Havelock Newsletter. Residents working on designs for the new Havelock

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1 Havelock Newsletter December 2012 Residents working on designs for the new Havelock Over the last three months we ve been running design workshops to get your ideas about how the new Havelock could look. These sessions have been informal with a chance to talk to the architects, look at drawings and photographs and hear about the plans for your neighbourhood. The first session was a visit to the South Acton estate where Catalyst has built houses and flats for rent and shared ownership. Residents had a chance to look inside some of the new homes, look at arrangements for bicycle storage, parking, rubbish disposal and recycling. In the workshops you ve told us lots about where you live. Some of it has been very positive about good neighbours, good local schools and good location near to transport and jobs. Some has been less positive talking about anti-social behaviour in the blocks and around the alleyways to the backs of the flats. We ve talked about how the neighbourhood might look in the future open spaces, new roads into the area and how we will work with Ealing council during the regeneration of Havelock. We ll be running the sessions again in the new year. Your input will help to shape the look of the new Havelock. We ll arrange an exhibition of the proposed masterplan before submitting it to Ealing council for planning permission next summer.

2 Regeneration update Catalyst and Ealing council have been moving forward the regeneration of Havelock by: working on the detail of the legal agreements that will confirm Catalyst s appointment as the developer for the regeneration. We expect that the final agreement will be signed early next year, subject to approval by Ealing council s cabinet surveying all tenants who currently live in the area where the works will start (phase 1a) to understand their housing needs. They are bidding for new homes using the Locata system valuing all homes owned by leaseholders in phase 1a. Ealing council is now negotiating their purchase. Catalyst is offering to meet with resident leaseholders to look at options available to them meeting the residents steering group (formerly the developer selection group) every month to discuss the regeneration of Havelock organising a series of design workshops where residents have given us their ideas about the new neighbourhood and the new homes Langdon s Court and Clearmont House Plans and pakora an outdoor meeting on Havelock The sun was still shining and the weather was mild when we held a meeting in the garden of Langdon s Court and Clearmont House for residents to find out more about the regeneration proposals. The meeting took place in both English and Punjabi and gave residents a chance to hear, and ask questions about, Catalyst s proposals to develop a block of one bedroom apartments with balconies, lift access and high levels of security and insulation especially for them. The flats, which will be close to shops, community facilities and the bus stop, will be built in the first phase of the works. Thanks to the Langdon s Court residents who provided the delicious pakoras! 2

3 Frequently Asked Questions What is a housing association? Housing associations (also known as registered social landlords or registered providers of social housing) are non-profit-making organisations that provide low cost social housing. Any surplus they make is used to maintain existing housing and to help finance new homes. Although independent they are regulated by, and can sometimes receive funding from, the government. What s the difference between housing association (HA) and council tenancies? Most council tenants have secure tenancies. Tenants of HAs have assured tenancies. We have compared Ealing council s and Catalyst s tenancy agreements and they are very similar. The only significant differences are: Nuisance, harassment and ASB (anti-social behaviour) Catalyst s tenancy covers more areas than Ealing council s and specifically refers to hate crimes such as racial harassment Complaints Ealing council s tenancy does not refer to complaints but Catalyst s has a section co-written with the housing ombudsman so that it reflects their preferred approach Assignment and succession (passing your tenancy on) Catalyst s agreement offers more rights for succession and assignment than Ealing council s. It offers more than is required in law and is up-todate with latest legal developments such as civil partnerships What will the rents be on the new development? The rent of your new home will depend on the size and type of home that you are offered and when you move into it. For existing secure tenants we will be charging social rents which means that they are set according to a formula that has been put in place by the government for councils and housing associations. Will the rents and service charges be covered by housing benefit? The rents and service charges are covered by housing benefit (HB) for those who are eligible. Rents in the new neighbourhood will be well below local market rents so they will be covered in full by HB. Use of your home Ealing council s agreement allows lodgers. Catalyst s requires you to get written permission before taking a lodger or subletting part of the property. Permission cannot be unreasonably refused 3

