John O Gaunts Junior / Community Allotment

John O Gaunts Junior / Community Allotment
Originally uploaded by Aire Valley Homes Leeds

The environment is the number one priority for
John O Gaunt' s Estate in Rothwell Leeds

Stuart Beaumont (Rothwell In Bloom) has helped insipre a hardcore group of local residents ages ranging from 6 - 64 years old to form a local In Bloom group they have a number of exciting projects planned including community allotment, community toolbank, and more .... keep checking this page !!!!

The John O'Gaunts Community Allotment Environment project has been shortlisted for an award from the National Federation of ALMOs as Best Community Initiative.

The project was set up by the John O'Gaunts Residents Group and John O'Gaunts In Bloom Group. These groups have worked together to make improving their local environment a top priority and, in 2007, persuaded Aire Valley Homes to support a series of master-planning sessions to develop ideas for the estate. From this they have developed an innovative project that aims to physically improve the area, involve young people in understanding and maintaining the environment and then use this involvement to forge inter-generational links and support healthy eating for the elderly. An ambitious agenda that makes this community initiative really stand out.

Drighlington Big Spender

Drighlington Big Spender
Originally uploaded by Aire Valley Homes Leeds

As part of the exciting and innovative ‘Big Spender’ scheme, residents of Drighlington in Morley were invited to attend ‘Decision Day’ on Saturday 10th May at Drighlington Meeting Hall to vote on projects they would like to see in their community.

‘Big Spender’ gave the responsibility of deciding which projects received funding to the residents. Representatives from community groups or agencies with project ideas presented their schemes to residents at a venue in Drighlington on ‘Decision Day’. On the day all households in Drighlington represented were given a voting card.

Residents of the community voted on the projects presented to them and decided that seven of the eleven projects applying for funding would receive a share of the £30,000.

The £30,000 funding was based on contributions from the Narrowing the Gap Group, The Outer South Area Committee and Aire Valley Homes.

What is participatory budgeting?

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a mechanism of local government, which brings local communities closer to the decision-making process around the public budget.

It is a flexible process, which has been implemented in varying forms across cities of all sizes. It works to enhance participation in local democracy whilst improving community cohesion and ensuring the delivery of cost-effective local services.

Some of the proposed benefits of PB can be summarised as:

· Enhanced participation in local decision-making, reducing the so-called 'democratic deficit';

· A better focus on issues of social exclusion and neighbourhood renewal, bringing clear benefits to the poorest neighbourhoods;

· Cost-efficient improvements in service delivery.

Internationally PB has achieved recognition by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank, the UN, UNESCO and others, and is widely cited as a model of good practise in local governance.

Care + Repair Partnership

Care & Repair Leeds will work in partnership with Aire Valley Homes to provide a gardening service for customers of Aire Valley Homes।
Description of Service
• The service will involve visiting clients referred by Aire Valley Homes, discussing the work to be undertaken
• The gardening work will comprise of garden tidies, lawn cutting, hedge cutting and any other work requested by the client

Aire Valley Homes Leeds

Aire Valley Homes Leeds is one of three new Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) that were set up in April 2007 to manage council housing in Leeds.
An ALMO is a not-for-profit company set up by the Council to manage and improve the housing stock.
Although an ALMO is a company wholly owned by the local authority, it is an autonomous self-governing organisation
Each ALMO has a board of directors, which includes tenants, local authority nominees and independent members.
The organisation operates under the terms of a management agreement between the council and the ALMO.
We are responsible for:

Your local housing office
Collecting your rent
Managing your estates
Inspecting and arranging day-to-day repairs to your homes
Dealing with breaches of tenancy
Consulting you as a council tenant and making sure that you, and all tenants, have a say in the future of your area
Letting council homes
Managing and arranging the modernisation and improvement of council homes

We manage approx 15,000 homes over a wide geographical area to involve local customers in decision making and service improvement three area panels were set up each panel consists six tenants one Board Member and two Ward Councillors.
One of the panels functions is to discharge a budget set aside for a range of Environmental Projects

The Budget
1/ £100,000 - Environmental Projects
2/ £ 10,000 - Community Development Fund

The Area Panels make sure local people have a chance to influence change in their areas ..... why not get involved in local decision making ... more details here
Or you can follow the progress of projects pictorally here on the blog and also on our flickr site
Meanwhile browse the blog ... we aim to consult you through the blog and get feedback ... if there are any issues you would like us to create a blog about any of our functions please mail us

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South Leeds Locality Network

Aire Valley Homes has been working with the South Leeds Locality Network to make sure that disabled people, Deaf people, older people and carers in South Leeds are listened to and able to play a full and active part in the community.

On 30 January, the group together with staff from Aire Valley Homes held an information morning at Building Blocks Centre in Beeston. The morning gave people a chance to find out about the group and other agencies that may be able to help. There was also a chance for members to give feedback on the problems that they were experiencing – this ranged from problems with transport to being kept informed of what was happening with repairs. The group also gave possible solutions to these problems which will be looked at the next meeting of the Locality Network.

