Dear TRA Committee Member,

Welcome to another edition of our TRA Newsletter. In this edition you'll find information on a range of topics including, community halls update,free courses, volunteering opportunities, and much more.

Community Halls

Generally our community halls remained closed, but activities that have a community benefit can continue where latest Covid-19 guidelines are followed and risk assessments have been carried out for the proposed activities. However, if London tier changes in the future then use of the halls will need to be reviewed.

Please see poster for information, if you would like copies for your hall or if you have any further questions regarding re-opening your hall, please contact your Resident Participation Officer.

Vincennes Estate

The residents of the Vincennes Estate have welcomed the creation of a new community garden, which is situated on Carnac Street at the junction of Clive Road. The site has been a notorious fly tip for many years and Lambeth Council has been working closely with local residents to make the area clean and safe. The project is a partnership between Housing Services, Pinnacle and Veolia. The construction of the raised beds were undertaken by Pinnacle and they also supplied all the compost and materials. The new space will be suitable for food growing and a number of volunteers have already come forward to offer assistance. Willem Heskes is a local resident who has been involved with the project since the outset. Willem said ‘It has been a challenging venture but I am really pleased with the results. I can’t wait to see what it will look like in the summer’

Fire safety volunteers wanted

Are you a high-rise tower block resident interested in volunteering for a new engagement project on fire safety? If you live in Ebenezer House, Fairford House, Hurley House, Coverley Point, or Heymans Point and want to take part please reply to gettinginvolved@lambeth.gov.uk

New Lambeth Tenant Account

We are excited to announce the launch of the new Lambeth Tenant account

Some of the new features you will see are:

• view and update contact details - landline number, mobile number, and email address
• set up direct debit online - set up direct debit online, if you haven’t already have one
• view your rent balance - balances will be up to date, new payments will show in 24 to 48 hours.
• view all current and former accounts - such as garage account, parking, and all previous accounts.
• view your account details and payment schedule – view account details and payment arrangements. You can also see weekly/ monthly rent, if you receive any housing benefits and how much money you need to pay.

• view your account’s transactions for the last 10 years – all transactions, payments, and charges of the last 10 years. 

• download a PDF of your recent rent statement - you can download your last 12 months of transactions

Now you have easy access to the information you have been asking us for, available through one account. Please visit the website to create your account

Free courses for Lambeth Housing Tenants

Lambeth and HighTrees Community Development Trust have teamed up to offer the following courses below: Candidates can sign up directly using the links below  AET Level 3 Food & Hygiene Level CIH Housing Practice Level 3 If you are interested in any of these courses please contact High Trees on 020 8671 3132 or email or you can register on the High Trees Community Trust Development website   Digital Hub at High Trees Development Trust High Trees Development Trust are supporting learners with devices and have opened High Trees as a Digital Hub on Mondays and Wednesdays between 9.00am to 4.30pm for those who need  to physically access a computer. These can be booked here.

Learning opportunties

Interested to work in the arts and working with community projects? Online start date Wednesday 27th January NOCN and Arts Award Accredited with progression onto other Art4Space and Lambeth wide initiatives. Free 8-week gateway course is aimed at improving employment opportunities for under 30’s (with career planning and signposting) and encouraging community leadership.  Please email Julie to register.

Board Corner

The next Area Board meetings will be held on 16 February for the North Area and 23 February for the South Area. The Boards will be discussing Quarter 3 (October through December) performance. If you are interested in joining an area board please get in touch with your Resident Participation Officer or email Erin Healy