Other News

Salterbeck Summer Programme

The place to be this summer - programme of youth activities and fun days on Salterbeck. All Welcome. Click here

May contain scenes of a Teenage Nature

Warning ! "May Contain scenes of a Teenage Nature ’  is an insight into the journey many young people take through out their teens. YC worked with the theatre group Storytree to develop their ideas. YC were responsible for writing the script, making the scenery, lighting and acting! The Audience was fully appreciative of this groundbreaking original piece of drama. More info with great photos here

Young people from the Go 4 it Project were inspired and enthused after their
‘meet a professional day’. More photos and feedback here

Kendal Impact Mosaic Project

Impact Housing Association’s Supported Accommodation Scheme in Kendal provides housing for single, homeless young people aged
between 16 and 24 years. The young people have their own
residents group that provides them with the
opportunity to engage in a variety of positive activities by applying for
funding. Find out more here

Kendal to get a Foyer! We are going to be developing a new Foyer in Kendal in partnership with South Lakes District Council, the YWCA and Supporting People. This is great news as we have been looking for an opening to repeat our success with the Eden Rural Foyer for some time and now this fantastic opportunity has finally come about. We'll post more details as we they become available

Lound Place, Kendal will consist of 40 one-bedroomed flats priced at £65,000. These are to be sold as shared equity properties.
For photos of the show flat click here and details of the properties look at the brochure and to find out more about Shared Equity and how to apply click here

The HALO project - Healthy Aspirations and Learning Opportunities

The notes from the December meeting can be found here.
For more about HALO click here

Need a Loan?

Cumbria Credit Unions are offering a new Handy Loans service and anyone can apply. For more information click here

Impact Service Standards Performance Report
We introduced our new format Service Standards early in 2009 year and we now have the first report of our performance against key standards which you can view here. We are working hard to improve our performance and will be publishing a full report, detailing how we are doing against all of our standards, in February 2010.

Impact Furniture Services comes to the West Coast Impact Furniture Services (IFS)-West Coast opened its doors to the public for a 6 month pilot project in December.  All items will be on sale to local people at affordable prices.  Call us on 01900 68648 for further details.  Find out more here

Newbuild Homes for Sale on the outskirts of Cockermouth via the Homebuy Scheme, available to people with a local connection. Call 01900 842153 or find out more here



Residents News - Adaptations Did you know that Impact Housing has a commitment to providing adaptations to properties for those of our residents most in need? - find out more here

Impact Housing Association is an innovative, go-ahead organisation operating in Cumbria since 1975. Our name still reflects our objectives - Improvement through Action.

HACT Art Celebration
The community of Salterbeck from across the generations came together to celebrate the completion of an intergenerational project. Click here for more information.

Money Matters
Would you like help with any of the following ?

• Accessing a bank account
• Debt & money advice
• Benefit entitlement
• Housing & council tax benefit
• Home contents insurance
• Saving with a credit union

If the answer is YES then Money Matters could be for you.

Money Matters is a new, totally confidential service available to all tenants and their families. By making an appointment with the Money Matters adviser you can get support and advice on a range of issues but especially around debt and benefit entitlement. The service can also help tenants to open basic bank accounts, access cheap home insurance and join their local credit union. 

Tenants can meet the Money Matters adviser at their local Impact office or in the comfort of their own home.

If you would like to take advantage of the Money Matters service you can contact Impact by:

Phoning 01228 633632 and asking for a Money Matters appointment

Texting Money Help to 07843470673

Asking your rent officer to refer you for an appointment.

GreenWays to Work

The project (August 2009- May 2012) is part-financed by the European Social Fund and was created to research and demonstrate the need for technical and practical skills in the environmental sector and deliver skills development in three key areas: energy efficiency, renewable energy and recycling.

Energy Efficiency- The project is providing training in Energy Awareness for frontline staff employed in Housing Associations and other Social Care Agencies throughout Cumbria. The participants gain a ‘Green’ addition to their CV and knowledge and skills relating to energy efficiency which they then use to benefit low-income households. It is hoped that this element of the project will have a major impact on fuel poverty in Cumbria.

Recycling- The project is using its existing recycling sites as training grounds for skills relating to recycling and re-use. A new qualification has been created during which the participants will learn how to repair appliances, refurbish furniture, recycle plastics etc, all of which should prevent many tonnes of landfill.

Renewable energy- Cumbria Woodlands, the local specialists on woodfuel, are providing training and skills in Woodland Management, Chainsaw use and Tree Felling techniques to raise the profile of woodlands and wood for heat.

Through the Transnational element of the project we hope that people, working locally, in these three sectors will benefit from the experience of our European partners, the County Board of Ostergotland in Sweden. The project will fund fact-finding visits to Sweden and seminars in Cumbria to share knowledge and experience.

We are hoping to extend the breadth of training during the life of the project in response to identified local need. By May 2012 a minimum of 310 adults will have received training, the majority of whom will also have achieved a qualification.

