Sovereign Vale, now the largest social housing provider based in Oxfordshire with almost 6500 homes, recently embraced the Dragon’s Den idea in letting residents decide themselves which estate improvements really matter to them.
As part of this resident involvement, Sovereign Vale held an estate improvement event on Saturday 24 April, allowing residents to vote on specific new facilities for communal areas where they live. There was a range of ideas discussed, from improved litter facilities right the way through to outdoor play equipment.
The event also allowed residents to understand the concept of budgeting with an open consultation where the residents worked out exactly where the money would be best spent.
Natalie Crawford, chairman of a local committee for a new play space in Appleton, attended the event. The committee has spent the last year consulting with young residents throughout the village to understand their needs and to get a better picture of what their play space should look like. As part of this the committee has also sent out questionnaires and run workshops and design competitions, all aimed at engaging the children as much as possible in this project.
Natalie commented, “We are delighted that Sovereign Vale is supporting us in this initiative. Our children and teenagers are crying out for somewhere safe to play and socialise. We need around £60,000 to make this a reality, so the Sovereign Vale grant is a great step forward to achieving our goal.”
Rachel and Barry Knight from Appleton also attended the event and were very impressed by the layout and different projects discussed. Rachel noted, “It was really nice to meet up with other tenants and Barry and myself were really impressed with the feeling of community spirit. It was lovely to be able to vote to spend a budget on things that the tenants thought were important to them and this really showed in the projects that were awarded grants. It was also a great event to meet up with the staff and put names to faces.”
Jon Upchurch, Resident Involvement Officer for Sovereign Vale, noted, “The event was aimed at giving our residents a real choice with real money. It was great to see our residents feeling empowered and voting on the things that they wanted to see changed and improved where they live.”
