JOHN’S BLOG – JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Here are HEYCU we’ve now ‘resurfaced’ after the most hectic Christmas season ever!   We issued the highest ever number and value of loans as well as record pay outs of Christmas Savers - £806,000 in fact.    On top of all that we had our year-end accounts to put to bed and an AGM to arrange.  So a big well done to our staff and volunteer family for coping so well and keeping the ship on course.

Here’s a round-up of the past few months’ activity:

OUR AGM  

We were pleased to welcome over 80 members and guests to Hull’s splendid Guildhall on 11 December. A big part of what makes credit unions so different from banks is the ability of member-customers to take part in shaping our future by asking questions of the Directors and voting on the big decisions.   As well as an increased dividend on savings, members voted to disband the Credit Committee and to extend our field of membership to include more Government departments and all who live or work in postcode area YO (North Yorkshire).

Thank you to members attending for their great feedback: All had found attending a positive experience and we will ask for the chairs to be spread out a little more next time.

£100,000 SHARE OUT

Following our much improved financial results we posted a dividend of 1% to all members’ savings accounts the day after the AGM – based on the average daily savings in the year ended 30 September 2018 – that’s nearly £100,000 from the rewards of mutual trading going back into the pockets of our members.   If we were a commercial business, the money would most likely have been sucked out of our community, away to the City of London or even a foreign tax haven!

WHY DISBAND THE CREDIT COMMITTEE?

At the AGM it was explained that the growth of the credit union and changes to the way loans are processed had reduced the need for a members’ committee.  When we started 20 years ago, each and every loan was looked at individually by the Credit Committee, who met specially on a Thursday evening to go through them.   On Friday mornings our office phone was red hot as members called in to find out if their loan had been granted! 

Before long that was no longer practical, and we appointed staff loan officers with the professional knowledge to underwrite loans, following policies set by the Committee and Board.  Gradually the Credit Committee’s role moved on from making loan decisions to one of oversight – checking that its policies were working and tweaking them as necessary.  The Board of Directors became more involved in loan strategy too, as we made growing the loan book a key part of our annual business plan, recognising that it is a major driver of our future sustainability. 

As in many credit unions of our size the need for a Credit Committee had passed and the AGM agreed to disband it (in line with the Rules), with a big “thank you” to all members who had served it so diligently over the years.

AIMING HIGHER 

A nice touch at the AGM was the presentation of £735 to our Charity of the Year, Aim Higher.  The funds raised by staff and members during 2018 will make a difference to the charity, which supports families challenged by mental health, autism and learning difficulties. It was my pleasure to meet some of them at their monthly drop in session at 171 High Street, Hull on 9 January, when I explained the different ways that we help families to make the most of their money, for instance Christmas saving, junior savings accounts and our Child Benefit Loans.

We are currently consulting with staff, volunteers and our local member groups to select our 2019 Charity of the Year, so watch this space!

REFER A FRIEND PRIZE DRAW

  

In the run up to Christmas we encouraged members who were happy with our services to ‘refer a friend’ and many did so.  Our computer randomly selected two lucky members – Simone Priestman of Greatfield, Hull and Helen Harper of Newport, Brough – to each win a £50 shopping voucher.  Just in time for those New Year Sales!

BUSY WINTER IN WINTERTON 

The start of 2019 has seen a big increase in credit union activity in Winterton, North Lincolnshire where we have a weekly contact point in the Co-op Store, supported by Winterton 2022 Big Local project.  On 16 January we relaunched the Pennies 2 Pounds school bank at the Infants School which now takes place every Wednesday at the end of the school day.  Penny our pennywise penguin waddled into the opening session, much to the delight of the children, who received a piggy bank and £1 to start their savings off.  Patrick, our man in Winterton, is also presenting some money information sessions at the Hub and the Cornerstone Café on alternate weeks for the benefit of local residents.

WITHERNSEA NEXT!  

Last time we mentioned our ambitious plans to make Withernsea a Credit Union Town.  We’ve now received approval from the funding body, Big Local, to recruit a Development Worker to spearhead our expansion project.  As I write the closing date for the role has passed and we hope an appointment will soon be made.  We know the local community is very enthusiastic about it; as usual we are taking a different approach to the big banks who are retreating from such towns at an ever faster pace.

