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MEMBER BRIEFING No 19
FEBRUARY 2015
A quarterly update for elected members of Chorley Borough Council
New Homes
92 new homes were completed during 2014, bringing to 384 the number of new homes provided by
Adactus and CCH in the borough since March 2007. 59 homes are currently under construction:
Clancutt Lane, Chorley
Wigan Road, Chorley (Phase 2)
Wigan Road, Chorley (Phase 3)
The Willows, Coppull
Beaumont Gardens, Chorley
Discover Leisure, Coppull
8 units
3 units
10 units
8 units
5 units
25 units
Anticipated completion
Mar 2015
Mar 2015
Jun 2015
Mar 2015
Nov 2014
2016
Planning permission is being sought on a number of schemes which will start on site in 2015 if
planning is obtained.
Environmental Improvements
Chorley Moor 2014/15 Works (phase 3)
Environmental enhancement works comprising new brick wall and railings, render feature panels, bin
stores, new footpaths and lawns to 36 properties in Liptrott Road, Chorley are on site at present.
Wordsworth Terrace, Chorley
Environmental improvements are underway to the flats and will include resurfacing of existing tarmac
footpaths, removal and landscaping of steep steps, replacement of rainwater goods / soffits &
fascias, new railing topped walls and gates to the front of the flats and external decorations.
The Heys, Coppull
Work is underway to ramp the existing steps to the bungalows 46-68 (even numbers) and to remove
existing paved footpaths and resurface with tarmac.
Car Parking, Chester Place, Adlington
Following resident and member consultation prices are being obtained for the provision of 6 off road
parking spaces at Chester Place, Adlington.
Rent Arrears
Arrears for CCH were £313,449 compared to £336,877 last quarter, giving an overall arrears rate of
1.6% and a collection rate of 110.16%. There are 677 true arrears cases (ie. net of Housing Benefit
due), representing 22% of the total stock.
Neighbourhood Fund
The 2014/15 Neighbourhood Fund has now been fully allocated, with 49 different projects benefitting
in total.
Applications for the Neighbourhood Fund will be invited from April 2015. £53,000 is available for
community projects and please email [email protected] for more information
or go to the Adactus web site.
Neighbourhood Development Activity
The CCH Hit Squad completed repair work and painted the fences and gates of all CCH homes on
Harrison Road. They have also carried out low level facelift works at Tootell Street flats including repointing of a 50m wall, painting of gates, fences, railings and ground level render panels. The team
have also removed over 200 bags of waste from CCH estates as part of their weekly rota duties
during Q3 and participated in a clean up event on Chorley Moor in partnership with Chorley Council.
A 30 day challenge was issued to residents of Windsor Avenue, Adlington. Those taking part
received a free ‘spruce up kit’ to help improve the fronts of their homes and three winners were
selected based on the most improved home after the 30 days had elapsed, winning a certificate and
home improvement vouchers.
Volunteer led stay and play sessions have been introduced at Longfield Community Hub. The
sessions, which are free of charge, are run by local residents every Monday between 6pm and 8pm.
Activities on offer include board games, story time and arts and crafts.
A £1000 grant has been secured from Eon to run a digital inclusion project initially involving 10 CCH
tenants.
An application to LCC’s Food Poverty Small Grants Scheme has been successful with a £2,800 grant
secured to run healthy living cookery classes in conjunction with Runshaw College.
Contact Centre Update (Connect)
Connect answered almost 40,000 calls in quarter 3, 5% fewer than the same period last year. Longer
average call durations meant the total time spent on incoming calls was greater. 67% of calls were
answered in 40 seconds against the target of 80% and an action plan to enable staff to be deployed
better to meet call demand is in the process of being delivered. A new method of gathering
satisfaction and other feedback from callers to the contact centre went live in December. From a
response rate of 32%, 91.9% of customers were satisfied with the handling of call and 71.3% of
these said their query required a single call to be resolved. A new out-of-hours repairs call handling
service was introduced in March. This will be provided by SPS Doorguard.
Tenancy Enforcement
CCH’s Tenancy Enforcement Team is dealing with 43 live cases. Recent legal action includes:

an application for possession at Crook Street, Chorley where the tenant and his partner
caused noise nuisance by arguing loudly. The couple breached undertakings and an
application for committal was made. The tenant has now terminated his tenancy;

notice to terminate a starter tenancy at Barnside, Euxton following noise and nuisance reports
caused by the tenant’s visitors;

