Last Thursday, we held our first pub quiz of 2023, raising money for our chosen charity Pecan. This was a great chance for Wandle staff to socialise outside of work, whilst also supporting a great cause. The quiz raised £150 for Pecan’s Southwark foodbank, which will help many families in need.

Pecan exists to ensure that no one in Southwark goes hungry. Their vision is for a UK without the need for foodbanks.

For people in sudden crisis – redundancy, benefit delay, illness, or even an unexpected bill – can mean going hungry. Every day parents skip meals to feed their children and people are forced to choose between paying the rent, or heating bills, and eating. Every year they give food parcels to thousands of people in the local area.

By taking part you could be in with the chance of winning a £50 Amazon gift voucher.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any outdoor space, caring for indoor plants is just as fun and rewarding and really brightens up a home.

There are many benefits to gardening and caring for plants, including:

• It’s a mindful activity, which is great for improving your mental and emotional resilience.
• You are taking care of the environment around you.
• It’s a great form of exercise.

This year’s categories are:

Best indoor garden

Do you know your Cheese plant from your Rubber plant? If so, then we want to see how you have brought the outdoors in.

Best outdoor garden

Are you team landscaped or team wildflower? Either way, this category is for those who have created a botanical haven to enjoy during the warmer months.

Best edible garden

If you enjoy nothing more than eating your homegrown veg garnished with your own herbs, then this is the category for you.

Best junior gardener

Do your little ones (and teenagers) enjoy helping you in garden? Do they have a patch of garden they take pride in? Their own herb box? We would love to see what they have been up to.

Community garden

Do you care for an allotment space with your neighbours? Run a voluntary gardening project with people in your community? Brightened up a communal outdoor space for people to enjoy? Let us know!

Entries open in early July, so keep your eyes peeled for an announcement.

We have noticed an increase in complaints about people taking drugs in the communal areas of our blocks.

This is a criminal offence and if you witness this kind of activity, it should be reported to the Police immediately. You must also let them know if you are concerned for your safety.

Once you have reported it to the Police, please contact us with the incident report number. Please let us know if there is any drug paraphernalia and we will dispose of it safely and securely – do not do this yourself.

There are a few ways we can support you in stopping people who are committing these offences entering your building.

• Always make sure the front door is closed behind you. It sounds obvious but taking a few moments to double check will stop opportunists entering your building. Also, be mindful of anyone following you into the building. This is known as tailgating when someone closely follows you into a space they are not authorised to enter.
• Don’t open the door to anyone you don’t know. If someone buzzes your entry phone and tell you they have a delivery for another property, don’t let them in. If someone says they are from Wandle, you have the right to ask to see identification.
• If you notice that there isn’t a no smoking sign in your block, please contact us with ‘no smoking sign and your address’ in the subject line and we will resolve this.

We appreciate that you won’t know everyone who lives in your block, and visitors will be coming and going. However, these small steps will go a long way in reducing illegal activity which will make your homes feel more safe and secure.

We have launched our real-time appointments system MCM:Live to make managing your repairs easier than ever.

You told us you wanted us to invest more in our services, and MCM:Live plays a key role in delivering an improved repairs service, and communicating clearly and consistently with you.

With MCM:Live you can now view real time appointment availability and interact with your operative if either you or they are running late.

You can also access the Live:Map which shows when your operative is on route to your repair appointment and their ETA. In addition, you can trust we are who we say we are, as you will be able to view their name and ID badge before they arrive.

If you are not in and our operative cannot gain access to your home, you will be able to view your appointment card confirming they attempted to complete the job.

Wandle colleagues recently celebrated the handover of 33 new homes at Whaling House, Canada Water, Southwark.

The scheme, purchased from Scape’s Canada Water, comprises of 10 shared ownership properties and 23 homes for social rent. There is also a landscaped communal rooftop garden, with views of London for residents to use.

Colleagues from across the business joined residents to view the high-spec homes. There was also a ribbon cutting with Wandle resident Jhonny Laimes, Chief Executive Anne Waterhouse, and Tracey Lees who has recently retired from the position.

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive at Wandle said: “At Wandle, we support people across South London who need a home and are ambitious in building new homes and successful communities.

“Everyone deserves to have a home they are proud to call their own, and I am delighted that we have been able to help our new residents achieve this.”

Whaling House resident Jhonny Laimes recently moved into a specially adapted home with his family after living in temporary accommodation that did not meet his needs.

He had previously lived in an overcrowded temporary one-bedroom property with his wife and three children. Living in an overcrowded home had caused a physical and mental impact on the family, with the lack of personal space and privacy taking a toll.

Jhonny said of his new home, “Previously I lived in temporary housing not adapted to my disability, and my son had to sleep on the floor. I couldn’t get out to the street without help due to the difficulty of the stairs and my life was difficult.

“Wandle have given me the opportunity to live in a house adapted for my needs. I am very grateful for this opportunity because it has given me another opportunity to live.”

We provide homes that are places of comfort, safety, and security, with enough space for families to thrive.

Damp can cause mould or mildew on walls, furniture and even clothing. It is unpleasant, not nice to look at and can be bad for your health.

Our aim is to eradicate – as far as is possible – damp and mould from our homes. But to do that we need to work with you. In this leaflet we look at the different causes of damp and mould and suggest what we can do as landlord and resident to solve the problem.

