On Tuesday 19 August from 12pm – 4pm we set up some gazebos, giant board games and great snacks at Potters Court in Broxtowe and got started with a fun-filled day of community engagement and support at PA on Tour.
The event was planned by our Neighbourhoods team – including Beth, who is the Neighbourhood Coordinator (NC) for Potters Court, and some of our other Nottingham NCs, Sherene, Sugey, Beverley and Britney. Also in attendance were Midlands Neighbourhood Team Manager Steph and Midlands Head of Service Andre as well as some members of our Tenancy Sustainment (TST), Safeguarding and Repairs teams.
Our main aim for the event was to connect with local residents, provide advice and guidance, signpost to services and support and ultimately strengthen community relationships. Over 22 residents of Potters Court and its surrounding streets were in attendance throughout the day and had a great time stopping by to have a chat with PA staff, who were happy to spend time with them on a 1:1 basis.
We had a variety of flyers promoting how residents can do their bit to keep neighbourhoods safe, how we maintain the grounds and keep their neighbourhoods clean, and signposting to valuable resources such as where to access TST support, our ‘Your Voice’ resident engagement programme, and our handy ASB Toolkit. We also had snacks, drinks and some free reusable mixed recycling bags courtesy of Broxtowe Borough Council.
Strengthening our support network in Broxtowe
We were very happy to be joined by Broxtowe Councillors Barbara and Stephen Carr, who spent some time chatting with and getting to know our staff and the different services we provide and how they can promote these to local residents. Barbara spoke to Shannah, Customer Content Curator for the Midlands and Marco, Communications Officer, about regular community action team meetings that they hold for the community and how we can also support Broxtowe Borough Council’s amazing work by helping to promote these events to you.
We love working with local councils and organisations to improve the services we provide to you, and events like PA on Tour are a great way for us to build these connections and get these relationships started. So thank you very much to Barbara and Stephen for stopping by!
Residents that came along commented that they really appreciated the support and advice that our staff members were able to give them, and were happy to have their concerns and issues logged so that we can follow up on them and aim to resolve them or answer their queries ASAP. In the meantime, their children had a blast with our giant Snakes and Ladders, Noughts and Crosses and Jenga, and Barbara, Stephen, Marco and Shannah enjoyed a brain-stimulating game of giant Connect 4… that ended in a complete draw!
The Game of Life – as a PA resident
Speaking of board games – if you’re reading this you may be familiar with our resident magazine, Doorstep, which contains a broad range of support, such as money-saving advice, internet safety tips, and useful links to our services. One of the reasons we decided to bring board games to this event specifically, is because the next edition of doorstep is going to be board game themed!
An idea that we had to spotlight resident voices in something fun for the magazine was to bring along a poll with a variety of board games for you to vote on, and we will then feature in doorstep to see what the most popular game is across a few different neighbourhoods. Stay tuned for the next edition of Doorstep to see what the game that reigned supreme was!
Cleaning up and polishing our services
As some members of staff were busy offering support and advice to residents in attendance, others got their hands dirty and helped to clear some bulk rubbish and pick some litter from around the car park, which a resident from Hutton Close came by just to thank them for doing! It means the world to hear positive feedback from residents like this and motivates us to continue doing right by you.
As our next order of business, we noticed that the weeds in and around the car park had started to get a bit overgrown, so we dug up and cleared them. When talking to a resident who expressed her displeasure at the state of the weeds before we took care of them, Steph informed her that the issue would be followed up with our contractors to ensure they’re doing their job to the correct standard.
This is especially important to us as your service charges are how things like grounds maintenance are paid for, and so as a part of our Resident and Financial Strategies, we’ve made it clear that transparency and value for money around these services – so you are happy with what your service charges are paying for – is integral.
A very successful day
We’re super proud of how PA on Tour in Broxtowe went! Residents who attended told us that they felt it was a valuable, informative and enjoyable day where they had access to a variety of support in different formats.
Of course, events like PA on Tour aren’t the only opportunity for residents to speak to us about your queries and issues, find support or become more involved on a local level. We have a variety of information about our services and upcoming events available on our website, including our new Your Neighbourhood pages which are tailored to you and what’s happening in your local community.
