Tag: Places for People Scotland

Edinburgh MPs initiate dialogue between tenants and Places for People

THREE Edinburgh Labour MPs – Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith), Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West), and Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) – came together with Places for People Scotland and tenants from across the city on Wednesday to build on joint engagement activity addressing housing queries.

After being elected, Tracy Gilbert MP noticed a trend in complaints and organised this meeting to support both tenants and Places for People Scotland.

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the Edinburgh MPs arranged the meeting with Places for People Scotland and Edinburgh Tenants Federation to support local tenants to proactively seek support on matters relating to their communities.

The meeting is a further step in the work Places for People Scotland has undertaken in the past 18 months in increasing customer engagement across the city.

The meeting covered matters raised by customers including understanding service charges, heating, and repairs and maintenance, as well as customer engagement.

By bringing all parties together, the MPs sought to bring together tenants’ voices to continue open, constructive, and effective dialogue.

Tracy Gilbert MP said: “Tenants deserve to feel heard and supported by their housing provider. As Edinburgh MPs, we were pleased to facilitate this meeting so residents could raise their concerns directly and begin to build stronger channels of communication.

“A lot of the issues raised centred on the transparency of bills from factors and the lack of clarity in communications.

“We hope that over the coming months these matters can be resolved, giving residents the confidence and reassurance they deserve.”

Dr Scott Arthur MP added: “Tenants in Edinburgh South West have understandably lost confidence in the service provided by Places for People Scotland.

“I’m therefore pleased that this meeting offered a chance to reset the relationship. It’s now in everyone’s best interest to work together constructively to rebuild trust and deliver the high-quality services that residents rightly expect and deserve.”

Chris Murray MP said: “I welcome Places for People Scotland’s commitment to an open, engaged, and transparent relationship with their tenants – demonstrated by our community meeting tonight.

“However, an engaged, transparent, and supportive housing provider and property factor should not be an exception, but an expectation.

“I will continue to work alongside residents, my fellow MPs, and Places for People Scotland, to ensure this is achieved.”

Kelly Brown, Director of Places for People Scotland, commented: “We recognise that there have been times in recent years where our communication with customers should have been better and we have taken the appropriate steps to improve this.

“Yesterday’s meeting marked another positive step forward, demonstrating what can be achieved when we work together.

“We are always listening. Over the last 18 months, we’ve worked closely with our customers and local MPs to improve the overall customer experience. For those whose homes are powered by a district heating system, we’ve brought in an internal expert to review all tariffs and procure a new partner.

“We remain committed to driving further improvements to ensure we provide a service that our customers can be proud of.”

Housing is a matter devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Living Spaces: Outdoor photography exhibition opens in city centre vandalism hotspots

A new outdoor exhibition of photographs by five local photographers has gone on display in Edinburgh’s busy urban thoroughfares.

Living Spaces, commissioned by Places for People Scotland, part of the UK’s leading social enterprise, has been installed in five different locations across the city, all of which were identified as vandalism hotspots following numerous repairs and treatments by the Places for People Scotland team over the years. 

After identifying the locations, Places for People Scotland brought local photographers on board, who suggested various images which they believed would work well across the sites.

The artists and Places for People Scotland recognised the importance of resident participation in this project – as these are ‘living spaces’ –  and customers living in the area were invited to  select the final images to go on display using an online poll.

The chosen photographs vary from moments of calm within the natural world, to colourful snapshots of interior and exterior life around the city.

Katie Smart, Director of Places for People Scotland said: “We are delighted to see this project come to life, our goal with this project was to transform living spaces across the city that had been victim to vandalism for both our customers whose homes are in the area and the wider Edinburgh community.

It was important to us to involve our customers in the decision process, it feels extra special knowing that the artwork has been chosen by those most affected whilst being able to provide incredible local photographers with a platform for their work.”

Christina Webber, participating photographer and Director of AGITATE, said: “It’s such a joy to see this project realised and AGITATE are proud to host a version of the work at 6WS during the Festival season.

“We love the August buzz and to be able to platform local artists to a visiting international audience is a really important opportunity.

“As a photographer, exhibiting work in alternative spaces with so many people passing each day is really exciting. Engagement with photography is so often digital, having the chance to be part of people’s everyday journeys is a privilege.”

Smaller scale versions of all the works are on display at 6 William Street (6WS) throughout August, alongside a Festival ‘rest space’ and a short programme of drop-in workshops to complement the work.

The artists whose work is included in the project are:

Dave Ferrie

Everything that exists in cities is of interest to Dave, but particularly the areas where old and new meet, and the spaces where nature and man-made structures coexist.

Dave loves exploring urban environments and photographing the moments, places and sights which grab his attention.

Kat Gollock

Kat is a graduate of both Stevenson College (now Edinburgh College) and Edinburgh Napier University, where she graduated with first class honours, and has over 15 years experience in the photography industry. 

Kat specialises in events, portraiture and live performance. As well as commercial photographic work, she teaches photography, and is an exhibited photographic artist and a published writer on the subject. 

Zoe Hamill

Zoe is a photographer from Co. Antrim, now living in Edinburgh.

She is interested in the relationship between humans and the environment, as well as the systems of classification that we use to make sense of the world around us. 

Jack Low

Jack Low is a lens-based visual artist based in Glasgow, having studied Photography and Film at Edinburgh Napier University.

Drawn into photography at a young age through an interest in technology, he has produced works critically examining modern culture, social media and the human condition through means of installation pieces and typologies.

Christina Webber

Christina is a visual artist who loves pictures, words, and their potential when put together. She completed a First Class BA (Hons) in Photography & Film from Edinburgh Napier University in 2015, and works as a Freelance Digital Communicator for a variety of clients.

Additionally, Christina is Co-Director of AGITATE, a hub for photography based in Edinburgh’s West End.

Party Time at PY!

THE GREENHOUSE HOSTS A DAY TO REMEMBER

Over 300 children, parents, and fun-loving family members joined us for an unforgettable Open Day last week (Thursday 4 July). It was a day filled with laughter, joy, and a whole lot of fun!

In collaboration with our fantastic partners at Places for People Scotland, we transformed PY into a wonderland of activities:

From face painting that turned kids into their favourite superheroes, to glitter tattoos that sparkled brighter than the stars, we had it all!

And who could forget the bouncy castles and sumo wrestling? Not to mention the mouth-watering hot dogs, delicious cakes, and sweet treats that had everyone coming back for seconds (and thirds)!

But the fun didn’t stop there! We took creativity to a whole new level with our outdoor painting activity.

The children left their colourful handprints on our newly painted wall, turning it into a vibrant mural that will remind us of this special day for years to come.

A big shout-out to Police Scotland for joining in on the fun! And a massive thank you to everyone who donated prizes for the raffle.

Our event was made even more special with the presence of Fat Brestovci, the charismatic Capital Breakfast Show presenter who supports PYCP. He was there to hand out prizes and his energy was simply contagious!

We couldn’t have pulled off such a successful event without the unwavering support of our funders who have stood by us year after year.

A heartfelt thank you to all our dedicated staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event a hit.

And of course, a huge round of applause for all the families who joined us. You are the reason we host events like this and your participation means the world to us.

From all the PY Team xx