News

Magenta Living, working in Partnership with Open Door and Halton Housing, is sad to announce that Mulbury, the contractor building new affordable housing at Three Sails Point, Widnes, has unfortunately gone into administration and will therefore be unable to complete the construction of the 243 homes at this scheme.

Magenta Living, Open Door and Halton Housing remain committed to providing affordable housing in the Widnes area and continue to work tirelessly with the administrators to take the necessary steps to ensure these high quality and much sought-after new homes are completed. As soon as progress is made towards getting the construction work back up and running, further updates and announcements about Three Sails Point will be posted on our websites https://www.magentaliving.org.uk/ and https://www.haltonhousing.co.uk/

As Three Sails Point will also provide a number of new homes for shared ownership and outright sale, those interested can keep up to date by visiting the Open Door website www.opendoor-properties.co.uk – further updates will be added here. In the meantime, if you would like to speak to a member of the Open Door Sales’ Team please call 0333 0044 777 or email hello@opendoor-properties.co.uk

Anwyl Partnerships, specialists in the provision of residential land and build developments, are utilising an offsite build approach at an extra care scheme in Wirral for Magenta Living.

Part of an £8.5million land and build agreement, the extra care development on Greenheys Road in Wallasey will include 53 apartments, helping fulfil a much needed gap in older persons living within this specific area.

The system utilises a kit approach comprising panels formed from lightweight metal framing components which are assembled on site prior to the concrete floor being cast in situ.

Simon Rose, Construction Director at Anwyl Partnerships explained: “The key benefits in using this type of system when compared to traditional masonry construction are the timescales involved in achieving water tightness of the building. A typical three-storey apartment block of 50 units built traditionally would take in the region of 35 weeks to achieve roof on stage, compared to almost half that for this lightweight steel frame option.

“For us as a business, it’s important we continue to explore new and alterative construction methods and technology and it was an Anwyl decision on this project to pilot a new way of building to guarantee completion within the contracted timescales.”

Use of this system requires no additional training – the specialist subcontractor designs, fabricates and erects the panel system on top of the ground floor structural deck formed on site. Installation of the frame is now underway.

Simon continued: “This is a first for us and as a business will be monitoring progress closely with the aim of utilising and replicating this approach across other Anwyl Partnerships sites.”

Justine Gore, Development Director at Magenta Living said: “Anwyl has an innovative approach to delivering new homes. In particular the off-site assembly panelised framework trial at the Greenheys Road Extra Care project. We welcome this approach as Magenta Living is committed to providing at least 25% of its 1,000 new homes programme to modern methods of construction. We look forward to welcoming our customers into their new homes and providing a care service tailored to meet their needs.”

The scheme is due for completion and handover in March 2023.

Magenta Living is delighted to announce that following our latest Investors in People (IiP) assessment, we have strengthened our certification to the top of the Gold accreditation status. Added to our Gold for Health and Wellbeing, we are now a very rare ‘Double Gold Organisation’.

Gold accreditation means that you’ve got great people processes and policies in place but more than that, it means everyone – from chief executive to apprentice takes ownership for making them come to life.

The IiP assessor was extremely impressed with Magenta Living’s progress and described it as the biggest single improvement by an organisation in three years that she has seen in her career. The assessor commented that everyone at Magenta Living should be very proud of this achievement.

Rob Mealor, Organisational Development Manager said: “The report has called out some great achievements including a massive jump in team working and collaboration across the organisation, a significant shift in how open colleagues are to change and continuous improvement, and then substantial improvement in how colleagues feel they are being led and managed. All of these things resulted in the assessor labelling Magenta Living as an employer of choice.

“This is a superb achievement and one that will differentiate us from other companies as we move forward towards the next goal of platinum.”

Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People said: “We’d like to congratulate Magenta Living. Gold Accreditation on We invest in people is a fantastic effort for any organisation, and places Magenta Living in fine company with a host of organisations that understand the value of people.”

The Regulator of Social Housing is seeking views on its proposals for tenant satisfaction measures (TSM) which are part of implementing changes to consumer regulation set out in the Government’s ‘The Charter for Social Housing Residents: Social Housing White Paper’. 

The TSMs will apply to all social housing landlords, including local authorities, housing associations and other registered social housing providers.

