as a result of your feedback
5 reported
outcomes per month
See page 11 for this issue
You Said, We Did report
Repairs emergency = we will 99%
make safe within 24 hours
where we cannot complete a full repair
Urgent = 7 working days
Routine = 28 working days
Raven
takes
action
to protect
residents
A moment in time at
Chiltern House
Chiltern House, Raven’s new affordable housing development
on Blackborough Road, Reigate was officially opened on 12
May. The attractive new homes are built on disused land
formerly used as the council’s maintenance and repairs depot.
behaviour have
Two cases of anti-social
d this spring. In
been successfully tackle
closely with police
Redhill, Raven worked
perty after drugs
to close a leasehold pro
n has now agreed
were found there. Rave
o lives elsewhere
with the leaseholder – wh
perty – that any
and was renting the pro
e Raven to ensure
future lettings will involv
t cause further
that new tenants do no
problems to local people.
injunction was
In Woodmansterne, an
n tenant’s partner
brought against a Rave
ily. The injunction
after he threatened a fam
in the area for a
means he is not allowed
ious nature
year and, due to the ser
cessfully evicted
of the threats, Raven suc
ent of rent and
the tenant for non-paym
behaviour.
continuous anti-social
www.ravenht.org.uk
Emergency = 99.7%
Urgent = 99.52%
Routine = 98.66%
To mark the occasion, a time capsule containing postcards
written by new residents and staff who used to work at the
depot was put together to be opened by future historians. One
key worker wrote: “I’m very happy here. I lived with my parents
before and it’s nice to finally have my independence!”
Raven Times | June 2011
5
In Your Area
In Your Area
Hurst Green
Royal wedding
celebrations
Residents had a great day celebrating
the Royal Wedding at a scheme
in Hurst Green. The whole day
was spent outside, playing games
with children, face painting and a
barbecue, and one resident put his
television in the window so everyone
could watch the royal wedding from
outside. Everyone took part, making
the day a memorable one.
Bid in for
planters
A proposal is being put forward
to create two vegetable growing
areas for residents at one temporary
accommodation scheme. Funding
bids are going to the Parish Council
and also the Community Investment
Committee. Watch this space…
Lingfield
Crawley
In April we opened the doors to our
new flats in Forge Close, Lingfield
– welcome to the new residents who
have moved in. Raven now has 31
homes in Lingfield and a total of 80
homes in Tandridge District.
Community
housing manager
Peter Norris spent
the first week of April
signing-up residents
for 12 new homes
in Walnut Lane and
Elder Close in Langley
Green, Crawley.
New homes
in Forge Close
Redhill
Langley Road sign ups
Each house benefits
from photo-voltaic
solar panels on the
roof (see our article on
page 9 for more
about these).
Cromwell
community garden
Young people applied to the Youth
Opportunities Fund for planters to grow
vegetables on a scrap piece of land by
the Salvation Army building. They were
successful in their bid for £4,700, which
they are using to develop the ground
and to run a 20-week healthy living
programme. They are now just waiting
for the Japanese knotweed to die before
beginning work…
The Gull family
outside their new home
omes
h
n
e
v
a
R
f
Location o
Preston
Join the Marbles
fishing group!
In the May half term, 120 Raven staff
and local residents got together to
improve the pond in Marbles Way.
We installed a new path and platform
and reinforced the banks.
We have also set up an angling group
for anyone who enjoys fishing or
would like to try it out. If you are
interested in this, or would just like
to join with others to help look after
the pond, contact Conrad Roskell
on 01737 272536
Banstead
Beacon School
consultation on
academy status
The Beacon School invites everyone with
children either at the school or who might
go there in future to give their views about
whether it should become an academy.
This would mean more money as funding
would come direct to them from the
government and they would also keep their
arts and media speciality. To find out more visit
www.thebeaconschool.co.uk/Academy_Status
Epsom
Dorking
Tadworth
Merstham
Horley
Crawley
Epsom, Ewell and District Cats Protection are offering free neutering
to older people and those on benefits in the KT17-23 and RH3-5
postcode areas. Cats can be neutered from four months old. Neutering
can help cats live longer, healthier lives as it can prevent certain
cancers and reduces straying and fighting. Call 0208 397 0375 or
visit www.cats.org.uk/epsom for more information.
Raven Times | June 2011
Banstead
Preston
Redhill
Help neutering your cat
6
We were inundated with helpers at
Grove, Ely and Waveney houses on
the Cromwell estate in April for our
community litter
pick. Thank
you to all for
your help.
