Chan Abraham, Luminus Group Chief Executive

APRIL 2012 - ISSUE 28

Luminus, the eastern region’s premier housing provider, celebrated its twelfth anniversary on 20 March 2012 as part of Luminus’ year of Restoring Respect and Reinstating Values, with a special Luminus Conference held at Brook House.

The Conference was attended by dignitaries and business leaders from across Cambridgeshire, as well as employees, resident representatives and other special guests. Among these, Councillor Powley, Chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council and Councillor Dutton, Chairman of Huntingdonshire District Council were enthusiastic in their praise as the Conference looked at some of Luminus Group’s highlights since Group Chief Executive, Chan Abraham started the business by paying around £65,000,000 to Huntingdonshire District Council in March 2000.

Councillor Powley said,

“As Chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council I use every opportunity to get to see the good things happening in our county and I have to say that what I see here is really excellent.“

Councillor Dutton added,

“In my extensive contact with local people and business, I continue to find that the work being done by Luminus is held up as a shining example of how everyone can strive to be

excellent in what they do. The District Council wishes you much success as you pursue your 2020 Vision along The Road to Renewal.”

Luminus Group Chief Executive, Chan Abraham’s vision was that the money he paid to Huntingdonshire District Council would be invested in new homes and other improvements in the quality of life for local people. Luminus then moved forward with its own independent business plan and has brought its tenants the benefits of major improvements to their homes, their environment and in the creation of several new, locally based services. Luminus has also expanded across Cambridgeshire and into Essex and London. Surveys have consistently returned very high levels of customer satisfaction, the company has a good record of health and safety and an energised programme of involving residents. In 2012 Luminus achieved 6th place among The Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For and was also given the highest accolade as a three star “extraordinary” Best Company.

Luminus celebrates 12 years of changing the world

Change is possibleThe Luminus story shows we have the capacity to change ourselves and our world

A sad aspect of modern Britain is a mentality that surrenders to our circumstances, based on an idea that we are powerless to change them. For many individuals and communities this has bred apathy and an unwillingness to take action to participate as active citizens. A recent survey shockingly revealed that only 42% would vote in the next General Election – down on the 58% from the previous year’s survey. To mend “Broken” Britain things radically have to change.

The celebration by Luminus of twelve years of “Demonstrating a more excellent way of doing business” is not only a milestone for one of the UK’s most successful socially responsible organisations. It is also a wake-up call to those in leadership, business and public to grasp the truth that WE must be the change that we wish to see in the world.

Regardless of whether others act, Luminus is determined to forge ahead towards our 2020 Vision along The Road to Renewal. It would be “Great” for Britain if many others joined us!

“Luminus is held up

as a shining example

of how everyone can

strive to be excellent

in what they do.” Councillor Dutton,

Chairman of HDC

Luminus Group • Brook House • Ouse Walk • Huntingdon • PE29 3QW • www.luminus.org.uk

The role of the Neighbourhood Wardens

Supported by

C O M M U N I T Y I N S P I R A T I O N A W A R D S 2 0 1 2

Luminus celebrated the contribution of all its female employees with Luminus Women’s Day 2012.

Every female employee received a card from Chan Abraham, the Group Chief Executive, and a Luminus compact mirror to say thank you for their hard work on The Road to Renewal.

Luminus Tenancy Support Officer Sharon Wilson said, “It really means a lot to us that we have been recognised in this way!”

Luminus Group Chief Executive, Chan Abraham said, “In 2012, our year of Restoring Respect

& Reinstating Values, we want to celebrate the special contribution of our women who are helping to change the world for the better. Each one of them represents a different strand of the unique Luminus story, helping to demonstrate a more excellent way along our Road to Renewal. We greatly appreciate them and this gift is a token of that.”

Luminus celebrates its Women’s Day

The Neighbourhood Wardens are our highly visible eyes and ears out in our communities. They are the friendly face you can call upon to assist you in dealing with any issues or problems you may be experiencing, and if they can’t solve the problem they will refer it to the relevant department or agency.

We currently employ seven full-time Neighbourhood Wardens, each covering their own area across Huntingdonshire and beyond. They carry out a varied number of tasks, from visiting vulnerable tenants to taking part in community events.

The Neighbourhood Wardens are passionate about changing the world we live in, and currently run four Junior Warden Schemes across the district promoting good behaviour and encouraging our younger generation to take pride in their world.

Our Neighbourhood Wardens have undertaken various training courses to equip them with the skills that enable them to be effective and efficient in the varied issues that they come across on a daily basis.

All our Wardens work closely with their own designated Neighbourhood Officer to ensure all of our tenants are treating our properties respectfully. Any breaches of tenancy are dealt with firmly and fairly.

If you would like to make contact with the Neighbourhood Warden for your area please contact Kim Bryant, Neighbourhood Warden Team Leader on 01480 428518 or by email to kim.bryant@luminus.org.uk.

“Our Wardens are passionate

about changing the world

we live in.”

At the first Luminus Street Representatives Conference we explained that we expected to establish Street Representatives in up to 20 areas of Huntingdonshire.

The attendees embraced the concept of Street Representatives that would help achieve positive change in their neighbourhoods by being the “eyes and ears” of their local neighbourhood. This would be done by reporting on a wide number of anti-social behaviour issues such as fly tipping, litter, dog fouling, street lighting and abandoned vehicles.

The Conference provided information and guidance on how volunteers can become effective and efficient Street Representatives,

featuring talks, workshops, small discussion groups and our special Luminus Street Representative packs. The second Conference was a great success with over 70 enrolled Street Representatives from across Huntingdonshire. We were delighted that Councillor Jeff Dutton, Chairman of the District Council was able to attend and officially launch the scheme.

Together we can achieve our 2020 Vision of making Huntingdonshire a better and safer place to live for everyone. Our Street Representative Coordinator, Andre Fourie, would be happy to meet with you to discuss any aspect of the Street Representative scheme in your area, he can be contacted on 01480 428546 or by email to andre.fourie@luminus.org.uk

Luminus Street Representatives: Changing the world where we are!

www.communityinspirationawards.org.uk

AWARD CATEGORIES

Good Neighbour

Perseverance Among Young People

Community Achievement

Inspirational Parents

Outstanding Leadership