Webber & Quentin Newsletter- Summer 2023
Happy households, living in healthy homes,
as part of a cooperative community.
Welcome to the Summer newsletter. This bumper edition brings updates from the latest AGM (11th of June) and helpful information to get the most from all the services that are on offer. Following the positive ballot confirming the TMO should carry on, we are excited to let you know our plans for the coming months.
Please also tell us what is most important to you. Complete the survey in the attachment and drop it off to our TMO office.
Spotlight: Meet our TMO Manager
This is the fifth year that Sirajul Islam has been our trusted TMO Manager.
We spoke to him recently.
Tell us about how you came to the Webber & Quentin TMO
and what attracted you to the role?
About five years ago in the summer, I was asked to step into the breach to
provide emergency cover. Six months later I was appointed as the permanent
manager. What I find most rewarding about my job is working with residents
and community groups, trying to make a difference to people’s lives.
Sometimes that is about helping to fix simple repair problem or dealing with a
neighbourly dispute and bringing two parties back together. Sometimes it is
about making system changes that make things easier for the community.
How do you divide your time and measure where you’ve made a difference?
I work on a part-time basis and work with an assistant TMO Officer. My ambition is to deliver a service that is more personal and efficient than our residents would get from Southwark Council. That is not always easy but I use my diary to plan ahead and we have built in contingencies to ensure we can cover queries when we are not directly available. Being organised and efficient is very important and luckily, I am very good at making decisions quickly and knowing who is around to help us solve problems.
I know I have made a difference when I am able to help residents and they are grateful. We also have a series of Key Performance Indicators and targets and I am chuffed when we manage to achieve or even exceed those.
What is your ambition for the next 12 months?
The pandemic was a really disruptive time. Since then, we have been getting back to our normal work rhythms and I am really pleased with the progress we are making. Going forward I am determined to improve the repair service and to achieve better value for money for our residents. We also have a job opening for a new assistant housing manager and once we are able to fill that position, together with bringing on an experienced repairs consultant (funded from the TMO surplus), I feel confident we can make great things happen. That will free up my time so that I can make more home visits and work with residents day to day to help create a real community spirit.
You said Yes!
The TMO Ballot, issued in May this year, returned the decisive verdict that our TMO should continue for another 5 years. 90% of respondents voted ‘Yes’.
Thank you to everyone for your support!
Where to get help: Webber & Quentin TMO
Address: The Portacabin, Gray St, SE1 8UY. Website: http://webberandquentintmo.org
Tel: 020 7620-3001 - Email: contact@wqtmo.org
Reporting repairs:
Please call the TMO Office or email contact@wqtmo.org for any daytime repairs.
All emergency and urgent repairs must be reported by phone on 020 7620-3001.
For emergency repair reports outside of walk-in times (Wednesday AMs and Friday) or when no one is available via the number above, we recently changed our emergency repair contractor.
The new number to call is Eastside on 020 3633-1541. Please only use this number if you are a council tenant to report repairs such as blocked toilets, bathroom or kitchen back surging, flooding, water leaks or water penetrations, burst pipes, no power in the house, or if you are a vulnerable or OAP tenant and you are locked out.
Our temporary TMO Officer has also recently departed and we will have no office cover on Tuesdays for a few weeks while we are recruiting. Please use the same number (020 3633-1541) to report emergency repairs on Tuesdays too for the time being. General responsive repairs should be reported to TMO Manager on 020 630-3001 or via e-mail to contact@wqtmo.org
Out of Hours Emergency; Heating & Hot Water; Door Entry:
Only for emergency repairs out of hours 5pm to 8am Monday to Friday and during weekends & bank holidays; as well as heating & hot water repairs (tenants only), door entry, stacks pipes or communal drains or lighting issues during normal hours. Please call Southwark Council; 0800 952 4444 or 020 7525 2600
(Email: repairs@southwark.gov.uk)
Communal matters report to Southwark Council:
If you need to report issues with pest control, missed rubbish/recycling collections, bulk rubbish collections, parking enforcements, communal repairs issues such as door entry, TV aerial or loose cables, roof or gutters leaking, please report them direct to the CALL CENTRE on 020 75252600
Sign up for My Southwark to check rent status and to make housing applications.
News updates
Making everything greener
Our wonderful gardener, Eric Graham – a lifetime resident of the Estate – has been working with other volunteers to systematically tackle our common spaces and make our green spaces even more beautiful. Thanks to extra funding from BOST (Bankside Open Spaces Trust) and Southwark Council’s Tree Surgeon we have been able to tame our trees to create more light and remove excessive foliage. We also host regular gardening club mornings to help out. If you enjoy getting your hands dirty, look out for the text announcements about the upcoming workshops or apply for one of our fruit and veg plots to grow your own produce.
Spending our surplus
At a Special General Meeting in January 2023, the residents voted unanimously to put the well-earned surplus of £104,000 towards a two-year fixed project to get to the bottom of our structural repair issues and help us fix them. The Repairs Committee will lead this effort.
Coming soon: new Webber Row gates
Our three-year program to secure funding for the installation and maintenance of new gates along Webber Row has now entered its last phase before completion in the autumn 2023. Residents along Webber Row have been calling for this development to help stop the instances of illegal parking, anti-social behaviour and drug use & dealing and to create a safer space for our children to play.
Our community coming together
We’ve had lots of fun this year getting our community together for regular coffee mornings at the Fifth Element café on Webber Street, our Christmas lunch, held at the Duke of Sussex, and the Coronation Street party in Webber Row.
Plans are already underway for our Christmas lunch this year. Save the date: Sunday 10th December. Invitations will be sent out in advance and we urge you to confirm your place quickly not to miss out.
Keep in touch
There are lots of ways you can keep in touch to find out about our coffee mornings, the garden workshops and much more. Register for our text alerts by sending an email to secretary@webberandquentintmo.org with your phone number and we’ll add you to the list.
Visit our website to get the latest updates and to communicate with the TMO Office to find out about renting a bike locker, report a repair or find out who to call for help.
Pop into the TMO Office in the Quentin House car park.
Become a member of the TMO and join one of our committees
The TMO is held together thanks to the help and dedication of local residents who volunteer to help make a difference. We can always use more help on our committees: Garden & Grounds, Events & Engagement, Repairs and Finance.
Let us know if you’re interested to join: secretary@webberandquentintmo.org
Could you be our next Treasurer?
The position of Treasurer is currently open. The role will take responsibility for the financial management processes for the TMO and is a voluntary position open to candidates from the estate, as well as non-residents.
A great opportunity for anyone who wishes to put their organisational and leadership skills to work to contribute to the smooth running of this residential management organisation.
Interested candidates are invited to apply to secretary@webberandquentintmo.org