Sutton
Dorking/Epsom/Tadworth
Marbles Way Pond
Litter pick
great success
01737 272400
Oxted
Hurst
Green
Lingfield
East
Grinstead
Haywards
Heath
Burgess
Hill
www.ravenht.org.uk
Brandon and Ruby Taylor and
Zahraan Rahman aka “J.J.”
Merstham
Hildenley Close planters
New planters at Hildenley Close,
Merstham, designed to prevent
large vehicles from driving over
the grass and so calm traffic,
have been put in. These were
jointly funded by Raven’s
housing management team
and the Central Community
Investment Committee.
Laxton Gardens
Following on from our residents’ consultation which was strongly in favour,
we have found funding to plant approximately 20 fruit trees on the grass
area by the car park. This will be done soon with residents and pupils from
Furzefield School as well as staff from Raven.
Raven Times | June 2011
7
Around Raven
Going Green
ews
Homeowners N
Sun energy
for Raven homes
You speak, we listen
The Homeowners Forum has worked to bring about changes to some of your services, including:
Evening estate inspections
Three trial evening inspections will happen this summer
Improved cleaning service
Changes to rotas and working methods, such as advertising schedules in blocks,
have increased satisfaction
Additional ways to pay
You can now make one single payment to cover different charges. Next year, we
will look at improving your ability to pay via our website
Improve how we consult you on
any work we do to your home
We will do this for our improvement programme this year, 2011-2012
Helping you to budget for the future
We will improve how we tell you about planned future work, so that you can
budget for the future. We will do this from Autumn 2011
Could you join the Forum?
Meetings take place every three months in the evening,
usually taking around two hours. At the last meeting,
the forum discussed their role and remit, anti-social
behaviour, fly tipping, the redesign of the website and
handbook, and parking. We need more volunteers, so if
you’re interested please get in touch.
Spare time for reading?
Do you have time to join our online reading group?
We need people with access to the internet who can
comment, via email, on documents we email to them.
These might range from the homeowners handbook to
a financial procedure or policy. If you are too busy at
the time it doesn’t matter but your opinion is valued
and can influence proposals for change that will be
placed before fellow homeowners at the Forum. To
find out more, email [email protected]
or call 01737 272400
April 2012
Contribution-based employment and support allowance
will be limited to twelve months for those in the workrelated activity group.
From 2013 there are a number of changes planned for
people of working age who receive welfare benefits:
People who claim disability living allowance will have to
have a medical assessment to determine whether they are
entitled to this benefit.
Universal credit is a new benefit for people of working
age which will replace a number of means-tested working
age benefits. The aim is to simplify the benefits system,
improve work incentives, make smooth transitions into and
out of work, and reduce in-work poverty, fraud and error.
People will be transferred onto universal credit from
8
How do PV panels work?
PV panels can be attached to roofs or walls. Each panel is
made up of cells, usually made from silicon. When light
shines on the cell it creates electricity; the stronger the
sun, the more electricity is produced.
Why install PV?
PV panels can help you:
• cut your carbon footprint: solar electricity is green,
renewable energy and doesn’t release any harmful
carbon dioxide (CO2) or other pollutants.
• cut your electricity bills: sunlight is free, so your
electricity costs will be reduced. A typical home PV
system can produce around 40% of the electricity a
household uses in a year but this will be less if the
system is installed on a communal area.
How will homes be chosen?
Factors we will consider will include the direction the
building is facing in (south facing is
best) and the size and condition
of the roofs.
We hope this will be the first of
many future installations over
the coming years.
Next forum meeting
The next forum meeting will be held in July – we have
asked you to choose the time and date, so please let us
know when suits you and keep an eye on the website
for details. We have now agreed that meetings will be
chaired by a homeowner member of the group, rather
than a Raven staff member.
Government
sets out welfare reforms
The government is proposing to make a number of
changes to welfare benefits that could affect Raven
residents:
Raven will install photovoltaic (PV) panels on a mix of
sheltered and other housing (flats and houses) during
2011 and 2012. This is thanks to a new government
grant, the Feed In Tariff, which helps organisations like
Raven fund installing PV panels to provide free electricity
to residents and money for Raven to pay back the cost of
the system.
2013. There will be a cap on the total amount of benefit
people can receive so that out-of-work households will
no longer get more in benefits than working households
get in average wages. The total welfare payments would
be limited to £500 per week for couples and £350 per
week for single person households. The cap won’t apply
to households getting disability living allowance, war
widows payments or working tax credit paid with child
tax credit.
