Tenants find their voice at exhibition day
ORGANISERS of a successful conference hope tenants now realise they have a voice in Wear Valley.The Wear Valley Customer Panel celebrated its 10th anniversary last Thursday with a conference for tenants at Auckland Castle, featuring workshops and exhibitions from key residents organisations and housing authorities in the district.
Allison Mcfarlane, vice-treasurer of the customer panel, said: “Today has been brilliant and I think everyone who came now realises they do have a voice and we can make a difference for them.
“We have achieved exactly what we wanted, and it has made our heads even bigger than before.”
Barbara Ornsby vice-chair of the panel said: “The feedback from tenants is unbelievable and what we’ve seen has been fantastic. We will have to wait and see if we have achieved what we really wanted in getting more people to realise we are here to help them, but today has been a great success.”
More than 150 tenants spent the day in workshops and viewing exhibitions from numerous agencies including Dale and Valley Homes, Gentoo, Wear Valley District Council and Energy Savings Trust.
EST energy adviser Caroline Bailes and Wear Valley District council energy officer Sue Carr say they are pleased with the response. Caroline said: “We are not just trying to save the environment but also cutting people’s bills by teaching them to be more efficient.
“Saving the environment and saving money go hand in hand and we have been giving out lots of advice, as well as free energy saving light bulbs. We have also been telling people how they can be more efficient in the way they drive, especially as fuel costs are so high at the moment.”
Paula George, Wear Valley District Council’s waste and recycling officer gave advice on composting and recycling. Paula said: “There has been a lot of interest, especially as recycling is a bit of a hot topic at the moment.
“It’s important people realise they can compost in a yard, they don’t need a garden, and more and more people are getting into it.” Corrine Gardner and Claire Littlejohn from Wear Valley District Council’s community involvement ran a workshop as did David Milburn spoke on how to influence the new unitary authority.
"Corrine said: “It was very successful and attendance was brilliant. This was the first conference of its sort and it was very well supported.” Pat Wanless from Choice Based Lettings also ran a workshop, and Wear Valley Customer Panel tenants gave a presentation.
The water was sponsored by Northumbrian Water and a banner was provided by Dunelm Property Services. The panel also thanked Neil Stonehouse, Jeff Gale and Michael Laing from Wear Valley District Council, Gentoo, Dale and Valley Homes and everyone else who either attended or played a part at the conference.
