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Police vow to make residents feel safer

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Oldbury residents have been have promised by police that they will clamp down on yobs who are plaguing the area. There has been a marked increase in the number of problems where youths are continually causing problems and burglaries have also increased.

The town centre is also being targeted by officers who want to see an end to the increase in crime. The police are keen to have regular meetings with residents where problems can be discussed. The behaviour of the yobs is raising concerns about the safety of residents, many of whom have been a victim of theft, meaning they have had to claim on their buildings and contents insurance policies. Four of the group have been handed ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders) and a further six have been given ABCs (Acceptable Behaviour Contracts). In addition another three of the offenders have received both the 1st and 2nd stage warning letters prior to an ABC issue.

Sergeant Darren Jones, from the Oldbury Neighbourhood Policing Team, said “An action plan has been put in place to tackle an increase in crime and people having to claim on their house insurance quotes in Oldbury town centre. Visibility will increase in the town centre and a robust offender management style will be taken against known offenders. Officers are keen to develop a retail watch so that local shops can raise concerns and share best practices regarding crime prevention.”

The police have had numerous complaints regarding anti social behaviour and residents have raised concerns about the number of burglaries and damage to vehicles in the area. They have made sure that there is an increase in the visibility of police officers and PCSOs in the neighbourhood in the hope that it will help. The PCSOs have also given out crime prevention advice to residents. The next Neighbourhood Watch meeting will take place in three weeks time.

Tags: anti social behaviour, buildings and contents insurance, house insurance quotes, Police, Residents
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Oxford reveals plan for a brand new housing estate

Monday, April 11th, 2011

Oxford City Council has released details of the largest housing development in the city since the Greater Leys estate was built many years ago. The biggest undeveloped site for residential use within the city will be used, and the project is seen as the key to solving the housing shortage in the city.

Plans for the site will see 1200 new homes built, the majority of which will be covered by household insurance. A new primary school, community and recreation facilities plus a host of shops are also part of the plan. The new properties will be a mix of types but they will have an emphasis on family homes. From next month local residents will also be able to pick their favourites from a list of options which include a supermarket, and whether to keep or relocate the recreation ground.

Sue Holden, secretary of the local community association, said “Residents are initially impressed with the new plans. One of the things we are really supporting is the supermarket. I think that would really make a difference to the traffic on the Green Road roundabout and also on the ring road. It will mean that people don’t have to go off the estate to do their shopping. One thing we’re very concerned about is that the developers don’t prioritise profit over facilities.”

Local residents are hoping the developers do not have a change of heart over the ample green space allocation and try and place extra homes in the scheme. They also feel a new school is desperately needed and youth facilities would also be welcome, but the question they are all asking is how the facilities are going to be funded in the long term when there is such a shortage of public cash available.

The council hopes that anyone who has an interest in the future of the new estate will take this opportunity to make their views known.

Tags: new housing estate, Oxford
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More control for tenants in Cumbria looking for a home

Friday, April 8th, 2011

A brand new system is set revolutionise the way that West Cumbria’s housing association tenants look for their next home. Cumbria Choice has just been launched with the promise to give tenants much more control.

From next week, instead of the 14,000 tenants putting their names on a waiting list for a home to be allocated, they are now able to view any vacant property on the Cumbria Choice web site, or for those without internet access a list can be picked up from both council and housing association offices. Any would be tenant will then be able to apply for an available property by text, online, landline phone or in person, with housing being allocated according to need. It means many tenants will be seeking household insurance on a house they want rather than one they have been allocated. Cumbria Choice believes this will make a great deal of difference to how the property is maintained by the tenant.

The new system will work out the pecking order of all applicants quickly, so anyone who sees they are well down the list for a property and have very little chance of being successful will be able to start looking at other available properties.

Cumbria Choice will extend the new scheme to all of the county’s social landlords including Home Housing who are the largest landlord in West Cumbria and have over 9,000 properties. The web site will have up to date pictures and detailed descriptions of all properties, similar to an estate agent’s web site and there are plans to add video content too. All six district councils in Cumbria are backing Cumbria Choice, including Impact, Eden, Accent and Riverside housing associations. Tenants can register from next Monday on the Cumbria Choice website.

Denise Waller, Cumbria Choice project manager, said “This will make it easier and more efficient for people to find a home in their local area. I would encourage everyone looking for affordable housing to get themselves registered so they can choose their own home in the area they would like to live in.”

Tags: home insurance, tenants in Cumbria
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Barrow may get new homes after plans have been re-submitted

Monday, April 4th, 2011

The long running saga for a new housing estate in Barrow took yet another twist yesterday when plans were re-submitted. Planning permission for the new development on land at the junction of Foundry Street and New Street in the town was granted three years ago but had to be re-submitted by the developers Modlar and the Brookhouse Group because the planning permission is due to expire in four weeks time.

