We have pulled together some of our favourite FREE activities across East Anglia and places to eat with the kids.

Free things to do in Suffolk

• Abbey Gardens – Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1XL
  The Abbey Gardens, in the heart of Bury St Edmunds, is the perfect spot for enjoying peace whilst watching the world go by. The award-winning 14-acre Abbey Gardens is on the site of the former Benedictine Abbey, the Abbey of St Edmund, once one of England’s most prosperous, largest, and powerful Benedictine monasteries.
• St Edmundsbury Cathedral – Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1LS
  St James’s Church became a Cathedral in 1914. The Cathedral building has continued to develop over recent years with the addition of the Millennium Tower, completed in 2005, and its magnificent painted and gilded vault, added in 2010. Visitors are welcome to look around the Cathedral on their own. Entry is free, but donations are gratefully received.
• Norfolk and Suffolk aviation museum – Bungay, NR35 1NZ
  The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum is a collection of aircraft and aviation-related artefacts near the former RAF Bungay airfield in Flixton. 25,000 artefacts of every description can also be seen within three hangars and seven themed buildings, including RAF Bomber Command, Air-Sea Rescue, Royal Observer Corps, 446 Bomb Group USAAF.
• Holywells Park – Ipswich, IP3 0PG
  Holywells is a beautiful open space with stunning trees and ponds and a green hub for the community. There is something for people of all ages to enjoy.
  The new play area,’ Imagination Island, has been designed to connect with the water in the park. The splash pad is now open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, with opening times being reviewed as the weather improves.

Free things to do in Norfolk

• Dad’s army museum – Thetford, IP24 2DS
  The Museum is independently run by an enthusiastic and dedicated platoon of volunteers, and it currently opens on Saturdays. They are a dog-friendly museum; although entry is free, donations are appreciated.
• Riverside Walks – Norwich
  Yare Valley walk – This follows the River Yare from Bowthorpe Southern Park to Marston Marsh through various habitats. It features four local nature reserves – Danby Wood, Marston Marsh, Earlham Park Woods and Bowthorpe Marsh.
  Wensum riverside walk – This walk follows the River Wensum from the city centre to Hellesdon. A spot worth looking out for is the Cow Tower, part of Norwich’s medieval defences. Near Cow Tower is a place called ‘the beach’ by locals, a favourite spot for children wanting to feed ducks and swans.
• Redwings Horse Sanctuary – Caldecott, NR31 9EY
  Redwings Caldecott is their largest visitor centre, currently home to over 100 horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.
  Here you can meet mini but mighty Shetland pony Sampson, plus a whole herd of donkeys and mules including adorable donkey Esther and Fox the handsome Shire!

Free things to do in Cambridgeshire

• University Museum of Zoology – Cambridge, CB2 3EJ
  The Museum is one of Cambridge’s major attractions, displaying thousands of specimens spanning the entire animal kingdom, from elephants, giant ground sloths and giraffes to birds, reptiles, insects and molluscs. Entry to the Museum is free.
• Paxton Pits Nature Reserve – Saint Neots, PE19 6ET
  Paxton Pits Nature Reserve is a rich mosaic of wildlife habitats, with beautiful lakes, riverside, meadow, reedbed, scrub and woodland. It is open for visitors all year round.
• Fitzwilliam Museum – Cambridge, CB2 1RB
  Owned by Cambridge University, the Museum features a treasure trove of artefacts, antiques and art from all over the world. This includes old English pottery and ancient wonders from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Places to Eat in the summer holidays from Money Saving Central

• Asda – Kids eat for £1 all day, every day, with no adult spending required.
• Tesco – Kids eat free with a purchase of 60p+ from Monday 24 July until Friday 1 September.
• Sainsburys – Kids eat for £1 with the purchase of an adult hot main. From 11.30 am every day.
• Beefeater and Brewers Fayre – Two children under 16 can get free breakfast daily with one paying adult.
• Hungry horse – Kids eat for £1 on Mondays.
• Morrisons – Spend £4.49 and get one free kid’s meal, all day, everyday.
• Bills – Two kids eat free all day every day from 24 August until 1 September.
• Whitbread Inns – Two kids under 16 eat for free with every adult breakfast purchased.
• Pausa café @ Dunelm – Kids get one mini main, two snacks and a drink free with every £4 spent after 3 pm.

