Fine wines and tasty cheeses are on offer to Merlin Housing Society residents who offer their suggestions on how the society can improve.

Merlin’s Community Investment Team is inviting residents to a special wine and cheese tasting event at the start of December. And while residents are sampling the tasty treats, staff will be asking them their views on Merlin’s services and what things they’d like the society to provide in the future.

The event is part of Merlin’s consultation with residents to produce its local offers for 2012.

Community Investment Manager Jen Griffiths said:

“We know that our residents have different priorities and want to tailor our services to meet those needs. Across the organisation we have been working to meet all of last year’s local offers that residents produced. Now we are working with residents to draw up next year’s offers.”

“We received lots of feedback from our residents’ fun day during the summer and are holding this event so that we hear the views of as many residents as possible.”

All housing providers are obliged to produced local offers to residents, which sets out what they will do to meet the Tenant Services Authority’s three key service standards.

The event takes place on Wednesday 7th December from 6:30pm at the Aztec Hotel in Patchway. Any resident interested in attending the event can contact Merlin on 01454 821100. Places are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

A newly-elected councillor and former Army tank commander has called for Armed Forces personnel to be given priority when affordable homes are allocated.

Ben Stokes was elected in May onto South Gloucestershire Council as Conservative councillor for Boyd Valley. He previously served in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards of the British Army, who are currently on tour in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.

Ben reached the rank of Captain and his Regiment’s tours of duty included Bosnia and Northern Ireland.

Few local authorities prioritise Armed Forces personnel when allocating affordable housing, but South Gloucestershire Council is planning a consultation on changes to its policy and Cllr Stokes wants it made easier for Armed Forces personnel to access housing by being given greater priority.

Cllr Stokes said:

“Having served alongside many of the courageous service men and women in the British Armed Forces, it’s a scandal that so many of them return home and struggle to access basic public services, like housing.”

“They shouldn’t have to fight our enemies abroad and put their lives on the line in the process only to return home and have to fight to get a roof over their heads.”

“Whether we consider these conflicts as justified is not the point. These men and women are sent out to possibly make the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.”

“When they return injured or permanently traumatised, I can’t tell them to get to the back of the queue on the housing register. This would deny them the very basic level of appreciation they deserve.”

“This is why I want to see it made easier in the council’s future housing allocation policy for members of the Armed Forces to access housing when they are in need.”

Cllr Matthew Riddle (Con, Severn), the Council’s housing chief, added:

“We will be consulting shortly on potential changes to the way we allocate affordable housing and the issue raised by Cllr Stokes is something we will look at very sympathetically.”

SG Homes is a new social lettings agency run by South Gloucestershire Council offering a property management service which helps introduce landlords and tenants to each other.

The council-run agency has been set up in response to demand from landlords with empty properties which they would like us to manage on their behalf. We are also looking to attract more landlords to sign up to the scheme and help people with a housing need.

With more than 8,000 people in South Gloucestershire waiting for social housing, more and more tenants are looking to move in to private sector housing. SG Homes primarily focuses on finding accommodation for people who are homeless or those who face the threat of being made homeless.

Cllr Matthew Riddle, executive member for community care and housing, said:

“SG Homes focuses on creating long-term, affordable and sustainable tenancies for families or single people, who would otherwise be homeless or have to move into emergency accommodation. This vital service provides support and advice for landlords and tenants to ensure the smooth set-up and running of a tenancy.”

If you have a property that might be suitable for letting to families or individuals in South Gloucestershire with a housing need then get in touch on 01454 865555.

Local Conservative councillors and Green Belt campaigners have criticised confirmation that a future Labour Government would reintroduce regional housing targets.

The Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) were a spectacular bureaucratic failure representing an affront to local democracy yet also proving ineffective in getting houses built – house building fell to the lowest level since 1924.

The South West RSS proposed 32,800 more houses for South Gloucestershire, including concreting over the Kingswood Green Belt and deleting entire communities like Shortwood, Siston and Warmley.

But the respected Planning magazine reports that Labour would reintroduce regional housing targets.

At a Royal Institute of British Architects fringe meeting at the Labour Conference the Shadow Planning Minister Jack Dromey MP said the Government’s decision to scrap the targets was “crazy”.

Mr Dromey said:

“You cannot sensibly address meeting our housing needs, infrastructure, transport and protecting our natural environment other than if you have a regional and sub-regional approach.”

“So there is no contradiction between a localist agenda that does believe in maximising local say through neighbourhood plans with saying that you’ve got to have that strategic approach, including the kind of imperatives that were inherent in the regional spatial strategy framework.”

Asked if this would include regional house building targets, Mr Dromey replied “yes”.

Conservative councillor Ian Adams, who represents Siston and Warmley ward on South Gloucestershire Council, said:

“It’s hugely disappointing that Labour has failed to learn from the mistakes of its failed approach to housing.”

“Labour’s Regional Spatial Strategy would have meant pouring thousands of tonnes of concrete on the beautiful Kingswood Green Belt and swallowing up entire communities like Siston and Warmley.”

