100 Years of Council Housing
2019 marks 100 years since Local Authorities were given the power and funding to build homes. there are 33 000 Council-owned homes in Camden alone.
The Council will be at events over the summer, to talk with tenants about cleaning, gardening, repairs & caretaking, and offer advice & information.
The events will include:
| Where | When |
| Studholme Court | Saturday, 22 June, 3 – 6 pm |
| Abbey TMO Summer Fun Day | Saturday, 13 July, 12 – 5 pm |
| Camden Square Festival | Saturday, 13 July, afternoon & evening |
| Camden Square Festival | Sunday, 14 July, all day |
| Ampthill Square Estate Festival | Saturday, 14 September, 12 – 5 pm |
More information can be found at: https://www.camden.gov.uk/summer
The Guardian: Council housing: it’s back, it’s booming – and this time it’s beautiful
An article from The Guardian, focussed on Camden, giving both the upside and the downside.
Sport & Physical Activity Funding
An initiative through Camden Council:
Two funding streams now open!
There are now two opportunities open to apply for funding to deliver sport and physical activity! With a short and simple application process, why not apply?
Satellite Club Funding from London Sport
Purpose
Satellite Clubs are focused on supporting an increase in the number of 14-19-year olds participating regularly in physical activity and sport.
The clubs should be designed to meet the needs of young people and provide a positive fun experience, giving young people the confidence to take part.
Deadline
23:59 Sunday 30 June
How to apply
www.londonsport.org/about-london-sport/current-projects/satellite-clubs/
Communities Together Fund from Camden Giving
Purpose
The ‘Communities Together Fund’ is a partnership with Volunteer Centre Camden and funded by the London Borough of Camden’s ‘We make Camden’ campaign.
To support Camden organisations and citizens to celebrate diversity and unite our communities, we have established the Communities Together Fund. 10 Camden residents are at the heart of the decision-making for this fund and will choose which projects to support based on their own experiences.
Deadline
1 July 2019
How to apply
British Library – Free Family Day
A message from Camden Council:
Join us at the British Library for the Build a Story Family Day this Saturday 22 June, 12pm-4pm.
The day will be full of FREE fun and creative activities that are fully accessible to deaf families. You will get to make, see, touch, sign, learn and explore! Everyone is welcome, so do share the attached flyer with all your family and friends.
This event is being run in partnership with Camden Family Learning, Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children and The British Library. Plus there are lots of brilliant organisations running activities all through the day. You can read further information about the event here: https://www.bl.uk/events/family-day-build-a-story.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you all at the event.
DMC Meetings – June 2019
The next round of District Management Committee (DMC) meetings are:
- Tuesday 18 June, Kentish Town DMC
- Wednesday 19 June, Camden Town DMC
- Thursday 20 June, Gospel Oak DMC
- Tuesday 25 June, Holborn DMC
- Thursday 27 June, Hampstead DMC
Minutes and agenda can be found here (scroll down to find the DMCs):
Somers Town Greening Group
If you are a resident of Somers Town and you care about the green spaces in Somers Town, then you might be interested in the Somers Town Greening Group.
Which residents might like to contribute?
- Residents that care about green spaces in Somers Town
- Residents with ideas
- Residents wanting to develop and share skills and knowledge around greening
- Residents can commit to a few hours a month for 1 year
If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Amardeep Kainth, Community Engagement Officer for Somers Town Big Local, engagement@stbl.org.uk .
Date: Wednesday 12 June
Time: 6pm
Venue: Foyles Suite, British Library
HS2 Community Meetings in June 2019
See below HS2 Community Meetings in June:
- Thursday 13 June 10:00 am – 7:00 pm – Swiss Cottage Market Place
- Thursday 20 June 3:30 pm – 7:00 pm – Steve Smith Hall, Regents Park
- Thursday 27 June 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Swiss Cottage Library
Camden Climate Change Alliance
Camden Council are setting up a Citizen’s Assembly to decide how Camden should respond to climate change.
Citizens’ Assembly on the climate crisis
Share your ideas
This summer a Citizens’ Assembly will meet to decide how Camden should help address the growing climate crisis.
The Citizens’ Assembly wants to hear your ideas about how our homes, neighbourhoods, Council and country could change to tackle the issue.
To help gather your ideas we have created an on-line platform, which also provides some background information about the climate crisis. The platform will be open until late June and all your ideas will be shared with the Citizens’ Assembly.
Your contributions and the work of the Citizens’ Assembly will help to set the direction for a new Environment Plan for Camden.
Click here to share your ideas on the climate crisis
Progress on Caretaking Service Review
Find below an email from the Camden Council Housing Management giving the progress of their review of their caretaking service. Note that this may not apply to you as not many street properties get a caretaking service from the Council – but some do.
Essentially, they have come up with a proposed new caretaking service, and are looking for comments by 21 July 2019. If this affects you, please click on the link to read the full proposal and make comments. Alternatively, provide your comments in plenty of time to the CASP Committee, and we can respond on behalf of our members.
Dear resident
In the winter we asked you what you think about your caretaking service as part of the caretaking and estate cleaning review. We wanted to know what you thought about the caretaking service so that we could find out how to improve the service we provide to you.
Thank you
Over 1,300 tenants and leaseholders from estates and street properties across the borough took part in the review – thank you to everyone who got involved. By sharing your views you are helping to improve your caretaking service for the future.
You told us in the review that you really value your caretaking service but there are some things you would like improved. You’d like your caretakers to be more visible and to know where they are on site, improved window cleaning and better cleaning in and around buildings and estates.
Our proposal
We listened to you and we are again asking for your views. This time we have thought about what you told us and developed a proposal for a new, improved caretaking service. We think that the way to make your caretaking service better is to bring the external estate cleaning service (currently carried out by our contractor Veolia) back into the council and replace the cleaners with caretakers who will be part of the wider council caretaking service.
From the savings on the Veolia contract we would be able to employ 26 more caretakers, increasing the number of caretakers from 170 to 196.
This would create a more joined up local service with caretakers who are more visible to residents, and will ensure the continuous improvement of your caretaking service. We also propose creating additional roles to give the service extra capacity, enabling them to keep your homes cleaner and safer. We will work with residents to agree new standards improving both the quality and consistency of the service.
What do you think?
But have we got it right? Read our full proposal at camden.gov.uk/caretakingreview and tell us what you think – you can have your say in under 10 minutes. Thank you in advance for your feedback which will help to shape how we look after your home.
If you have any questions about the review please email caretakingreview@camden.gov.uk
The consultation closes at midnight on Sunday 21 July 2019.