Top changing rooms prize for one lucky resident as Merlin celebrates first birthday
12 Feb 2008
Merlin Housing Society is one year old today, and to celebrate, one lucky resident will win a £500 room makeover.
It has been a successful year for the Yate-based housing society and the room refurbishment will be the prize in a special competition being run in the next issue of the residents’ magazine which comes out in March.
The magazine will also feature a round up of the things Merlin has done to make life better for residents in its properties over the past year.
These include:
- Updating kitchens, bathrooms, windows and heating systems in more than 200 homes
- Setting up a specialist Anti-social Behaviour Team which has helped in several high profile cases
- Working with community groups to turn around areas that have historically had a bad reputation
- Reviewing the sheltered service to ensure that it gives best value and is strategically relevant in the future
- Carrying out a census of residents to better understand their needs.
Merlin Housing Society chief executive Ian Matthews said: “We are delighted with the progress we have made in our first year and have actually out-performed our business plan.
“We would like to thank all our residents for their support and understanding as we have overcome the challenges faced by a fledgling organisation during our first year. The competition prize is a way of us showing our gratitude.
“We are a not-for-profit organisation and we are committed to investing in better homes and services for our residents. We believe we have achieved this during our first year and are committed to doing the same in the future. We want our tenants to be proud that they are Merlin residents and will work hard to make sure that they are.”
One of the areas to see real improvements during the past year has been the Church View estate in Filton. Properties on the complex were among the first to be refurbished as part of Merlin’s major works improvement programme. Estate walkabouts have also been introduced to identify where repairs are needed, and close links have been established with the police to support the recently launched adopt-a-block scheme.
South Gloucestershire ward councillor Roger Hutchinson, (Lab, Filton) said he was pleased that the organisation had had such a positive impact in the area in such a short time.
“I support the aim of Merlin Housing Society at Church View in trying to turn these flats into somewhere people want to live, rather than somewhere people don’t want to live, as has been the case in the past,” he said.
“The Council would not have been able to bring properties up to the Decent Homes Standard and tenants would have lost out. But Merlin residents are already benefiting by receiving new bathrooms and kitchens and seeing improvements in the area they live.”