This consultation closes at
6:30pm on 3 March 2022

The measures would provide data about social housing landlords’ performance and the quality of their services to help tenants hold their landlord to account and help RSH in its future consumer regulation role.

We look forward to hearing from landlords, tenants and anyone with an interest in social housing.

The online survey link to the consultation is:
https://online1.snapsurveys.com/RSH_TSM_Consultation

To find out more, view the documents listed below or to access an easy read version of this information, please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-introduction-of-tenant-satisfaction-measures
 

The above linked GOV page will include:

• consultation document with draft TSMs
• summary of the consultation
• draft consumer TSM Standard
• draft Technical and Tenant Survey Requirements
• draft guidance about the submission of information to the regulator
• draft regulatory and equality impact assessments
• consultation questions
• a list of statutory consultees

Magenta Living is proud to sponsor the Community Champion award at the Wirral Globe Community Heroes 2021 awards. The Community Champion award recognises someone in the community – a neighbour, volunteer or friend who has truly ‘stepped up’ and helped others. They will have always put other people first, provided a service or support that would otherwise not have been available and contributed to the wider good in the community.

We were so pleased to learn that the winner of the Community Champion award was Andrew Poynton.

Andrew set up a Facebook group very early on in the pandemic called ‘Wirral Support during Coronavirus’ which aimed to help and support people of Wirral who were struggling to cope with the impact of Covid-19.

Andrew wanted to ensure that all those who were shielding or in self-isolation could still receive items they required or simply have someone to chat to if they were feeling lonely or isolated.

Congratulations to Andrew for winning this award, a very worthy winner.

Also highly commended in the category were Lee Anson and Suzanne Rippon.

Lee asked the local community to donate their old or broken laptops for him to fix and donate directly to Wirral schools during the pandemic.

Suzanne put together CIC company ‘The Life Tree’ which she funded by herself and with the help of donations. The Life Tree has different community hubs bringing people hope, support and help when it’s needed most.

Well done to Lee and Suzanne for their amazing efforts in our community.

Magenta Living has officially started work on its £7.9million new development in Shavington, Cheshire, due to be completed in Spring 2023.

The 45-unit development scheme has been named ‘Woodnoth Grange’ and comprises of a mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes available for affordable rent and shared ownership, as well as one-bedroom apartments and bungalows for rent, bringing high quality, affordable homes to the area. The style of the new homes will complement the local area and existing homes and will offer a modern and environmentally friendly option to rural living.

The site sits just behind the much-loved pub ‘The Elephant’ on Newcastle Road.

Brian Simpson, Chief Executive of Magenta Living said: "We are delighted to start work on-site at Woodnoth Grange in the beautiful area of Shavington. Woodnoth Grange is a fantastic sceheme that offers something for everyone with a mix of shared ownership and affordable rent with one, two, three and four-bedroom home available. 

 “Our contractor, MCI, has been excellent and are currently working through all weathers to ensure completion in 2023. I’m really looking forward to seeing this development take shape and welcoming our new tenants upon completion. This really is an exciting time for Magenta Living to be building new homes and expanding our portfolio within the Cheshire East area.”

Magenta Living will be marketing the shared ownership properties. For further details and to register your interest, please visit www.magentaliving.org.uk/woodnoth-grange-shavington

Magenta Living has ambitious plans to build over 1,000 homes over the next five years with plans to build high quality, affordable homes across the North West of England including Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire. Magenta Living recently completed a 33-unit development scheme in Audlem, Cheshire, which was their first development in Cheshire East.

Magenta Living weathered Storm Arwen during the last weekend of November, working tirelessly to ensure customers were safe in the face of dangerous and extreme weather conditions. 

The impact from Storm Arwen was felt across the UK, and in Wirral, winds reached 68mph, resulting in fallen trees and fencing, broken windows from flying debris and damaged roofs. 

Magenta Living’s 24/7 Contact Centre began to see call volumes increase from around 7am on 27 November. Messages were quickly placed on social media to advise of the high demand due to the weather conditions and asking customers to email photographs of any damage to allow staff to prioritise repairs and the Building Services Technicians’ workload. 

Many off-duty Contact Centre colleagues volunteered to assist by working on their days off, responding to phone calls and emails throughout the day and night, which was an incredible help to the team. 

