Closer to home
Local update for Moat residents living in Sutton - August 2011
Nice and tidy
Continuing to
keep you safe
Update from Sergeant Peter Le Shirley
Help create a Big Society in your little neighbourhood
You may remember residents and
Moat staff getting together to give Stag
Court in Stanley Park Road, Wallington
some tender loving care last Valentine’s
Day. The group really showed that
the Government’s aims for closer
partnerships in the community can
work; now we would like you to think
about where we can organise the next
‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ clean up
session.
Moat is happy to get some staff
members involved, as well as
representatives from appointed
contractors. These clean up sessions
are all about working together to
improve neighbourhoods; furthermore,
in this era of resident independence
and localism, community events are
essential not only for maintaining
your neighbourhood, but for building
relationships between you, your
neighbours and those who provide
you with services, like Moat.
The success of the Stag Court
clean up earlier this year has brought
neighbours together, encouraging them
to maintain their involvement in their
community. To give residents added
confidence in their abilities, Moat is
offering to train some residents in basic
committee skills. The training will cover
the roles of Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer
and Committee Secretary; participants
will find that the training gives them
a greater insight into community
development and how to organise
action days. Furthermore, anyone
increasing their skill set in the current
economic climate may find themselves
more successful if searching for
employment.
If you want to learn more about how you can get involved, please
call 0845 600 1006 and ask to speak with Sarah Bowden, your Community
Development Officer or Tina Russell, your Neighbourhood Officer.
Wallington Police Station has now
officially closed, with the Safer
Neighbourhoods Team relocating
to Crosspoint House in Stafford
Road (to the rear of Sainsbury’s car
park). All six Safer Neighbourhoods
Teams from Wallington, Beddington
and Carlshalton are now based at
Crosspoint House, which, with its
proximity to Wallington Square, will act
as the new front office reception desk
for the public.
The front office will be open from
8am until 8pm from Monday to Friday
and from 10am until 6pm on Saturday
and Sunday.
Wallington is still a very safe and
generally pleasant place to live; of
course there are occasional isolated
incidents which we deal with.
However, Sutton Borough consistently
remains one of the safest boroughs
in London. We are constantly looking
at crime trends via our highly trained
team of analysts. By combining the
information we get from them and
the feedback we receive from you,
my team is able to target particular
types of incidents which you have
highlighted as being an issue in your
area.
I believe that it is vitally important
for you to feel comfortable when
contacting your local police team. We
carry out at least two street briefings
and drop in surgeries each month
where you can come and see us, with
no appointment, to talk about local
issues which are affecting you.
Details of these events can be
located on our website; visit the
main Metropolitan Police Service
web site and follow the links to Safer
Neighbourhoods, where you will find
pages dedicated to your local team.
Alternatively, you can contact us on
0208 721 2730 and we can direct
you accordingly.
Closer to Home
The local update for Moat residents living in Sutton
New credit union
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has approved
creation of a new Croydon, Merton and Sutton Credit
Union, based on the longstanding and successful
Croydon Savers Credit Union. If you live, work or
study in any of these boroughs you can join and
start saving now.
What is a credit union?
Credit unions are savings and loans cooperative businesses that are committed
to promoting saving rather than borrowing.
Anyone who saves with a credit union
becomes a member; the members' savings
are pooled to form a sum of money from
which members can borrow at those times
when they need to. As a co-operative, they
are owned by the members rather than
outside shareholders, so the services are
driven by the members' needs rather than
the drive to make high profits.
Usually, anyone who borrows from a
credit union must continue to save as part
of the 'Saver Loan Scheme'. This means
that as the loan is cleared the member
continues to save, so next time they can
use their savings, rather than borrowing
again. Evidence shows that, over time,
members borrow less and save more.
Every pound saved provides further loan
capital to help others needing to transfer
high interest debts, or deal with one of life's
emergencies.
Membership
Membership of credit unions is open to
anyone aged 16 or over who lives or works
in a geographically defined area, or for a
particular employer. Credit unions in the UK
are growing rapidly, find out more at
www.abcul.org (Association of British
Credit Unions Ltd).
