Housing

New baby, Elexis Anne, arrived the day before the removals van, as a surprise early Christmas present for Hayley Burnside and her daughter Shardel, aged 18 months old

Hayley had previously been living in an upstairs flat which was unsuitable for herself, her young child and her new baby. Her support co-ordinator, Amanda Jacques from Stonham Housing contacted Darlington Council to ask if they had a property which would be more suitable for Hayley and her family.

Darlington Council informed Amanda about the Empty Homes Community Grant’s programme, which they are currently working in partnership with Five Lamps to refurbish long term empty properties. He also informed her that a newly refurbished property had just become available to rent.

The two bedroomed home which had been empty for a number of years was in a poor state of repair when the council’s Empty Homes Officer, Michael Conyard, contacted the owner to see if they would be interested in having the property refurbished.

With the home owner’s consent, the property was refurbished to a high standard; Five Lamps also installed a new A-rated boiler. JDP Contracting Services Limited approached Five Lamps and offered them free external wall insulation both measures have made the property energy efficient which will save Hayley money in the future on her energy bills. An Energy Advisor at Five Lamps has also arranged to contact Hayley to ensure she is on the cheapest supplier/tariff available.

Hayley said:

“The house is absolutely beautiful; top to bottom everything is perfect. I’m really, really pleased with it, and it’s so much better than the flats, I wouldn’t be able to manage the stairs with a pushchair and the two little ones, It’s also came at the right time after just giving birth to a baby and Christmas coming up”

Linda Evans, Five Lamps Operations Manager, Financial Inclusion & Housing said

“Five Lamps are aiming to refurbish and bring back into use up to 49 properties across Durham and Darlington by 2015. It is really gratifying for all the partners in the scheme to hear positive comments, not only from owners and new tenants, but also other people living in the area who are pleased about the beneficial impact the work has made to their neighbourhood”

Five Lamps are currently working with Darlington and Durham Councils to refurbish and bring properties back in to use through the Empty Homes Community Grant’s programme. The contract is funded until March 2015. The funding was secured from The Department of Communities and Local Governments’ Empty Homes Community Grants Programme which is administered by Tribal Education.

Empty Property Week runs from 1-5 December 2014.

A formerly run-down street in Teesdale is once again hoping to become the pride of the village thanks to a North East charity, with support from a local Housing Association and Durham County Council

After years of neglect, Chapel Street, one of the oldest streets in Evenwood, County Durham, had become run down, with boarded up houses attracting fly tipping and anti-social behaviour. One two-bedroom home recently went under the hammer with a guide price of £7,500, having sold for £65,000 seven years before.

North East charity Five Lamps has been turning things around, having secured dedicated Government funding for voluntary and community groups to tackle the issue of long term empty properties.

Without this dedicated funding, owners of empty homes are often unable to access any funds to bring their properties back into use, creating a vicious cycle of decline in areas with high numbers of empty properties.

Five Lamps have spoken with the owners of all of the empty properties, some of whom live as far away as Bristol and Southampton. Owners have relinquished their empty properties for up to a decade, so that the homes can be let and managed by Teesdale Housing Association, part of North Star Housing Group.

All properties are refurbished to the decent homes standard which means that they have modern kitchens, bathrooms and boilers, are well insulated and are free of health and safety hazards.

Contractors that are appointed by Five Lamps to undertake the refurbishment works are encouraged to provide employment opportunities for local people. The contractor undertaking the works at Chapel Street agreed to take on Ali, who was on The Work Programme as he had been unemployed for several years. Ali was recruited as a self-employed building contractor and Five Lamps supported him with a Start-Up Loan to support his new business enterprise.

And with work on the first homes complete, the first tenants can finally start settling in to the new and improved Chapel Street.

Walter Knight is one of the new tenants, who has moved in this spring. He said:

“They’ve done such a lovely job on the house. It’s great to see work being carried out on the whole street. In so many other places old houses like these would be pulled down, but they’ve got so much character. They are all different inside and I can’t wait to see the others when they are finished”

A former bus and coach driver, Walter, 56, was originally from Spennymoor. Having moved all over the UK and travelled across Europe for work, he’s returned to the North East to be near his son, daughter and seven grandchildren.

He said:

“I’ve always tried to spend as much time with the grandkids as possible, but when you live far away you feel like you miss out on so many milestones as they grow up. I’m lucky to have been able to move into this house so I can be near them. I’m nearly settled in now, but I’ve just got to get the pictures of the grandkids put up!”