An average week for Magenta Living would see around 750 repair jobs, however due to the storm this number almost doubled to 1,338 including 395 emergency repairs and 217 urgent repairs. Living up to one of the company's values, adaptability, working both day and night, Building Services Technicians were able to get to all repair priorities to make them safe. One technician responded to 40 jobs in 40 hours without complaint, going above and beyond to ensure the safety of Magenta Living`s tenants. 

One particular customer, living on the top floor of a three-storey block of flats, was quickly moved to emergency accommodation after it was deemed unsafe for her to remain in the property. The swift actions of the Magenta Living team meant the customer and her daughter were safe and secure away from any potential harm. 

Colleagues from both the Magenta Living Contact Centre and Building Services Technicians certainly went the extra mile, doing everything they could to ensure tenants were safe while working through exceptionally high volumes of calls and jobs, IT issues and extremely difficult weather conditions. Staff continued to work extended hours in the days following the storm to answer calls, make safe and carry out repairs and completed all urgent storm related repairs within a week, which is an incredible achievement. 

Brian Simpson, Chief Executive of Magenta Living said: “I’m so proud of everyone who was involved in supporting our customers through the storm. They have shown great dedication and worked extremely hard to ensure our customers and their homes were safe. I couldn’t thank them all enough and I know our customers will appreciate their efforts during such an awful storm. It was truly a team effort and an example of ‘The Magenta Way’ which is all about working collaboratively to provide excellent services for customers.” 

Incidences of cyber-crime are on the increase. We want to take this opportunity to ask you to be vigilant against scams. Remember that Magenta Living will never contact you to ask for sensitive information or payment details over the phone, or in person, out of the blue.  

If you receive an email, ask yourself, am I expecting it and carefully check the sender’s email address before you click on any hyperlinks or attachments, even if you know or trust the sender. Never give sensitive personal information over the telephone either, such as your bank account details. Please be assured that we are continually improving our own security processes to keep your data safe.  

Wirral Council is also sharing information about cyber fraud and security and highlighting some things to look out for so that you can be vigilant and protect yourselves, your friends and your family from becoming victims. 

Cybercrime is just one type of fraud and involves a computer being used to deceive someone to gain a dishonest advantage. The most common types of Cyber Fraud you may expect to see are:

• Phishing: where a criminal sends an email message, usually to lots of addresses, aiming to trick the recipient into providing private information such as usernames and passwords for online services, such as online banking. 
• Spear-phishing: Where criminals send an email message to an individual, using information about that individual to trick them into clicking on a link or revealing personal information.
• Whaling: A form of phishing in which a specific type of person, perhaps due to their role at work, is targeted. The email message may appear to come from someone who it is not, in order to access specific information which, they otherwise would not have access to.
• Ransomware: Where rogue software prevents access to computer files and folders and a ransom is demanded to unlock the files, it can be sent to the computer via an email link or attachment, a webpage, or by removable media, such as a USB stick or pen drive.
• Malicious Text Message: Where criminals send a text message which looks like it has come from a trusted organisation, such as the NHS, but contains a link to a malicious website which aims to capture private information.

There are some key things you can look out for, that act as warning signs of scams or phishing attempts. Be wary of:

• Requests for personal information, such as postal address, account password, bank details
• Generic greetings such as ‘Dear member’ or ‘Dear user’
• An email which wants you to download an attachment that you weren’t expecting or links which look legitimate, but which point to suspicious website 
• Did you know: You can often see where a link really points to by moving your mouse pointer over the link (without clicking) then seeing the real link in the status bar at the bottom of the page
• Urgent wording, mentions of deadlines for certain actions, such as “Your account will be locked if you do not reply immediately!”
• Emails with poor spelling and grammar

To protect yourself from cyber security do not reply to any spam or suspicious-looking emails and do not open links in text or email messages which you are not expecting. If you are working from home, your employer may have more guidance on what to do if you suspect cyber fraud so always check and see if they have any training available.

For more information on how to protect yourself from Cyber Fraud at work and at home, visit the National Cyber Security Centre.

