#residentinvolvement

A free trip to the theatre gave many Magna families across West Somerset an evening of fun and laughter and gave the housing association a new way of finding out what residents think.

SWHAILO Member, Magna West Somerset Housing Association (MWS) invited their residents with young families to apply for free tickets to enjoy the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, at the Regal Theatre in Minehead.

The tickets were funded by MWS’ community improvements group, who originally intended to give away 50 tickets, but increased it to 76 due to the high demand from residents across Minehead, Carhampton, Williton, Watchet, Dunster and Luxborough.

Before the show, Magna staff took the opportunity to ask their residents what their top three priorities were for Magna to focus on in 2015/16. This was a new way of capturing feedback for Magna, which proved successful, and the results will be considered in future plans.

Mr Bullock, a Magna resident from Alcombe, attended the show and said: “I was very pleased to be given the free tickets to take my family to see the show. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening.”

“Before the show, Magna asked us what we thought their priorities should be. I thought this was a great way to ask us for feedback. If they had sent out a survey in the post, I probably wouldn’t have answered it.”

“The evening also provided an opportunity to get together with other residents, and I met some new people near where I live that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

Neil Bliss, community involvement officer, said: "It was a fantastic evening, the families enjoyed a free trip out and we gathered valuable feedback. We saw some new faces that haven’t attended our events before, so it was great to get views from different people. Due to its success, we are looking to do a similar event in the summer.”