What To Do Before Contacting Us

Step 1 - Online Shopping

1.1. Have you got the money to put in an order using online shopping? All of the big stores do offer it and some may be prepared to waive the delivery fee on small orders and may have done so overall. Enquire first please and don't be afraid to phone them up and call them out if they are not looking after poorer people (file complaints and communicate that an urgent response is needed etc). You may not have a debit card, if so, ask for alternative methods of payment, they should have something in place under the circumstances.

1.2. In the long term, we will promote a boycott of stores that do not exercise a social conscience in the communities that they operate in and we'd ask that every resident (member or not) stands in solidarity with us - you can refer them to this page and tell them that we are calling on 310 tenants to boycott them for 12 months.

1.3. That will be the kick in the balls that they deserve if they fail our vulnerable community and we must stand in solidarity. If anything, this crisis should have taught us to stand together. In a similar vain and with equal volume, and shamelessly, we will congratulate supermarkets that stand by our community.


Step 2 - Carefully Trusted Friends and Family

2.1. OK, Step 1 didn't work and you have no food or heating and hot water or neither, have you got family members or friends that can go shopping for you that you can trust with your cash or even who can do an online order (above) for you, even if they don't live close - or you could bank transfer to them if you have funds?

2.2. In terms of Switch2Energy, call them on 0333 321 2010 (or Email us with all of your details and we will call them) and see if you or friends and family can make a credit/debit card payment - if this fails, please let us know.

2.3. As much as you will love them, don't let your family and friends in to your home and make sure that you hand money over through the letterbox or have money transferred to them (the same goes for supermarket delivery drivers) as you will be biting the hand that feeds you if they come down with the Corona Virus. We don't advise you to ask neighbours to handle money for you. If you are not sure about friends and family/don't trust them, don't feel uncomfortable moving forward to step 3 below.


Step 3 - Call Manchester City Council's new freephone Corona Virus Helpline

3.1. Manchester City Council have launched an online website section and freephone telephone number for residents who have no other sources of support including those really struggling with practical issues arising because of the Corona Virus. You can call Manchester City Council's Corona Virus Helpline on 0800 234 6123 and visit their Corona Virus support by clicking here (Opens New Window).


Step 4 - Contact CDIRF

4.1. We have an Emergency Shopping List form (above if you are using a computer or by clicking the square with three lines in it or by swiping left to right). If you have any difficulties or know anybody who doesn't have access to the internet, they can call us on 0161 660 6260 (this is not the same telephone number as Avro Hollows' TMO).

4.2. Please follow the correct telephone option as they have all recently changed. We also are offering a wide range of support and are open for extended hours including when other organisations are closed. If you need a call back. once you are waiting to speak to someone, press 1 at any time) and leave a voice message. Calls back can be both to landlines and mobile numbers

Further Information..

The estate comprises of four tower blocks and two rows of houses split into two flats (there are no cows but most of these flats do smell of cheese due to the damp in them). Some of the flats across the estate contain 1 and, shockingly, 2 and 3 bedrooms.

Avro Hollows' Tenant Management Organisation purport to manage the estate on behalf of Manchester City Council, in association with Northwards housing (Northwards' Housing will, however, deny all knowledge of this). The estate is most definitely not run for the benefit of the local community with some residents describing the estate as an "open prison".

To find out more...please read our article "more about the estate" below.

Who We Are..

This website and its online community was set up by a resident on the Croydon Drive Estate who may or may not be closely related to C.G.B. Spender (the truth is not out there). It is entirely free to use and to become a member and it always will be. Personally identifiable information is not collected or stored protecting the anonymity of members. We only publish the tower block of the residents (so the person writing will be 1/72 or 71 people - dependent on the specific tower block).

It is not a breach of a resident's tenancy agreement to join Croydon Drive Independent Residents' Forum. The right to set up tenant groups is in fact specifically protected within resident's tenancy agreements.

The starting point for the forum was to create an online presence. The forum itself has the ability for members to send private messages (not read by the forum admin) and Members are encouraged to use their common sense in remaining anonymous and protecting themselves online. There is a reporting feature above all posts should anybody be concerned about the content - particularly where it is discriminatory or hateful - humour is of course allowed within reason.

