2.1 In an emergency

To contact the police, an ambulance or fire and rescue, call 999 and ask for the service you need.  Then contact Reception or the duty mobile number (07422 972 481) to inform us.

If you feel unwell but not in need of an emergency ambulance, call the NHS helpline on 111 for medical advice (24 hrs).

2.2 Reception

Reception opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9–11am and 5–7pm.

It is likely that one or both of us will be in our office(s) at other times too, but this cannot be guaranteed.

The office number is 01603 622 171.

Email: live@heathfieldnorwich.co.uk

The 24/7 duty mobile number is 07422 972 481.

2.3 Repairs

If something does not work, please do not assume that we know about it. Please write it in the Repairs Book in Reception. Please do not attempt a repair yourself – that doesn’t always end well.

If the problem is urgent (for example, if there is a water leak), please contact the office or the 24/7 duty mobile (07422 972 481) immediately.

2.4 Ventilation and damp

To make sure your room does not get damp, leave the top vent on the window open at all times. Keeping your window in the half-open position is secure and helps keep the room dry by bringing in fresh air and allowing moisture to escape.

Please do not dry clothes in your room. This creates condensation which can lead to unhealthy mould problems.

2.5  Local information

We are fortunate in our location. Heathfield Student Community Home is near the centre of the city. The Local Services map shows the amenities available around Heathfield.

3.1  Your room

Your room has plenty of storage space in a large wardrobe, and extra space above it. There is also a washbasin in each room. The cold water supply to your washbasin is drinkable. There is storage space under the washbasin – we strongly recommend that you do not store any electrical equipment here in case of water leaks.

There is a radiator in each room, which you will be able to regulate yourself when the heating is on. Generally, the heating in the building will be switched on in October and switched off in May. The East of England can have cold days even during the summer months, so make sure you have at least one warm sweater.

Heathfield is keen to be environmentally responsible, so if you are feeling cold, put on your sweater before you think of turning up the heating.

3.2  Your furnishings and fittings

Please take good care of the furnishings and fittings in your room, as you would in your own home. On arrival, you will be asked to sign an inventory recording the condition of the furnishings and fittings. The inventory will be checked again before you move out. You will be asked to pay for any damage that is not ‘fair wear and tear’ out of your deposit.

3.2.1 Ventilation and windows

Please always leave the top vent on your window open (see Section 2.4 and photo).

Your window has two open settings. You can open it as far as the restrictors allow, or you can have it securely locked in the just-open position (use the outer latch position). Opening the window, even a little, helps control condensation and prevent unhealthy mould growth.

3.2.2 Posters etc.

You are very welcome to bring posters, photos and pictures to make your room feel homely. Each room has a large notice board. Please do not attach anything to the painted walls with sticky tape or with blue or white tack; they will damage the paint – and your deposit!

We recommend the use of Gripping Stuff tape or Washi tape. Both are available to buy from Reception (see Section 12).

3.3  Receiving post

Your address will be:

[Your name]
Heathfield Student Community Home
62 Cannell Green
Norwich
NR3 1TT

Do not include your flat letter and room number (e.g. A6) in your address, as this can lead to post and parcels being delayed. We will put your post in the correct box for your flat.

3.3.1 Parcels

When you place an online order, please make sure you give your phone number. We will sign for parcels if there is someone in the office, but we cannot guarantee that there will be someone there between 11am and 5pm, so please supply your phone number in the delivery information for your order.

Parcels will be placed in your flat’s postbox or, if too large, put on top of the postboxes.

Please note that we cannot take in food deliveries.

Any uncollected mail will be returned to sender at the end of your tenancy. Please make sure you have left us a forwarding address.

3.4  What to pack

3.4.1  Key items you should pack include:

• bedding. If you prefer, you will be able to buy a bedding pack (duvet, pillow, sheet, duvet cover and pillow case, cost £21) when you arrive. A few freshly laundered bedding packs are available at £12 each. Please email at least a week before your arrival to reserve a pack.

