Swansea High Street’s regeneration moves forward as Mosaic Cafe opens its doors

Swansea High Street’s Urban Regeneration project is taking a huge step forward with the opening of a new venue, Mosaic bar and bistro.

This is the latest venture from Andrew John and Brennan Street and forms an integral part of Coastal Housing Group’s new Urban Village.

Andrew and Brennan said “The Urban Village development is totally in line with our ethos of developing a ‘quirky’ but aspirational venue which is unexpected. We believe that Mosaic is an engaging venue where people can enjoy the city’s finest when it comes to coffee, food, company and wine.

“The High Street regeneration can only be a positive move forward. It gives a clear signal to local and national businesses that Swansea means business and if development continues in this manner will attract more new retail and restaurant outlets like Mosaic.”

The Mosaic menu is inspired by both local and exotic ingredients and is designed to please all tastes and budgets. Andrew and Brennan also intend the space to serve as a launch pad for new musicians, artists and comedians through a yet to be announced calendar of exciting events.

The Urban Village is the new home of over 100 of Coastal Housing Group’s Swansea based staff, securing the complex’s reputation as the flagship development for the regeneration of High Street. Coastal received £900,000 grant from the Swansea Regeneration Area for its Urban Village regeneration programme. It is intended to transform Swansea’s High Street, and bring Kings Lane back into use as the vibrant linkage between High Street and the Parc Tawe site.

Royal recognition for Coastal’s Area Caretaker

Alan Cunningham, an Area Caretaker with Coastal since July 2000 was presented with an award for ‘long and outstanding service’ from HRH Prince of Wales in March this year, for his volunteer work with the Welsh Guard Association over the past 15 years.

Alan served in the Welsh Guards for six years from 1969 - 1975, leaving with the rank of Lance Sergeant. 15 years ago he got involved with the Swansea Welsh Guard Association and is currently Secretary of the Llanelli & Carmarthen Branches of the Welsh Guards Association. Alan’s volunteer work includes looking after the ‘old soldiers’ and veterans and arranging trips and outings for them. 

The presentation took place at Hounslow Barracks where serving soldiers and guardsmen were also receiving awards.

Our Neath office is now officially open!

1 – Coastal Housing’s Chief Executive
Tim Blanch (left) and Cllr Ali Thomas
open Coastal Housing’s new office in Neath

Our new office in Neath has been officially opened by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Leader, Councillor Ali Thomas.

Our office, which serves the 1900 Coastal Tenants living in Neath & Port Talbot, is situated at 41-43 Windsor Road and will be open Monday – Friday, 9am-4pm.



Councillor Thomas said, “I was honoured to be invited to speak at the opening of the new Neath office. Coastal’s commitment is vital to the wider regeneration of Neath Port Talbot County Borough. Coastal is more than just a social housing provider, the staff work hard in the communities they serve and thanks should go to them for their continuing efforts.”


Our Chief Executive Tim Blanch said, “A number of our partner organisations such as the Local Authority, police and voluntary groups attended the opening and it was a great way to say thank you for the way we have worked together, and will continue to work together to ensure Neath is a good place to live. We look forward to strengthening those relationships in the future.”

 (L-R) Coastal Housing’s Chief Executive Tim Blanch,
Cllr Steve Hunt, Cllr Ali Thomas, Cllr Tony Taylor
and Janet Gange, Senior Housing Officer at Coastal 

Tenant Fun Day - August 2012

Our first ever fun day took play on 16th August at Cwrt Herbert Playing Fields, Neath and was deemed to be a resounding success.

The fun day was billed as a family day out and there was something there for all ages.

The whole event was organised and hosted by the Coastal Team who worked hard to make the day a success.

Visitors attending the event were greeted by a Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow look-a- like who with his realistic characteristics set the tone.

In the entertainment areana, the event was opened with a musical group of young opera singers from the Welsh Royal College of Music.

This was followed by a Bird of Prey demonstration

In the sports field we had Olympic events such as – Welly Throwing; Hoola Hooping; Sack Race and Egg and Spoon. Winners all receiving their medals and certificates of participation.

There was a pitch dedicated to aspiring young footballers who had the benefit of professional football coaches with a very popular 5 a side tournament in the afternoon.

