Oxbode will be managing new homes for affordable rent at the new Applewood development at Cashes Green, Stroud. Applewood will have 20 affordable homes for rent, 19 homes for shared ownership, and 39 homes for sale on the open market by Haboakus.

If you are interested in an affordable rent property at the former Cashes Green Hospital site (‘Applewood’) please note the bidding process starts on Wednesday 24 April 2013 and continues until Tuesday 30 April 2013.

Visit the Gloucestershire Homeseeker website to make your bid: www.gloshomeseeker.co.uk

You need to be registered with Gloucestershire Homeseeker to bid for affordable housing.

For further information please contact Ismail Ali at Oxbode Housing on 01452 505359.

Lettings plan for the former hospital site at Cashes Green 

The aims of the plan are:

• To build a balanced and sustainable community, offering homes to applicants in a range of priority bandings on the Gloucestershire Homeseeker scheme.
• To give priority to the local community by giving priority to applicants  who have a connection with the parish area; local connection being defined as applying to those who currently live, or who have previously lived, in the parish area for 6 out of the last 12 months or 3 out of the last 5 years, those who work in the Cashes Green area, or those who have close relatives in the area (ie parents, siblings, or adult children).

We will also consider applicants who have special reasons connecting them to the area such as having grown up there but moved away and now wanting to return

• To give priority to current social housing tenants wishing to downsize in order to free up larger homes in Cainscross Civil Parish (the parish) area and Stroud District for other families.
• To make the best use of the ground floor accommodation by letting these to older people or people with mobility problems.

In order to achieve this, we will be using a questionnaire for applicants to complete regarding their interest in green issues and communal activities and becoming active members of the community, engaging with the Community Land Trust and Estate Management Board.

Following the return of completed questionnaires, applicants will be visited to be interviewed. This process will include more detailed questions concerning customer’s interest in being an active member of the community and green issues. We will also ask for permission to contact previous landlords and any agencies providing support. There is a considerable amount of communal space and it will be necessary to have active input from the majority of residents for the Estate Management Board to succeed and not leave this to the few.

Oxbode residents and their neighbours in White City, Gloucester, gathered to welcome Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, as he planted an oak tree to commemorate the official naming of the area.

Prince Richard was following in the footsteps of his father, 84 years after he had unofficially named the area. Visiting the ward to plant an oak tree almost a century ago, the previous Duke of Gloucester commented on how clean and white an area it was… and the name stuck. Since then, councillors and residents have campaigned to get the name officially recognised, and they won their battle with Gloucester City Council in July 2012.
Prince Richard (pictured above), a cousin of the Queen and the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary, has been Duke of Gloucester since his father’s death in 1974. He said: “It is a great pleasure for me to follow in my father’s footsteps. A remark he made was of huge significance – I don’t think there’s anything I have said which has stuck in the way that this has!”

Oxbode – which has been working to regenerate derelict properties in the area acquired from the local authority in the late 1990s – owns 155 homes in White City and works with the local tenants association on projects and activities, often providing financial support.

Jim Dickson, Oxbode’s Managing Director, said:  “We were happy to support this naming ceremony – but none of it would have happened without the commitment and drive of local resident Jerry Jenkinson. What’s happened is evidence that when the community comes together and works in partnership great things can be achieved.”
Jim visited Finlay Road school recently to present the spade used in the tree planting. It will now be displayed at the school to help teach current and future generations about the history of where they live.

In November 2012, we underwent a two-day accreditation process for Investors in People – the industry standard for assessing organisations approach to the management and development of staff.

We were last assessed in 2009 on a pass/fail basis and passed the set criteria for the standard award. This time, the assessment was against three different ‘standards’ (gold, silver and bronze) with Oxbode being awarded the gold level standard.

The award recognises Oxbode’s commitment to developing staff and creating a safe, enjoyable workplace in an environment where staff can flourish and achieve personal goals. With motivated, energised and above all else, happy staff, excellent performance and great customer service can be delivered.