If you would like to be involved with the group, contact Angela Ansell, Equality Officer, 0113 214 1942 or email

angela.ansell@avhleeds.org.uk

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Schools out Yeaaaaaahh

Growing vegetables, environmental awareness and scrap scarecrow creations are at the top of the Half Term timetable for young people on one estate in Rothwell.

Award winning residents young and old on the John O’ Gaunts estate will be mucking in with daily environmental tasks, building a 20 ft long polytunnel – a steel and aluminium greenhouse - for their new youth allotments, and creating a scarecrow from scrap materials collected from the week long mass clean up.

The Environment Week was initiated by the Residents Association and has been organised through the Groundwork and Aire Valley Homes partnership, with the Outer South Area Management Team, to engage residents on local environmental issues to make a lasting difference on the estate through a series of master planning sessions. One of the outcomes so far is the new allotments, built on neglected garden space from the houses’ 90 ft long, post-First World War gardens.

The green-fingered younger residents on the estate recently scooped two runner-up Community and City Pride awards, Project of the Year for the new John O’ Gaunts In Bloom group, and Individual of the Year for 10 year old Jay Smith’s dedication and enthusiasm in the group.

Mentor of the John O’ Gaunts In Bloom group, Stuart Beaumont, said, “There are up to 35 young members that turn up some Saturdays, ageing from 4 to 19 years old and the Residents Association all want these improvements to last. The point of the Environment Week is to give the plans and the community a boost. Once it’s tidy and the residents have seen it that way, they will look to keep it that way. They are duty bound to report any damage and they already defend the area. We are looking to change attitudes so when we make these improvements it will give the residents a stake in their future. I come from a family where everything we ate we had grown, a valuable process young people often do not learn anymore.”

Jason Kerry from Groundwork said, “This Environment Week is a vehicle to launch community ownership of future improvements, which is why we will be developing a master plan for the estate for long lasting differences to the quality of their environment. We want to encourage the local people and generate a sustainable approach, rather than just a one-off.”

Mark Wheelwright from Aire Valley Homes said, “Aire Valley Homes are committed to working with people who consistently raise the environment as one of their priorities. We are now signed to a two year partnership with Groundwork and plan to spend £1.4 million on environmental improvements. We urge our tenants to get in touch and have input into the decision making of their area.”

Litter picking, garden maintenance for older residents’ gardens, Dog Wardens, competitions, games and prizes, fruit and veg give away, Gardener’s Question Time are all on the agenda for the week.
Following the environmental week Outer South Area Panel are proposing to support the John O Gaunts In Bloom group and help them expand their remit by funding 5 heavy duty planters to be position around the John O Gaunts Estate
Project Summary:
The project is an extension of the JOG Environment Week held 11th – 15th February being funded by Aire Valley Homes which aims to complete a masterplan for the estate.
The Environment Improvements is a joint initiative involving Groundwork, John O’Gaunts (JOG) in Bloom, JOG Tenants and Residents Association, South Leeds Health for All, Area Management and Aire Valley Homes.
The project aims to put five large planters in the JOG estate. The planters will give positive environmental improvements to the estate. JOG In Bloom group will plant up the planters with shrubs and flowers,
The new planters will add to the sites already improved by the enthusiastic young group and be a lasting visual improvement that will build on the week long activities undertaken during Environment Week.
Finally ....... another project due to start soon which will involve the creation of a community allotment follow its progress on a new blog coming soon

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Aire Valley Kids Save The Day

We have heard from Alive and Kicking Theatre Company, whose members are rumoured to have close ties with the Foreign Office, that Charles Brown and Mary Froggett of F.A.B., the department of the F.O. responsible for all matters strange and unusual, have been enlisting primary school children in our area to help with a series of mythical and magical emergencies.

Mr Brown tells us that details of these activities are top secret but one is something to do with a witch called Grimknickers and the ghastly and grumpy Princess Leonora of Lyonesse while the other is believed to be a last minute attempt to bring back the confidence of Rig Heimdal, Guard of the Rainbow Bridge and the only one who can save Asgard from The Ice Giants.

We, at AVH, have given these high-level heroics by local children our full backing and have approved various other projects across the whole of our area over a period of four to five weeks in January & February.

This ongoing partnership between Aire Valley homes and Alive & Kicking Theatre Company [not to mention F.A.B. of the Foreign Office] is one which will be aimed at encouraging children in local environmental awareness, responsible behaviour and intergenerational working.

We are at present communicating with the Outer South and Inner South East Area Panels to joint fund a new project which will enable children to tackle these issues in an exciting, imaginative, practical and very colourful way. Look out for Aire Team One, and be ready for ten year old children bringing community action and events to a corner near you!

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