LINCOLNSHIRE CO-OP SUPPORT FAIR FINANCE 

We are most grateful to our friends at Lincolnshire Co-op for including HEYCU in their current Community Champions.  The scheme is their way of giving back to local communities.  Since it launched in 2013 they’ve helped hundreds of local charities and groups, raising amounts from £200 to over £200,000.  Every time a Co-op member shops in their branches they make a donation to a good cause, chosen by their staff and members for a three month period.  The theme, from December 2018 to March 2019, is financial well-being and we are to benefit from donations made at Crowle, Bransholme and Molescroft Co-ops.  If in an area served by Lincolnshire Co-op, please support their stores – they are one of the UK’s leading Co-operative businesses.

OUR MEMBERS’ LOTTERY 

One way that our own members can support our ongoing development is by joining our Members’ Lottery.  For just £1 a ticket, deducted monthly from your savings account, you get the chance to share in a monthly prize fund of around £600.  The top prize is usually £250, with several others ranging from £75 to £10.  At Christmas time there are triple prizes to win!   60% of the ticket proceeds are paid out, with the rest supporting our training and development activities.  We are grateful to the Hull Branch of UNISON, the public service union, for kindly sponsoring some prizes again throughout 2019.

ENGAGE ACCOUNT RELAUNCH 

With the coming of the Universal Credit benefit system to Hull and East Yorkshire, many more people are needing a transactional banking facility, to help them manage their monthly benefit payments, and some would clearly prefer to bank with their local credit union.  Although we can no longer offer our own Current Account, we work with a partner called Engage to provide a VISA card, exclusive to credit union members, with many useful features.   We’ve recently relaunched this account, with a lower monthly fee of £2.99.  Find out more here.

BIG ANNIVERSARY YEAR  

2019 is a very special year for our Credit Union – on 10^th June it will be  20 years since we were founded.  We are looking forward to celebrating this special anniversary with our members old and new.  If you have any bright ideas for ways that we might mark the occasion, please let us know!  We’ll keep you updated with our plans as the year unfolds.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? 

Our credit union has come a long way in 20 years and its shape and size is nothing like it was when formed, covering not only the entire Humber Region but also the work family of national employers like the DWP.  We hope we haven’t lost any of the personal touch or friendliness of those early days.

However, we have reached the point where we need to think about our trading identity and how relevant it is to all our members.  Our official name is, and will remain Hull & East Yorkshire Credit Union.  But perhaps it’s time to consider a different trading name – one that: is relevant and acceptable across all parts of our common bond; is short and simple to fit easily on to shop fronts, posters and leaflets; but pays due regard to our proud heritage (ie where we first began).

We have therefore started to experiment with using HEY Credit Union in our communications, and would be interested to have your feedback on this.  One member called it a “cool name”, saying it acknowledges our roots but in a modern way.   Changing a trading name is not to be done lightly – as lots of businesses have found to their cost – especially when we’ve worked hard to build up a respected brand.  But, this is your credit union, and we’d really welcome your views as we approach our 20^th anniversary.

Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages to stay up to date with our news, offers and events.

JOHN’S BLOG – APRIL & MAY

There’s still a lot going on at HEYCU as we approach the warmer season, which brings the traditional upswing in our loans business as members get busy with their DIY and finalise their holiday plans...

National Champion Award from IMLT

We were very thrilled to be chosen as a National Winner of an Award from the Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) in recognition of the work we’ve been doing over the past year to raise the community’s awareness of the dangers posed by unauthorised lenders, or “loan sharks”.    Our award was presented by the IMLT mascot “Sid the Shark” at Boothferry Primary School in Goole, where much of the partnership activity has been co-ordinated by Jo Evans, our Development Officer.  Mike Sibley, the very supportive Head Teacher, and I were interviewed by Radio Humberside and the Goole Times were present to record the occasion.   You can read about the work we have done at Goole, and on the Greatfield Estate in Hull, on our website.

Tony Quigley, Head of Service for the England Illegal Money Lending Team said: “Well done to all our winners and ‘highly commended’ runners up in the National Champions Awards 2016. You have all contributed to making a difference and tackling this crime in your community. Loan sharks are a scourge on society and cause harm and misery to their victims. If you or someone you know has been a victim of a loan shark, we urge you to get in touch with IMLT on 0300 555 2222. You call will be handled by a trained officer and all information will be treated in the strictest confidence.”

Nationally, Illegal Money Lending Teams have secured more than 370 prosecutions for illegal money lending and related activity, leading to nearly 318 years’ worth of custodial sentences. They have written off £71.9 million worth of illegal debt and helped over 26,500 people.