Most people receiving universal credit will be responsible
for paying their rent to their landlord and payments would
no longer be paid direct to the landlord.
Child benefit will be withdrawn from families where one
or both claimants pay the higher rate of income tax.
There will be a limit on the amount of housing benefit
people of working age who are in social housing can claim
if their home is bigger than they need. This means that if
you are living in a home that is thought to be larger than
you need, you will have to pay more towards the rent.
Raven Times | June 2011
01737 272400
Calling
all greenies!
Eco-house website launched
ntal issues?
Interested in environme
three
to
up
We are looking for
our
in
ed
residents to be involv
ng
rti
environment group sta
this summer.
ery six weeks
The group will meet ev
attend every
to
but you do not need
ld at Raven
he
meeting. Meetings are
chtimes and
House in Redhill at lun
usually take an hour.
:
The environment group
ss project
• is a forum to discu
from
ideas and opportunities
ff
sta
Raven residents and
to support the
• acts as a resource
delivery of projects
on an
• provides an article
t for
jec
pro
l
environmenta
a year.
ce
on
Raven’s website
joining please
If you are interested in
nager Claire
contact environment ma
or email
Lipop on 01737 272550
.uk
org
ht.
claire.lipop@raven
www.ravenht.org.uk
Raven has launched an interactive website as part of its unique
Merstham eco-makeover. The website shows all the different
advanced green technologies installed in an ordinary home – by
clicking on an area of the building, you find out more about what
each technology does and how it makes savings for residents.
The eco-makeover transformed a three bedroom home into one
of the most environmentally efficient homes in the area and was
funded by the government’s Technology Strategy Board. Raven
is monitoring the progress of the technologies and the residents’
experiences.
For more about the project, including the residents’ blog which gives
an insight into their experiences
visit: www.ravenht.org.uk/ecohouse
Raven Times | June 2011
9
Resident Involvement
Resident Involvement
“Auntie Brenda’s
a wonderful person”
Brenda Foard from Tadworth has won a £50 shopping
voucher after she was nominated by her neighbour
Leanne Clifford for
just being there and being such
a wonderful person to me and
my children. Leanne Clifford
Leanne explains, “Brenda has been my neighbour for
almost nine years now and what a wonderful neighbour
E-panel vote for free training courses
she has been to me since day one. Although there is an
age gap of 20 odd years between us, a friendship has
blossomed over the years and not a single day goes by
without some form of contact. I have had a few trials and
tribulations over the years and Brenda has always shown
concern and made sure I have been ok, lending an ear
where possible or poking her head in with a smile. Many
loaves of bread, pints of milk and spoonfuls of sugar have
passed from one door to another. We have shared countless
nights and days chatting, laughing and eating together
and my children even call her ‘Auntie Brenda’!”
Raven Fledglings
Redhill youth club opens soon!
Redhill Youth Forum, launched in
February, meets regularly with young
people to discuss youth provision in
Redhill including creating the youth
management committee for the new
youth club. The club will open in
August between 7pm and 10pm on a
Friday and the venue is close to the
centre of town. We’ll send out further
information closer to the time.
Youth say, we do!
We are looking for young people to
steer our young people’s services.
What you say goes! You could have
your say in shaping our website,
rewriting our children and young
people’s strategy or deciding how
youth funding is spent in your area.
To find out more, contact Raven’s
youth inclusion coordinator Tash
Scully on 01737 272400 or email
[email protected]
Calling all junior wardens!
The new and improved Junior Wardens
schemes will start in all areas from
September and are open to young
people aged 8-11 years old. Ex-Junior
Wardens who are now the Junior
Youth Forum, have directly chosen
10
what is in the programme and a brand
new AQA unit has been written to
accredit your positive achievements.
We will be sending out personal
invites during the summer, but if you
are interested in becoming a Junior
Warden, please talk to Tash Scully or
your neighbourhood warden.
AQA presentation day:
summer 2011
Congratulations to the 40 young
people that have already completed
AQA units as part of their involvement
with Raven youth projects. We will
be holding a celebration event in
the summer for you to receive your
certificates. You will get personal
invitations soon if you have received
an award over the last year!
Young residents: get on the net!
Please visit our young resident pages
on our new website at
www.ravenht.org.uk/youth: find us
by clicking the pink heart “youth
activities” box on the homepage. There
you will find the most up-to-date
information, youth-specific news, easy
ways to contact Tash Scully and all
the activities we have run over the last
year and in the future including the
upcoming summer activities near you.