Working out what is causing the problem

The reasons for damp and possibly mould growth arising are: leaks, structural damage, inadequate ventilation/heating and condensation. It is important for us to work out which of these is the main cause so we can adopt the most effective course of action.

What will we do if you report damp and mould?

The first thing we will do is to ask you to try some preventative measures for a 6-week period. The reason we do this is that around 1 in 5 cases of damp and mould can be solved with this approach and it is helpful to eliminate it as a cause. We have included some of the main tips overleaf. If, at the end of this period you still have a problem, contact us again and we will arrange for someone to come round to your home to investigate.

How to reduce condensation

Condensation appears when moist air touches a colder surface. This
can be a window, external wall or even a mirror. It also happens when
the air cannot move which is why you can find it behind furniture or
inside wardrobes.
There are 4 key things we can do to reduce condensation in our homes:

• Produce less moisture – tips include putting lids on pans when
  cooking, drying clothes outside if you can and venting your tumble
  dryer to the outside.
• Let the damp air out – use extractor fans if you have them, keep
  kitchen or bathroom doors shut and open the window so steam
  goes outside. Trickle vents and a gap between furniture and walls,
  keeps air moving and fresh. To keep air moving, keep a gap between
  furniture and walls.
• Heat our homes a little more – while you don’t want to be wasting
  money on heating, having heating on low in rooms you don’t use very
  much will help prevent them becoming damp.
• Insulate and draught proof them as much as we can – draught
  proofing will help keep your home warmer. When the whole house
  is warm, condensation is less likely to form.

First steps in dealing with mould

Wipe down areas with a fungicidal wash (not bleach or washing up liquid). Look for one with a Health & Safety Executive approval number. Spray onto the cloth, not the affected area. You can also paint areas with anti-fungicidal paint. Please let us know if you are struggling to afford this.

What we are doing to eradicate damp and mould

We have been researching with residents the issues they face and installed temperature and humidity sensors in some homes to monitor issues. We have collected data on our homes to plan for future investments which will include works to minimise the likelihood of damp and mould problems.

If you have an issue with mould or damp, call us on 0300 2000 120 or email customerservices@wandle.com.

We are delighted to announce that Martina Brown has been shortlisted at this year’s Women in Housing Awards in the Woman of the year category.

Martina is Wandle’s Neighbourhood Customer Services Manager. She is a passionate and dedicated housing professional, and Wandle are lucky to have her.

The ceremony takes place in Manchester on Monday 26 June. Good luck Martina!

Wandle’s estate improvement fund was set up in June 2020 to deliver much needed works to our estates.

Many of the projects have been hugely welcomed by residents, and it has delivered
a valuable improvement to their local communities.

Below are some examples of how the estate improvement fund has had a positive impact.

Thalia Court
The recessed area directly outside the bin chamber doors at Thalia Court was being
Used as a dumping ground for local shop keepers and passers-by.

This meant that the bin chamber doors were often blocked with refuse, and residents
were unable to get into the bin chamber which was creating an unsightly and
unhygienic mess.

For years, bulk refuse collections were arranged every week, often twice a week to
continuously remove the piles of rubbish mounting in this location. This was
incredibly costly and time consuming. And only resolving the issue for the short term.

The estate improvement budget was able to fund works to remove the recessed area
for dumping refuse.

The final costs for the work works were £20k, and they have added enormous value
to the quality of life of Thalia residents as well reduce bulk refuse collection costs.

Belville Close
Belville Close residents requested a review of the parking spaces arrangements on their estate.

They asked for the parking bay numbers to be altered, the line markings to be repainted as they were needed a fresh lick of paint, as well as additional visitor spaces.

The estate improvement fund helped resolve these issues, and create a more harmonious community.

One of the biggest challenges to the housing team in delivering these projects is the technical nature of the work. However, they are usually of huge importance to our residents and help create and maintain safe and secure communities.

We are pleased to announce that we have recently completed the purchase of 33 new homes from Scape’s Canada Water scheme, Whaling House.

The scheme was purchased from Scape, a student accommodation provider, and comprises of 10 shared ownership properties and 23 available for social rent.

That is not all, the scheme also includes a communal rooftop garden for residents to spend time and relax.

Olajide Akintelure, Head of Assets and Portfolio Development said: “I am pleased that these much-needed homes will provide families with a home that allows them to thrive in one of our key boroughs. We aim to deliver homes which are genuinely affordable, safe, sustainable, and well designed’.

Maria Ramos, Head of Customer Service Delivery, said: “I am proud that we are providing social rent homes to those who would otherwise struggle to afford a home of their own, or rising rent costs.

“Social rent homes provide the foundation people need to get on in life, put down roots, plan their future, and make their house a home. We are excited to welcome our new residents from early April 2023.”

Keep your eyes open for updates on this story in the near future!

We are participating in the Mayor’s Business Climate Challenge (BCC), a voluntary energy efficiency programme developed to support businesses in reducing their energy consumption, costs, and carbon emissions. By taking part, we are pledging to reduce our energy consumption 10% in a year.

To achieve this, we will receive free customised technical advice from consultants to help make our workplace more energy efficient and future-proof our business against rising energy prices.

Findings from the BCC pilot indicate that in the first 9 months of the programme, participants reduced their energy consumption on average by 16%, saving £8,300 in energy costs. 

We will keep you updated on our progress throughout the year.