Members are encouraged to have their say and provide feedback on the existing forum sections (including the popular "The Vent" and various general interests categories) and to request new ones. This also extends now to website content. We strongly urge residents to register using the unique registration code letters, most recently posted through doors in August 2019 by one of our kind elves.

The Croydon Drive Independent Residents' Forum is, unfortunately, not open to Contractors, Employees or Volunteers (including members) of Avro Hollows' Tenant Management Organisation, Northwards' Housing or Manchester City Council to protect the integrity of the forum and the anonymity of members and access is not permitted from locations run by them to protect the security of login details.

To ensure that our security policies are upheld vigorously for the benefit of members, we regularly lookup IP addresses that are logged when members log in. Our independence policy was ratified by members in 2018.

The Croydon Drive Independent Residents' Forum is set up by residents to further the interests of residents. It's that simple. A large part of that is to take the current Directorship (Avro Hollows' TMO) to task where they fail residents through causing as much embarrassment as possible.

If any residents struggle to register (you need to sign up using the register option), please do use the contact form link above (or the contact link on the forum itself).

If you are a resident who has not yet registered - what are you waiting for? A very warm welcome awaits!

About Our Estate..

The estate has security gates at every entrance where many tenants cannot get in and out of all of the gates without pressing the buzzer (although thieves can) and it has so many cameras that it puts Big Brother to shame. All tenants have their mugshots taken to aid with tracking them from the moment they leave their flat until they leave the estate (perhaps further?) and there is a 24 hour live feed available to lucky viewers on Channel Commsec.

Cameras are monitored by Commsec Security (when it suits them - incidents that tenants report are rarely ever captured) who, until at least very recently, controlled the access controls in Greater Manchester Police buildings - what do you know! Until recently, it was commonplace for gate intercom calls to go unanswered (including in 2020 to 7 fire engines attending a small kitchen fire in Lancaster Court), particularly in the winter, leaving tenants to get soaked. Commsec Security are, however, excellent at bellowing over the multiple speaker tannoy system from their offices about 1.5 miles away and regularly using foul language at the weekend when the Estate Manager isn't working..

There are entrance intercoms on each tower block. On two of them, tenants do not ever get to speak to their visitors as the dial pad has been removed and replaced with a camera, and, on the other two, Commsec Security like to randomly divert intercom calls to them when they get bored. On all four tower blocks, Commsec Security like to have a conversation with your guests instead, particularly when your food (and takeaway driver) is getting cold.

The MGMT..

We do have a highly motivated* Estate Manager (*highly motivated in going out of her way to cause trouble even though she has not been here very long) and, along with the Directors, the team ensure that the majority view of residents is never put forward and they won't think twice about harassing residents if they don't like you.

Employees are not disclosure and barring board checked and at least one has a serious criminal record, even though their employment at Avro Hollows' (which is paid for by Manchester City Council) could lead to them entering your home. "What happened to safeguarding" you might ask...

We take this moment to pay homage to the old Estate Manager who was a complete legend. More news on her leaving is due to hit you soon but it will make for very grim reading when we get her permission to publish it and we suspect the press will be very interested in Avro Hollows' TMO's behaviour too.

Our residents have had issue after issue with getting repairs carried out and with the way in which Manchester City Council and Northwards' Housing have managed new kitchen and bathroom provision on the estate. It is touch and go whether anybody answers the lift breakdown alarms and the quality of connection is so poor that they can't hear you when they do answer.

Contractors work without consulting residents and are as disruptive as possible. Complaints go nowhere when forwarded to Northwards' Housing. To this end, and more widely, Avro Hollows' TMO could not give a toss about what the resident majority want despite receiving around £250k a year of Manchester City Council funding. It's high time they went.

The Board..

The TMO board are extremely selective about who they invite to their meetings (you'd have more chance of being invited to bank with Coutts) and the majority of tenants do not get a look in or a say on anything at TMO board meetings where they are no longer announced for fear of tenants protesting.

Avro Hollows' TMO are certainly not there to make the experience of living on the Croydon Drive estate a "really happy one" unless you are one of a select few on the board with access to around £250k a year grant funding (from Manchester City Council).

Welcome to the Croydon Drive Independent Residents' Forum where we do things differently and respect each other.