The post Free family activities for the summer holidays! appeared first on Havebury Housing.

Marcus works locally, and Brenda is a keen gardener; her garden has won many awards at the annual ‘Bury in Bloom’ competition.

Marcus is a very active member of the community and is the Chair of the Howard Estate Association of Residents and Tenants (HEART).

He explains,

“HEART is for tenants and homeowners to bring any issues they have to the attention of the estate representatives. We want to try and make the community a great place to live. HEART is a non-political, non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers, and anyone from the Howard estate is welcome to join us.”

If you are interested, you can find out more on their Facebook page.

Living in their current home

The couple moved into their current home 13 years ago. They were both experiencing health issues at the time and needed to move closer to local amenities. They moved home via a mutual exchange.

A mutual exchange allows a resident to ‘swap’ their home with another council or housing association resident. If you are interested in a mutual exchange, click here to find out more.

Marcus explains, “We have had a few ups and downs with our health, and Brenda has Parkinson’s disease, which means we needed to be closer to the town and shops”.

It was important that Brenda could remain as independent as possible.

“We are so close to everything now. The local shops are brilliant, the bus service is exactly what we need, and we have the best postman who will often knock on the window to check in on Brenda.”

Havebury as a landlord

When talking about us as a landlord, Brenda comments on how our services have improved over the past few years.

“If the boiler goes wrong, we call you in. If the light fitting fails, we know we can call you. It takes the worry away and the pressure of having to do everything ourselves.”

Getting involved

Marcus is also a member of our Tenant Voice Panel (TVP) and explains a bit more about why he decided to get involved.

“I received an email inviting me to participate, and I thought, why not! I think because I am Chair of HEART, I thought I better join in to see what is going on. It’s also nice as a tenant to be able to have a say with the people who are running the organisation”.

He continues to say that it felt less like “them and us” and more like a community feeling. He felt heard and listened to.

When asked if he would recommend other residents join the TVP:

“I would say get involved. At least you can have your say. There is no point in moaning about something behind closed doors when you can do something about it”.

If you would like to join our Tenant Voice Panels or to learn more about how to engage with us, click here or send an email to engagement@havebury.com

The post Meet Mr and Mrs Stonehouse appeared first on Havebury Housing.

This letter will explain that you will need to move from tax credits to Universal Credit (UC) within three months, if you wish to carry on receiving top-ups to your income.

You may see this move referred to as ‘Managed Migration’, and in 2023-24 it shouldn’t affect those on additional benefits of housing benefit, income-related ESA, JSA or income support.

You will have three months to make a claim for UC, and when you claim, you will get ‘Transitional Protection’ to top-up your UC payments. This ensures that no one will be worse off when moving over.

If you need help understanding why, how and when you need to move over to UC, our Welfare and Benefits team is on hand to help. If you want to discuss your options, please call the team on 0300 3300 900 extension 7305 or email myadvice@havebury.com

DWP – Department of Work and Pensions
HMRC – HM Revenue & Customs
ESA – Employment and Support Allowance
JSA – Jobseeker’s Allowance

The post Moving from tax credits to universal credit appeared first on Havebury Housing.

We want to ensure you are getting the help you need. The benefits system supports families with living costs, and this year, the government has increased benefit rates by 10.1%, in line with inflation. This means you could be entitled to benefits that you haven’t been able to claim previously. In particular, Universal Credit, which is aimed at working-age people.

Here is an example of how someone might qualify:

Changes to the family’s income would impact the amount of Universal Credit they would be entitled to.

It’s important to note that if you have a child with a disability benefit or are a carer for someone, you could receive extra elements in your assessment, meaning more money each month.

You can use a benefits calculator to see what you might be entitled to. They are easy to use, and you can get an answer in minutes. Click here for more information.

If you believe you are entitled to claim Universal Credit, you can find out more on how to claim here.

If you already receive some benefits (for example, jobseekers allowance, employment and support allowance, income support, housing benefit and child & working tax credit), it may not be suitable for you to claim Universal Credit right now. If you get tax credits, please seek advice before making a claim.

If you want to discuss your options, contact our Welfare and Benefits team on 0300 3300 900 extension 7305 or email myadvice@havebury.com

 

The post Are you getting what you are entitled to? appeared first on Havebury Housing.