• towels and toiletries (including hairdryer, shaver etc.)

• personal computer or laptop

• chargers and leads. The trunking above the desk includes 2 USB sockets as well as standard three-point sockets. We supply a data cable for the data point giving you access to the full range of services provided by Glide.

3.4.2  Don’t bring the following items to Heathfield, as they are not permitted:

• domestic appliances (fridge/mini-fridge/microwave/mini-oven/iron)

• heater

• your own curtains or net curtains

• soft furnishings (rugs/floor cushions/beanbags)

• extra furniture

• candles/oil burners

• any kind of weapon or firearm

• any pets (including insects, reptiles or fish).

If you’re missing your pet at home, you may want to meet the very friendly Simba when you arrive. He is David and Sarah’s dog, and loves to meet residents in the garden and play with them when allowed.

If you’re nervous of dogs, please let us know and we’ll take special care to make sure you don’t come across him if you don’t want to.

If you do bring any of the items listed above, you will be asked to remove them. If you don’t comply with this request, you may be asked to leave Heathfield.

3.5 Electrical equipment

Please ensure your electrical equipment is fitted with a standard UK 3-pin plug fitted with an appropriate fuse, and meets UK safety standards. Please ask us if you are unsure about this.

We strongly recommend that you wait to buy all but the most essential items until after you arrive – you may find you can save money by sharing with your flatmates.

3.6 Personal property insurance

Please note that your personal property is not insured at Heathfield, so you will need to arrange this yourself. There is useful advice at MoneySupermarket.com, and Endsleigh is a leading provider.

3.7 TV licensing

Heathfield does not provide TVs. If you are planning to watch TV programmes on any device (see Section 7), you must buy a TV licence. You can find out more at www.tvlicensing.co.uk/student/.

4.1 Social life

If you are coming to uni for the first time, we hope you’ll find that Heathfield fosters a good transition from home to a new life in a university environment. If you were living in uni accommodation in your first year, Heathfield aims to smooth your move from on-campus to off-campus.

The six flats in Heathfield do not have locked front doors. The free circulation around the building enables friendships and support networks to develop not only within flats but across the whole community. Your room will have a lock,  of course, allowing you privacy and security.

The regular Heathfield social event is ‘Sunday Cake’ – we hope you will join us between 4 and 5.30 pm in the Heathfield Centre for a bit of homemade cake and an opportunity to get to know your fellow residents.

4.2  The Heathfield Centre

To get to the Heathfield Centre, turn right instead of left once you have come through Reception. The large U-shaped room has a small servery, and there are toilets across the hallway.

The Heathfield Centre is an important feature of Heathfield. You are welcome to organise social events there, e.g. parties (see Section 4.3), seminars, film nights, games nights, tennis-table tournaments, meetings etc. We also welcome displays of artworks in the Centre, both in the hallway and in the Centre itself.

The Centre is booked on occasion by non-residents for events, community groups, and private functions. These are recorded in the Heathfield Centre booking diary in Reception.

At all other times it is available to Heathfield residents as communal space. It has a home cinema, a table-tennis table, and there are games and puzzles available. If you are organising an event, please enter it in the booking diary so that we avoid double bookings.

To ensure the security of Heathfield Student Community Home during events for non-residents, there is a coded lock on the door back into the main building. If you get stuck the wrong side of it (it happens!) please call the duty phone (07422 972 481).

