Greater Manchester and Southport

Greater Manchester Mayor visits Northmoor Hub and new unit tenants announced

Great Places was delighted to play host to Andy Burnham who recently officially opened Northmoor’s brand new Hub, part of our £400,000 refurbishment project in our anchor neighbourhood.

The five-month renovation project, delivered in partnership with Casey and IGL Surveying Ltd, also saw substantial improvements made to the Iconic Beswick Co-op Building, home to the Northmoor Community Centre and the existing retail space at the front of the building.

Our Community Investment Team also ran a campaign to find organisations to fill two of the retail units, inviting proposals from all sectors and looking to hear from private, public, community and voluntary organisations. The response to campaign resulted in 25 applications, which were finally whittled down to three for residents to vote for two via customer survey.

We’re pleased to announce that Levenshulme Youth Project (LYP) and Longsight Project Space by PROFORMA Arts were the two successful applicants and will be moving into the units.

LYP has been established in Longsight and Levenshulme for over 10 years, and will be using the unit to create a safe, caring, youth-led space where young people can learn, develop and build towards a brighter future. They cater for young people up to the age of 25.

Young people in the area will be able to have a strong sense of ownership of this youth centre, where they can learn a skill, have a voice and make a positive contribution to their communities.

Longsight Project Space will be an accessible space with activities and exhibitions created for, by and with the local community. There will be film screenings, talks, provision of creative workshops and digital skills courses as well as showcasing of art and creativity as ways to improve learning and inclusivity in the area. There will also be a small affordable art shop with souvenirs and LPS will commission socially engaged artworks created by local artists through residencies and research into the area.

Investing in your region

We’re committed to making sure that our properties meet the needs of our customers - now and in the future, and our regional programme has seen us work with contractors, Fortem on a range of improvements to customers homes across the region.

These include 60 new kitchens at Cambridge Gardens in Southport and replacement windows for our properties at Knaresborough Close in Reddish.

The work continues with planned bathroom upgrades for around 70 properties and several additional improvements to complete before end of this financial year.

The reaction from the customers has been extremely positive including from Yvonne one of our customers at Cambridge Gardens, who said:

“After completion of the kitchen at the above address, I would like to highly recommend the workmen who attended my home. From beginning to end I could not fault them; everything fell into place within the time scale. They were a pleasure to have in your home and I would highly recommend for future projects.”

Empowering customers with the Tenancy Sustainment Service

Earlier this year, we launched the all-new Tenancy Sustainment Service, aimed at empowering customers across our neighbourhoods to become more independent and with support to help them maintain their tenancy and live comfortably in their homes.

The new service looks to deliver a holistic approach offered by a dedicated team that provides in-depth support to customers across the region. Working with customers on a one-to-one basis the team helps them identify the support needed through a customer-led wellbeing plan. Support covers a range of needs including financial hardship, complex needs, first-time tenancies or resettlement, substance addictions, mental and physical health needs, or any other areas identified as posing a potential risk for the customer in maintaining their tenancy.

Following a difficult year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this service has become even more critical than in helping customers. Customers like Julie*.

After a build-up of rent arrears and a number of financial difficulties, Julie was struggling to address her debts. When she was given notice of her eviction, Julie knew she needed help and reached out to the team for dedicated support to ensure she could continue living in her home.

Our Tenancy Coach Team was on hand to help and worked to clear the arrears through a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP), putting Julie in contact with debt support services in the local area. Following this, Julie was able to sustain her tenancy and remain in her home, with the team continuing their support offer to ensure these issues do not arise again in the future.

For those who feel they could benefit from extra support, please contact your Customer Relationship Manager as all referrals into the service must come from your local Neighbourhood Team.

*Name changed for confidentiality.

Love Your Garden create kitchen garden for local hero Margaret Mary

Great Places customer Margaret Mary recently received a surprise visit to her new Salford home from Alan Titchmarsh and ITV Love Your Garden team.

Alan and the team were called in by members of the local community in Salford where Margaret Mary works tirelessly, helping to transform the lives of recovering addicts and people with mental health issues via the community kitchen. Here she manages to provide both food and a helping hand to turn people’s lives around.

The team set to work transforming her outside space – the first garden she’s ever had – into a pretty yet functional space where she could grow food for the kitchen but also relax and enjoy her environment, in thanks for the many people she has been able to help.

However, this extra special garden also had an added stipulation from Margaret Mary, a passionate recycler, that it used as many existing materials as possible to create an eco-friendly as well as organic garden. Alan and the team accepted the challenge and were able to use sustainable timber, used pallets and barrels as planters and even an old bath to create a pond in which to grow watercress!

Margaret Mary, the passionate cook and local hero, was delighted by the results.

“I am absolutely bowled over by what they did, it’s brilliant.”

If you missed it be sure to check out ITV Hub where you can watch the episode that aired on October 28.

Manchester Cares

Manchester Cares is one of the organisations that recently received support through the Great Places Community Resilience Fund.

They work to tackle social isolation by linking younger and older neighbours across Greater Manchester. The community network of younger and older neighbours looks to help tackle loneliness and bring communities and generations together through a variety of projects and activities. These include social events, friendship projects and outreach activities.

If you would like to get involved or receive support from Manchester Care, please contact Community.Investment@greatplaces.org.uk or you can self-refer via their website https://manchestercares.org.uk/home

Fortem continues to make a difference across our communities

As well as providing vital help and support with its repair service, our valued repairs and maintenance partners Fortem and their team of volunteers has continued to support customers across our region by delivering a number of social value initiatives during 2021.

These have included community skip days, litter picks, planting and re-decorating communal areas. Over the coming months Fortem is also looking to continue with its quest to add value, supporting even more local activities in the communities it works in.

As part of its ongoing commitments, Fortem has also offered work experience placements to help local people in the region gain valuable experience in both trade and office based roles. These placements can sometimes develop into long-term prospects.

This was recently the case for a student in the Stockport area who attended a two-week placement in August as Rebecca Goodwin Regional Customer & Community Manager at Fortem explained:

“The young gentleman worked alongside our groundworkers and it soon became clear that his work ethic and personality was a perfect fit for the organisation. Although there wasn’t an immediate position available for him at the time, we kept in touch and invited him to an interview following glowing feedback from his mentor, and subsequently an opportunity was created especially for him.”

To conclude a year of giving back, Fortem is also running an Operation Christmas campaign throughout December, whereby residents will be nominated by its tradespeople to receive a hamper full festive treats so don’t be surprised if you hear a knock at the doors and an unexpected early Christmas gift.