Digital skills, DIY and community spirit in Leicestershire

We recently organised a number of impactful activities in Leicestershire, centred around growing digital confidence as well as hands on improvements that brought people together and celebrated local pride.  

One of the highlights was the digital skills session at retirement living scheme Brooklands Gardens in Market Harborough; supported by three dedicated Digital Champions, the session focused on helping customers navigate our Platform Portal – an online space where customers can manage their tenancy and rented home – and, as an example, understand how to report repairs online.  Customers from across our wider community – including East Street, Hearth Street, Brookside Gardens, Huntingdon Gardens and Naseby Square – joined the event, which will now run fortnightly to keep up with demand.  

Meanwhile, Hazeland Court – a sheltered housing scheme in Lutterworth – saw a fantastic two day transformation as part of a community led bench restoration project.  The initiative, aimed at refreshing shared outdoor spaces for customers, kicked off with preparing the benches for painting, with plenty of tea, coffee and ice cream to keep energy levels up.  

The project was completed with a top coat of paint applied by both customers and our colleagues.  The team was rewarded with a well earned breakfast butty and the satisfaction of helping create a more welcoming outdoor environment for everyone to enjoy.  

Tracy Ault, our Community Engagement Officer and organiser of the events said: "We’re incredibly proud of the way colleagues and customers came together, whether it was helping someone gain new digital skills or rolling up their sleeves for community improvements; it’s all part of Building Better Communities in action.”  

The Communities Connected programme continues to run events across the region, bringing colleagues, customers and partners together to make a positive difference in local neighbourhoods, building deeper community ties.   

Photo caption : Bench restoration at Hazeland Court