His dad previously owned a garden centre, and Oscar has always been interested in gardening.

“My dad got me into it, and he knows everything about plants.”

Oscar’s greenhouse is currently full! He grows fruit and vegetable, which are used for family meals, as well as growing plants.

Oscar’s mum, Lauran, fully supports her son’s hobby and is very proud.

“We gave Oscar a raised flower bed to himself, and he does it all. He even started growing some plants on his bedroom window, which shows you don’t need much space to start.”

Ever ambitious, he has plans for more flowers and vegetables now that spring has arrived – if he can find the space!

He also has a little stall outside his home in Walsham, where he sells some of his grown produce. He wants to use the money he raises to be able to buy more compost, tools, and seeds to keep his hobby growing.

We asked Oscar if he had any top tips for other children wanting to start growing their own plants, and he said:

“Start with some compost, pots and seeds. You don’t need much space or a garden to start growing.”

We want to wish Oscar all the best with his future gardening plans and his produce stall.

The post Oscar’s green-fingered quest appeared first on Havebury Housing.

Could you tell us a little bit more about your role as a project manager?

“Our Development team is made up of two project management teams. Our pre-contract team, who purchase land to build new affordable homes and our post-contract team, who manage our building contractors who build our new homes.

Every day is different for me. An essential part of my job is valuing land to build much-needed, new affordable homes.

Most of these come from land agents, whose primary role is to approach housing associations, asking them to bid for the schemes.

We are also often approached directly by developers to submit bids on sites they are already building on.

I also find development opportunities by using property websites and phoning various estate and land agents.”

How else do you and the team find potential development opportunities?

“Another part of my role is reviewing local authority online planning portals to see what applications have been made or approved. If I find one that would be suitable, I will contact the planning advisor to see if we can provide our services for affordable housing. This includes building homes on land that already has planning permission.”

What makes a good site for developing new homes?

“Before we make an offer, I always visit the site. There are many reasons I do this, but mainly so I can:

• Identify the closeness of work opportunities, leisure, education, and medical facilities, as well as cycling, walking and public transport access for future residents.
• Identify how close our existing homes are. This is because it’s better for us and our residents to have homes closer to existing ones so we can deliver services, such as repairs, effectively.

Once I have visited the site, I’ll carry out an assessment. This involves getting current sales and rental values on homes in the local area. We must have the most up-to-date and accurate market data for the location. This is to ensure we fulfil our value for money commitments.”

What is something you are proud of?

“In the past 12 months, we have successfully bought land in Long Melford, Haverhill, Cockfield, Linton, Littleport, Bacton and Thetford. These sites alone will see the development of 166 new homes in the local areas. This is something which I am proud to be a small part of.”

In the past 12 months, we have completed:

• 37 social rent homes
• 71 Affordable Rent homes
• 87 shared ownership homes

You can find out more about our homes for shared ownership here.

The post A day in the life: Project manager appeared first on Havebury Housing.

The theme for this year is ‘Know Your Rights’, with a particular focus on the anti-social behaviour (ASB) Case Review, which used to be known as the Community Trigger.

The ASB Case Review is a process which allows members of the community, or advocates on their behalf, to ask for a review of the responses to their complaints of anti-social behaviour. This applies regardless of which agency is investigating and managing the ASB case.

You can find out more about that here.

Here are some facts about ASB that you may not know

• YouGov research commissioned by RESOLVE shows that almost 1 in 7 people have had to consider moving home because of the impact anti-social behaviour was having on them.
• A staggering 51% of ASB victims and witnesses surveyed did not make a report because they ‘didn’t think anything would be done’. 15% said they did not know how to report ASB or where they would turn to do so.
• Young people are not the main perpetrators of anti-social behaviour; adults are.

We are dedicated to continuously improving the way we manage ASB to ensure our residents and the communities in which they live remain safe. We are also proud to be certified members of Resolve.

We will be supporting ASB Awareness Week on our Facebook page all this week, why not join in the conversation #KnowYourRights

The post ASB Awareness Week 2023 appeared first on Havebury Housing.

But there are things you can do as well, like checking your smoke alarms, keeping your communal area clear from clutter, and calling us should you ever be worried about something in your home.