The slightly amended proposals are for nine new properties to be built on the site which has not been used for several years. The developers claim the new homes will improve the area and they will also fit in with both local and national planning policies.

A spokesman for the developers Modlar and the Brookhouse Group said: “The site compromises disused land which is of no beneficial use. Previously the site had been used for open storage and has been subject to fly tipping. In its current state the site generally has a poor effect on local amenities and in particular that of adjoining properties.

The new homes will provide a mixture of properties to suit the local housing market including opportunities for first time buyers who can look forward to taking out household insurance on their new home. The proposed homes will also be laid out in a manner which makes best use of the site while at the same time respecting the prevailing character of the nearby residential areas. The developers plan to build five two bedroom and four three bedroom houses and residents in the local area will now be consulted on the plans before work starts. The decision on whether or not to accept the plans will be passed to Barrow Council’s Planning Committee who is meeting later this week at Barrow Town Hall.

Tags: Barrow, new homes
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Lovell picked for £20m regeneration scheme in Doncaster

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Doncaster Council has picked Lovell Homes to build two mixed tenure housing developments which together are worth in excess of £20 million. The developments will create 162 new homes for affordable rent, shared ownership and for open market sale.

Work is set to start this week with the first part of the scheme scheduled to be completed in 2013 and the second phase due to be finished in 2015. The development will create six bungalows, twelve apartments and 144 two, three and four bedroom properties. They will include properties for rent through social landlord Guinness Northern Counties who, as an organisation has grown to be one of the biggest housing associations in England and Wales. Their main activity being the provision of homes for rent, and although they currently have over 20,000 homes in their portfolio the company is still looking to expand.

All of the homes will be highly insulated and energy-efficient; solar panels will be incorporated into the designs which will help the homes meet Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. This will result in all those lucky enough to be placed in a new home having lower energy costs. The developments will also see a new highway infrastructure and bigger and better public open spaces. The residents who will be placed in the new homes will come from the Council’s waiting list and are expected to cover their new property with household insurance.

John Ray, Head of East Region Guinness Northern Counties, said “We are very pleased to be involved as partners in this much needed project, which will not only offer local people an affordable route into home ownership but also help to meet the desperate need for good quality affordable rented housing in the area. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our new tenants to their homes when the projects are completed.”

Tags: Doncaster, household insurance
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The season of goodwill not quite the case for all

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

Homeowners across the UK are given warning today that their property could easily be one of the 70,000 houses that are broken into by criminals over the festive season.

Insurance companies well versed in handing out Christmas claim forms for household insurance owners say that without doubt December is the worst month for burglaries everywhere in Britain. New research suggests that the early hours of Christmas Day is a hot spot for break-ins and one insurance firm has got the information from the ‘horse’s mouth’.

More Than insurance interviewed 50 reformed criminals to get their inside information. The research concluded that the 23 minutes between 1.55 am and 2.18 am was the optimum time for burglars to strike on Christmas Day, with homeowners either out visiting friends and family or too deep into a alcohol induced sleep to hear the work of the robbers downstairs.

The survey revealed that 8 out of 10 thieves saw this time as the best opportunity to do their work. They also revealed that the generosity of most Brits at Christmas time meant that houses normally considered not wealthy enough to rob became viable targets at the festive season.

Apparently about half of the thieves head straight to the Christmas tree to steal goods and 1 in 10 actually steal the tree as well as the gifts underneath it. The ex-villains confirm that leaving a light on is a deterrent and one sign of the times is highlighted by the fact that some thieves will check social media sites for hints on whether homeowners will be out of their homes at certain times as they plan their nights work.

Tags: home insurance, house insurance, household insurance
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Prime Minister is forced to delay the drastic housing benefit

Monday, December 6th, 2010

The Prime Minister has been forced to delay the proposed drastic cuts in housing benefits until 2012 after a furious outcry from charities across the country. David Cameron had vowed to bring in a cap on the benefits in April next year in a bid to cut the welfare budget.

The policy will see payments limited to £250 per week for a one-bed flat and £400 per week for any larger homes. It was widely expected to force thousands of families from their homes because they would no longer be able to afford to pay the rent. But in what is being called a humiliating climb down by Mr Cameron, the change will now not take place until January 2012 after he caved in to pressure from his coalition partners over the storm which had an aim of at saving over £2billion a year.

Iain Duncan Smith is expected later this week to announce that households will not lose large chunks of their benefit from April next year, as first announced, but will now have nine extra months to arrange somewhere cheaper to live which will be covered by household insurance.