4.3  Parties etc. in the Heathfield Centre

Heathfield residents are welcome to book the Centre for parties and other events. Please comply with the following guidelines:

• There is a charge of £20 per booking for cleaning, all or some of which may be returned at our discretion if the whole Centre (including the toilets) is left tidy and spotlessly clean, and all rubbish and waste for recycling disposed of appropriately in the bins outside.
• Parties and events must be booked at least 7 days in advance, using the Heathfield Centre booking diary kept in Reception. Allocations will normally be on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. However, we reserve the right to use our discretion if there are conflicting bookings.
• Non-resident guests (maximum 50) should arrive and leave via the Heathfield Centre doors, not through Reception.
• Events must finish by 11.30pm.
• Keep the noise levels down. Our neighbours in Pockthorpe Gate are not far away and are entitled not to be disturbed.
• 4.4  The Garden Room

The Garden Room is off the ground floor corridor. Its French windows open onto the central garden area. It is available to all our residents as a place to study outside your own room. It has wifi coverage, and is intended principally for personal or group study. You are welcome to invite guests, perhaps a project group, to come and work here with you, but please always ensure they sign in at Reception so we know who is in the building if there is an emergency.

You are welcome to use the books in the Garden Room library. Many of these have been donated especially for the use of Heathfield students. (You will also find some books, mainly fiction, in the Heathfield Centre.)

Please always show consideration for other users of the Garden Room, especially in exam periods.

4.5 The garden

Do enjoy the enclosed central garden – when the British weather allows! You are welcome to use one of the barbeques, but always clean it afterwards.

4.6  Rules

We’re not that keen on ‘rules’, but if there is one at Heathfield it is that we ask all our residents to be thoughtful and considerate not only towards their neighbours in our community but also to our local neighbours in Cannell Green and Pockthorpe Gate.

And of course, please remember that no smoking is permitted anywhere in the building. Please don’t smoke at your window. You are welcome to smoke in the central garden. Please always use the pillar ashtrays provided and don’t drop your stubs on the ground!

4.7  Guests

Occasional guests are welcome, but only with the agreement of your flatmates, and for a maximum of three nights in any term. Please ensure your guest signs the register in Reception so that we have a record of who is in the building if there should be an emergency. The behaviour of your guest is your responsibility, so please show consideration for the other residents of Heathfield. If your guest causes any damage, you will be held responsible.

Please always meet guests at the front door and, for the security of all our residents, never reveal the inner door code to anyone, even your most trusted guests.

4.8  Laundry

The laundry room has token-operated washing machines and dryers, and there are drying lines in the central garden. The tokens are on sale from Reception during opening hours (Monday to Friday, 9–11am and 5–7pm).

The iron in the laundry room is free to use. Please remember to switch it off at the wall!

8.1  What to bring

For all our residents, but for international students especially, we strongly recommend that you don’t plan to bring too much with you. In terms of kitchen equipment, for example, you will find the basics already in your flat. If you find you really need something that’s not there you will most probably be able to share the cost with your flatmates. The What to pack (section  3.4 above) gives useful advice.

8.2  The British climate!

Having welcomed international students as guests in our home for many years, we have learned that those from warmer countries especially are surprised at how cold it can be in the East of England. The wind can blow across the great plains of northern Europe from the Russian Ural Mountains, or down across the North Sea from the North Pole, with nothing to stop it! So do ensure that you have enough layers of clothing to keep you warm not only outside but also indoors – it’s not always warm, even in mid-summer, and the heating won’t be on then.

8.3  Electrical equipment

The electricity supply is the UK standard (240 volts/50 Hertz). If you are coming from overseas please ensure your electrical equipment is fitted with a standard UK 3-pin plug (see Section 3.5) fitted with an appropriate fuse, and meets UK safety standards.

Most UK wall sockets (and all the sockets in Heathfield) are controlled by switches. The safe procedure is to put your plug in the socket before switching the socket on.

9.1 General repairs

Report any defects or maintenance issues in the Repairs Book kept in Reception. The necessary repair will be carried out at the earliest practical opportunity, either by the management or by their appointed contractors. Except in an emergency, we will give you 24 hours notice if we need to go into your room. If we need to go into your room in your absence, we will let you know we have done so.

Report urgent issues (e.g. water leaks, broken windows) immediately to Reception or via the duty phone (07422 972 481).

Do not attempt to repair things yourself, either in your room or in the kitchen. Always report any malfunction. A botched or inappropriate repair will be charged for out of your deposit.

