News for Tenants and Leaseholders

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News for Tenants and Leaseholders


Ventilate your home to help prevent the spread of coronavirus

Ventilation

 

It is important to ventilate your home when you have visitors from outside your household, including family, or if someone in your household has COVID-19.

 

Letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove air that contains virus particles and prevent the spread of the virus.

 

Ventilation is important if someone in your household has COVID-19 or if you are indoors with people you do not live with.  You can pass COVID-19 on to others if you only have mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all.

 

Click here for useful tips on how to ventilate your home.


Energy support is on hand for those who need it

If anyone is having difficulty heating their home they may be able to claim financial and practical help – even if they do not own the property. 

 

Simple Energy Advice is an organisation that provides information about the help that is available, including information on energy savings and financial assistance.  They are also available by telephone on their free helpline 0800 444 202. 

 

The energy regulator Ofgem is another source of information.  Visit their website for information on what to do if you are struggling to pay your energy supplier.

 

Depending on individual circumstances and other criteria, residents may also be eligible for support with energy bills:

Anyone in financial distress during this time should talk to their energy supplier, who will be able to discuss personal circumstances and consider options to help, including reassessing, reducing or pausing payments.

 


Help Available for community groups

How do community groups get help with funding?

How do good ideas turn into action?

How do you help your group find new members and grow?

The answer to all of these questions is to contact Exeter Connect!

 

Exeter Connect is a voluntary and community sector support service that can help with all these questions. They provide support and advice to help community groups in Exeter develop and become self-sustaining. Whatever stage the group or idea is at, they can offer free one-to-one mentoring and advice.

 

Exeter Connect run regular training workshops and discussion groups to develop skills and confidence, host a number of local networks, champion greater connectivity and peer support between groups and residents, and celebrate the achievements of community and charitable action in Exeter.

 

For support queries or to sign up to their monthly newsletter, email info@exeterconnect.org.uk.

 

Check out their website to find out more www.exeterconnect.org

 


Introduction to the Council Housing & Development Advisory Board 

A new board has been created to provide an oversight of our Housing Services

 

The Council Housing & Development Advisory Board was established in 2020 and is made up of Councillors and external housing industry experts. Those on the Board come from a range of specialist backgrounds, and they bring with them a broad and diverse range of expertise to the group.

 

The Board meets quarterly to lend their expertise to the planning of housing budgets, development of new homes and the delivery of the housing management service. It considers the challenges faced by social housing, shares examples of good practice within the sector and reviews and make recommendations in relation to performance and compliance with health and safety regulations.

 

The meeting is chaired by Councillor Rob Hannaford. Other Councillors on this board are Cllr Laura Wright (Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Council Housing Development and Services), Cllr Diana Moore and Cllr Tony Wardle and Cllr Hannah Packham.

 

Cllr Rob Hannaford said: The board considers, reviews, scrutinises and offers advice on issues relating to Exeter City Councils housing stock, tenancy services, and asset management. This includes the development, improvement, maintenance and management of the councils houses that provide homes for thousands of local people.”

 

“Overall we operate with a view to assisting and contributing to the effective provision and delivery of housing services activities, whilst taking a strategic perspective. We seek to question, test and probe the policies and strategies adopted by the housing services department, assess the implications if these are adopted, and also monitor general delivery, best practice, concerns and issues. We are very keen to work with other social and affordable housing providers, contractors, tenants and leaseholders to ensure that we also have an outward looking curious board that hears the voices of the people we seek to serve.” 

 

The Board includes tenant Debbie Croxford, whose position is to represent the tenants of Exeter City Council. Debbie has been a City Council tenant for the last 19 years and worked with the City Council as a member of the Performance Scrutiny Partnership (PSP) as well as being involved in the Resident Involvement Focus Groups.

 

Debbie said: As a disabled tenant, I am interested in working to find mutual strategies to improve the living conditions of tenants and leaseholders. I am always looking for situations where I can be the voice of the tenant, and where I can challenge Exeter City Council on how they run their services.” 

 


Water water everywhere...

How much water we use and what we flush into our sewers has a big impact on our environment.  Despite the famous British weather, water is scarce and the UK has less water available per person than most other European countries.

 

The water supplied to our homes accounts for over 50% of all the water used. A leaky loo can waste up to 400 litres a day, that’s 5 full bath tubs! A dripping tap can waste around 5,500 litres of water a year.  

 

Whatever water we use inevitably finds its way to our sewer systems. Sadly, thousands of wet wipes and similar products are flushed down the loo in the UK every day. Wet wipes easily build up in sewer pipes and are one of the main causes of blockages. Every year, South West Water deals with around 8,500 blockages caused by wet wipes being flushed down the loo. Clearing these blockages costs about £4.5 million a year which adds to the cost of domestic water bills.

 

Our Housing Services spend over £5,000 a year in servicing sewage pumps, and a major proportion of this cost is the removal of blockages cause by wet wipes.  Some manufactures claim their sanitary products are ’flushable’ or ’biodegradable’, however, they still cause blockages and shouldn’t be flushed away.

 

Sewage systems are designed to cope with a certain amount of water during periods of heavy rain but due to the amount of blockages there is an even higher risk of flooding with raw sewage spilling out of overflows into rivers. This can have a devastating effect on the environment, homes and businesses. Along with the sewage, the wet wipes are released into the rivers and eventually make their way to the ocean. Predominately made of plastic, these wipes breakdown into smaller microfibers which are ingested by wildlife. The fibres can build up in the stomachs of wild animals which often leads to starvation. 

 

The smallest of leaks from a toilet or a dripping tap will waste a lot of water over time.  If you are an Exeter City Council tenant with a dripping tap or a leaky loo in your home, no matter how small it may be, you should report it to our Housing Repairs team. Most repairs on such leaks are quick and easy to complete with little disruption to the householder. If you do use wet wipes you should dispose of them in your bin. Simple acts like these will help save money on water bills and reduce the impact on the environment and climate change.  

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This email was sent to Citizen by: Exeter City Council • General Enquiries Civic Centre, EX1 1IN • 01392 277888