DWP Payroll Membership

It is a pleasure to see our membership among the DWP staff community steadily growing and many of those members are already increasing their monthly savings and thinking of us when they require a loan.  At the time of writing we are about to sign up our 1,000^th DWP staff member, which is a tremendous achievement in just 9 months. 

During April I visited two sites in Scotland where we have lots of members – Falkirk and Dundee – and greatly enjoyed meeting many of them as well as signing up some new ones.  Everyone was so friendly and helpful and it was good to see how keen they were to support our credit union.  As it was a “working break” I found time to take a walk to see the impressive Falkirk Wheel, have a stroll through Callendar Park, and have a look at the waterfront regeneration taking place in the very friendly city of Dundee.   I am sure I will be back before long.

Winterton residents can earn £10 bonuses

We now have a weekly contact point in the North Lincolnshire town of Winterton.  It is open every Wednesday inside Winterton’s Co-op food store from 12 noon and is run by our staff colleague Patrick. 

Just like at our other contact points in places like Driffield and Withernsea, local residents can join our credit union there, make savings deposits into adult and children’s accounts and find out about our responsible loans.

As an opening offer, we are giving £10 bonuses to Winterton area residents who sign up to save with us.   The offer will close when the first 50 bonuses have been awarded.

We are meeting the local Residents Group and members of the Town Council this month to explain how the credit union helps everyone who joins to make the most of their money.

Fairbanking Foundation to survey our members

We are keen to gain some feedback from those of our members who have taken out a CU Loan, to help us to improve your experience in the future.  The Fairbanking Foundation and Ipsos MORI are working with us to conduct a survey over the next few weeks, so if you are contacted to take part, please be assured that it is a genuine approach and we would very much appreciate your voluntary participation.  No personal financial details will be requested from you as part of this survey. 

Our Region in the News

Good to see the City of Hull getting mentioned on the BBC regularly with updates on our City of Culture activities.  The Weeping Window display of poppies at the Maritime Museum has really drawn the crowds following the departure of The Blade, while the play The Hypocrite played to sell-out audiences at Hull Truck Theatre.  The range of events and activities never ceases to amaze and it is fantastic that so many new visitors are being attracted to Hull and the surrounding region.  This weekend the third Tour de Yorkshire Cycle Races departed from Bridlington once again, wending their way through our beautiful East Riding countryside en route to Scarborough, again witnessed by mass crowds all along the way.  Long may the popularity of our region continue!

Grosmont Co-operative Society

It’s always interesting to learn about other co-operatives and so my eye was drawn to an article in the Dalesman magazine marking the 150^th anniversary of one of the smallest co-ops – the village shop in Grosmont, which apparently is the oldest consumer co-operative in Britain still in existence.  If you have taken a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway you will have seen or even popped in to their well-stocked shop facing Grosmont station. You may not have realised that it’s a member-owned business just like ours.  Congratulations to them, and here’s to their next 150 years!

General Election

The recent announcement of a General Election on 8^th June took many of us by surprise as did the news that Hull West & Hessle’s MP Alan Johnson had decided not to seek re-election.   As well as serving the country with distinction in the last Labour Government, for 20 years Alan was an outstanding and highly respected representative for our city.   The keynote speaker at our launch event in Hull Guildhall in 1999, Alan has been a loyal member and good friend to us here at HEYCU ever since.   We hope the region will continue to benefit from his wisdom and experience and wish him all the best for the future.

Five Steps to Stopping Financial Fraud

We all know that financial crime is on the increase, so it’s good to see the Co-operative Bank issuing some sensible advice to help people guard against the fraudsters who try to trick us out of our money.  The advice is headed “It pays to take time; take five to stop and think”:

1          Never disclose any security details, such as your PIN or banking passwords or share them with anyone.  Banks, credit unions and other trusted organisations will never ask you for these by email, phone, text or letter, so unless you are 100% sure of who you are talking to, don’t disclose.

2          Don’t assume an email or phone call is authentic.  Just because someone knows your basic details, or tries to convince you that you have been a victim of fraud, it doesn’t mean they are genuine.

3          Don’t be rushed or pressured into making a decision.  No bank or credit union would force you to make a financial transaction on the spot or ask you to transfer money to another account for fraud reasons.  Stop and take time to carefully consider your actions.

4          Listen to your instincts.  If something feels wrong, it is usually right to question it.

5          Stay in control – have the confidence to refuse unusual requests for personal or financial information.

If you think there has been fraud on your card or bank account, contact your bank immediately.

