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Daily Record
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Social landlord's communities across West Lothian gets top marks in report from leading environmental charity
Wheatley Homes communities were assessed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the national environmental charity helping create cleaner and greener local environments. A social landlord's communities across West Lothian have received top marks in a report from a leading environmental charity. Wheatley Homes communities were assessed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the national environmental charity helping create cleaner and greener local environments. Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) staff joined Wheatley Homes staff and tenants to assess neighbourhoods, inspecting back courts and open spaces as well as foyers and stairwells across West Lothian. Wheatley Homes communities in West Lothian has now been awarded five stars – the highest grade possible – and a score of 88%. Laura Henderson, Managing Director of Wheatley Homes East, said: 'We want our communities to be places people are proud to live in and this award from Keep Scotland Beautiful is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our environmental staff across West Lothian. 'They work hard to make sure our neighbourhoods always look their best for our customers.' The report recognised Wheatley's efforts in a number of streets in West Lothian. It stated: 'The tenement property scoring benefited from the overall excellent condition of the external grounds of the properties; including the physical condition of the building walls, absence of obstructions in the guttering, and cleanliness and condition of the access paths and back court hard standing. 'Whilst some of these facilities have been built by design for the tenants, of greater merit was the presence of spaces which have been created by the tenants, to enhance the appearance of the gardens, and create a sense of community within the properties. 'This was demonstrative of an interest from tenants in improving their local area.' Wheatley Group, Scotland's leading housing, care and property-management group, teamed up with Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2016 to help improve neighbourhoods. Paul Wallace, Head of Operations with Keep Scotland Beautiful, added: 'I'd like to congratulate Wheatley Homes for achieving such high standards in our recent assessment. 'We were so impressed to see excellent commitment and pride of all the staff and tenants involved who are working hard to improve and make their communities better. 'Our work with Wheatley, through a bespoke version of our National Award for Environmental Excellence® has spanned a number of years. It provides a framework for continual improvement, recognising and awarding best practice in environmental management, maintenance, waste management and community engagement. 'Our assessors supported Keep Scotland Beautiful Customer Assessor Days in Edinburgh and joined Wheatley Homes East staff on site visits. The properties were presented well and scored highly, and it was clear there was a real sense of pride from the staff.' It was previously reported that more than 1200 tonnes of waste were lifted from Wheatley Homes communities, and 13,600 stairwells cleaned, by NETs staff in 2024. Wheatley's NETs have trained 14 Wheatley Homes customers, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, to assess green spaces and identify any areas where improvement can be made.
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Retired Garda given permission to challenge Garda commissioner over Irish-speaking allowance
A retired garda sergeant has been given High Court permission to challenge an alleged failure to decide on an application to restore his Gaeltacht allowance, which he claims affects his pension entitlements. Paul Wallace, of Burtonport, Letterkenny, is taking an action of judicial review against the Garda Commissioner over what he claims is their failure or refusal to determine his application to have the allowance restored to him following his January 2023 application. Advertisement Mr Wallace is also seeking a declaration from the court that the alleged continued failure to restore or even decide the matter is 'unlawful' in that it breaches the respondent's obligation to determine financial issues. It is also submitted that it results in Mr Wallace being unable to pursue any internal appeal, which he argues is in breach of fair procedures. Mr Wallace states in his court papers that he was attested as a Garda in 1985, was allocated to Monaghan Garda Station and was promoted to sergeant in November 1993. He was allocated to Glencolmcille Garda Station in Donegal that month. He submits that he was transferred to Letterkenny in June 1997 and then to Bun Beag in November 2000. Glencolmcille and Bun Beag are in Gaeltacht areas in Co Donegal. Advertisement Mr Wallace accepted the position of Divisional Crime Prevention Officer in November 2002 and was transferred to Letterkenny. There his role included giving interviews in Irish to print and broadcast media – TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta having studios in Donegal - as part of a service to the entire county, including