Summer activities:
what do you want?
We are looking for suggestions for
activity programmes over the
summer holidays.
So far we have
a number of
community
days in various
areas, the New
Heights project
at Timperley
Gardens,
fishing
projects at
Preston, and
more Cup Final
football sessions.
If you would like
something else
to be organised,
for example dance
sessions (like last
year), please email
in your suggestions to
[email protected].
Raven Times | June 2011
Since December we have sent out
three e-surveys and have had a
great response! £50 gift vouchers
go to prize draw winners Keith
Panton and Michael Gregory,
while Elizabeth West wins £100
gift vouchers for completing three
e-surveys in a row.
In February, our e-panel were asked
for their thoughts on receiving
a qualification or certificate for
volunteering to improve our services
or neighbourhoods. 50% voted in
favour so, based on this response, we
will look at developing this over the
coming year.
We also asked if they would be
interested in some free training to
help set our training programme
for 2011/12. The following courses
proved popular:
If you are interested in any of
these course please contact Natasha
Bonnick by 22 July - contact details
below. Please note that out of pocket
expenses will be covered.
• basic first aid, including first aid
for children and babies
• money management tips
• recycling and re-using energy
in the home
• assertiveness training
• arts and crafts
• gardening/ window box
gardening and,
• growing your own food and
herbs.
If you’re interested in joining the
e-panel, contact Natasha Bonnick on
[email protected].
You could win some gift vouchers
just for taking part, so don’t
miss out!
You said, we did
At Raven there are many different ways in which you can
give us feedback about the services we provide. We aim
to respond quickly to your suggestions about how we can
improve. In summer this year we will be publishing full
details of all of the changes which have come about as a
result of your feedback over the past year.
You said
We did
Raven’s young people from central Redhill told us
that there is very little for them to do.
Raven has been working as part of a group with the police,
other landlords and the council to set up a youth club for
Redhill. The club will be launched in early August - see p10
for more details.
We now ensure that our tradesmen who attend out of hours
call outs report back ALL follow on works and ensure
these follow on works are raised and that resident are kept
informed.
We bought a shed using funds for environmental
improvements and our neighbourhood warden installed it.
We have received a number of complaints from
residents who have been affected by flooding from
neighbouring flats.
Residents in Salisbury Road, Banstead wanted a shed
so that a resident who did gardening could maintain
(and improve) the communal gardens.
Residents at Cromwell estate in Redhill were
dissatisfied with their children’s play area.
Residents were unhappy with not being given a
definite time slot for their fencing repair.
01737 272400
If you would like to have your say and influence
the decisions which are made about your home
and neighbourhood, please contact the Community
Involvement team on 01737 272473 or e-mail
[email protected]
www.ravenht.org.uk
Raven Times | June 2011
A new slide has been installed in the play area using
funding from the Community Investment Committee and
Raven’s environmental budget.
We have reviewed how we manage our fences and all
fencing jobs will be given an appointment. Priority will
depend on the nature of the work and whether it has health
and safety issues.
11
Around Raven
Putting the
heart into art
Raven is delighted to support James
Varney, a resident from South Park, to
continue his voluntary work with the
Portland House art club in Merstham
by paying expenses. The WEA
(Workers’ Education Association) had
to pull out of running the club due to
lack of funding and Mr Varney was
able to step into the breach, helping
residents develop their artistic skills.
iary
Dates For Your D
At Douglas House, Horley, the WEA
have worked with residents for the
last year on a mosaic, including
finding old pottery and breaking it
up to use.
This is now
mounted
on one of
the outside
walls.
North
Neighbourhood Panel
Central
Neighbourhood Panel
14 July 2011, 7pm-9pm
20 July 2011 7pm
Venue: Merland Rise Church,
Merland Rise, Tadworth KT20.
Venue: Portland House, Portland
Drive, Merstham
Next meeting: 27 October 2011,
7pm-9pm. Banstead Day centre
Next meeting: 27 October 2011,
7pm, Raven House
South
Neighbourhood Panel
Estate inspection
To be relaunched. We’ll write to
residents when we have a date, but
keep an eye out on our website.
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Return this form to Communications at the address below.
Raven House,
29 Linkfield Lane,
Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1SS
Editor: Susan Lea
Telephone: 01737 272 400
Website: www.ravenht.org.uk
A charitable Industrial and
Provident Society
Registration number 30070R