“Employees believe Oxbode is a great place to work, and see it as an employer that genuinely provides opportunity and cares for its staff”
COMMENT FROM iIP inspector

On Sunday 3 March, over 60 people attended a community tree planting event on the old Cashes Green Hospital site hosted by the Cashes Green Community Land Trust (CGCLT). The new development, known as Applewood, is being developed by Haboakus – a joint venture between Kevin McCloud's company Hab (Happiness Architecture Beauty) and housing group Greensquare. Gloucester-based Markey Construction are building the project, and were on hand to support the event as well.

The new development at Cashes Green is a model of community engagement and sustainability, and the tree planting event was made possible by the Woodland Trust who donated 100 fruit and nut trees as part of a Jubilee Year gift to the CGCLT. These trees will become part of the development's “edible landscaping plan”, which will encourage residents to grow and share their own food.

Local residents were able to plant a small tree in a pot that will later be planted on the site. Many residents labelled their trees with names of their children and grandchildren. When the trees are placed in their permanent locations, a plan of the site indicating which tree is found where will be made available.

After the tree planting, visitors had fun trying out electric bicycles. Gary Snyder of 50Cycles and Pierre Fox of CoWheels were on hand to encourage those moving to the new houses and living in the vicinity to use more sustainable transport. It is hoped that Applewood will be able to provide an electric bike club for the community in due course. There are ongoing discussions regarding the possibility of a car club as well.

Local residents were able to see the progress of the building work first-hand, and meet Kevin McCloud and the team from Haboakus and ask questions about the new houses.

Lis Parker, a member of the CGCLT board and a local resident described the event as “very successful”. She added that “it was a fabulous day with a great atmosphere, and it demonstrated that there is a strong community at Cashes Green for new residents to move into and contribute to.”

Transfer

If you need to move home, we’re here to help you as much as possible. Oxbode does not hold a waiting list; instead we use the Local Authority to allocate all of our homes via the Choice Based lettings systems called Gloucestershire Homeseeker.

If you are looking to move but haven’t registered yet, then you can apply via their website at www.gloshomeseeker.co.uk

Once registered, you will be given a banding based on your housing situation and circumstances. You are then able to bid on any property advertised on the website. The property is given to the person who is in the highest band. If there is more than one person from any band who bids, then the one who has been registered the longest gets the property. That’s why you should register now, even if you don’t want to move just yet, because you get higher priority the longer you are registered.

Mutual Exchange

Alternatively, you could try for an exchange. This is where you swap your tenancy with another tenant. This can be another Oxbode tenant or someone from another housing association or Local Authority. If you think you might be interested you should go to www.homeswapper.co.uk

This service is free to Oxbode tenants and covers properties throughout the UK.

So far this year 15 Oxbode tenants have moved via a mutual exchange, and for many it can be the easiest and quickest way to move home. 

Don’t forget, if you don’t have internet access at home, you can access the Internet on a dedicated internet access point here at Oxbode’s offices.

GreenSquare invited local people to a consultation evening this week (Monday 12 November), to find out more about its plans for the former Jet & Whittle pub site in Podsmead, Gloucester.

The event, which took place at the ‘Big Local’ hub on Scott Avenue from 3:30pm until 7pm, gave local residents the opportunity to meet with representatives from GreenSquare, Gloucester City Council and Oxbode Housing Association and take a look at the redevelopment proposals. People had the chance to study the proposed site layout and review information on the different types of properties planned along with their proposed internal layouts.

Kirsty Powell, Development and New Business Manager at GreenSquare, said: “We are delighted that local people took the time to come along to the event and share their views on the site plans with us.

“The feedback we received confirmed that local residents are pleased something is being done to improve the current state of the site, which has become quite an eyesore over the past few years. At the consultation, some concerns were raised about the effect of traffic flow and parking in the area, so we will be looking at ways to ensure we have sufficient parking for all residents and guests.

“Our next step is to fine tune the plans, taking into consideration the feedback from the consultation. We are still keen to keep local residents involved and are looking for volunteers from the area to join our design panel, to have further input in the plans. We would like to urge anyone who might be interested to get in touch.”

