Welcome to our October Customer Bulletin.

Communicating and involving you, our customers, is key and these Customer Bulletins are a chance for us to share our latest activity and update you about our plans.

If you would like to receive this Customer Bulletin in another language or format, please let us know. Or if you have any feedback or suggestions about content you would like to see in future bulletins, please contact: david.miller@54northhomes.co.uk.

54North in Bloom Leeds winners

Managing Director Mark Pearson presented awards to delighted 54North Homes customers who won our In Bloom 2024 competition.

Mark visited properties in Leeds with housing officers Jo-Anne Ward and Lauren Rae to see their amazing work first-hand and present them with beautiful engraved glass trophies and gift vouchers.

He is pictured above with Carol Brown, of Horsforth, who was a double winner, triumphing in the first-time entrant and communal garden categories.

Caroline Young, of Rothwell, won the Spot prize for developing a mini allotment bordered by colourful flowers at her home.

She grew tomatoes, sweetcorn, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries among other fresh produce that made delicious meals for her family and neighbours.

And Coral Shepherd, of Burley, won in the best small garden category for creating a tranquil shaded oasis.

See our website here for a full story about the winners and how 54North Homes supports people to look after their properties and build communities that are good places to live.

Mark later presented similar trophies and gift vouchers to In Bloom winners in the York area, who will feature in the next newsletter.

We'd like to thank all those who took part, and the winners for welcoming Mark, Jo-Anne and Lauren into their homes.

Winter fuel payment advice

We supported the Leeds Older People's Forum in helping customers understand changes to Pension Credit.

The benefit is now linked to winter fuel payments.

If you are state pension age, you could be be eligible to increase your weekly income by claiming Pension Credit.

You may be entitled to Pension Credit even if you have savings, the state pension or a private pension.

54North Homes has a Money Matters Caseworker, Liz Wilson, who can help all our customers, no matter where they live, make a claim.

You can email Liz here or call her on 0191 223 8633.

To find out more, see an overview here.

To get free independent advice, contact your local council's welfare rights department, Citizens Advice or Age UK.

It's important to make your claim as soon as possible, as it can only be backdated three months from the date the claim is made.

First pop-up event held

Our Customer Experience team held their first pop-up event in August – and we would like to thank all those who attended.

The event, in Rothwell, saw customers discuss a range of issues, from repairs to anti-social behaviour and the recruitment of new members to our customer engagement group.

It was a well-attended two-hour session at the Pasture View Road Community Centre. Customers and staff from 54North Homes shared feedback and opportunities for working together on various matters.

Between now and April next year, we have further in-person events scheduled. Please see our website for more details.

We're always keen for customers to get involved in shaping our services. If you think you can play a role in helping to improve our homes, services and performance, please email our customer engagement team here for details about our involved customers' group.

The nights are drawing in

Winter is coming – and the colder, wetter weather is set to increase the possibility of damp and condensation affecting people's homes.

We are committed to ensuring all our customers live in homes that are warm, safe, comfortable and healthy.

As part of that, we want to support people in dealing with damp and condensation, which can lead to mould, a well-known potential health hazard.

Our information leaflet here shows preventative steps you can take around your home as the mould season dawns again.

We urge you to always report any instances of damp or general repairs to us as soon as possible.

Please contact our Customer Services Team on 0345 521 993 or send an email here.

There's nothing more important than you and your family's safety. We want to work with you to resolve any problems and will send a surveyor out to understand the cause and how we can rectify it.

Making our website accessible for everyone

We want all 54North Homes customers to be able to access our services quickly and easily – which is why we have added a ReciteMe function to our website.

It helps those who may be visually impaired or not able to read English fluently.

Click on the icon shown above, which appears at the bottom right on all the pages of our website, and a toolbar will appear.

From there, you can choose to change the font size and colour scheme, which are useful functions for those with poor sight or who might be colour-blind.

You can also select 'read aloud' and translate the text into many different languages.

This works for all content and PDFs on the site. We will also shortly add it to our customer portal here.

New business launch advice

Do you dream of starting your own business, but don't know where to start?

The professionals at Start Up West Yorkshire can provide all the help you need to get a business idea off the ground.

There are dedicated advisors ready to provide anyone aged 18 and over in West Yorkshire with the support needed to kickstart your dreams.

Simply click here to schedule an appointment, or visit: https://peopleplus.co.uk/start-up-west-yorkshire to find out more.

Be aware of loan sharks

54North Homes is backing a campaign to stop loan sharks potentially targeting our customers.

Called simply Stop Loan Sharks, the crusade by the England Illegal Money Lending Team, a government agency, has also been translated into 20 different languages.

The aim is help anyone who could be vulnerable to loan sharks, including in communities where some people might not speak English as their first language.

For some people, the process of opening a bank account, obtaining a credit card or applying for a loan can seem complicated, even bewildering.

This is where loan sharks can strike, offering what appears to be a simple solution, but which traps the borrower in an exploitative cycle of debt and misery.

Leaflets and other supporting information have been translated into languages including Bengali, Arabic, Chinese, Hungarian and Punjabi.

Anyone who has been affected by illegal money lending can call the Stop Loan Sharks helpline on 0300 555 2222 or see their website here. A live chat service is available on the website from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Leonora House nearing completion

We're planning an opening ceremony for our soon-to-be competed flagship housing development – Leonora House in Leeds city centre.

The exciting scheme is bringing 58 much-needed new affordable homes to the area, showcasing our commitment to playing a key role in solving the housing crisis.

Though not an event for the public, we hope to celebrate the scheme's completion with invited guests on Thursday 28 November.

More importantly, we're delighted that this scheme, supported by partners including Homes England, Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, will soon be welcoming its first residents.

Leonora House is named after Leonora Cohen, a pioneering Leeds-born woman who was a suffragette and one of the first female magistrates.

Stock condition survey – access to homes needed

We're about to start a stock condition survey of hundreds of our properties across the region.

It's part of our commitment to ensuring your homes are warm, safe, comfortable and healthy to live in.

These regular in-person surveys at people's homes assess whether improvements, such as new kitchens, bathrooms and roofs, and rewiring, are needed.

They also identify other issues, such as damp and mould, that could affect the health and safety of the occupants.

The length of time a home survey takes depends on the size of property and the complexity of any issues found, though some can take as little as half an hour to complete.

It's vital for the health and safety of you and your family that our friendly team of surveyors be allowed access to your home when they visit. If your home is scheduled for a survey, we'll be writing to you in the next few weeks to confirm the arrangements.

And finally...

Customers are at the heart of everything we do here at 54North Homes. We would love more of you to share your feedback with us and get involved in shaping and improving the services we provide.

You can get involved in many ways: Online; from the comfort of your home; or taking part in friendly get togethers.

A few months ago we sent out a dedicated email which you can read here. If you are interested in getting involved, you can contact our Customer Experience Team, Abida Jamil and Liam Sullivan, at connectwith54north@54northhomes.co.uk.

54North Homes | Tel: 0345 521 1993 | Email: hello@54northhomes.co.uk

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