Runnymede Council Residents' Association (RCRA)

Jenny Hill

If you would like to know more about what the RCRA does, or have any problems contact the Chair of the Association, Jenny Hill, by e-mailing her at jennihill@ntlworld.com by telephone 01932 568405, or Mobile: 07811863565. Alternatively, write to her c/o Jane Margetts, at the Runnymede Civic Centre, Station Road, Addlestone, and she will pass on your letter.

Committee Members

Jenny Hill (Chairman) - Chertsey
Graham Windsor (Vice Chairman) - Englefield Green
David Wheeler - Chertsey
Brenda Cobban - Chertsey
Joan Kendall - Egham Hythe and A2D
John Downing - New Haw and Sheltered Housing
Norman Scott - Virginia Water
Teresa Stone - Addlestone and Sheltered Housing
Sylvia Walker - Addlestone
Tony Ruffell - Addlestone
Nicky Culley - New Haw
Debbie Bates - Englefield Green
Lisa Essery - Egham Hythe and A2

Tenant Services Authority

The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is the new governing body for social housing, whether the landlord is Housing Association or Council. The aim of the TSA is to ensure all tenants receive the same level of services wherever they live and although the TSA will set the National Standards (after consultation with the Housing Providers and tenants) tenants are going to be asked to become more involved in setting the local standards and this is where you as tenants along with the RCRA committee will become involved.

Over the next few months the RCRA together with other tenants will be looking at the way in which the Council provides services, such as repairs to see whether or not they can be improved and whether they comply with the standard set by the TSA.

The first such meeting took place in Englefield Green on March 8th and further meetings to discuss the service standards have since been held at The Orchard, in Chertsey. We have arranged for further opportunities for discussion relating to our standards in the near future and if you would like to be included in these discussions please contact me for further details.

As mentioned one of the main aims of the TSA is to ensure that tenants are consulted and actively encouraged to become involved. One of the areas in which we the RCRA can keep you informed of what we are doing on your behalf is to put the minutes of our meetings on our web page and you can see below the minutes of our most recent meeting held in May.

We realise that not all tenants have access to a computer and in the next edition of Streets Ahead I will be inviting tenants to let me know if they require a copy of the minutes sent out to them.

Minutes of July RCRA

Runnymede Calendar

Street Ahead Newsletter 

Annual Report

Holbrook Meadow, Egham
In April the Tenancy Management Team, after consultation with local residents organised a 'clean up day' on the Holbrook Meadow Estate. There were chocolate treats for all the local children who helped pick up litter and generally tidy up the area. The Police and Safer Runnymede helped make the day a huge success as our picture below shows.

Middlesex Court, Addlestone

On a rainy day in June volunteers from the Beacon Church and Kings Church in Addlestone carried out gardening work on individual gardens on the Middlesex Court Estate in Addlestone. This followed considerable consultation and discussion with the Tenancy Management Team and local residents. The result was excellent. Many gardens that had become unmanageable are now able to be used again, the raised communal beds that had become overgrown have been tidied and the area in general now looks tidier and much improved. The teams worked very hard in the rain to improve the area for as many residents as time permitted.

Richard Fox from The Kings Church, Marsh Lane, Addlestone, is now running an after school play session every two weeks for children on the estate. If you would like further details regarding this please contact Richard direct at The Kings Church or alternatively call Jane Margetts at Runnymede Council on 01932 425824.

Prairie Close, Addlestone
Volunteers from Royal Holloway College and The Absolute Harmony Society Members, The Police, The Tenancy Management Team and a representative from the Council's Community Services Team all attended a fun day at Prairie Close in Addlestone on Wednesday June 2nd.



After discussions with the Tenancy Management Team local residents
suggested a day dedicated to tidying up gardens and Prairie Close in general. Sandwiches, cakes and tea were provided for volunteers, residents and children, with a raffle and colouring competition available to all those who attended.

A Prairie Close resident said, 'It was a great way of getting the community together. The children had a wonderful time and were really keen to join in with the cleaning up. It was really good to see the Police involved with the local community in such a positive way.'

Mystery Shopping
Runnymede Council and Elmbridge Housing Association residents recently got together to begin working on a project to Mystery shop both organisations.

The idea is residents from either organisation will call the Council to 'test' how efficiently Council officers answer our queries. The feedback from this project will enable the council to improve the service it provides for us. Further details will follow in the next edition of Streets Ahead and on this web page.

Getting Involved
In the latest edition of Streets Ahead you were asked if you would like to help shape the way our services are provided. A form was included asking if you would like to be involved in a range of ways, for instance by completing Telephone Surveys or Questionnaires or by becoming a Tenant Inspector or member of a Local Resident Group. If you would like to have you voice heard by being involved and haven't returned the form yet, it is still not too late. Just send it in to the Tenancy Management Section at Runnymede Civic Centre, or alternatively call Jane Margetts on 01932 425824 who would be delighted to hear from you.

Jenny Hill, RCRA Chairman