Further information about the credit union
To find out more about the credit union, or to get information on how to save money, call
0208 760 5711, email cu-info@btconnect.com or visit www.croydonsavers.co.uk.
Wallington
Area
Residents’
Association
Group
Why not come along to the
Wallington Area Residents’
Association Group
(WARAG) constitution
meeting on Monday 17
October? The venue is
yet to be decided but will
be announced as soon as
possible.
We will be looking to
appoint a Chair, Committee
Secretary and Treasurer
at this meeting. All Moat
residents are welcome to
attend.
At the last meeting,
Graham Strange, from the
London Borough of Sutton
Environmental Services,
attended to provide some
excellent advice on the
part all residents can play
to reduce environmental
crimes. It is Moat’s
intention to invite more
professionals to give advice
at these meetings.
Sutton Association for the Blind (SAB)
Working to help anyone in the Sutton area who has any visual impairment.
SAB’s aim is to ensure those with visual impairments get
the chance to socialise and interact with society, and that
they do not find themselves confined to their homes, all
alone.
A range of events are organised by SAB, including groups
which examine poetry and music, as well as groups which
encourage attendees to use their other senses – taste,
touch, smell and hearing.
Services and resources
• A resource room containing large print calendars,
address books and large button telephones, as well as
devices which can enlarge documents and photos.
• A low vision clinic where an optometrist assesses
people with visual impairments to see if any tools or
devices can be prescribed to help them in their
day-to-day lives.
• Door-to-door transport to get visually impaired people
to optical appointments, as well as a sighted guide to
help navigate hospitals.
• An Eye Clinic Liaison Officer at Sutton Eye Unit who
acts as a link between the medics, the social care
world and the general public.
• A telephone contact service where representatives of
SAB take calls from those who are not able to get out
of their homes very often. This provides a level of social
interaction that everyone wants and needs.
Further information
If you would like more information about the range of
services, events and facilities on offer from SAB, please
contact Rebekah Kelly on 0208 409 7166. SAB is located
at 3 Robin Hood Lane, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 2SW.
Residential
noise complaints
The London Borough of Sutton Environmental
Health Team operates a noise complaints service.
The team offers a fair and balanced approach to
investigating noise problems and will make every
effort to improve or control noise pollution
in residential areas.
The Environmental Health Team actively
works with residents, businesses, developers
and regional partners to control levels
of noise. It can also carry out noise level
assessments and monitor construction site
development to protect the wellbeing of the
borough. Advice is available on:
• DIY, amplified music, musical
instruments, domestic appliances, leisure
activities, hobbies and parties
• Car alarms (including breaking into
vehicles to disarm the alarm)
• Burglar alarms (including entering
buildings to switch off the alarm)
• Construction (including serving notices
and taking action through the courts)
• Street noise – stationary vehicles with
engines running (but not defective or loud
silencers)
• Audio systems in stationary vehicles.
The team cannot deal with the normal
everyday sounds of living in dwellings; things
like the sound of children playing, occasional
barks from dogs, washing machines or raised
voices are inevitable. However, in such cases,
since the council cannot take legal action as
there is no criminal activity occurring, it may
be possible for the council to write informally
to your neighbour, offering some general
advice on noise control.
What can you do if you have a
noise problem?
• Discuss the problem with the person
creating the noise and try to compromise.
• Contact the London Borough of
Sutton’s Environmental Health Team.
• Keep detailed records about the noise
problem; these records may be used in
court proceedings. Copies of diary
sheets can be downloaded at
www.sutton.gov.uk or please call your
Neighbourhood Officer, who can send
you these instead.
• Be prepared to attend court to give
evidence.
If we cannot resolve the problem, you might
consider taking your own action. Please ask
for the Environmental Health Team’s guidance
booklet to serve as information for you.
What can we do if you contact us
regarding a noise problem?
• Respond to all service requests within
two working days.
• Respond to complaints of very noisy
parties that are affecting a number of
neighbouring properties.
• Use recording equipment where
appropriate.
• Consider legal action to stop noise
nuisance where sufficient evidence can
be obtained.
• Provide noise diary sheets for your use.
• Contact you before we close your
complaint.
• Offer advice and support on taking your
own action if we cannot resolve the
problem.