Jennie Dallimore, City Councillor for Podsmead, also attended the event. Jennie added: “This site has been a major issue for our residents over the past few years and it is a fantastic step forward to have plans for new family homes, to help kick start the regeneration of this area. We are really looking forward to having a positive working relationship with GreenSquare and there are already lots of exciting opportunities for us to work together to help create a stronger and safer environment for Podsmead.”

Eighteen houses are planned for the former pub site, which closed more than four years ago and has since endured a difficult period attracting vandals, thieves and fly tippers who have collectively left the site in a mess. GreenSquare is working in partnership with Gloucester City Council and is hoping that the new homes will be a mixture of affordable houses for rent and houses with a rent-to-buy option.

For more information or to find out about the residents’ design panel, please contact Kirsty Powell on 01793 602837 or email kirsty.powell@greensquaregroup.com.

Oxbode Housing Association, based in Gloucester, has announced that it is now part of the GreenSquare housing group.

Oxbode – a charitable industrial and provident society, set up in 1992 to develop, lease or acquire new housing for rent in the City of Gloucester – owns nearly 500 properties and manages a number on behalf of other housing associations, including 120 for GreenSquare. It has nine members of staff based at its offices in central Gloucester.

Oxbode's Board has agreed to join GreenSquare as a subsidiary and to be fully amalgamated into the Group within the next two years. "We’re delighted to be welcoming Oxbode into the GreenSquare group," said GreenSquare's group chief executive David Ashmore. "This is great news for both GreenSquare and for Oxbode – by coming together, we will be able to offer more high quality homes and services in Gloucestershire."

"Oxbode already has a really positive relationship with GreenSquare and for several years has been managing agent for many of their homes in Gloucestershire," said Jim Dickson, Oxbode chief executive. "We're excited to now be embarking on this new chapter as we formally join GreenSquare and look forward to new growth and new opportunities."

Formed in 2008, GreenSquare Group is a major provider of housing, regeneration, care and support and commercial services across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. Its core business is building, managing and maintaining homes as well as supporting strong and stable communities. The Group already includes Oxford Citizens and Westlea housing associations, both of which began trading as 'GreenSquare' earlier this year.

As well as managing and improving its current 10,000 homes, GreenSquare is providing a range of new ones. These include homes for social and affordable rent, as well as homes for market rent and sale through its commercial subsidiary Oakus Estates and Haboakus, its joint venture with Kevin McCloud’s company Hab. It had already been announced that new homes for rent currently being developed by Haboakus at Cashes Green, Stroud, will be managed by Oxbode.

Oxbode's Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on 12 September 2012, with Board members, shareholders, residents and contractors in attendance.

At the meeting, Ann Evans, a founding member of Oxbode stood down as Board member - a position she has held for the past 21 years.

Kate Clemmow, Chair of Oxbode Housing Association, said: "Ann's commitment and devotion to Oxbode Housing Association has been immense and included a period of three years (2006 - 2009) when she held the position of Chair. Ann has not only been a very conscientious attendee at Board and Sub Committee meetings but she has carried with her a long and proud history of Oxbode Housing Association.

"On behalf of myself and the Board, I would like to express my huge appreciation for everything Ann has done for the Association and the Board over the years."

Deborah Nakinobenka Ssenabulya was elected onto the Board to fill one of the resident vacancies. As a founding member of the tenant forum, Deborah has since developed a wider interest in Oxbode through her work and has been elected onto the Board for the next three years (until 2016).

Also at the event, Jim Dickson, Chief Executive of Oxbode, gave a small presentation looking back at Oxbode over the years. Hilary Gardner, Chair of GreenSquare's board and Dave Ashmore, Chief Executive of GreenSquare were also in attendance to speak about their company and answer any questions on the planned integration of Oxbode with GreenSquare. When integration is completed in two years' time, the Oxbode Board of Management will become an area committee of GreenSquare with a much greater and equal balance between residents and independent members.