9.2 Electrical equipment checks

All electrical items belonging to Heathfield are regularly tested for electrical safety. Your personal equipment does not need to be tested. However, for your own safety and that of your fellow residents, please read carefully the following advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the national regulator for health and safety.

SAFETY ADVICE FROM THE HSE

Never use electrical equipment in wet surroundings. In your room, don’t store electrical equipment under your washbasin.

Always ensure the socket is ‘Off’ when plutting something or unplugging it; only switch to ‘On’ when an item is securely plugged in.

Avoid using extension leads and adapters. You should have enough sockets in your room. Never stack adapters.

Check regularly that the cables on your devices are not damaged.

If you notice a damaged cable on your own equipment, or on an item belonging to Heathfield, report it immediately via the Repairs book in Reception, and stop using the item until the cable is replaced.

If you need help, we hope you’ll feel able to call on your neighbours in Heathfield, and that you’d be willing to offer help if someone else needs it. You can also come and find us (David and Sarah) if you need to, using the 24/7 duty phone (07422 972 481)  if necessary.

Your university offers a range of specialist help and support services.

10.1 UEA students

All UEA students must register either with one of the doctors in the University Medical Service (details in your university registration documentation) or with a local medical practice (see section 10.2.1).

The University’s dental practice is in the Medical Centre. There is also a dental practice very near Heathfield (see section 10.2.1).

The UEA Student Support Service is available on campus, on Upper Street, opposite Waterstones Bookshop.

10.2 NUA students

10.2.1 Medical care

NUA students are expected to register at their local practice (either Gurney Surgery or Magdalen Medical Practice). New patients are required to produce one form of photo ID and one up-to-date proof of address (tenancy agreement, bank statement, etc.). Patients need to fill in registration forms, provide relevant ID and book in for a new patient health check with the nurse before seeing the GP.

There is a dental practice, MyDentist, in Barrack Street, very near Heathfield.

10.2.2 Student support

The university’s Student Support Office offers confidential support. It is open 9am–5pm Monday–Friday. Their website gives information about help available out of hours.

Email: support@nua.ac.uk
Tel: 01603 977 977

10.3 City College Norwich, Access Creative College

Student support is available via the City College Support and Advice page and the Access Creative College support page.

To protect you, your belongings and your fellow-residents it is important to make sure that only authorised people get into the building.

11.1  Keeping the building secure

Always ensure that both entrance doors, the external one (opened with a key) and the internal one (opened with a number code) are kept closed – please never give this code to anyone who does not live at Heathfield. This is the main security for the building: although all the rooms lock, the flats do not have individual locked access doors. If you have any concerns about someone you see inside Heathfield, report it straight away to Reception or using the 24/7 duty phone (07422 972 481).

Do not allow anyone you don’t personally know into the building. Always arrange to meet your own guests at the front door yourself when they arrive and ask them to sign the visitors book in Reception so we know who is in the building in case of an emergency.

The fire exit doors at the end of each corridor are for emergency use only. They are normally kept locked. The locks will be released automatically if the fire alarm sounds.

11.2  Security in case of fire

The fire alarms are tested weekly on Tuesdays, at or near 11am. They will be silenced within a minute or two. If the alarm goes on for longer than this, please leave the building by the nearest fire exit.

Please always use the IN/OUT boards by the inner Reception door every time you go in and out. This is an essential safety measure. While we hope there will never be a fire, if there is one we don’t want to be risking lives searching the building for someone who is not there.

11.3  Keeping your possessions safe

Do not leave expensive items on display or keep large sums of money in your room. If any of your personal possessions are stolen, you should report this to Reception at once. You may wish also to report the incident to the Police, but it will help if Reception is also informed. The Police can be contacted on tel. no. 101. If you wish to make an insurance claim, the company will need a crime reference number from the Police.