Update for Magenta Living customers from Wirral Council:

Wirral Council has secured more than £3 million from the Government’s new £500 million Household Support Fund to help families and individuals who are struggling this winter. Following consultation with community and voluntary sector partners and other key stakeholders, £3,049,345 of funding will be allocated to the projects to help vulnerable residents and people in crisis.

Wirral Council’s assistant director for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Transport and Humanitarian Cell lead, Mark Camborne, said: “Huge efforts have been made to support our most vulnerable residents through the pandemic and this funding will allow the Council and its community and voluntary sector partners to continue that vital work over the winter. Although tens of thousands of local people have been supported over the past 18 months, we know that some people are reluctant to seek help and continue to endure financial hardship and all its consequences.

“I would therefore encourage anyone in genuine need and struggling to get the food, fuel and other things that are essential for their health and wellbeing, to look at what is available and get the help they need.”

Information about emergency support for Wirral’s most vulnerable people in a crisis situation is available on the Wirral Infobank website (www.wirralinfobank.co.uk), the Wirral Council website or by calling the coronavirus helpline on 0151 666 5050 if you are unable to go online. The helpline can also advise on assistance that may be available from Age UK Wirral for anyone digitally excluded.

The funding is the latest from the Department for Work and Pensions which has provided more than £3 million since December 2020 to support vulnerable residents under the COVID Winter Grant Scheme and COVID Local Support Grants.

All projects must spend their allocation by 31 March 2022.

Read more about each funded project below…

• Small Grants Programme (£600,000) - Community-based food and welfare support groups, including many that have played a key role in the borough’s humanitarian efforts throughout the pandemic, can apply for up to £20,000 to help ensure that food and essential items are available to those most in need in their local communities over the winter months. Applications to Wirral Household Support Fund can be made via the Wirral Council website at www.wirral.gov.uk/household until the deadline of 12 noon on Thursday 11th November 2021.
• Financial Support with Welfare Needs (£500,000) - Wirral Council will continue to provide emergency support to help people in crisis situations and has extended the scope, contributing to towards necessary items and expenses such as essential food, shoes and clothing, furniture and household goods, white goods, fuel and utilities including phone and broadband bills, travel costs, veterinary bills, car repairs bills, and medical expenses. All applications are carefully considered against strict eligibility criteria and evidence of need. More information is available at www.wirral.gov.uk/welfaresupport.
• Financial Support with Fuel and with Fuel & Water Debt (£430,000) – Vulnerable residents who are unable to pay for the fuel they need to heat and power their homes or are struggling to deal with fuel and water debt can apply for help in several ways:
  • Those with pre-payment meters can request gas and electric vouchers from national charity, Fuelbank Foundation, via their local delivery partners Citizens Advice Wirral, Involve Northwest and Energy Projects Plus, including Wirral Council via its Financial Support Scheme.
  • Those who pay by direct debit can apply for help towards their fuel and water costs, which will be paid directly to their utility provider following an assessment and referral by Citizens Advice Wirral.
  • People struggling with fuel and water debt can request help to clear or reduce their debt from Citizens Advice Wirral and Energy Projects Plus. Clearing debt can enable households to switch energy suppliers and move to more affordable fuel tariffs, resulting in very positive financial and physical and mental health benefits.
  • People in crisis situations who are unable to repair or replace broken or obsolete heating and do not qualify for help under other programmes can apply to local charity Energy Projects Plus for help under the Crisis Support with heating scheme.
• Emergency School Food Pantries (£310,000) - Birkenhead Sixth Form College, along with 34 primary and 12 secondary schools across Wirral, will each receive up to £6,500 worth of ambient food to provide a store of essential items for the children to take home. The project builds on the success of a similar scheme delivered in partnership with local charity Neo Community, which saw 112 pallet-loads of food delivered to 40 local schools at the start of this new school year.
• Great Wirral Family Cook Off (£300,000) - Up to 4,000 families in all parts of the borough will receive food boxes containing the ingredients and step-by-step menu cards to create interesting and nutritious family meals together. The project builds on the success of the first Wirral Cook Off, which saw more than 17,000 hampers containing 86,925 meals, delivered to over 5,000 Wirral households last summer.
• Early Years Food and Essential Hampers During School Holidays (£134,400) – Families who qualify for 2 Year Funding or Early Years Pupil Premium (the pre-cursors to free school meal eligibility at primary school) will receive hampers containing food and other essential items, which will be provided for the nursery/school holidays at Christmas 2021 and the February half-term in 2022. Other local families with children under 5 who may need the same support can contact their nearest Children's Centre to discuss.
• Financial Support with School Meal Debt (£100,000) – Accumulated school meal debt is a burden to many struggling families. Action has previously been taken to cancel school meal debt in 43 primary schools across the borough. This funding will enable debt to be cleared in the remaining primary schools and all of Wirral’s secondary schools.
• Winter Coats and Uniforms for School (£80,000) – Schools will be supported to help struggling families with vital winter coats and uniforms, helping to improve the health and comfort of children as well as reducing the financial pressures on vulnerable families.
• Crisis Support with White Goods (£45,000) – Funding will allow community-based partners, North Birkenhead Development Trust and St Vincent de Paul Society (Wirral), to continue providing white goods and other essential items to vulnerable households who do not qualify for the Council’s Financial Support with Welfare Needs Scheme.
• Housing Support Costs (£40,000) – Wirral’s revenues and benefits service will allocate funding to support housing costs in exceptional cases of genuine emergency where existing housing support schemes cannot be used.
• Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service: Risk Reduction Items (£20,000) – Wirral will join other councils across the city region in an MFRS-led initiative to install a range of heating-related risk reduction items in the homes of vulnerable people across the borough.

