The Housing Corporation announced it has met with representatives of the Board of Black Roof Community Housing Association to advise them that it has instituted a statutory inquiry into the affairs of the Association and made three appointments to its Board.
Black Roof Community Housing Association is a black and minority ethnic led association, which was founded in 1980. It owns and manages 187 homes in the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.
The inquiry will conduct investigations into the governance, management and viability of the Association. The Corporation has appointed James Tickell (a Consultant) and Elizabeth Wilson (a Financial Consultant), to conduct the inquiry. They are empowered to receive any information and documents they believe may be relevant to the inquiry, and, at the end of the inquiry, will report to the Corporation's Board.
The appointees, who will provide the Association's Board with additional skills and expertise, are:
The Housing Corporation announced it has made three statutory appointments to the Board of Charter Community Housing, which manages around 3,650 homes in the Cherwell area of North Oxfordshire:
The Corporation has placed Charter Community Housing under supervision because of concerns about its governance and business planning.
Circle Anglia launched its House Exchange project, after experiencing problems in signing up to the government service, MoveUK. House Exchange has attracted eight landlords and 1,600 tenants and more are expected to join. MoveUK has had ongoing problems in launching its national tenant exchange database.
The respective Boards of Devon & Cornwall Housing Trust and Penwith Housing Association approved merger plans. Subject to Housing Corporation approval, Penwith will take over 2,000 homes in Cornwall from Devon & Cornwall. Penwith will also become a subsidiary of Devon & Cornwall HT.
Elmbridge Housing Trust and Richmond upon Thames Housing Trust revealed they were in merger talks. Should a merger go ahead, the associations would see substantial savings from a new group structure, with a total of 8,500 homes in their joint ownership.
The Housing Corporation agreed to FCH Housing & Care joining the Longhurst Group. The move will increase the number of homes managed by the Group by 3,500 to around 15,000.
Local Space, a housing association which was set up by Newham Council to use private finance to acquire homes and lease them to the Council, has attracted interest from other local authorities interested in its services.
Midland Heart is the name of the new housing association formed from the merger of Prime Focus and Keynote Housing Group. The new Association will manage over 30,000 homes and start operating from 1 April.
Orbit Housing Group looked likely to go ahead with the take-over of Shaftesbury Housing Group, which has been under Housing Corporation supervision since October 2003. If it does go ahead, Orbit's housing stock will increase by 10,000 to around 37,000 homes.
Plus Housing Group established a development company called Three 60 Property Investors, to build up a substantial commercial property portfolio and development programme. The subsidiary will initially have a fund of £62.5 million, with some £50 million provided by the Bank of Scotland.
Merger discussions between Riverside Group and English Churches Housing Group were at an advanced stage. A key issue being considered was the impact on staffing and the possibility of cuts.
It was reported that Signpost Housing Group and Spinnaker Housing Group were in merger discussions. Further announcements were believed to be due in April. The two groups manage a total of some 16,000 homes between them.
Wirral Partnership Homes teamed up with Wirral Metropolitan College to encourage students to become day release apprentices for the Company. As a result, 13 students who are all studying a trade such as plumbing, joinery, or painting are working closely with tradesmen from Wirral Partnership Homes' subsidiary building company, Wirral Partnership Homes (Building Services) Limited, and the three additional contractors working on its investment programme.