Gaeltacht islands inhabited by Irish-speakers. At the time of his training, his competency in Irish was judged to be at 63 per cent - this rose to 82 per cent in 2003. Mr Wallace was in receipt of the allowance for four years from 2003 and in 2007 and applied for its restoration in 2007 but was refused on the basis that Letterkenny was not designated as a Gaeltacht area at the time. Advertisement In August 2020, however, Letterkenny was designated as a 'Gaeltacht service town' and the applicant claims he had given service to the Gaeltacht community since 2002. He reapplied for allowance consideration in January 2023 but retired in March 2024 without, he claims, any update from Garda HQ over his application. Ireland Man jailed for defiling employer's 15-year-old dau... Read More Mr Wallace took his Garda pension which did not include his allowance, resulting in, he claims, him being deprived of €8,708.17 from his one-off gratuity payment upon retirement and €249.38 a month from his regular pension. Mr Wallace claims that An Garda Síochána is under a duty to exercise statutory powers in a "prompt and reasonable manner" in terms of the rights of people to fair procedures. 'On any analysis, the respondent [the Garda Commissioner] has not acted promptly or reasonably in failing or refusing to take the decision in issue,' he submits. At the High Court on Monday, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted the application for leave brought by Paul McGarry SC, for Mr Wallace, and adjourned the matter to October.
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Social landlord's communities rated five-star by green charity
A social landlord's communities across Edinburgh have received top marks in a report from a leading environmental charity. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Wheatley Homes communities were assessed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the national environmental charity helping create cleaner and greener local environments. Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) joined Wheatley Homes staff and tenants to assess neighbourhoods, inspecting back courts and open spaces as well as foyers and stairwells. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Wheatley Homes has now been awarded five stars – the highest grade possible – and a score of 87%. NETs staff tidying up Macgill Drive in Edinburgh Laura Henderson, managing director of Wheatley Homes East, added: 'We want our communities to be places people are proud to live in and this award from Keep Scotland Beautiful is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our environmental staff. 'They work hard to make sure our neighbourhoods always look their best for our customers.' Wheatley Group, Scotland's leading housing, care and property-management group, teamed up with Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2016 to help improve neighbourhoods. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The KSB report stated: 'The tenement property scoring benefited from the overall excellent condition of the external grounds; including the physical condition of the building walls, absence of obstructions in the guttering, and cleanliness and condition of the access paths and back court hard standing. "The internal environment of the tenements also performed well, driven by the excellent condition of the communal spaces; with brickwork, paintwork, and flooring all presenting as clean and in good condition, with no visible presence of damage, anti-social markings, or vandalism to be accounted for.' Paul Wallace, head of operations with Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: 'I'd like to congratulate Wheatley Homes for achieving such high standards in our recent assessment. We were so impressed to see excellent commitment and pride of all the staff and tenants involved who are working hard to improve and make their communities better. 'Our work with Wheatley, through a bespoke version of our National Award for Environmental Excellence® has spanned a number of years. It provides a framework for continual improvement, recognising and awarding best practice in environmental management, maintenance, waste management and community engagement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Our assessors supported Keep Scotland Beautiful Customer Assessor Days in Edinburgh and joined Wheatley Homes staff on site visits. The properties were presented well and scored highly and it was clear there was a real sense of pride from the staff.' It was previously reported that more than 1200 tonnes of waste were lifted from Wheatley Homes communities, and 13,600 stairwells cleaned, by NETs staff in 2024. Wheatley's NETs have trained 14 Wheatley Homes customers, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, to assess green spaces and identify any areas where improvement can be made.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Irish Times
Retired garda can challenge Garda Commissioner over loss of Irish-speaking allowance, court rules
