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-rwxr-xr-xbin/make_emptyhomes_po5
-rwxr-xr-xweb/alert.cgi4
-rwxr-xr-xweb/contact.cgi6
-rwxr-xr-xweb/faq.cgi85
4 files changed, 76 insertions, 24 deletions
diff --git a/bin/make_emptyhomes_po b/bin/make_emptyhomes_po
index 0e59ee28d..3090b9511 100755
--- a/bin/make_emptyhomes_po
+++ b/bin/make_emptyhomes_po
@@ -66,10 +66,15 @@ while(<MAINPO>) {
$buffer =~ s/fixed/returned to use/g;
$buffer =~ s/Recently put back into use empty properties/Recent empty properties put back into use/;
+ $buffer =~ s/New empty properties/New empty property reports/;
+ $buffer =~ s/Older empty properties/Older empty property reports/;
$buffer =~ s/\(like graffiti.*\)/ /;
$buffer =~ s/(Please enter your full name).*? -/$1 -/;
+ $buffer =~ s/We send it to the council on your behalf/The details will be sent directly to the right person in the local council for them to take action/;
+ $buffer =~ s/To find out what local alerts we have for you/To find out what local alerts we have in your area, council or ward/;
+
print NEWPO $buffer;
$buffer = "";
} else {
diff --git a/web/alert.cgi b/web/alert.cgi
index 0a8933083..8564737ab 100755
--- a/web/alert.cgi
+++ b/web/alert.cgi
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
# Copyright (c) 2007 UK Citizens Online Democracy. All rights reserved.
# Email: matthew@mysociety.org. WWW: http://www.mysociety.org
#
-# $Id: alert.cgi,v 1.32 2008-09-19 17:58:37 matthew Exp $
+# $Id: alert.cgi,v 1.33 2008-10-08 14:38:29 matthew Exp $
use strict;
use Standard;
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ sub alert_front_page {
alerts for all problems within a particular ward or council, or all problems
within a certain distance of a particular location.'));
$out .= $errors . '<form method="get" action="/alert">';
- $out .= $q->p(_('To find out what local alerts we have for you, please enter your UK
+ $out .= $q->p(_('To find out what local alerts we have for you, please enter your GB
postcode or street name and area:'), '<input type="text" name="pc" value="' . $input_h{pc} . '">
<input type="submit" value="Look up">');
$out .= '</form>';
diff --git a/web/contact.cgi b/web/contact.cgi
index 600e0c163..7947c333f 100755
--- a/web/contact.cgi
+++ b/web/contact.cgi
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
# Copyright (c) 2006 UK Citizens Online Democracy. All rights reserved.
# Email: matthew@mysociety.org. WWW: http://www.mysociety.org
#
-# $Id: contact.cgi,v 1.32 2008-09-19 10:24:55 matthew Exp $
+# $Id: contact.cgi,v 1.33 2008-10-08 14:38:29 matthew Exp $
use strict;
use Standard;
@@ -110,6 +110,10 @@ sub contact_page {
$q->p(ent($p->{detail}))
);
$out .= '<input type="hidden" name="id" value="' . $id . '">';
+ } elsif ($q->{site} eq 'emptyhomes') {
+ $out .= $q->p('We&rsquo;d love to hear what you think about this
+website. Just fill in the form. Please don&rsquo;t contact us about individual empty
+homes; use the box accessed from <a href="/">the front page</a>.');
} else {
$out .= $q->p(_('Please do <strong>not</strong> report problems through this form; messages go to
the team behind FixMyStreet, not a council. To report a problem,
diff --git a/web/faq.cgi b/web/faq.cgi
index 477fa8014..652a05f59 100755
--- a/web/faq.cgi
+++ b/web/faq.cgi
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
# Copyright (c) 2006 UK Citizens Online Democracy. All rights reserved.
# Email: matthew@mysociety.org. WWW: http://www.mysociety.org
#
-# $Id: faq.cgi,v 1.33 2008-09-18 10:28:21 matthew Exp $
+# $Id: faq.cgi,v 1.34 2008-10-08 14:38:29 matthew Exp $
use strict;
use Standard -db;
@@ -139,23 +139,65 @@ sub emptyhomes_faq {
my $out = $q->h1('Frequently Asked Questions');
$out .= $q->dl(
$q->dt('What is this site for?'),
- $q->dd('This site is to help provide a public record of
-empty properties in Great Britain. It expands upon our telephone hotline
-for empty homes in the London area, and allows local authorities, related
-organisations and the public to view reported empty homes and update
-their status, and report new empty properties.'),
- $q->dt(_('How do I use the site?')),
- $q->dd(_('After entering a postcode or location, you are presented
-with a map of that area. You can view problems already reported in that area,
-or report ones of your own simply by clicking on the map at the location of
-the problem.')),
+ $q->dd('This site is to help make it as easy as possible for you to get
+empty homes in your area put back into use. It allows you, to view empty homes
+that have been reported and see what has been done about them. It makes
+councils accountable for responding and dealing with the empty homes you
+report.'),
+ $q->dt('How do I use the site?'),
+ $q->dd('Enter a postcode or address in the box on the homepage and you
+are presented with a map of that area. Click where the empty property is, fill
+in the details, upload a photo if you have one and press submit. That&rsquo;s
+it. You can also view other empty properties that have been reported and see
+what has been done about them.'),
$q->dt('Is it free?'),
- $q->dd('The site is free to use, yes. The Empty Homes Agency is
-a registered charity, though, so if you want to make a contribution,
-please do.'),
- $q->dt(_('Do you remove silly or illegal content?')),
- $q->dd(_('We reserve the right to remove any reports or updates
-which we consider to be inappropriate.')),
+ $q->dd('Yes. The costs of developing and running this site have been
+paid for by The Empty Homes Agency and through the generosity of its funders.