It is thought that some senior Lib Dem members of the Coalition had demanded the concessions in an effort to avoid the possibility of protests next April, which may have fuelled a political row just before the local elections which are being held in May.

A senior government insider said “This will give families more time to make their arrangements. If they have children at schools in the local area, for example, they will have more time to find another school. It will also give councils more time to look for accommodation for the families they have to move.”

The original proposal did attract widespread public support in the opinion polls. However, the decision to delay the changes supports the growing realisation by some ministers that Labour would try and exploit the changes to attack both Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors in local elections.

Tags: Advice, home insurance, home owners, household insurance, property market
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Repossessions falling as low interest rates continue

Friday, November 12th, 2010

At long last, Britain’s beleaguered homeowners appear to be on the end of some good news. As the Bank of England base rate stays at an all time low, loan companies report a drop in families losing the roof over their heads.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) who have for the past few months been reporting that fewer and fewer people in the UK have been able to get loans, today provided some homeowners with crumbs of comfort.

It appears that home repossessions by mortgage lenders has dropped to a 30 month low. Apparently just fewer than 9000 properties were repossessed in the period from June to September 2010, which although still sounds a considerable amount, is 27% less than the same period last year and the fourth quarter in a row that repossessions have fallen.

The drop in repossessions is put down to several factors with the continual low interest rates being cited as the major mover. A more patient and understanding approach by lenders, encouraged by government sources, was another major reason, while credit was also given to debt advice groups.

There was, however, a black cloud on the horizon of the report. Ministry of Justice figures show that repossession claims had gone up in the last quarterly report, this for the first time in a year. Experts fear the figures could be the first signs that homeowners with household insurance policies, may once again be struggling to pay their bills.

Paul Diggle, an economist at a City firm summed up the situation thus “The continued fall in the numbers of arrears and possessions in the third quarter is encouraging. But figures showing an increase in possession orders being sought and awarded may mean that the improving trend will soon come to an end.”

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Students urged to protect themselves

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Next month, new students starting university will take an average of £4,000 worth of belongings with them, making protection against theft essential. Research has found that a third of the value of these possessions will be carried with them when they are out and about. The average student will leave their digs with over £1,300 worth of possessions on them; these will include books, bikes, clothing, laptops, MP3 Players, smart phones, clothing and even cash. Other items that make up the total value of possessions that students take with them to university accommodation include cameras, hair straightener’s, a games console, and a musical instrument.

Vicki O’Connell, spokesperson for the research team, said: “Students are more tech savvy than ever before. Compared to just a few years ago we are seeing a much greater number of smart phones, games consoles and laptops filling students’ rooms. As lifestyles become more mobile the ‘must have’ items become more portable. Our research shows just how easily the value of your possessions accumulates. It’s important to remember that items which are lighter and smaller are also more prone to loss or theft. Our research looked at the possessions of an individual but the value of a household can increase considerably when second and third year student house share and have multiple sets of equipment. We would encourage students not to rely on being covered by their parents’ insurance.”

Modern day higher education makes it a necessity for students to have a range of expensive technology and when moving away from home for the first time will mean taking a lot of expensive items with them. This means it is vital that students take precautions, having cheap home insurance will protect against theft and damage and will give peace of mind and also make sure that they are not left out of pocket.

Tags: Advice, contents insurance, home insurance, Students
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Meteor on course for Earth

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Scientists have today warned that a huge asteroid in outer space is heading our way and could wipe out properties and humans on a large scale. There is no need to check you have household insurance just now though.

Space experts writing in the scientific journal Icarus, have said that an asteroid almost half a mile wide discovered in 1999 and named RQ36 is heading towards Earth. The scientists, including some who work for NASA, reckon that the meteor has a one in thousand chance of striking Earth in the year 2182. The results of such a collision would be devastating, wiping out huge swathes of land and causing giant tidal waves wherever it landed. Boffins suggest, the meteor would create an impact crater of around 9 miles wide and half a mile deep.

The co-leader of the research Maria Eugenia Sansaturio said, the meteor was much more dangerous than Apophis, another meteor with an outside chance of colliding with Earth, and was twice as big. Speaking positively she said the knowledge of impending doom “May help design in advance, mechanisms aimed at deviating the asteroid’s path” commenting further she said there was plenty of time to plan “The consequence … is not just the likelihood of a comparatively large impact, but also that a realistic deflection procedure, or path deviation could only be made before the impact in 2080, and more easily, before 2060.”

Previous asteroid collisions have been catastrophic to the inhabitants of Earth at the time; meteor impact was thought to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs and the decimation of thousands of square miles of land in Siberia.

Tags: Asteroids, Extinction, home insurance, household insurance
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