New Flexi Credit service for our payroll members

We have started a new service for those members who pay into the credit union regularly by payroll deduction.  It’s called Flexi Credit and it’s designed to help those members who have a sudden need for extra funds, for example to pay for unexpected car repairs or to fix a boiler.   Payroll members who have worked for their employer for at least 12 months can apply for pre-approved credit limit of up to £2,000 to be held on their account and accessed when they need it most.   Interest is only paid on the funds drawn down, not on the full credit limit.  The repayments – made direct from pay – remain fixed no matter how much is drawn, so you can stay in control of your outgoings.  What’s more, the members can continue to save with us, alongside their loan repayments, which is a very popular way to manage your money.   Full details of Flexi Credit may be found here.

Spring Forward with a CU Loan

At this time of year, there are lots of exciting projects to be cracking on with, whether it’s home or garden improvements, a new set of wheels, holiday plans or perhaps a special family celebration.  Here at HEYCU we hope our members will think of us first when looking for financial support.  We have some very competitive deals to offer members seeking a CU Loan this spring.   Please check out our website for more details.  

Remember, with a CU Loan:

·         No set up charges

·         No hidden costs

·         No early settlement fees

·         Interest is only charged on the reducing balance

·         You don’t have to bank with us to get a competitive CU Loan.

JOHN’S BLOG – 23 DEC 2016

After a long “silence”, I am now able to resume my Blog, which throughout 2017 aims to keep you informed on what’s new and what’s happening at Hull & East Yorkshire Credit Union (HEYCU).   Keep checking in for regular updates, visit our Facebook page and Twitter feeds and join in the conversation!

REFLECTIONS ON 2016

For our Credit Union 2016 was not the easiest of years, but we did have some notable successes, as the directors and I were able to report to our well-attended AGM in Hull Guildhall recently. 

We were proud to be selected, alongside our friends at Commsave and Voyager Alliance Credit Unions, to serve the staff of the Department for Work & Pensions, a major civil service department.   Although the scheme has only been running since July, over 2,100 DWP staff have already joined one of the three credit unions.

At HEYCU it’s been our pleasure to welcome over 600 new members who work in Government offices and Job Centres across Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.  All are saving with us every month direct from their pay, and we’ve been able to help some afford Christmas with our competitive loan deals. 

In 2016 we also rolled out a new affiliation with Co-operative Energy.  Many of our members (me included) are saving up to £250 a year after switching their gas and electricity to this leading ethical utility provider.  When you switch to the Co-op you can become a member (just like the credit union) and can access lots of other member benefits too.  You can have your say and vote as a part-owner of the business.   It’s the way lots of other services ought to be run – railways and buses for example – with real consumer power!

We’ve made a good start with our Development Plan to expand across Northern Lincolnshire.   North Lindsey College and Lebus Upholstery became payroll partners, and at Ongo Homes we have a group of staff called Credit Union Champions helping to promote us to their tenants and staff colleagues.  They are really keen.  We also opened two new school banks in Winterton, where we are working with the Winterton 2022 Project.

It was sad to hear that the small Grimsby-based North East Lincolnshire Credit Union had closed down.  Its 600 members were paid back all their savings by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.  However, it is good to know that we have been able to help some of their members to find an alternative by joining our branch in Scunthorpe High Street.

You can read more about our busy year in our Annual Newsletter.

DON’T BE CAUGHT OUT BY A “DIDDLUM”

Did you read about the workers at a West Hull factory whose Christmas was spoilt because a colleague had allegedly run off with their “diddlum” money?   Over £10,000 was taken, apparently, from around 16 people.

Sad tales like this seem to crop up year after year.  They are especially cruel because the people are doing the right thing – planning ahead and saving up, little and often, all year round to help them avoid money stress when the festive spending season arrives.

These informal Christmas savings clubs, often called “diddlums” in this part of the world, have long been part of the local heritage.   It’s where a set of workmates, neighbours or club members all trust their savings to someone willing to keep the records, look after and bank the cash, and organise the big Christmas payout. 

Mostly everything turns out fine but it’s that key word “trust” that can catch you out.  If the worst happens, “diddlum” savers have no redress, because these savings clubs rely entirely on trust and have no legal backing.

There are alternatives.  HEYCU runs a popular Christmas Saver account, which is easy to join.  Money can be paid in at a branch, or by bank standing order, or even direct from your pay if you work for one of our payroll partners.  There’s no minimum deposit, and the money is safely “locked away” until November.  It is paid out either in cash or by bank transfer, so you can shop around for bargains, not be tied to one shop as you would be with savings stamps.   The money is 100% protected just like in a bank.  Check it out at (link to Christmas Saver page)

Christmas is always an expensive time.   Saving ahead in a reputable scheme is the best way to make it as stress free as possible.

