Apply for Funding for a Project in Your Area

     Estate Improvement Banner

The Estate Improvement Budget is intended to give residents the chance to introduce small improvements to their communal areas. This year the FER has £5000 to fund estate improvement requests. Use the options below to see examples and find out how to apply.

How Does It Work?

Any Estuary Housing Association resident can apply for funding for projects such as bike shelters, planters and new benches for their neighbourhood.

Applications are sent to the Customer and Community Engagement Team (CCE) who consult, find quotes and finalise the application before being presented to the Federation of Estuary Residents at their bi-monthly meetings. The Customer and Community Engagement Team (CCE) will support you throughout your application and help you to make it successful.

What Projects Can be Funded?

Essentially, anything that doesn’t come under our responsibility as a landlord can be funded. Previous projects have included:

  • New plants for a community garden
  • Pool tables for a youth club
  • Parking bollards
  • Bike shelters
  • Solar lights in car parks.

There are a number of projects the EIB cannot fund.

  • Works that are our responsibility i.e. repairs door entry systems, external redecoration, internal decorations, replacing communal carpets.
  • Anything that will require ongoing servicing, i.e.CCTV and automatic gates
  • Anything that will have an impact on the service charge due to maintenance
  • Repairs to projects already funded by the EIB

If you have any questions please contact the CCE Team - email involvement@estuary.co.uk or call 0300 304 5000.

Projects Funded By The Estate Improvement Budget 2019-20

 

Storage Shed With Padlock
Callow House, Rainham

Callow House Storage Shed - 1 of 2 Callow House Storage Shed - 2 of 2
Callow House Before and After

Some of the residents of Callow House were concerned by items such as pushchairs being stored in communal areas. This caused risks to their health and safety. The Estate Improvement Budget was used for the construction of a storage shed for these items.

"Resident Parking Only" Signs
Glendale Road, Burnham

Glendale Road - Residents Parking Only - 1 of 1
Janet Ledgerton, Chair of the Federation of Estuary Residents with one of the new "Residents Parking Only" signs.
Residents of Glendale Road have long been experiencing problems with non-residents parking in their bays. The Estate Improvement Budget was used to purchase these signs and alleviate the problem. 

Bicycle Shed
Hume Close, Tilbury

Bike Shed, Hume Close 1 of 1
Bicycle shed at Hume Close, Tilbury
Residents were in need of a safe place to keep their bicycles so that they could avoid using the communal areas, which would create a health and safety risk. The Estate Improvement Budget was used in the construction of a bicycle shed for them.

Wheelie Bins
Nathaniel Cottages, Romford

Nathaniel Cottages - Wheelie Bins 1 of 1
Wheelie Bins, Nathaniel Cottages
Residents used to have quite a distance to travel up the main road where their rubbish sacks were collected from. The Estate Improvement Budget was used to purchase wheelie bins which were placed nearer to their homes.

Revamping Of The Community Garden
Woodgrange Drive Estate, Southend-On-Sea

WDE Community Garden 1 of 8 WDE Community Garden 3 of 8 WDE Community Garden 5 of 8 WDE Community Garden 7 of 8

 

WDE Community Garden 2 of 8 WDE Community Garden 4 of 8 WDE Community Garden 6 of 8 WDE Community Garden 8 of 8

Community Garden Clearance, Before and After
The Turning Tides Youth Club, who are based at Centre Place, got together with UK Power Networks and SAVs to help with work on this huge task!

Noticeboard
Woodgrange Drive Estate, Southend-On-Sea

Woodgrange Drive Estate - Notice Board 1 ot 1
Noticeboard, Woodgrange Drive Estate
The new noticeboard will be used to advise residents of any future events being run in the area later in the year, provided the Covid-19 situation has ended.

Applications To The Estate Improvement Budget
Which Were Funded By Estuary Housing Association's Property Services Department

Bin Area
Lushes Court, Loughton

Lushes Court - Bin Area Before Lushes Court - Bin Area After
Lushes Court Bin Area Before And After
This project was brought to our attention by an application to the Estate Improvement Budget, but was funded By Estuary Housing Association's Property Services Department.

Basketball Hoop
Woodgrange Drive Estate, Southend-On-Sea

WDE - Basketball Hoop - Before WDE - Basketball Hoop - After
Woodgrange Drive Estate Basketball Hoop Before And After
This project was brought to our attention by an application to the Estate Improvement Budget, but was funded By Estuary Housing Association's Property Services Department.

Projects Funded By The Estate Improvement Budget 2018-19

 

Communal Storage for
Beresford Mansions,
Southend-on-Sea

We were contacted by a visually impaired resident who asked if we would consider funding this project. The resident had been afraid to use the communal area because there was a high risk of tripping over items that were frequently being left out. These items mainly include children's toys that they use in the space.

The CCE Team consulted with the residents of the area to find out if they would like to request funding for a storage solution. 78% replied they would and were then offered a choice of 2 different storage solutions. Now the area is tidy and free of trip hazards.

Beresford Mansions: LeftBeresford Mansions: Right

Beresford Mansions Before and After

Bicycle Shed for
Willow Road,
Great Dunmow

Residents of Willow Road applied to the fund requesting a bike shed as more residents were using cycles to get to work for example.  

During their Community Day in August 2018, all the residents who attended agreed with the proposal, saying that it had been needed for a while and that it would be used by many residents. It is now installed and is being used by many residents.

Willow Road: BeforeWillow Road: After

Willow Road Before and After

TTT (Triple T) Visit To Adventure Island,
Southend-on-Sea

The leader of the group applied for funding to give their Youth Club attendees a special treat. They had lots of fun and were really thankful for the special treat.

The children of the Triple T youth club

The Children of the Triple T Youth Club

Traffic Safety Mirror for
St Marks Field,
Rochford

A mirror has been placed on the lamp post at the corner of St Marks Field, allowing residents to see traffic coming around the corner. This mirror has enabled residents to feel safer when driving in and out of the close.

Traffic Safety Mirror at St Marks Field

The Traffic Safety Mirror,
St Marks Field

Improvements To The Bin Stores At
Sunlight Mews,
Westcliff-On-Sea

Residents of the area applied to fund some wood material to block the bin storage gaps in the close. Where there were gaps at the bottom of the bin area it was causing a mess and attracting vermin.

To stop this, the gaps in the bin store have been filled and now the litter no longer gets pulled out across the street, leaving a tidier and more pleasant place for our residents to live.

Sunlight Mews: Before Sunlight Mews: After

Sunlight Mews Before and After

 

 

How To Apply

Please contact the Customer and Community Engagement Team to discuss your project, or complete the form below and email it to involvement@estuary.co.uk

Printable Forms

PDF: Estate Improvement Budget updated application.pdf [pdf] 108KB
MS Word:  Estate Improvement Budget updated application.docx [docx] 28KB 

Estate Improvement Budget 2020

Note: Questions marked by * are mandatory