Plus throughout the day we could watch skills of the free runners/base jumpers.

As well as all the field activities there were a variety of stalls including – coconut shy; splat the rat; bean bag ladder toss; guess the ‘competitions’; jewellery making ; nail art; tombola, cup cakes, and face painting.

There was also a mini fair ground attractions with the popular bucking bronco, mini waltzers, giant slide and demolition derby.

The atmosphere throughout the day was fantastic as everyone joined in the fun. The tug-o-war competition turned into a riot of purple as staff, adults and children all joined in.

The Fancy Dress Comp enjoyed a good turnout with entrants dressed in delightful costumes ranging from Snow White, A Spanish Lady, Pirates and the youngest entrant of all – 8 month old Ashton in his Batman suit.

The event closed with a balloon release of over 200 balloons . AT the time of writing this article, we have had confirmation of 2 balloons reaching the Shropshire Borders!.

On the back of the success of we are looking forward to staging another event like this next year.

  

 

 

 

    

Recognition at The Green Organisation's Green Apple Awards

We are delighted to announce that our Harbour Quay development was recognised at The Green Organisation’s Green Apple Awards held in Canary Wharf, London in June.

The Green Apple Awards are designed to recognise environmental and sustainability best practice, and Harbour Quay won the ‘Building Project – Housing Association’ category for the best residential building project commissioned or delivered by a housing association.

Completed in February 2012, Harbour Quay consists of 69 one and two bedroom apartments, nine of which are suitably adapted for tenants with disabilities. Judging was based on areas such as environmental benefits, social benefit, visual impact, innovation, energy efficiency and waste reduction.

The development was praised for its sustainable features which included its timber frame construction, materials that were sourced from sustainable certified sources within a 30 kilometre radius, and the main roof covering of the building which was formed utilising demolition rubble – to create a ‘brown’ roof, allowing vegetation to potentially grow over the surface.

Grow your own... At Vetch Veg

In August 2011 the Vetch Veg project was born. Based on the historic site of the Vetch football field, an urban utopia has been created in the heart of Swansea.

Vetch Veg is an artwork and site specific project working in collaboration with the community of Sandfields, Swansea. The work is co-ordinated by Artist Owen Griffiths, commissioned by Adain Avion cultural Olympiad Wales.

This collaborative project with local residents has seen the pitch at Vetch, the iconic football stadium that, in 2012 would have celebrated its centenary, transformed into edible land. This has provided the residents and the surrounding community free space in which to work together, growing produce, keeping bees and chickens etc.

The grand finale of the project was the Vetch Veg Flower and Produce Show, which took place in June 2012 when the Adain Avion plane came to Swansea.

Sarah Bennett, Housing Services Manager and Chris McDonnell, Estates Co-Ordinator visited Vetch Veg recently to see how four of Coastal’s tenants, who had taken plots had done.

The tenants, Dawn and Tim Mitchell, Wayne Morgan and Liz MacNamara, all live in Coastal homes in the Sandfields. Living in flats, they have no gardens and could only grow plants in pots and tubs. They became involved after seeing posters inviting local residents to attend a meeting last August.

Our tenants told Sarah how their gardening skills have literally grown over the last 12 months.

For more information visit: www.vetchveg.co.uk

Housing benefit is changing... Will you be affected?

Over the last few months we' ve talked about the Housing Benefit Reform, which is coming into force in April 2013.

If you receive Housing Benefit, then these Government changes may have a big impact on you. It is important you understand what impact it will have.

How many bedrooms?

From April 2013 the Welfare Reform Act states that if you receive Housing Benefit and have more bedrooms than you need, the money you get from Housing Benefit will be reduced, giving you a choice of:

• Paying the additional rent yourself and continuing to live in your present home

• Or, if you can’t afford the extra rent, moving to a smaller property.

If you are unsure of whether this applies to you, it is important you contact us as soon as possible to find out and discuss your options. Doing nothing is not an option, as it means you will find yourself in rent arrears and it will be much harder for us to help you.

Contact your Housing Officer or telephone Coastal Housing on 01792 479200 for more information on Housing Benefit Reform.