SEE US IN ST. STEPHENS IN THE NEW YEAR

We are one of several local organisations taking part in a Community Roadshow in St Stephen’s Shopping Centre from Monday 2^nd to Sunday 8^th January, 2017.

Shoppers passing through the Centre on their way to the January Sales won’t be able to miss us, as there will be a big screen, positioned near H&M and Next, on which we shall be showcasing our new 40 second promotional video.  The aim is to tell the wider world what our Credit Union is and does, and encourage people to pop into to our Central Office in Brook Street (which happens to be just across the road) to meet our friendly team.

We shall be handing out leaflets about our services, and inviting people to complete a quick Quiz which they can drop in a box to be in with a chance to win a £50 Shopping Voucher.

If you are in the city centre during the first week in January, do come inside St. Stephen’s and say hello.  

SAY NO TO LOAN SHARKS

Starting on 9^th January at Boothferry Primary School in Goole, we are working with the England Illegal Money Lending Team to encourage local families to start saving as their new year’s resolution instead of borrowing from illegal money lenders.  Pupils at the school will receive a visit from Sid the Shark and be involved in some fun activities to raise awareness of good money practice.

Working with East Riding of Yorkshire’s Trading Standards, and using proceeds of crime money (confiscated from convicted loan sharks), the Team are also sponsoring new Credit Union accounts.

The first fifty people to join our Credit Union at the schools visited from 9th January to 1^st March and save for two months will qualify for a savings boost of £25.00.

It is estimated that 310,000 households nationally are borrowing from illegal money lenders, many of whom charge exorbitant rates of interest to trap people into a spiral of debt.  Loan sharks often resort to bully tactics such as violence, threats or intimidation to make their victims repay.

People are urged never to use unlicensed lenders who:

·         refuse to tell the borrower how much they owe, how long they will be repaying for, or the APR;

·         don’t give paperwork;

·         add on extra charges which increase the debt; or

·         take items such as passports, bank cards or driving licences as “security”.

If you know of anyone operating in this way, you can call the 24/7 confidential hotline 0300 555 2222, text a report to 078600 22116 or email reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk

WELCOME TO HULL’S SPECIAL YEAR AS UK CITY OF CULTURE

After all the frantic planning, it’s nearly here.  The year when our City comes under the spotlight as the nation’s City of Culture.   There is so much to look forward to, and already we can see how things are changing for the better, as the huge repaving scheme for the city centre streets approaches its conclusion.  It is starting to look fantastic (my only tiny niggle is that I wish they had renewed the dreadful uneven pavement outside our Brook Street branch.  But never mind!).

Here at HEYCU we’d like to congratulate everyone who has been involved with the city centre transformation on doing such a splendid job.  We can’t wait to invite our credit union friends from the UK and beyond to come and have a look round our wonderful City!

7 Sept 2015

This week’s Blogger – w/c 7 Sep 2015

Summer holidays

I hope you have had a good summer and managed to enjoy a break.  Now it's back to business and I will aim to bring you up to date, every couple of weeks or so, with the happenings at HEYCU:

Member Survey results

A big thank you to all those members who took the time and trouble to complete our 2015 Member Survey.  I won't repeat the survey findings here, as you can read them on our website (About page) but we were very pleased not only that members scored us highly for most of the general satisfaction categories but also had lots of ideas and suggestions to help us improve our (or should I say your) business and do even better in future.   It shows just how much our loyal members care about their credit union and want it to succeed.  How many bank customers would feel the same about their bank, I wonder?

I can assure you that the Credit Union's directors do read all these comments very thoroughly and take note of what our members say.  We had a full discussion on the survey at our Board meeting on Tuesday, and the directors naturally challenged me (that's their job!) to act on many of the findings.  It was very timely, as the September Board meeting is the one where we approve our new 3-Year Business Plan and the financial budgets for the year ahead. 

Over the coming month I shall be sending a personal reply to those members who sent special individual comments or suggestions in the survey - having gone to that trouble, they deserve a response.  It may not always be possible to adopt every idea, but we try to do what we can.  I will feature some of those ideas, and our response, in future Blogs. 