“The RSS is thankfully being scrapped by the Coalition Government with powers being returned locally.”

“Labour’s top-down and unsustainable regional housing targets should never be allowed to make a comeback.”

Since coming to power, the Coalition Government has begun the process of scrapping RSS frameworks through the Localism Bill, which is continuing to make its way through Parliament.

South Gloucestershire Council’s Core Strategy stresses the importance of protecting the Green Belt east of Kingswood.

From the week beginning Monday 2nd May, Merlin’s three housing offices will be open for residents to pop in from 8:30am – 5pm, Monday – Friday. And on Mondays residents will be able to phone their housing office until 6:30pm.

The six month pilot of the new opening hours follows a month-long consultation with residents in January. More than 90% of residents who took part said they were happy with Merlin’s existing opening hours but would like some small changes.

Karin Ellis, Customer Services Manager, said: “We’ve listened to what our residents have told us and introduced these new opening hours for a six month trial. They said that they’d like to be able to contact us for longer on a Wednesday and for there to be one evening a week when they could speak to their housing office.

“At the end of the six months, we will review how well used these additional contact hours have been and decide whether to make them permanent.”

Merlin’s offices are currently open from 8:30am – 5pm every weekday except for Wednesday when they open from 8:30am – 3pm. Residents are able to report any tenancy issue or repair outside of normal office hours using Merlin’s 24 reporting line, 0800 953 0340.

Any residents who would like to comment about the new opening hours can do so by emailing enquiries@merlinhs.co.uk or by contacting their housing office.

Councillor Matthew Riddle and staff from Cambrian Green Court met some of the new residents on Friday 28th January, including Eric Ball, who has moved there from Frome House, a care home in Yate. Cllr Riddle took the opportunity to show Mr Ball around the excellent facilities on offer in his new home.

Mr Ball has lived in the South Gloucestershire area from many years and worked as a foreman in a spray and body shop. When the closure of Frome House was announced, Mr Ball expressed an interest in the proposed extra care development at Cambrian Green Court and then visited the site regularly to watch the scheme progress. He was there when the foundations were laid and even got to know the contractors well.

Mr Ball was very impressed when he first looked around the facilities at Cambrian Green Court, commenting: “This place is marvelous and I am delighted to be able to have my own front door. I feel very safe and secure here and the staff have really helped me settle in – I know many of them from my time at Frome House, so I know that I can rely on them to provide the same marvelous level of care and support.”

Cambrian Green Court, run in partnership with care provider Housing 21, is one of three extra care developments being built which will eventually contribute towards 700 extra care housing apartments across South Gloucestershire. Two other schemes are opening in 2011. They are Badminton Gardens in Downend and Fiveways in Kingswood which together will provide over 100 new extra care apartments.

As part of a major transformation of older people’s services – backed by 90 per cent of residents and old people’s groups and charities – these extra care developments will be supplemented with two new state of the art care homes and more support for people to stay in their own homes. These new facilities will eventually replace the council’s aging care homes which are in the process of being decommissioned because they are no longer fit-for-purpose.

The extra care development is able to provide most residents, if they so choose, with a home for the remainder of their life, regardless of changes in their care needs.

Cllr Riddle said: “I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Eric Ball and all the new residents to Cambrian Green Court, including the excellent staff many of whom worked previously in Frome House.

“I am sure that Mr Ball will enjoy living in his spacious new apartment and that his family will have the piece of mind knowing that whilst Mr Ball is living independently, his needs and care are paramount.

“The differences between Cambrian Green Court and the ageing and soon-to-be de-commissioned Frome House care home could not be starker. In Frome House, it’s five or six residents per bathroom and the rooms are so small that it’s often not possible to install assistive technology, which means that many very frail residents have had to move out over the years.

“In Cambrian Green Court, you don’t just have a room – you have a whole apartment with an ensuite bathroom and well equipped kitchen as well as a 24/7 on site care and support team. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a restaurant, treatment room and hair and beauty salon within the building too.

“Extra care will transform the way that the council looks after its older residents and will provide the very best 21st century care facilities allowing choice, independence and dignity in older age.”

Approved at a Full Council meeting in mid-December, the authority’s Core Strategy has set out plans for 21,500 more homes up to 2026, whilst protecting the countryside surrounding Chipping Sodbury, as well as the Shortwood Green Belt and Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

These areas had been under threat by the previous Labour government’s Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and its target for an unsustainable 32,800 more homes.

Expressions of support for the Core Strategy were presented at the Full Council meeting by Conservative councillors and local campaigners.

Conservative councillor for Boyd Valley, Sandra Grant, said:

“I am delighted that the Green Belt that protects the villages of the Boyd Valley has been further strengthened through approving the Core Strategy.”

“But it was disappointing to see some Liberal Democrat councillors vote against this on the night.”

Fellow Boyd Valley campaigner and Dyrham and Hinton parish councillor, Ben Stokes, was one of those to make a public submission at the council meeting. He said:

“We know that developers are looking for the slightest hint of uncertainty which would allow them to submit their outrageous planning applications, including on the local Shortwood Green Belt.”

