It’s important to be in the know about gas safety, so you can keep you and your family safe.

As part of gas safety week, we have shared several ways to ensure your home is gas safe.

Always get an annual gas safety check

It’s recommended that you get an annual gas inspection on your home’s gas appliances, and this should be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. As a Wandle resident, it is our responsibility to ensure these checks are arranged every 12 months. During the inspection, the engineer will look at your gas pipework and also complete a tightness check to confirm there are no leaks. These gas safety checks usually take around 20 to 30 minutes. 

We ask that in order to carry this out you let us in your home, and rearrange an appointment if you are not in.

Obtain a gas safety certificate

It’s important to obtain Gas Safe certificates to provide you with the knowledge that the appliances in your home are safe to use. What is a gas safety certificate? Also called a Gas Safety Record, this is a document that should be given to you by a Gas Safe registered engineer after they have carried out any gas works or repairs at your home. This record shows that your appliances are safe to use and should be updated every 12 months — an annual Gas Safety Record is a legal requirement for Wandle and we will be in touch to arrange. 

Book an annual boiler check

It’s highly recommended that you have your boiler serviced once a year. This will keep it running safely and efficiently, as well as ensuring that your boiler warranty remains valid. The good news is that many boiler manufacturers, including Ideal Heating, will contact you when your boiler service is due. It’s even super easy to book a service online.

Get a carbon monoxide alarm fitted

Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? If your appliances have not been installed or ventilated properly, they run the risk of leaking this dangerous, odourless gas. To keep your home safe, buy an audible CO alarm, follow the manufacturer’s install instructions, and place it roughly 15cm from the ceiling. Also make sure that you regularly test the batteries. By taking these steps, you and your family will be alerted if a carbon monoxide leak occurs.  

Only use gas appliances for their intended purpose

Tampering with gas appliances can be fatal; it’s important that you only use gas appliances for their intended purpose. This will ensure that the appliances are used safely and avoid any unwanted emergencies. Gas appliances should have adequate ventilation: making sure no air vents are blocked allows gas appliances to burn properly, reducing the risk of fire or explosion. 

Know what to do in an emergency

Act fast! It’s crucial that you act fast in a gas emergency by carrying out the following steps. If you smell gas at your property, you must open all doors and windows to help ventilation, turn off the gas emergency valve control, leave the property and immediately call National Emergency Gas on 0800 111 999. 

Make sure you follow all the advice given to you by the emergency adviser and wait outside for the engineer to arrive. You must not use any electrical switches, smoke or naked flames near your home.

Wandle has pledged its support for Gas Safety Week (11 – 17 September 2023) and will be raising awareness about the importance of gas safety.

Gas Safety Week is here to remind the public how to keep themselves gas safe, and organisations across the nation are working together to raise awareness of the dangers of poorly maintained gas appliances, which can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

This year, Gas Safety Week focuses on celebrating the breadth and diversity of gas engineers and the essential role they play in keeping the nation gas safe. As well as reminding the public, about gas safety and tips to ensure they stay safe, including not attempting DIY on gas appliances and being aware of the warning signs of unsafe appliances.

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive said, “We take the safety of our customers seriously, and provide homes we would be happy to live in. We carry out annual gas safety check in all our homes with a gas boiler, and we continue to encourage our customers to educate themselves on gas safety so they can stay safe in their homes.”

It’s important that our customers support us in keeping them safe in their homes, by allowing us access to their homes and rescheduling an appointment if it isn’t a convenient time for them.”

Keep up to date with Gas Safe Register’s updates and advice throughout Gas Safety Week by following @GasSafeRegister on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and search #GSW23 and #GasSafetyWeek.

Today (Friday 1 September) is Starts at Home Day and is a celebration of the value and care support services have on people’s lives and communities across the country. 

At Wandle, we exist to support people, across south London, who need a home. We want to be a good landlord and contribute to building strong communities in south London and deliver against our vision ‘Homes to be proud of and services you can trust’. 

Our helping hand fund goes a long way to making our customers lives easier. Most recently, our resident support team helped a young resident who had recently lost her father and was financially struggling to stay afloat. 