4 Helping homeowners to buy on the new Havelock Some leaseholders and freeholders living on Havelock have said they would like to stay in the area but are concerned that they may not be able to because the value of their current home may be less than the value of a new home in the redeveloped Havelock. To resolve this we are offering the opportunity for resident leaseholders/freeholders in phases 1b, 2, 3 and 4* to purchase one of the new homes that are being built on a fixed equity basis. This is how it works: You will be expected to use the value of your current home, plus half of the home loss compensation that you will receive from the council, to buy the new property Any gap between this sum and the cost of the new home will be loaned to you by Catalyst in the form of a charge on the property You don t have to pay any interest or rent on this loan and you will own the leasehold or freehold of the property (not Catalyst) You can choose to purchase a smaller property than the one you currently own, in order that you either own it outright, or reduce the sum that Catalyst lends towards its purchase You will be able to pay the loan back to Catalyst at any time gradually or as a whole but as long as you own the property you don t have to pay the loan back If you sell the property you will be required to pay back the loan. If, for example, the sum loaned to you by Catalyst when you bought the property was 30% of its value then you will have to pay back 30% of the value of the property when you sell it If you would like to discuss your options you can contact Parmjit Ruprah on or ruprahpa@ealing.gov.uk and the council and Catalyst will arrange to come and see you. *A similar offer is available for resident leaseholders in phase 1A to enable them to purchase properties elsewhere. 4

5 When is the best time for meetings? We re currently planning the next round of design workshops and want as many people as possible to be able to attend. When would you be most likely to attend a workshop? Weekday morning Weekday afternoon Weekday evening Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Either return this slip to the community shop or contact Sue Cooper at Catalyst Housing. (see contact details on back of newsletter) Help finding a new home through Locata Every fortnight, all the available council and housing association properties for rent in the local area are advertised on the Locata website. If you are registered with Locata and would like help bidding for a property, members of HIRO (Havelock Independent Residents Organisation) are able to help you. Just drop into the community shop on Hunt Road between 9am and 3pm. We re boring Catalyst has appointed Card Geotechnics Limited to carry out surveys of the ground where the first new homes will be built around Quaker Lane and Hillary Road. We are writing to all residents living in the areas being surveyed to tell them what s happening. The two types of survey borehole and window sampling involve taking samples of the soil at various depths so that Leadbitter, who will build the new homes, can start planning the construction. When the borehole drilling is finished a small stopcock cover will be left in place allowing for measurements to be taken in the future. Volunteering works Neha and Palvi Teji were featured in the last newsletter in an article about volunteering. Since the article came out Palvi has got a job with NEXT as a sales assistant. She is working part-time while doing her A-levels. Catalyst Gateway advisers helped her by providing interview preparation, professional CV writing and job search skills. If you need any help and support with finding employment, please contact Catalyst Gateway. Neha and Palvi Teji volunteering at Catalyst Gateway 5

6 This magazine provides information about housing news and events in your local area. If you need any part of this information in large print, Braille, on CD or explained in your own language, please contact us. Arabic Southall Day Centre Southall Day Centre (part of Catalyst) offers a range of activities and services that help disadvantaged people in our community and has almost 2,000 registered service users. It operates from two centres, including one at Western Road, just half a mile from the Havelock estate, and its facilities enable older people to enjoy a range of health, social and recreational activities such as exercises, yoga, games, singing, day trips etc that help mental and physical wellbeing. The centre also offers advice and casework services for people of all ages on a wide range of issues including welfare benefits and runs English language classes for people with little or no English. The centre provides low cost lunches and can arrange transport with Dial-a-ride for those who qualify. For more information contact them on or visit Contacts Ealing council Parmjit Ruprah on or ruprahpa@ealing.gov.uk Gujarati Hindi Polish Portuguese Punjabi Catalyst Housing Sue Cooper on or or sue.cooper@chg.org.uk Catalyst Gateway Amanda Leeuwerke on or enquiries@catalystgateway.org.uk Somali Catalyst Housing will be in the community shop on Hunt Road on Tuesdays between 11am 1pm except the second Tuesday of the month when it will be 5 7pm. Urdu DEV206 Havelock Newsletter December 2012