A contingency fund has also been set aside to deal with any requests for additional funding due to strong demand for the projects outlined above. It will also be used to address any gaps or unforeseen needs that arise as we transition from the COVID emergency to a more normal way of life.

The first phase of new homes have been released for sale at the highly anticipated Bridge View development in Runcorn.

The site on Halton Road – which is being delivered by Magenta Living and Onward Living – will offer a total of 46 homes for sale through Shared Ownership. There is a mix of two, three and four-bedroom properties at Bridge View, Runcorn.

Phase one will consist of 19 three and four-bedroom homes, which are all now available to reserve off-plan. The three-bedroom homes start at £59,980 for a 40% share, while the four-bedroom properties are priced from £78,000 for a 40% share and a show home is also set to be launched later this autumn, giving prospective buyers the opportunity to see what life could be like at Bridge View. 

You can view our shared ownership properties here.

Claire Henning, our head of sales said: “Magenta Living is delighted to be part of Bridge View as its first development in Runcorn. Magenta Living are offering 10 fantastic shared ownership homes during this first phase, which are in an excellent location and will no doubt appeal to those interested in purchasing a new home in the area.  

“Offering the homes for shared ownership means this really is an affordable way of purchasing your dream home and I’m sure those interested won’t be disappointed once they see the amazing modern features the homes have to offer. Partnering with Onward Living, who are selling the properties on our behalf has been excellent. I really would encourage anyone interested to register their interest sooner rather than later as I’m confident these new homes won’t be available for long.”

Sandy Kelly, head of sales at Onward, said: “We are really excited to be releasing this first phase of stunning homes for sale at Bridge View, and can’t wait to help buyers in Runcorn access brand new affordable homes.

“We have received an unprecedented amount of interest in our Bridge View development, which shows there is clearly a huge demand for affordable homes in this area. Given the number of enquiries we have had so far, we expect these homes to get snapped up very quickly. We would therefore advise any interested buyers to act fast to secure their preferred plot.”

Overlooking the iconic Mersey Gateway Bridge, the development is situated just a mile away from Runcorn’s ‘old town’ centre, offering a host of fantastic amenities, schools and supermarkets on your doorstep. The site is also well connected and is just a ten-minute drive from the M56 motorway and eight minutes from the M62.

Each home at Bridge View will offer a superb specification, including fully fitted contemporary ‘shaker style’ kitchens, modern bathroom suites with Porcelanosa wall tiles, fully turfed gardens, and off-street parking.

Work at Bridge View temporarily stalled last year when the original contractor fell into administration. A new contractor, Anwyl Partnerships, was appointed in December 2020 and they have been working hard to get the development back on track, with the first homes set to be completed in early 2022. 

All the properties for Shared Ownership, including those for us (Magenta Living), will be sold by Onward Living.
For more details, visit onward-living.co.uk or call 0300 555 0131.