In addition, her bathroom and bedroom were severely damaged by various leaks and was dangerous to use.  Understandably this was severely impacting her quality of life and causing her further strain during a difficult time. 

Our asset team worked quickly to install a new bathroom that was fit for purpose and resolved the historic leak damage, making her home safer and more comfortable. Our resident support team were quick to respond to her application and awarded her £400 Argos vouchers to purchase a new rug, wardrobe, and bedding. 

This has made now made her house a home and can now slowly rebuild her life and look to the future. 

About the Helping Hand Fund 

The Helping Hand Fund is available to residents who are on very low incomes, or experiencing exceptional financial hardship. To be eligible, you must be a tenant or homeowner named on a tenancy or lease with us, and able to demonstrate that you need this support. We may ask you for details of your income and expenditure. 

The Helping Hand Fund is also available to new tenants to support one-off costs when moving into your home. 

The Helping Hand Fund cannot be used to pay your rent, or to pay off other debts, and you can only make one application a year. 

Are you a Wandle resident over the age of 50, living in Southwark, and with an energy debt over £300?  

Energy Debt Write-off Funding

Through the HACT Fuel Fund, the Age Friendly Social Housing Programme is now offering the opportunity to write off your energy debt if you are more than £300 in debt with your provider.

You can apply by filling out the application form here > Southwark application. You have until the end of September to apply.

You will need to provide your contact details, address and energy details, the bank details for your energy provider and a copy of your most recent energy bill. The payments will be processed within five working days.

Please let us know if you have any questions or issues accessing the links by emailing customerempowerment@wandle.com.

On Saturday 5 August we held our first community day at St Boniface Hall in Tooting.

Thank you to everyone who braved the torrential rain and made the day such a great success. Ms C* who is a Wandle resident, said ‘I was delighted with the community day and really happy I was contacted as promised regarding an ongoing issue’. Ms C* got to meet a number of staff and said she was very impressed with the event.

We are hosting our next free community day on Saturday 19 August at Copleston Centre, Copleston Road, Peckham, SE15 4AN. Doors open at 11am and close at 4pm.

By joining us on the day you can:

• Meet the Wandle team
• Learn about our services and involvement opportunities
• Have your say on the issues that matter to you
• Win fabulous raffle prizes
• Take part in fun activities for the kids
• Enjoy free food and drink.

We look forward to seeing you there!

We recently enlisted a local artist to create an art mural on one of our blocks.

Graffiti is a major problem and our London and Brighton apartments scheme in Peckham regularly falls victim to graffiti on the gas meters and bin store doors.

Not only is it unsightly, but it’s also expensive as we have to regularly recharge the cost to our homeowners through their service charges.

We reached out to local artist Sam Evans to transform the area into a colourful mural which would bring joy to the community; as well as deter vandals.

He designed three options that were then voted on by our leaseholders. They chose option three (they were all brilliant) and Sam soon got to work transforming the area.

Mural art can be seen across London, bringing colour and culture to local communities. Sam believes mural art can “influence positive change in local areas by being really uplifting, bright and inspiring young people to make the right decision by discipline themselves within the creative world.”

Thank you to Sam for his hard work!

We want to hear from you if you have an idea to improve your estate your block. Email your ideas to neighbourhood@wandle.com.

About Sam Evans

Sam Evans is an artist living and working in London. Inspired by Neo Rauch and David Hockney, he is inspired by his urban surroundings. You can view his other work on his website.

We are hosting our first community day this Saturday at Boniface Hall in Tooting.

The day starts at 11am and finishes at 4pm, is free to attend and promises the following:

• A chance to meet the Wandle team
• Learn about our services and involvement opportunities
• Have your say on the issues that matter to you
• Win fabulous raffle prizes
• Fun activities for the kids
• Free food and drink.

The address is St Boniface Hall, 185 Mitcham Road, Tooting, London, SE17 9PG.

We look forward to seeing you there!

A single mother living in Wandsworth with her young son was recently awarded £650 from our helping hand fund after hitting financial difficulty.