+The Empty Homes Agency is a charity, so if you believe in our aims and would
+like to make a contribution, <a href="http://www.emptyhomes.com/donate.html">please do</a>.'),
+ $q->dt('Do you remove silly or illegal content?'),
+ $q->dd('We reserve the right to remove any reports or updates
+which we consider to be inappropriate.'),
+ $q->dt('How do councils bring empty properties back into use?'),
+ $q->dd($q->p('All councils in England and Wales have powers to bring empty
+homes back into use. Many are very good at it, some are not. Most councils seek
+to persuade and help the owner to bring their property back into use; they only
+use legal powers such as Empty Dwelling Management Orders when help and
+persuasion have failed.'), $q->p('
+Most empty homes are brought back into use eventually by their owner. But in
+many cases this takes years. Empty homes often decline fast &ndash; they become
+overrun with weeds and attacked by the weather. They are often used by
+squatters, fly tippers, vandals and are sometimes subject to arson. The whole
+neighbourhood suffers waiting for the owner to deal with their property.'), $q->p('
+Councils help and persuade owners to bring their properties into use faster.
+Even so the process can be slow, especially if the property is in very poor
+repair or the owner is unwilling to do anything. In most cases it takes six
+months before you can expect to see anything change, occasionally longer. This
+doesn&rsquo;t mean the council isn&rsquo;t doing anything, which is why we encourage
+councils to update the website so you can see what is happening.'), $q->p('
+We will contact you twice (a month and six months after you report the empty
+home) so you can tell us what has happened. If the council doesn&rsquo;t do anything,
+or you think their response is inadequate we will advise you what you can do
+next.'), $q->p('
+If the empty home is owned by the government or one its agencies, councils are
+often powerless to help. However you might be able to take action directly
+yourself using a PROD:
+<a href="http://www.emptyhomes.com/usefulinformation/policy_docs/prods.html">http://www.emptyhomes.com/usefulinformation/policy_docs/prods.html</a>
+')),
+ $q->dt('Will reporting an empty home make any difference?'),
+ $q->dd($q->p('Yes. Councils can make a real difference, but they have lots of
+things to do. Many councils only deal with empty homes that are reported to
+them. If people do not report empty homes, councils may well conclude that
+other areas of work are more important.'), $q->p('
+There are over 840,000 empty homes in the UK. The Empty Homes Agency estimates
+that over half of these are unnecessarily empty. The effect of this is to
+significantly reduce the available housing stock fuelling the UK&rsquo;s housing
+crisis. A by-product of this waste is that far greater pressure is put on
+building land as more homes are built to meet the shortfall. The Empty Homes
+Agency estimate that bringing just a quarter of the UK&rsquo;s empty homes into use
+would provide homes for 700,000 people, save 160 square kilometres of land and
+save 10 million tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub> over building the same number of new homes.
+')),
);
$out .= $q->h2(_('Privacy Questions'));
$out .= $q->dl(
@@ -165,9 +207,10 @@ Your name is displayed upon the site if you let us, but not your email address;
similarly with updates. We will never give or sell your email address to
anyone else, unless we are obliged to by law.'),
$q->dt('Will you send nasty, brutish spam to my email address?'),
- $q->dd('Never. We\'ll only ever send you emails in relation to your
-problem. You can opt in to receive emails about updates to a particular
-problem.')
+ $q->dd('Never. We will email you if someone leaves an update on a
+report you&rsquo;ve made, and send you questionnaire emails four weeks and six months
+after you submit a problem, asking for a status update; we&rsquo;ll only ever
+send you emails in relation to your problem.')
);
$out .= $q->h2(_('Organisation Questions'));
$out .= $q->dl(
@@ -188,7 +231,7 @@ source code</a> (look under &lsquo;bci&rsquo;) and help us develop it.
You&rsquo;re welcome to use it in your own projects, although you must also
make available the source code to any such projects.')),
$q->dt(_('People build things, not organisations. Who <em>actually</em> built it?')),
- $q->dd(_('This adaptation of FixMyStreet was written by Matthew Somerville.
+ $q->dd(_('This adaptation of Fix&shy;MyStreet was written by Matthew Somerville.
Thanks go to
<a href="http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk">Ordnance Survey</a> (for the maps,
UK postcodes, and UK addresses &ndash; data &copy; Crown copyright, all