Runnymede Council Residents' Association (RCRA)

COMING SOON - 2008 AGM, The Hythe Centre, Thorpe Road, Staines on Tuesday 8th July at 7pm. Speakers include Police Inspector Roger Nield on issues affecting us all across the borough.

The RCRA is now in its 3rd year and I would like to thank the Committee Members who have helped during that time. Unfortunately, some of our Members have had to resign from the Committee and I would particularly like to thank Dave Seymour, Michael Fuller and Nicholas Royle for their support during their time on the Committee. This means that we have vacancies on the Committee and if you feel that you would like to become a member then please contact me. In particular we would welcome some of our younger Tenants.

The RCRA meets regularly with Council Officers, and its purpose is to promote tenant participation, consider new policies and strategies and to provide input into various issues which affect the way in which the Housing Service is provided. A recent example of this has been how RCRA members have taken part in exercises to select contractors for the Kitchen Refurbishment Programme.

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@onetel.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.

Annual General Meeting

COMING SOON - 2008 AGM, The Hythe Centre, Thorpe Road, Staines on Tuesday 8th July at 7pm. Speakers include Police Inspector Roger Nield on issues affecting us all across the borough.

The AGM of the RCRA, held at Chertsey hall on Tuesday19 June, attracted over sixty tenants from across Runnymede. Whilst the numbers were down from last year, a lively discussion took place, with tenants freely airing their views.

Jenny Hill, Chair of the Association, opened the meeting by welcoming all those present. She then went on to say that the first year of the four-year kitchen refurbishment programme had taken longer to fit a kitchen than the Council had expected, but good progress was being made, and the second year of the work will begin in October.

Jenny then reported that Surrey Towers, in Addlestone, had asked for a warden for 6 hours a week to help combat unsocial behaviour on the estate.*

Representatives of the RCRA attend meetings of the Surrey Wide Involvement Group (SWIG), which represents tenants and leaseholders, giving them the opportunity to swap views and experiences with other groups, and local authorities and housing associations, said Jenny, and these meetings have shown that in some respects other councils are way behind that of Runnymede.

Following Jenny, Deborah Blowers, Director of Housing for Runnymede, gave a few words of welcome. The meeting was then opened for discussion from the floor. One lady said her kitchen was left in a mess, and Andy Davidson, Housing Maintenance Manager, said he had gone through a learning experience over the past year. Deborah Blowers then said a satisfaction survey has been carried out, which showed that the majority were satisfied with the work of the contractors. Asked in which order the work was being done, the meeting was told the worst kitchens come first in order to meet the Decent Housing Standards. In replying to another question, Jenny said some cooking stoves have had to be moved to meet Health and Safety Standards, for instance, if they were too close to windows. Several other points were raised, including the painting of the kitchens, and the choice of unit styles (some of which were on display), work-tops, and flooring.

Those with issues they wanted to discuss with council officials were invited to do so following the meeting, and Deborah Blowers, Andy Davidson, and Jane Margetts (Tenancy Manager), were on hand to deal with them.

It was good to hear the concerns of tenants, as it gives the RCRA more to work on as it seeks to meet their needs.

*It has since been decided to provide Surrey Towers with a warden for 6 hours a week, for a six-month trial period.

Boiler or Gas Fire Problems?

If you need to phone the Maintenance Department with a problem with a boiler or a gas fire, which has been installed by the Council, may we remind you to ensure that there is enough credit on your meter (if you have one), which we believe should be at least £10.00, as without it contractors will not be able to test the boiler or fire, and will charge the Council another call-out fee.

RCRA Committee

The following are members of the RCRA Committee:

Jenny Hill (Chair), Chertsey

Graham Windsor (Vice Chair), Englefield Green

David Wheeler, Chertsey

Brenda Cobban, Chertsey

Joan Kendall, Egham

Teresa Stone, Addlestone

John Willis, Addlestone

Geoff Martin, Addlestone

John Roberts, Addlestone

John Downing, New Haw

Norman Scott, Virginia Water