Further information
To find out more, or to report a noise
problem, please call the London
Borough of Sutton’s Environmental
Health Team on 0208 770 5070 or
visit www.sutton.gov.uk.
Getting
serious
about fly
tipping
Sutton Council is serious
about enforcing the law
on fly tipping.
The importance of
collating good evidence
is essential; notes should
include details such as
dates and times, vehicle
registration numbers,
make and colour
of vehicles and any
recognisable features.
This may be something
as simple as any damage
to the vehicle or a
distinguishing sticker in
the back window.
Keeping a diary or a
note on your calendar
could also help to identify
a regular pattern, a
day when fly tipping
always seems to occur.
This would allow an
enforcement officer to
be waiting to catch the
perpetrator.
Sutton Council will
remove any fly tips from
public land within one
working day of the tip
being reported.
Report it!
To report any
environmental crime,
please call 0208 770
5070 or email the
London Borough
of Sutton at
streetscenesupport@
sutton.gov.uk or go
online to complete a
report form. Alternatively,
you can contact Moat,
who will then contact the
council on your behalf. Estate inspections
The purpose of estate inspections is to check on items such as the cleanliness of communal areas,
anti-social behaviour, litter, graffiti, vandalism, health and safety issues and abandoned properties.
The Sutton and Wallington estate inspection schedule (below)
is updated regularly online within the residents’ section of
Moat’s website (www.moat.co.uk). You can use the timetable
to check when your next estate inspection is taking place.
You may also contact your Neighbourhood Officer,
Tina Russell, on 0845 600 1006 if you require further details,
or if you wish to join her for your next estate inspection.
Residents are always welcome to attend estate inspections.
Neighbourhood
Inspection dates
Meeting point and time
Archway Close
12 October
Archway Court at 10am
Barton Court and Durston
12 August and 18 November
Barton Court at 10am
Bournemoth Court
7 September and 7 December
Bournemoth Court at 10am
Brambledown flat/houses,
Derwnt Walk and Woodbourne Gardens
28 July and 27 October
Brambledown flats at 10am
Canford Court
14 September
Canford Court at 10am
Coniston Court and Alchester Road
26 October
Coniston Court at 10am
Egmont Road
5 October
Egmont Road at 10am
Foxglove Way
2 November
Foxglove Way at 10am
Gisbourne Close
20 October
Gisbourne Close at 10am
Sherbourne Court
28 September and 22 December
Sherbourne Court at 10am
Stag Court
22 September and 14 December
Stag Court at 10am
Wendon Court
11 August and 9 November
Wendon Court at 10am
Woodcote Road, Shirley Road
and Marchmont Road
25 August and 23 November
Woodcote Road at 10am
MyMoat – have you joined yet?
MyMoat is the dedicated area of the Moat website which is
tailored to residents’ needs. It lets residents view their rent account
information, report repairs, give valuable feedback and much more.
In July, MyMoat reached the 500
mark in terms of the number of
registered users. This is a milestone
for the online service and means an
average of 50 residents have signed
up per month since the launch in
October 2010.
Signing up to MyMoat is
very quick and easy
•
Visit www.moat.co.uk and
click on the MyMoat logo at
the top right of the screen.
•
Click register on the right
hand side of the screen.
•
•
Enter name, email address,
tenant reference number
and date of birth.
www.moat.co.uk
0845 600 1006
Click submit.
The Moat Customer Service Centre is
available to offer support with sign ups;
please call 0845 600 1006 if you need
any further information on signing up to
MyMoat.
Alternatively, you can visit ‘Moat on the
move’, Moat’s mobile office, whenever it is
in your neighbourhood. To find out when
it will next be visiting you, please contact
your Neighbourhood Officer or visit
www.moat.co.uk.
Moat, Mariner House, Galleon Boulevard, Crossways, Dartford, Kent, DA2 6QE - 0845 600 1006 - customer@moat.co.uk - www.moat.co.uk
Moat Homes Limited is a charitable housing association. The information contained in this document can be provided in other formats, including large print, on audio tape and
electronic versions. Please contact Moat to see if this document is available in a format more suitable to your needs. July 2011.