Posted 17.05.13
Changes to the Way New Charter Lets Its Homes
The way in which people apply for social housing in Tameside is changing to help families and those most in need find a home.
New Charter Homes has launched a new policy, which will affect future applicants and those already on the Association's existing waiting list.
Two new banding systems to score people's priority for a home will replace the old and complicated points system. New applicants will also be rewarded for making positive contributions to their communities to encourage people to give something back to the areas where they want to live.
Under the new rules, people registering for a New Charter home for the first time will be assessed against three simple bands (Gold, Silver and Bronze), based on their needs.
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Sovereign to Provide Affordable Homes at The Racecourse Newbury Development
Sovereign Housing Association is to provide the affordable homes at the major new David Wilson Homes housing development at The Racecourse Newbury.
Sovereign has signed a contract with David Wilson Homes to deliver 127 homes in the Western Area of the site, which will be the first phase to be completed at this high-profile development. These will consist of 87 social rental properties and 40 shared ownership homes.
Sovereign, which owns and manages over 7,300 homes in West Berkshire, anticipates providing 439 homes at The Racecourse Newbury when it is completed.
When completed, The Racecourse Newbury development will provide 1,500 dwellings, 30% of which will be affordable. The first 21 of these - 13 social rented and eight shared ownership properties - are expected to be handed over to Sovereign this summer.
Posted 14.05.13
A new partnership project to support residents in setting up and managing their own homes has been launched in Nottingham.
The Positive Start workshops will primarily be offered to new residents under the age of 35, or to residents who have been identified as needing additional support.
Housing provider Guinness Northern Counties, which owns seven hundred properties in the area, teamed up with Nottingham YMCA to deliver project to their residents, many of whom will move on into Guinness Northern Counties' properties.
More than 10 residents attended the first two-hour session held at the Shakespeare Street YMCA in Nottingham town centre, where residents were invited to discuss any current issues they had and give feedback on the session.
Each session offers a range of advice and support on the various aspects of setting up and maintaining a tenancy - including day-to-day budgeting, maintenance issues and being a good neighbour. Ongoing support is then available from both organisations for those who need it.
Positive Start is a free service for residents and sessions are delivered by Customer Engagement Officers from Guinness Northern Counties. Further sessions are planned for July, September and November.
Judith Badger, Community Investment Manager for Guinness Northern Counties, said:
"Moving into your own home for the first time can be an exciting time but it's not without its challenges.
"A good proportion of our residents from the Arboretum in Nottingham start out as residents at the YMCA and so it makes perfect sense that we work together to advise and support these residents early on, as they set up their homes, to get them off to the best possible start and avoid problems further down the line."
Fay Smith, YMCA Housing and Tenancy Sustainment Officer, said:
"We have had positive feedback from the residents who participated, all of whom feel they benefited greatly from the interactive experience.
"We are sure that future sessions will be as equally well received and indeed have already had inquiries about when the next session will take place."
Posted 10.05.13
Guinness Partnership Considers Cost-sharing Model to Save VAT
The 60,000-home Guinness Partnership is reported to be considering setting up a cost-sharing vehicle with other housing associations in the north. This would pave the way for offering VAT exemptions for its in-house contracting arm.
The arrangement would possibly involve a cost-sharing model, which would bring other landlords into a shared company, for its existing City Response subsidiary, which has a £35 million turnover.
Under changes introduced in the Finance Act last year, not-for-profit organisations sharing services are entitled to an exemption for VAT charges. This could lead to large savings across the sector on services such as repairs and maintenance.
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Gallions HA to Become a Subsidiary of Peabody
The 6,000-home Gallions Housing Association will become a subsidiary of Peabody from the autumn. The combined organisations will have a total stock of almost 27,000 homes.
The deal will open the way for the regeneration of the 1960's built Thamesmead Estate in East London, which when built won design awards but has since 'seen better days'. The regeneration will involve the building of 700 homes and providing new community facilities.
Gallions' 50% share in property investment company Tilfen Land, which owns much of the land in Thamesmead, will be taken over by Peabody.
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Cestria Completes Its First New-build Development
A County Durham housing association has reached a major milestone this week with the completion of its first new build development.
The 22 bungalows have been constructed for Chester-le-Street-based landlord Cestria Community Housing and are the first new affordable homes to be built by the Association.
They mark the start of a programme which will see Cestria develop a further 24 new homes this year in the nearby village of Nettlesworth.
The Association has also recently submitted plans for a specialist housing scheme for older people in the centre of Chester-le-Street.
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Guiness Completes a Further Stock Transfer
In a deal worth £7 million, Guinness Northern Counties, a subsidiary of Guinness Partnerships, has transferred 170 properties in Cheshire to the Regenda Group.
This is the latest in a series of stock transfers from the 60,000-home parent landlord, which is part of its stock rationalisation programme. Recently, it transferred 531 homes to four housing associations in East Anglia for £32 million.