Ms Js* father had sadly passed away, and she had to contribute towards the funeral costs. This had left her in rent arrears and struggling to pay her utility bills.  

She contacted our resident support team because she could not afford to replace her faulty washing machine and oven.. The cost of travelling to and from the laundrette was a further cost she could not afford.

The team assisted her in completing the helping hand application and processed it as a matter of urgency. She was then awarded £500 in Argos vouchers to purchase a new washing machine and oven, as well as £150 in Sainsbury vouchers. In addition, she agreed to an achievable payment plan to pay off her rent arrears.

3.2 million people are living with hygiene poverty in the UK, and the reality of low income is that it restricts people’s options, leaving many caught between being able to heat their home, pay their rent, eat or be clean.

“I was completely floored by the amount of pressure I was under, and your team did their absolute best to remove the pressure, but you also reinstalled my belief in the kindness of people again.

“I feel like a different person, and I will be eternally grateful for your kindness and understanding. My life has changed dramatically in the last 24 hours.”

Ms J*

If you are struggling with any of the issues mentioned in this article, or are unable to pay your rent and bills, do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help and will support you to stay in your home.

*We cannot provide you with financial advice, but we will always signpost you to support agencies that can.

School is almost out for the summer holidays and with money feeling tighter this year for many of us, we have rounded up 16 places kids can eat for free or for £1, which will help make family days out more affordable.

• Asda Café – Kids eat for £1 with no adult minimum spend in family-friendly Asda Cafes.

• Beefeater and Brewers Fayre – Two children under 16 can get a free breakfast with every adult’s breakfast.

• Bella Italia – Children eat for £1 with any adult main meal. This offer is only available Monday to Thursday.

• Bills – 2 kids eat free with every adult meal.

• Dunelm Pausa Café – Kids eat free when an adult spends £4.

• Hungry Horse – Kids eat for £1 on Mondays & up to 2 kids get a free breakfast with 1 adult breakfast.

• Ikea – Kids can get a meal from 95p every day.

• Morrisons Café – One free kids’ meal when an adult spends £4.49.

• M&S cafes – Kids can get a free lunch when an adult spends £5 or more in the café on themselves.

• Preto – Kids up to the age of 10 get a free meal with every adult’s meal.

• The Real Greek – Kids under 12 can eat for free every Sunday when an adult spends £10.

• Sainsburys Café – Kids eat for £1 when an adult purchases a hot main meal.

• Table Table – Two children under 16 can get a free breakfast everyday with one paying adult.

• Tesco Café – Kids eat for free when an adult spends a minimum of 60p.

• YO! Sushi – Kids eat for free with every adults meal.

Wandle is supporting Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week 2023 (3-9 July). This is a national campaign to raise awareness and encourage communities to stand against ASB by highlighting the actions that can be taken by those experiencing it.  

This year’s theme is ‘Know Your Rights’ and our ongoing aim is to ensure our customers and the surrounding communities understand help is available.  

We provide homes in welcoming and safe areas in South London; however, we do unfortunately receive ASB reports that our Community Safety team work hard to resolve. Last year we received 352 reports of ASB. Most cases related to noise nuisance (30%), intimidation/harassment (20%) and criminal activity (7%).  

Wandle is committed to preventing and resolving all forms of ASB by working in partnership with other agencies. We recognise if ASB is not properly addressed, it can significantly affect the quality of life for those affected, which is why we want to encourage anyone suffering with ASB issues, to have the courage to report it. You can read more about how to report ASB here > Reporting anti-social behaviour – Wandle Housing Association. 

Frank Smith, our Community Safety Team Leader said: “We know anti-social behaviour can have a huge impact on people’s lives and it is important victims are supported when they raise a report. We are fully committed to supporting our customers and the communities in which we operate in by working closely with our partners to ensure all ASB cases are dealt as quickly and as effectively possible”.  

If you need to report an ASB case, the most efficient and simplest way of reporting anti-social behaviour is through MyWandle. If you do not want to use MyWandle, you can call our Customer Service Team on 0300 2000 120.