Bonfire Night Safety: Celebrate Smart, Stay Safe

This Bonfire Night, we are going to be working with the fire service and Sefton Council on ‘Operational Banger’, which is a partnership approach to preventing crime and ASB on Bonfire Night. We will be providing skips to a number of areas to limit the amount of built up materials.

Here are some safety tips for Bonfire Night:
• Don’t use petrol or paraffin to start the fire, it can quickly get out of control
• Only burn dry materials
• Build the bonfire well away from buildings, sheds, fences and trees
• Ensure there are no cables above the bonfire
• Keep a bucket of water or garden hose nearby
• Don’t leave the bonfire unattended
• Keep children and pets well away from the bonfire
• Do not throw any fireworks into the bonfire
• Do not burn aerosols, tyres, canisters or anything containing foam or paint. This can produce toxic fumes and some containers may explode, causing injury
• Once the bonfire has died down, pour water on the embers to stop the fire reigniting and ensure it is completely extinguished

Let’s recap!

Get Involved Session

On the 21st October, we hosted a get involved session to increase the number of customers on our customer led Scrutiny team. The session was focused on explaining the purpose of Scrutiny and the benefits to our customers and the organisation.

We explained more about all the training that is available to Scrutiny members and the involved customers got to meet our current Scrutiny team to do a Q&A. We also explained the positive impacts of Scrutiny and previous reccomendations that have been implemented. Overall, we had a very successful session and gained lots of interest to expand our Scrutiny team.

Your Voice Matters: Join a group today

Want to help shape your community and improve services for everyone? We’re looking for passionate tenants to join our customer groups! No experience needed – we provide all training. Here’s how you can get involved:

Scrutiny Team

Dive deep into service issues, recommend improvements, and track progress.

Commitment: Over 3 hours per month (in person).

Service Review Group

Help us identify key areas for investigation by assessing performance data.

Commitment: 3 hours every three months (in person).

Policy and Strategy Group

Help develop important strategies and policies.

Commitment: 2 hours quarterly (every 3 months). Sessions held in-person and virtually.

Upcoming neighbourhood drop-in sessions

If you have a tenancy related queries and want to speak to a member of our Neighbourhood Services Team in person, then please feel free to visit one of our drop-in sessions for assistance. Whether you need to chat to someone about your rent account, anti-social behaviour, or you just need to report a repair, we’re here to help.

Take a look at our upcoming sessions:

St John & James Church and Community Centre

St John & James Church and Community Centre, 71 Bailey Drive, Bootle, L20 6EX

First Tuesday of each month 11am – 2pm

We’re currently reviewing venues in your local area, so keep an eye out for new drop-in sessions!

Help us, help you!

We value customer feedback as a vital tool for improvement. By listening to our customers’ concerns and suggestions, we can identify areas where we need to improve and make changes to enhance the overall experience.

We want to make it easy for customers to share their feedback, whether it’s a complaint, suggestion, or compliment. By doing so, we can continue to provide high-quality housing and support services. If you have a complaint, compliment or suggestion, visit our website here to let us know. Alternatively, contact us on 0300 365 1111 or email enquiries@ovh.org.uk

Get social with us!

Want to be the first to know? Make sure you’re following us on social media for all the latest news, important
updates, and heartwarming good news stories from our communities!

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If you’re new to Customer Voice and unsure on how you can get involved, visit our website to find out more on the various groups and panels you can join.