“Doing anything other than approving the Core Strategy would have given them the early Christmas present that they crave.”

A submission of support for the Core Strategy was also made by Cotswolds campaigner, Helen Heeley, said:

“I made my submission to the council meeting because, as a resident of Badminton, I welcome the Core Strategy’s protection of the Cotswold Green Belt and the Area of Outstanding Beauty because this is hugely important to the local area and the residents that live here.”

Chipping Sodbury campaigners Paul and Wendy Whittle also made representations at the South Gloucestershire Council meeting in support of protecting countryside east of the town that the developer, Maximus, is promoting for massive housing development. They said:

“St John’s Way forms an important barrier and should not be breached and we are pleased that the Core Strategy confirms this. It’s another nail in the Maximus development coffin.”

The Core Strategy will now be submitted for examination by a planning inspector in 2011.

A call by ‘out of touch’ Labour and LibDem councillors on South Gloucestershire Council to think again on plans to provide hundreds more home care hours has been dismissed by the authority’s Conservative care chief.

Following a special ‘call-in’ meeting of its Community Care & Housing Select Committee back in October, Labour and LibDem councillors called for the Conservative-run authority to re-consult on working with an external partner – either in the community, voluntary or commercial sector – to build and run two new ‘next generation’ residential care homes in Yate and Kingswood.

The Lab-LibDem request was branded ‘bizarre’ after it was shown that 90 per cent of the record number of people who took part in last year’s extensive council consultation preferred the option that identified the possibility of working with a partner if it was found to be advantageous.

It has now been calculated that the equivalent of around 500 extra home care hours a week will be generated when the council extends the partnership approach it is already taking with its first three extra care developments to the planned two new residential care homes too – rather than building and running them itself.

Residents also backed proposals to care for more people in their own homes for longer, as well as build new 21st century care facilities and close the council’s 8 ageing and substandard care homes, where 45 elderly residents had to move out of last year because modern care and equipment could not be provided in the homes’ small rooms.

The council is already working successfully with not-for-profit housing associations on extra care developments in Yate, Downend and Kingswood.

Through a contractual arrangement with any partner, the council would still control costs and quality of care and around 30 per cent of the local care market.

The council’s plans to transform older people’s services have already got the backing of local charities and older people’s groups.

Cllr Matthew Riddle, Conservative Cabinet Member for Community Care and Housing, said:

“With all the astonishing claims made by Cllr Perkins and others of ‘u-turns’ and ‘outsourcing’ – anyone would think that nominations are open for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

It remains to this day an unequivocal fact that last year’s hugely successful council consultation saw 90 per cent of people favour the option that clearly identified the possibility of working with an external partner to provide new care homes if this was found to be advantageous – and we can now show just how advantageous this approach will be.

Not only will extending the partnership approach that we are already taking with our three new extra care developments be 100 per cent consistent with our consultation, but it allow us to maintain a significant presence in the local care market and provide the equivalent of 500 extra home care hours a week.

This will allow many more older residents to stay in their own homes for longer – which is a request we heard loud and clear from the record consultation responses.

That opposition councillors want us to think again about this extra investment shows just how out of touch they are with older residents’ wishes.”

The fine print revealed by Conservative Chancellor George Osborne’s Comprehensive Spending Review of 20th October, shows that councils will no longer receive any money when council house tenants buy their homes – known as Right To Buy (RTB) receipts.

South Gloucestershire Council receives around £500,000 per year from RTB receipts. This money is paid to the Council by Merlin Housing Society who took over the Council’s housing stock in 2007.

The Council’s ruling Conservative Cabinet recently decided to use its RTB receipts to fund a shortfall in its budget that pays for grants to disabled residents who qualify for statutory help. Now, as the government insists that RTB receipts are to be paid to the Exchequer, South Gloucestershire Council will have to find the money from elsewhere because they are legally obliged to provide the grants.

Councillor Andy Perkins (Labour), who Chairs the Council committee which scrutinises the work of the Community Care & Housing department, said;

“Because of an aging population, the Council was already finding it impossible to keep up with the demand for grants. Now, if the government takes back this money, it is very hard to see how the Council will be able to fund these grants without cutting back on other services. This is another very local example of how central government’s cuts are going to affect vulnerable people.”

Related link: Councils face debt struggle at RTB plans frozen (Inside Housing)

Connaught, which called in administrators KPMG last week, is one of three companies carrying out Merlin’s decent homes improvement programme. It was appointed to the programme in 2007 and had fitted new kitchens and bathrooms in thousands of homes.

Connaught was working, or due to start work, in around 60 homes when it went into administration. Now South Gloucestershire-based Merlin Housing Society is writing to all those residents to let them know what it’s doing to minimise any inconvenience to them.

“We are working with our other contractors to reschedule work to those homes affected as a priority”, said Project Support Manager Heidi Gibbs.

“With the help of our in-house team Merlin Works and our other decent homes partners Rok, we aim to resume work at these properties as soon as possible.”

“We will be keeping in regular contact with residents over the coming days and weeks to let them know when the work to their homes will be carried out.”