With the recent General Election, it is timely for me to touch upon the importance of being given the opportunity to have a say. At Cottsway, our customers’ views help to define the way we work and shape our services.
From more formal customer involvement in scrutinising and procuring services, through to feedback we receive on a day-to-day basis, we listen to every voice.
We have now reported our first set of annual Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) to the Regulator of Social Housing. The Regulator will publish these in the autumn alongside those from other social housing landlords across the country, so that customers can compare performance on a like-for-like basis.
However, we are keen for you to have access to these results now, so we have included these below. We already compare ourselves to similar-sized housing associations and I am pleased to report that we are in the upper or median quartile for most measures, illustrating high satisfaction and performance.
As I’m focussing on how you can give your views, it’s important that you are aware of how to get in touch if you have something – good or bad – to tell us about our services. You can give us your feedback online via our website or email, by phone, social media or by letter or in person to one of our members of staff – our contact details are included in the newsletter and you find out more on our website.
Additional new Consumer Standards came into force in April setting out a raft of requirements for social housing landlords to meet. These cover safe and quality homes, transparency, influence and accountability to our customers, as well as neighbourhood, community and tenancy standards.
We welcome these and have already carried out a self-assessment to review how we are performing against the Code of Practice set out by the Regulator and will continue to work to ensure we are meeting all requirements. All housing associations will be inspected against these standards every four years. We are yet to undergo our first inspection and we will keep you informed once this has happened. For more details about the new standards, see: Regulatory standards for landlords
I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer and we’ll be in touch again with ‘Homepage’ – dare I say it – before Christmas. Please do contact us if you need to.
Richard Reynolds - Acting Chief Executive
TENANT SATISFACTION MEASURES 2023-24
The following annual results are from surveys carried among customers by independent market research agency Acuity:
We are also required to submit information about the work we do to ensure homes are kept in decent, safe repair. 100% of the safety checks we’re required to do were carried out during 2023-43.
Under 67 and receive Housing Benefit? Look out for your letter from the Government
It’s important that you’re aware that Housing Benefit is going to be phased out and Universal Credit (UC) will take its place. If you haven’t already, you’ll receive a letter from the Government explaining how to submit your claim.
Your letter will tell you what action you need to take and it’s very important that you wait until you’ve received this from the Government before making a claim. You will need various documents to support your application, including details of your rent - but don’t worry, you don’t need to anything until your letter arrives.
When the time comes for you, our staff are here to help if you get stuck - all you need to do is contact us.
Over 70 or have a disability and need help with decorating?
We're taking applications for our assisted decorating scheme for 2024-25. If you - or a Cottsway customer you know - are over the age of 70 or have a disability (and do not have someone aged between 18 and 60 living nearby to do the work), you may be eligible for help with home decorating.
We try to help as many people as possible, but as this scheme is offered free of charge, spaces are limited and there are some restrictions.
Electric bikes, scooters and laptops - be fire risk aware!
Please be aware of the fire risks caused by lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power electric bikes, scooters, mobility scooters and some smaller devices, such as laptops, mobile phones and e-cigarettes.
There have been cases linked to these batteries, resulting in devastating fire damage. It is vital that batteries are stored correctly and in line with manufacturer's guidance to ensure your and your home’s safety.
If you own an e-bike or e-scooter watch this video from Electrical Safety First to learn how to store and charge the lithium-ion battery to help keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
If you want to park a mobility scooter at a Cottsway property (building or estate), you must seek permission from us first. Find out more on our website www.cottsway.co.uk/permission
Are you covered?
Many of us take pride in our gardens and enjoy spending time in them (when the weather allows!) and it’s very usual to store expensive items such as lawnmowers, bikes, children’s toys, garden furniture and BBQs in our gardens or outside sheds.
To ensure the contents of your home and garden are protected, we recommend that you ensure you have adequate insurance in place. The My Home Contents Insurance Scheme provides cover for up to £1,000 for loss of or damage to contents on the land belonging to your home and on communal areas. The scheme also covers theft or attempted theft of contents in sheds, outbuildings and garages that form part of your home (up to £3,000).
Use our customer portal to pay and check your rent online, request some routine repairs and check details of repairs you have previously asked for, update your details and more! Manage your tenancy conveniently, at a time that suits you.
We’re pleased to help Oxfordshire Play Association (OPA) with a grant from our Community Fund to support them in providing FREE play days* for families in West Oxfordshire kicking off on Friday. We’ll be at some of these events with craft activities, so please come and see us!
Starting from this week – all 11am - 3pm:
Friday 26 July: Eynsham Play & Activity Day, Oxford Road Playing Field (pavilion side), Eynsham OX29 4HG
Thursday 1 August: Witney Play & Activity Day, West Witney Sports Ground, Witney, OX28 0NB
*Please note that no childcare is provided, and events may be photographed. Food and refreshments can be purchased, or you’re welcome to bring your own picnic.
First 100% low-carbon home development and other work to improve energy efficiency
We’ve delivered 57 new affordable homes - 45 for rent and 12 for shared ownership - from April to June this year. More recently, we’ve seen completion of 15 new low-carbon homes for rent in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. It’s our first development of its kind, made possible thanks to support from Cotswold District Council, Homes England and Helix Partnership Homes.
We’re working hard to reduce our carbon footprint as an organisation and, as well as sustainable features at new homes, we want to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes. We’ve started replacing old windows at some properties and have received Government funding to support with other initiatives such as air source heat pumps, improved insulation, and solar panels, at others. This is no mean feat and there is a lot of work to be done – we will keep you informed!
We’re working with our grounds maintenance contractor John O’Conner to create wildflower spaces in some of our neighbourhoods to create wildlife habitats and support biodiversity on the land we own and manage.
We joined forces with the Town Council and St Joseph’s Primary School to sow native wildflowers and grasses at Queens Road in Carterton earlier this year and now the street is in bloom and bringing lots of joy!
If you have an area in your local community that could benefit from planting or wildlife improvements, we’d love to hear from you.
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