Job Opportunity - Partnership Development

We are looking for a special person, with a passion for the credit union ethos and great organising and communicating skills, to help us develop our business in Northern Lincolnshire.  This exciting part-time opportunity, over a three year period (which could be extended, depending on its success), has been funded by our partners Winterton 2022 and North Lincolnshire Council.  To find out more, visit our Employment Opportunities page.   If you think this is the right role for you, or you know someone else who would match our needs, we need applications by 28 September.  Please use the application form, no CVs will be accepted.

Driffield Tenth Anniversary

We're all looking forward to helping the volunteers of our Driffield branch celebrate their tenth anniversary of serving the town and surrounding community next Wednesday 16 September from 10 am.  If you are in town that day, do pop in and say "hello".  The event is being held at our Credit Union Office at 2-4 Market Walk (that's the Town Council HQ).  There'll be light refreshments and free-to-enter competitions and everyone attending will get a free ticket for a prize draw.  I shall be attending, together with some of our directors, so hope to see you there!

Goole Presentation Event

It was great to attend an event at The Courtyard in Goole last Friday, in the presence of many worthy community groups and organisations, for the Yorkshire Water Goole Community Fund presentations.  The £20,000 Community Fund was created by Yorkshire Water to thank local people for their patience while the company's pumping station at Carr Lane was upgraded after the terrible floods in the town in 2012.   To allocate the funds an independent panel was formed from local councillors and representatives from the media and local college, chaired by Andrew Percy MP.

We were delighted to receive an award to provide a laptop for our Goole Pennies2Pounds School Banks project.  Jo will use this fantastic resource to help us operate our school and community savings points and develop materials for use in educating young people about good money management.   Thank you, Yorkshire Water!  And thanks to Diane, one of our P2P volunteers, who accompanied me to the very uplifting event, to receive our cheque.

Schools - Welcome back!

Just a quick "hello" and welcome back to all our Pennies 2 Pounds School Banks, at the start of another academic year.  We will have some new schools joining us this term and we hope the existing school banks will have another successful year, with lots more savers (junior and adult) enrolled.

Northern Lincolnshire Local Members’ Group

I attended the August meeting of this group and there was a lively discussion about how best to grow our business across the county.  Using local Credit Union champions to encourage interest in the work of the credit union was one idea. The positive "can do" attitude of the staff and volunteers at Scunthorpe branch was commented on.  If you live in the area and would like to join the Group, it meets at the branch on the second Thursday each month at 7 pm.  You'd be most welcome!

Let's Help You . . . find somewhere to live

A new website https://hull.letshelpyou.co.uk/lets/ has been launched to help tenants find affordable rental property across the Hull City Council area.  It's free, quick and easy to use.  You can use it to find one, two, three, four or more bedroomed houses, flats or shared accommodation in an area you'd most like to live.

The website has a useful calculator giving you accurate information about housing allowance rates and you can search in specific areas or throughout the whole of Hull in one go.  You can save property search criteria, such as number of bedrooms, house or flat, postcode, to your profile and store favourite properties, and even opt to get weekly emails showing properties coming up to match your search settings.  That way you can be one of the first to view a tenancy.

Once you find a property, contact the landlord and arrange to view. The service is available to anyone searching for rented accommodation whether receiving housing benefit or not, and there are alternative ways to use it if you don't have internet access, including a free Android app and free iOS app.

Heritage Open Days 2015

Do you like looking round historic buildings, taking part in guided tours or listening to expert talks on local history?   If, like me, you enjoy learning about our fascinating heritage and you are in Hull this weekend (11-13 September), you are in for a treat!

It's that time of year when lots of Hull's interesting buildings throw open their doors and let the public in for free to have a look around and explore our great city's history.  There's about 70 places to visit, ranging from the ever popular Holy Trinity Church to the BBC Building, HM Prison, Annison's Stables in Witham and the factory of Ideal Boilers.  There's some quirky ones to discover too, such as a 1932 Eco-House in Inglemire Avenue and something called the KC Lighthouse, which I've never heard of!  Together with a range of guided history tours such as along Beverley Road and down by the River Hull, there's far too much choice for my liking altogether, so it'll be fun deciding what to miss out. 

We have Hull Civic Society to thank for arranging this family event as always (together with the building owners of course) and more details can be found at www.hullcivicsociety.org.

Other Services page

Have a look at this new page on our website - it gives information about some of the things we offer that you might not know about - including Say Shopping Vouchers and exclusive deals on electrical goods.

Could a Community Account help your club or group?

We have a very handy deposit account for clubs, groups, societies and organisations of all kinds.  Our Community Account offers a "no fuss" way for your group to look after its funds and make payments as they are needed.  And of course you know that those funds are being used for the benefit of your own community.