Friends of Mill Rise / Meeting Dates

Notes from the Friends of Mill Rise meeting held on 14.1.09

Mike opened the meeting by thanking Suzie, Parwin and Gina for organising the Xmas Party.

Louise Conneely will be the Neighbourhood Housing Officer for Mill Rise. Louise attended the meeting and introduced herself and gave a brief explanation of her role. She will be attending future meetings and will be happy to answer any questions.

Scheme Update – Suzie gave an update on the build.  She had attended a site meeting earlier today and Mansells have advised her that they are on target to complete the build by May as expected.  
Some of the flats are almost complete and they are working on the communal areas. A show apartment will be available in February, viewings will be by appointment only.  A Scheme Manager has been appointed and will be attending future meetings.  Suzie thanked Hilary who sat on the interview panel as the Friends of Mill Rise representative. 

Committee Members – Mike asked the group to think if they would like to be involved with the Friends of Mill Rise Committee. At present there are two members, Mike as Chair and Hilary as Secretary. If you would like to volunteer please would you contact Gina on 635200.  Mike proposed that Suzie be co-opted onto the Committee and there were no objections to this, so Suzie will be on the Committee until we have other volunteers.

Several questions were asked, which are detailed below:-

Flooring/sound issues
A question was raised about sound issues - if residents have wooden/laminate flooring will it be noisy for people living below –Suzie checked with the Development Manager who confirmed that the floors have been designed to minimise noise. There are two levels of flooring, the concrete structure which is topped with insulation and an acoustic floor finish.

Completion Date
The Mill Rise build contract should be complete on the 11th May – there will  be 2  weeks of beneficial occupation for Aspire for snagging and staff training and then phased move ins will take place.

Adaptations
Any adaptations will be identified according to needs, but it is anticipated that these will be minor works, e.g. grab rails.

Shared Ownership
It was confirmed that a 75% share can be purchased from the outset, or if you buy a 50% share you can purchase the remaining 25% 12 months later. If you purchase 75% you do not have to pay rent however you still have to pay the service and supporting people service charges.

What happens if you are on the waiting list for Shared Ownership but cannot sell?
You would continue to be on the waiting list until all the apartments are sold. You could then remain on the list if you wish to and then we would notify you when an apartment became available.

Concerns were expressed regarding the current housing market, are Aspire able to offer any help?
No. We have put a list of partners together to help and assist customers with house sales, however in the current housing climate we have explored options and will try and assist where possible.

The apartments will be re-valued at the end of January and Parwin will send the new price lists out to shared ownership applicants.

Carpeting
The apartments are not carpeted. SK will clarify if residents can have carpets fitted during the weeks of beneficial occupation.

Heating
The heating is by a communal gas boiler.

Cooking
An electric cooker will be fitted in the kitchen.

Rent and other charges
(These are for rental only and are only estimates at the moment)

Rent   - could be eligible for Housing Benefit
£65.00 for 1 bed - NB 48 week rent year
£75.00 for 2 bed

Supporting People  -  Fairer charging assessment
£24.14

Service Charges £37.14 – including gas and electric

Care Package – charged by Staffs CC  NB 2008-2009
£103.28 for up to 10 hours or £176.18 for over 10 hours

Please note that people are entitled to a fairer charging assessment for their care and/or supporting people charges and may receive some funding from the County Council towards this.

Virgin – Aspire will be providing wireless broadband in the communal areas.

The raffle raised £29.00

The Reverend Bill Mash of St Mary’s Church, Knutton would like to invite the Friends of Mill Rise group to an evening service to celebrate the community on Sunday February 1st at 6.30 p.m.  The address of St Mary’s is Church Lane, Knutton, Newcastle, Staffordshire ST5 6DU.

The date of the next meeting is Tuesday 10th February at Earls Court Sheltered Housing Scheme, Miller Street, Newcastle at 2.30 p.m. Please contact Gina Bennett on 635200 to confirm that you will be attending.