We are past the New Year blues and heading straight to spring and the lighter evenings. Unfortunately, in recent weeks, Charnwood has suffered severe flooding, and our thoughts are with all those residents and businesses affected.
We have not been made aware of any flooding issues in Anstey from Storm Henk, but please get in touch if you have been affected by Storm Henk.
Council Meeting
At the council meeting held on 15th January, a motion was put forward by the Labour/Green Coalition to award themselves huge pay increases. The Conservative Group put forward an amendment to try and stop these increases from being approved. We were delighted that our amendment was approved. This will ensure that more money will be used for frontline services and not paying the Labour/Green Coalition more in allowances.
Here is a copy of our press release
Time Banking
Time Banking has arrived in Charnwood. This initiative benefits local communities and residents by providing a safe and positive environment in which to meet new people who can help out by sharing their skills, or by offering help to develop a person’s skills that may not have previously been available.
For further information please visit the Time Banking website
Cost of Living Rises
We are aware that many of our residents are struggling with the cost of living increases.
Charnwood Borough Council has put together the 'cost of living' webpages to provide information and useful links to a range of different agencies that may be able to help those needing further support.
Whether you’re worried about loan repayments and want to know where to get financial support or legal advice, want to know more about the support available for food provision, or need information about housing, we hope you find the website helpful.
https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/help_and_support_with_rising_cost_of_living
New Contractor Appointed
A new firm has been awarded a two-year contract to deliver improvements to council homes in Charnwood. Jeakins Weir, an independent construction company has been awarded the contract by Charnwood Borough Council to deliver scheduled improvements to council-owned homes in the borough.
The contract will involve full and partial bathroom and kitchen replacements as part of the Council’s programme of planned improvements to its housing stock. It will also include external and internal structural works and refurbishments to empty properties.
The Council manages around 5,500 residential homes across Charnwood. The two-year contract has the potential to be extended for an additional two years and has an estimated value of the initial period of £8 million.
We are hopeful that this company will hit the ground running and bring empty properties back into use more quickly. We have far too many empty properties whilst we have residents who are in desperate need of a home.
Cabinet Decision
We have been requesting a review of the Charnwood Borough Council’s age-related housing stock. There are far too many empty homes because the right-aged person cannot be found, whilst younger people are left homeless. A vast amount of work was completed on this under the previous administration that we were part of, and we were very happy to see a decision come to the Council’s Cabinet in January 2024.
The decision approved was:
Declassification of Properties Designated for Allocation to People Aged Over 45 Years and that the Director of Housing and Wellbeing be authorised to remove the 45+ age classification from the 1071 properties.
This will be completed in four phases at broadly six-month intervals, with the first phase of properties being declassified in the Summer of 2024.
Tenants will be advised of the decision and the reasons for declassification, and provided with the opportunity to give feedback on any specific concerns they may have so they may be responded to. The order of phases will be based primarily on the meeting of housing needs, with a particular focus on areas where there are more empty properties (voids). Tenancy management factors have also been considered including levels of ASB and tenancy support needs.
The Cabinet also approved that one additional ASB Officer and one additional Tenancy and Estate Management Officer be recruited to, for a maximum period of three years, with the need for additional resource to be reviewed on an annual basis, and that the HRA revenue budget be increased to accommodate this.
Spotlight Services
The council has a new webpage to provide residents with more in-depth information on services that the council offers.
The areas ‘spotlighted’ so far include:
- Democratic Services
- Loughborough Town Hall
- Charnwood Lifeline
- Electoral Services
- CCTV
- Licensing.
Head over to the website to have a look: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/service_spotlights