A retired Donega l garda sergeant has been permitted by the High Court to challenge his former employers in a bid to restore his Gaeltacht allowance as he claims losses to his pension entitlements. Paul Wallace, of Burtonport, Co Donegal, is taking the action against the Garda Commissioner over what he claims is their failure or refusal to determine his January 2023 application to have the allowance restored. Mr Wallace is asking the court to declare that the alleged continued failure to restore or even decide the matter is 'unlawful' in that it breaches the respondent's obligation to determine financial issues. He claims this is preventing him from pursuing any internal appeal, which he argues is in breach of fair procedures. READ MORE Mr Wallace says in his court papers that he was sworn in as a member of the Garda in 1985, posted to Monaghan Garda station and was promoted to sergeant in November 1993 when he was moved to Glencolmcille Garda station in Donegal. He said he was transferred to Letterkenny in June 1997 and then to Bunbeg in November 2000. Glencolmcille and Bunbeg are in Gaeltacht areas in Co Donegal. Mr Wallace accepted the position of divisional crime prevention officer in November 2002 and was transferred to Letterkenny. There his role included giving interviews in Irish to print and broadcast media, with TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta having studios in Donegal, as part of a service to the entire county, including Gaeltacht islands inhabited by Irish speakers. At the time of his training, his competency in Irish was judged to be at 63 per cent, rising to 82 per cent in 2003. Mr Wallace was in receipt of the allowance for four years from 2003 and in 2007 and applied for its restoration in 2007 but was refused on the basis that Letterkenny was not designated as a Gaeltacht area at the time. In August 2020 Letterkenny was designated as a 'Gaeltacht service town' but Mr Wallace claims he had served the Gaeltacht community since 2002. He reapplied for the allowance in January 2023 but retired in March 2024 without, he claims, any update from Garda headquarters over his application. Mr Wallace took his Garda pension, which did not include his allowance, resulting in, he claims, the loss of €8,708.17 from his one-off gratuity payment upon retirement and €249.38 a month from his regular pension. He claims the Garda is under a duty to exercise statutory powers in a 'prompt and reasonable manner' in terms of the rights of people to fair procedures. 'On any analysis, the respondent [the Garda Commissioner] has not acted promptly or reasonably in failing or refusing to take the decision in issue,' he argues. At the High Court on Monday, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted the application for leave brought by Paul McGarry SC, for Mr Wallace, and adjourned the matter to October.
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow communities achieved five-star environmental rating
Wheatley Homes, Glasgow's largest social landlord, was awarded five stars in a recent assessment by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The environmental charity evaluated neighbourhoods in north east, north west, and south Glasgow, giving scores of 82.4%, 81.5%, and 82.2 % respectively. This marks the first time Wheatley Homes has received a five-star rating in all three Glasgow areas since it began working with the charity in 2017. Read more: Funding boost of £140,000 changing lives across Glasgow Aisling Mylrea, managing director of Wheatley Homes in Glasgow, said: "We want our communities to be places our customers are happy to call home, and this award from Keep Scotland Beautiful is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams and the pride of our tenants. "This recognition comes at an important time as we start on an ambitious investment programme which will see £156 million spent on improving our homes and communities by 2028. "This includes £53 million being spent on environmental improvements, enhancing green spaces, and ensuring our homes and communities continue to be places where tenants feel safe, connected, and proud to live in." Assessments were carried out by Keep Scotland Beautiful between March 2024 and March 2025. Staff and tenants joined in reviewing back courts, open spaces, foyers, and stairwells in both tenement and high-rise buildings. Read more: Scottish housing group named UK's largest builder of social rented homes Paul Wallace, head of operations at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: "I'd like to congratulate Wheatley Homes for achieving such high standards in our recent assessment. "We were so impressed to see excellent commitment and pride from all the staff and tenants involved, who are working hard to improve and make their communities better. "Our work with Wheatley, through a bespoke version of our National Award for Environmental Excellence, has spanned a number of years. "It provides a framework for continual improvement, recognising and awarding best practice in environmental management, maintenance, waste management, and community engagement. "We very much look forward to continuing our support of the work being done by Wheatley and to sharing this with others across the sector." In 2024, Wheatley's neighbourhood environmental teams removed more than 18,000 tonnes of waste from streets, cleaned more than 250,000 stairwells, and maintained more than 100,000 back courts and gardens. The teams also trained 27 tenants to help assess green spaces and suggest improvements, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful.
