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Diffstat (limited to 'web/faq.cgi')
| -rwxr-xr-x | web/faq.cgi | 85 |
1 files changed, 64 insertions, 21 deletions
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’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 – 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’t mean the council isn’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’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’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’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’ve made, and send you questionnaire emails four weeks and six months +after you submit a problem, asking for a status update; we’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 ‘bci’) and help us develop it. You’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 Fix­MyStreet 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 – data © Crown copyright, all |