Top tips for reducing fire risk in your home

• Take pans off the heat or turn them down if you need to leave the kitchen while cooking.
• Never leave children in a kitchen cooking unattended – ideally, always stay in the kitchen, especially if you’re cooking with fat.
• Keep matches and saucepan handles out of the reach of children.
• Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob.
• Keep electrical appliances clean and in good working order to prevent them from triggering a fire.
• Use one plug per socket. If you are using an extension cable, try not to overload it. You can find out more about this and use the ‘Socket Overload calculator’ here.
• Keep heaters clear from curtains and furniture, and never use them for drying clothes.
• Stub cigarettes out properly and dispose of them carefully.
• Put candles in a holder and keep them away from things that may burn – never leave them burning when you’re not in the room.
• In the event of a fire, get out, stay out, call 999 – do not tackle fires yourself.
• If your clothes catch fire, remember to stop, drop and roll.
• Many fires start at night – do some checks before you go to bed.
• Make checking your smoke alarm part of your regular household routine.
• If there is a fire, know your escape route.

You can find further information on fire safety by clicking one of the buttons below.

Staying safe in your sheltered home

Staying safe in your flat

Staying safe in your house or bungalow

E-bikes and e-scooters

E-bikes and e-scooters have recently become a popular form of transport for many. Although there are many environmental benefits, it’s important that they are used, charged and stored safely.

We’ve put together some safety advice we hope you find useful.

• Batteries can be a fire risk if they’re overcharged, short-circuited or damaged. It’s important you check them regularly for damage and only charge them for the recommended time stated in the manufacturer’s guide.
• Never leave your e-bike or e-scooter on charge unattended, and do not put them on charge while you are asleep.
• Unplug the charger once it has finished charging.
• Never block fire escape routes with an e-bike or e-scooter.
• Never tamper with the battery, and always follow the manufacturer’s guide.
• Ensure the battery and charger meet UK safety standards, and always use the correct charger.
• Never cover the charger, as this could lead to it overheating or setting on fire.
• Be wary of DIY kits bought online to convert a standard bike into an e-bike.

Safer home visit

To see if you are eligible for a safer home visit, click here.

 

The post Fire safety in and around your home appeared first on Havebury Housing.

In March 2023, we sent out our staff satisfaction survey working with Great Place to Work UK

We had 75% of our staff members respond to the survey, which accounts for 191 individuals. Of this 75%, 84% responded positively to the statement that we are “a great place to work”.

Being certified with Great Place to Work gives us vital insight into what our teams love about working here and areas where we can improve. The survey allows us access to invaluable employee comments and data that will help us to give everyone an even better employee experience moving forward.

We are one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women!

We ranked 43rd in the large (201-1000 employees) category.

Our values – respecting, engaging and being fair – are embedded within our culture, and we are proud to be recognised as a @Great Place To Work UK for women!

If you want to learn more about the people who work for us, you can view some of their profiles here.

Are you interested in finding out more? You can browse our latest vacancies here.

The post A great place to work for the second year! appeared first on Havebury Housing.

Suffolk County Council are asking for new hosts for Ukrainian guests. They are in need of a wide range of homes for single people, mothers with children and complete families. With a particular need for new hosts in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Haverhill and Bury St Edmunds and for homes able to take large families of 5 or more people.

Homes for Ukraine

The Homes for Ukraine scheme enables people living in the UK to host Ukrainian individuals or families for six months. People who provide accommodation through the scheme will be offered a thank-you payment of £350 per month.

If you are a tenant or a shared owner of ours and have the space, you can apply to be part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. All we ask is that you let us know that you are applying – you can do this by emailing myarea@havebury.com

• You cannot fully sub-let your home, so if you don’t have space, this won’t be an option for you.
• Once you have expressed your interest, we will check that your home is suitable for hosting a family and that it won’t cause overcrowding.
• You will be unable to charge rent, and guests won’t be able to claim housing benefit.
• The government has confirmed that the £350 payment will not be treated as income and should not affect any benefit entitlements. If this information changes, we will update this webpage, and we ask that you please do your own research before signing up for the scheme.

Click here to view the Government’s FAQ document in relation to The Homes for Ukraine scheme.

You can also learn more on the Suffolk County Council’s dedicated webpage here.

 

The post The Homes for Ukraine scheme – Suffolk hosts appeared first on Havebury Housing.