CUMBRIA CHOICE

HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS AND COUNCILS ARE CHANGING THE WAY THEY LET PROPERTY.

The way social housing is allocated across Cumbria is set to change at the end of 2010. The 6 District Authorities and 8 Housing Organisations are working together to develop a new way of letting their properties which will give more choice to local people needing social rented housing. The 8 housing organisations are; Accent Housing; Derwent & Solway; Eden Housing; Home; Impact Housing; Riverside; Two Castles, South Lakes Arms Length Management Organisation.

The consultation period for the new Cumbria Choice Scheme ended on 30th April 2010.

The results from the consultation will be available and placed on Partner’s websites at the beginning of June. It will include feedback on the questions asked as well as a selection of the comments received.

Impact Housing Gains Highest Award from Investors in People

Impact has just been reassessed for its Investors in People award. We are delighted to have been awarded the much coveted "Gold Award" which is shared by only 20 organisations in the North West- out of more than 14,000 businesses!

In the photograph are, from Left to Right, Steve Holliday (Director of Human Resources, Fred Ayres (IiP Inspector), Mike Muir (Chief Executive), Pam Stainton (Snr HR Officer) and Mike Rose-Troup (Chair).

Workington Local Standards Pilot

In October 2009, the four main registered social housing landlords with properties in the Workington and Seaton area – Derwent & Solway HA, Impact HA, Westfield HA and Home Group - joined forces to work with their residents on a pilot project, after being successfully chosen to take part in a pilot commissioned by the Tenants Services Authority (TSA - the national social housing regulator). Information about this pilot can be found here

Contacting us

Out of Hours Number - Easier Access

We have recently made some changes to our telephone system so that it is easier to contact our Out of Hours emergency service.  This service is available for emergencies outside of office hours, including the need for an emergency repair, and advice and assistance if you are experiencing a problem with serious anti-social behaviour.  You will be charged at Standard BT rates for this call.

The numbers are Carlisle Office 01228 633600 | Salterbeck Office 01946 833100 | Workington Office 01900 842100

For an emergency repair select Option 1
For problems with anti-social behaviour select Option 2

When you select the emergency repair option, you will be put through to a person who will assist you with your emergency repair.  When you select the anti-social behaviour option you will be put through to a call centre, operated by Orbis Security Service. The person taking your call will take a note of your problem and offer some advice. If your problem is particularly serious you will be able to speak to an Impact manager.

Please remember these services are for emergency situations only – if your issue is not an emergency please wait and contact us during normal office hours which are Monday to Thursday 9 am to 5 pm and Friday 9am to  4.30 pm.

New Evening and Weekend Repairs Appointments – Better Service for Tenants

Impact now offers evening and weekend appointments for some repairs. These appointments will be offered if it is not possible, or extremely difficult, for any tenant to make an appointment during normal working hours. The new appointment times are as follows:-

Wednesday evenings between 4.30pm & 6.30pm (last appointment 6.30pm)

Saturday mornings between 8.30am & 12.30pm (last appointment 11.30am)

By providing these extra appointment times we are aiming to offer times that are more convenient for people where normal day-time appointments are genuinely difficult. In the longer term we aim to be able to offer evening and weekend appointments more widely.

Check how we are performing

Ever wondered if you are getting a fair deal from us or how we compare to other landlords in the area? Help is now at hand from the national social housing regulator, the Tenant Services Authority. Its new free web tool lets you compare the performance of housing associations in the area - all you have to do is enter your postcode.

You will find us compared on six things that tenants have told the TSA they would find useful. They include comparing your rent with the local average and seeing how we rate in terms of our overall service and our repairs and maintenance in particular.

You can compare our performance with other landlords' via the TSA's website:

www.tenantservicesauthority.org

Just click on the Find and Compare Landlords link in the top right-hand corner of the website. No logins, passwords or subscriptions are needed.

TSA Chief Executive Peter Marsh said " We have received lots of feedback from tenants who find it difficult to compare landlord performance. This online tool gives you an easy way of challenging your landlord if their performance is worse than others' in the area."

The TSA is the regulator for social housing in England. Its role is to raise the standard of services for tenants. It is currently sounding out views on its plan for a set of standards that housing associations and councils will have to meet from 1 April 2010.

Fanplastic

As part of our ongoing efforts to demonstrate the beneficial possibilities of reusing waste products and unwanted items, we plan to establish a small-scale plastic recycling facility at Centre 47, called Fanplastic.

The proposed Fanplastic project will operate within our existing Carlisle operation at Centre 47, and will demonstrate the practical application of a relatively low-tech solution to a major waste management issue.  We will take everyday items of plastic such as yoghurt pots or milk containers and quickly, safely and cleanly transform them into a reusable material. For more info about this exciting new venture please click here

"Your Info"
We have an exciting service for our Tenants!
This facility allows our Tenants to set-up an account via our website (similar to Internet Banking) that takes you to your account details.
24 hours a day, seven days a week  - access to your information

Click here to register