Tenants
and Residents Involvement at
New Charter
Get Involved
Involving
New Charter tenants and Tenants' and Residents' Groups is fundamental
in developing and continually improving our services.
At New Charter
we are committed to Tenant Involvement and are keen to encourage
tenants and residents, both individually and collectively, to influence
decisions about their homes and the environment in which they live.
We want to hear your views on our services and changes that affect
you and the communities that you live in.
We have a dedicated Tenant
Participation Team who are keen to ensure that our tenants are
given every opportunity to be involved in our decision making processes.
Some of the ways in which we currently do this area:
providing good quality information;
consulting with tenants so their views and concerns  can
be considered when making decisions;
supporting tenants to get involved in formal
consultative
or decision making structures;
monitoring and reviewing with tenants the benefits
and
improvements achieved by involving tenants.
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How to get involved
Local Tenant and Resident Associations are a good
way for tenants and residents to work together for the benefit of their
communities. New Charter can give official recognition to groups that
meet a set criteria, we also offer help with grants, support and advice
from a dedicated Tenant Participation Officer and administrative support.
Click here for more information on Tenant
and Resident Associations.
There are a number of options available for involvement and you can
view our Resident
Involvement Policy for further information. We recognise
that the amount of involvement our tenants and residents desire and
the amount of time and commitment that people are able to give differ
greatly and therefore some alternative ways of becoming involved have
been introduced.
Please click on the links below to view alternative
ways in which you can get involved.
 Forums
Estate
Meetings
Telephone
/ Postal / E-mail Surveys
Currently New Charter has over 30 fully
recognised Tenant & Resident Associations, a number of Estate
Forums and an umbrella organisation, New
Charter+ Tenants Federation (please
click for further details).
 Tenant
and Resident Associations
Tenant and Resident Associations are
organisations formed by local volunteers who come together to campaign
for improvements to their local community & homes. Groups cover
defined geographical areas, which include New Charter properties
and private residents, and are open to everyone living within the
area defined in the Constitution.
Because groups set their own
agendas they have the opportunity to either limit their involvement
to housing issues or to become involved in a whole range of community
issues such as: environmental issues, crime, anti-social behaviour
and traffic problems. They represent the views of their community
in relation to these issues and work with New Charter and other
external agencies to help improve their area and build sustainable
communities.
New Charter are firmly committed to encouraging tenant
and resident involvement and offer assistance in setting up new
groups. Once formally recognised the Tenant Participation
Team continue this support by providing groups with funding, advice,
support, training and assistance with grant applications. The funding
that groups currently receive from New Charter is an annual grant
of £300 to assist with running costs. To become formally
recognised a group must satisfy a set criteria which includes:
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 The
group must have adopted a Constitution;
A clearly defined geographical area which is open to everyone in this area;
The group must have a democratically elected Committee;
The group must hold regular meetings, including general meetings and an AGM.
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For information on active groups in your area or to enquire regarding
starting up a group please contact the Tenant Participation Team
on 0161 331 2400.
For information on other ways to get involved
please click on the following link to get our 'Resident Involvement
Policy:'
Resident
Involvement Policy.
Forums
What is a Forum?
A Forum is an informal group meeting,
where people come together and share common interests and concerns.
The group usually consists of Tenants and Residents from the
area, NCHT staff and other outside agencies.
Forum groups meet
on a regular basis – usually 3 or 4 times a year at a
convenient location to their estate. The time of these meetings
depends upon the requirement of the residents.
Meetings are
arranged and facilitated by the Tenant Participation
Team.
The team will prepare the agenda, (by collecting issues from
both tenants and housing staff), arrange the meeting place,
send out invitations (to residents, relevant NCHT staff and
relevant outside agency staff), keep a record of attendance
and take minutes.
The meetings are chaired either by a member
of the Tenant Participation Team or a resident representative
based on prior agreement.
The format of the meeting is informal,
giving all residents the opportunity to speak & ask questions.
However the group must abide by a Code of Conduct.
Forum meetings
are publicised and open to all Tenants and Residents within
the stated agreed area. The meetings enable people to meet
regularly to discuss their issues with housing staff and relevant
outside agencies. They provide regular information and feedback
on local issues, help identify issues and priorities for neighbourhood
management staff and enable individuals to participate within
the business of NCHT.
For further information on setting up
a Forum in your area please contact the Tenant Participation
Team.
Estate
Meetings
What are Estate Meetings?
Estate Meetings are similar
to Forum meetings. However rather than meeting on a regular basis meetings
are called on an ad-hoc basis at the request of either residents or
neighbourhood management staff to discuss current issues.
The meetings
are arranged and facilitated by the Tenant Participation
Team. The
team will prepare the agenda, (by collecting issues from both residents
and housing staff), arrange the meeting place. They will send out invitations
(to residents, relevant NCHT staff and relevant outside agency staff),
keep a record of attendance, take minutes and Chair the meeting. Feedback
to meetings is also completed by the Resident Involvement Team.
The
format of the meeting is informal, giving all residents the opportunity
to speak & ask questions. However the group must abide by a Code
of Conduct. Estate meetings are publicised and open to all residents
within the stated agreed area.
For further information on setting up
an Estate meeting in your area please contact the Tenant
Participation Team.
Telephone,
postal, e-mail surveys
Individual Involvement
New Charter
complete ad-hoc surveys via the telephone, post and e-mail. We constantly
require additional people to become involved in this process. Should you
wish to be consulted & have your opinion voiced from the comfort of
your own home please contact the Resident Involvement Team to add your
name to the list.
Mystery shoppers
This gives the opportunity for individuals
to access our services to monitor the quality of services we provide.
Seminar
attendance
Individuals have the opportunity to attend any seminars – all
of which are publicised on our website.
Monthly Mailing
The Resident Involvement
team, together with assistance from the Tameside Tenants and Residents
Federation and Resident Associations produced a monthly newsletter entitled
Monthly Mailing. Should you wish to receive this publication as an individual
please contact the Tenant Participation Team.
Tenant
Participation Team
The Tenant Participation Team will:
 Offer
support and advice to individuals and Tenants
and Resident Associations;
Give
practical guidance and support – help with producing minutes,
preparing agendas, producing posters, leaflets & general administration
work;
Provide
information and training for you to get involved further;
Offer
a range of ways in which to get involved to suit your needs;
Provide
grant funding to recognised groups & reimburse travel expenses;
Organise & facilitate
quarterly seminar events;
Organise & deliver
training events, for both individuals & groups;
Increase & develop
resident involvement by marketing opportunities;
Work
in partnership with New Charter+ Tenants Federation;
Be
responsible for implementing, maintaining & monitoring the Resident
Involvement Policy together with volunteers.
The TP Team:
Louise Heenan
Tenant
Participation Manager
Tel.: 331 2072
Sue Cox
Tenant Development Officer
Tel.: 331 2416
Karyn Livsey
Tenant Participation Officer
Tel.: 331 2436
Sharon Taylor-Jenkins
Tenant Participation Officer
Tel.: 331 2075
Linda Whyatt
Tenant
Participation Officer
Tel.: 331 2784
Constitution
Please
click here to download a copy of the constitution.
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