Sally Thomas, head of community investment at North Star Housing, said:

“It’s a win-win situation for landlords and residents alike, and we’re delighted to now be able to welcome the first tenants in to their newly renovated homes. The houses in Chapel Street are a set of very attractive terraced homes. But it’s about more than bricks and mortar. It means strengthening communities and providing homes for local people, at a time when demand is so high in areas like Evenwood and neighbouring Cockfield.”

The local Parish Council has been supportive of the project, part of a £1.8million programme using a government Empty Homes Community grant to bring 75 properties back into use across Teesside and County Durham.

Cllr Pauline Charlton, Durham County Council Chairman and Ward Councilor commented

“On the face of it, it can be nothing but good and it seems like an excellent scheme which will improve the area greatly”.

In 2003, Middlesbrough Council transferred its housing stock to a not-for-profit housing association, Erimus Housing.

It now owns approximately 10,500 properties across Middlesbrough and also delivers the Homelessness and Housing Advice services on behalf of the Council.

In 2011, Erimus Housing was approached by a couple who were having difficulties keeping up with their mortgage payments and had fallen into arrears.

The couple were both registered disabled and fell into difficulty with their payments after one of them had lost their job. The mortgage provider had issued proceedings for possession and following a court hearing the Judge had granted an extension of 28 days to allow the couple to attempt to resolve their financial situation. They were extremely concerned about losing their home and contacted Erimus Housing for advice and assistance.

Erimus’ Homeless Prevention Officer met with the couple to discuss their circumstances and talked through the options available to them. It was agreed that the best option would be to help clear the arrears and secured loan with an interest-free loan from the Repossession Prevention Fund. The Homeless Prevention Officer made a referral to the Five Lamps.

Middlesbrough Council contracted Five Lamps to administer the Repossession Prevention Fund. Five Lamps is one of the largest community-led social and economic regeneration businesses in the North East and takes a holistic approach as well as providing money advice, checking income and expenditure and issuing loans, it also offers advice and assistance on employment and self-employment opportunities.

On receiving the referral, John McCoy Five Lamps’ Loan Officer visited the couple at the first opportunity and was able to assess their situation. Having gone through their income and expenditure it was apparent that if their arrears and secured loan were cleared, they would be able to afford the mortgage payments on their current income. The loan of £4,000 allowed the Loan Officer to negotiate with the lenders for a full and final settlement of the arrears; both lenders agreed to the terms and the court proceedings were stopped.

The couple were delighted to be able to have kept their home and to have an affordable payment plan in place. They were thankful to everyone who had been there to support them through their difficult situation.

The Repossession Prevention Fund is an effective method of preventing homelessness. Since it started in March 2010, a total of 34 households in Middlesbrough have been assisted with an affordable interest-free loan, up to December 2012. This includes owner-occupiers in mortgage arrears as well as private and social rented tenants in rent arrears. The income that is received from loan repayments is recycled and used to issue loans to other households, it is anticipated that a further 20 households will be assisted through the current budget.

Between March 2010 and December 2012 the number of households that has approached Erimus Housing for advice and assistance due to mortgage or rent arrears is 240. In the same period, the number of cases where the Council has accepted a statutory homeless duty due to mortgage or rent arrears is 3.

James Ridley, 74 from Durham was living in a home that was unhealthy and unsafe to live in.

The only form of heating was a coal fire and the bathroom was unusable due to its location upstairs and Mr Ridley’s mobility problems. The rest of the house was in general disrepair.

Jim had no savings and only a small pension and with over £40,000 worth of work needed, he had no way of funding it himself so he contacted his local Council to see if they could help.

Durham County Council introduced Jim to the ‘Helping Hand’ scheme, which is run by all 12 North East Council’s and helps homeowners who are struggling to carry out repairs, essential home improvements or adaptions.

Durham County Council assessed the works needed and arranged for contractors to visit Mr Ridley’s home and then referred the case to Five Lamps, the loan administrators for the Helping Hand Scheme.

Michael Sunderland, Five Lamps’ Loan Officer visited Jim and arranged to finance the works, partly by a Disabled Facilities Grant and partly by an Equity loan which is secured against the home and only repayable when the property is disposed of. This meant that Jim could have extensive work carried out to his property without having to find the money to pay the loan back monthly.

Jim said

“This scheme has helped me to stay in my home and keep my independence – a care home would have been my only other option. I had to live in a care home whilst the works were being carried out, if I had had to stay there my mental and physical health would have been affected. There must be other people like me who are in a similar situation who want to stay in their own home, and this scheme gives them that option.”

Since the start of the Helping Hand scheme, Five Lamps working in partnership with all 12 North East Councils have supported 334 homeowners with affordable loans.