possession of a property in Wood Lane, Heskin where the tenant failed to allow access for a
property inspection and gas safety check;

an injunction against a tenant from Gloucester Road, Chorley following numerous noise
reports;

an application for injunction and possession of a Beaconsfield Terrace, Chorley property
following reports of noise nuisance. The tenant had previously been subject to an injunction
order. The tenant signed an undertaking and a suspended possession order was agreed.
The Tenancy Enforcement Team takes action against CCH tenants or their household members or
visitors who commit anti-social behaviour or where individuals cause nuisance or annoyance to CCH
tenants. Any incidents of anti-social behaviour should be reported on 0300 111 1133.
Asset Management Update

void rent loss across the Adactus Group was 0.73%, better than 2013/14 (0.76%) and
2012/13 (1.47%);

99% of responsive repairs were completed within target, with an average of 0.22 days for
emergency, 1.2 days for urgent and 5.81 days for routine repairs;

repairs satisfaction was over 93% based on a 28% response rate.
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Estate Walkabouts
Estate walkabouts are carried out quarterly by the Neighbourhood Development Officers. Feedback
from previous estate walkabouts can be found on the CCH website at:
http://www.chorleych.co.uk/blog//?s=estate+walkabouts+feedback
Should Members experience any problems with these arrangements please contact Chris
Richardson on [email protected] or telephone 07736 475732.
Estate Walkabouts
Lindsay Ogden - t: 0300 111 1133
[email protected]
Adlington
Starting from 3.30pm
7th May | 30th July | 22nd October
Coppull
Starting from 8.30am
21st May | 13th August | 5th November
Amy Holden - t: 0300 111 1133
[email protected]
Chorley Moor
Starting from 2.00pm
19th May | 18th August | 7th November
Sam Hornsby – t: 0300 111 1133
[email protected]
Northgate Drive
Starting from 2.00pm
5th May | 8th September | 3rd November
Eccleston / Bretherton / Croston
Starting from 2.00pm
20th May | 23rd September | 18th November
Wordsworth / Beaconsfield / Shakespeare Terraces
Starting from 2.00pm
13th May | 16th September | 11th November
Progress / Wright / Gaskell Streets
Starting from 2.00pm
6th May | 9th September | 4th November
Greenside, Euxton
Starting from 2.00pm
12th May | 15th September | 10th November
St Gregory’s Place / Hodder / Calder Avenues
Starting from 2.00pm
19th May | 22nd September | 17th November
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Ward Spotlight
Adlington and Anderton
Work is underway to provide 6 new parking bays at Chester Place, Adlington.
Chisnall
Work to build 2 new properties at Chorley Lane, Charnock Richard is complete.
Chorley East
A schedule of planned works for Delamere Place has been prepared with a view to improving the
external appearance of the estate and will be included in the 2015/16 programme.
Chorley North East
Boundary treatment works to the flats in Wordsworth Terrace are underway.
Chorley South West
The CCH Community House at 8 Liptrott is used every Tuesday between 6pm and 8pm by Freestyle
Soccer to deliver diversionary “Urban Hub Club” activities to young people. The tenant resource
room provided by CCH, which gives tenants free Internet access, is also now based at Liptrott Road.
24 homes have been completed at Hodder Avenue, Chorley (former Douglas House site). 7 new
homes are being provided at Beaumont Gardens.
Environmental improvements at Liptrott Road are underway and due to complete by the end of
March 2015.
A planning application to provide 3 bungalows on the site of the former children’s home at Thirlmere
Road has been submitted.
Coppull
The construction of 8 new bungalows at The Willows is nearing completion as are 8 new homes at
Clancutt Lane.
Eccleston and Mawdesley
12 new homes have been completed at the Carrington Centre, Eccleston.
Councillor Enquiries
To enable enquiries from elected members to be dealt with promptly by the appropriate team please
address e-mails to: [email protected]. Please address any letters c/o
Adactus Housing Group, Internal Affairs Team, Turner House, 56 King Street, Leigh, WN7 4LJ. We
aim to deal with enquiries within 3 business days of receipt. Enquiries addressed to other staff will be
redirected to Internal Affairs and may lead to delays in obtaining a response.
Further information
For any further information or if there is anything else you would like to see included in this briefing,
please contact Richard Houghton on 01257 244815 or e-mail [email protected]
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