Always make sure your windows are closed when you go out, especially if you are on the ground floor. If you have taken out insurance for your personal possessions (see Section 3.6) you could invalidate your insurance if you leave your room unlocked. If you are away from your room for an extended period, leave the curtains closed.

We recommend marking your possessions, including your bike, and registering them at www.immobilise.com, the national property register used by the Police. Reception has a stock of marker pens for purchase.

11.4  Lost keys

We advise you to keep your keys with you at all times. You will be issued with one key for your room and one key for the entrance door. If you lock yourself out, contact Reception or the duty mobile to be let in. If you lose your room key, there will be a charge of £10 for a replacement. If you lose the key to the main entrance, the lock will have to be changed to keep the building secure, and new keys will have to be issued to all residents, so a charge of £150 will have to be made.

This is the end …

Your tenancy ends in mid-July. At that point you have a choice of options:

1. Stay on living at Heathfield throughout the summer and for the new academic year.
   If you choose this option you just carry on paying the existing rent over the summer, and the new rent applies from 1 September.
2. Leave your stuff in the room and come back in September to live in the same room.
   If you choose this option we will charge you a reduced amount for the remainder of July and for August, and when you come back in September you will pay the new monthly rent.
3. You move out of the room and come back in September. Your new tenancy, at the new monthly rent will start on 1 September.
   If you choose this option you leave the room empty and clean (see below) on or before the final date specified in your tenancy agreement, and when you return in September you will be charged the current rent for the new academic year.
4. Move out of the room and move out of Heathfield.
   If you choose this option you can stay after the last day in your tenancy agreement and pay for any extra time you live at Heathfield based on a charge per night. The nightly charge is calculated pro rata based on the amount you have been paying. We will need the room by the last Saturday in August in order to prepare it for the new tenant, so please tell us when you expect to move out – and leave your room empty and clean (see below)!

12.1 When you leave … leave no trace!

The end of your tenancy may seem a long way away, but it’ll come remarkably fast! When it’s approaching, we will be reminding you about leaving your room, your flat, your kitchen cupboard, and your fridge shelf and your freezer drawer spotlessly clean. If they aren’t, you’ll find that your deposit will have shrunk by the time you get it back.

Give yourself a helping hand during the year by remembering these key points:

• keep your room clean and tidy
• DON’T STICK ANYTHING TO THE WALLS except the approved tapes – Washi tape and Gripping Stuff (see Section 3.2.2)
• keep your fridge shelf and freezer drawer clean
• keep your kitchen cupboard clean and tidy
• do your share of work to keep the kitchen tidy and clean
• do your share of keeping the showers and toilets clean.

At the end of the year, just before you leave, we shall ask you to make an appointment for us to inspect your room and agree the inventory with you before you go. This is when we will decide whether there is any damage or other cause to deduct money from your deposit.

12.2 Short-term use of your room at the end of your tenancy

Your tenancy ends on the date given in your tenancy agreement. You may decide not to stay at Heathfield until then. We may be able to find short-term residents for the period between you leaving and the end of the tenancy. If you leave early we will ask you if you give us permission to use your room for short-term residents. If you say yes, and your room is used, we will pass on to you £5.00 per night your room is occupied.

12.3 Returning your deposit

Your tenancy ends on the date you move out and hand in your keys. We will return your deposit to you within 10 days after that date. The amount paid will take account of any deductions agreed and decided at the end-of-year inspection (see Section 12.1).

Please make sure before you leave that you have told us how you want to receive the returned money, and the details of the account to which to pay it. We can pay it by bank transfer or by Paypal.

Reception holds stock of the following items which you may find useful:

• Toilet rolls. You will find 2 in your room when you arrive, but thereafter you need to buy your own. In an emergency, you can bu some from Reception at a cost of £1 per roll.
• Gripping Stuff tape – a 2m roll is £3.50
• Washi tape – a small roll is 50p.

Gripping Stuff and Washi tape are the only permitted ways to stick pictures etc. to the walls in your room – or in any other part of the building.