WMHA topics - Wirral Methodist Housing Association

The Newsletter of Wirral Methodist Housing Association
Over the last year, housing associations have been
much in the news and on the Government’s lips
given the outcome of the 2015 General Election.
Some of the ramifications of this have yet to be felt
but it now seems a good time to review where we
are in light of the recent passage of The Housing
and Planning Act 2016.
RENT REDUCTIONS.
RENT REDUCTIONS
The first change to hit the Social Housing Sector was a
decision by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to order
housing associations to cut their rents by 1% per
annum for 4 years starting in April 2016, thereby
tearing up the previous agreement from the
Government to allow associations to increase their
rents in line with inflation plus 1%.
This will mean a big loss of income for all housing
associations, not just Wirral Methodist Housing
Association, but detailed examination of our accounts
has shown that we can survive such a cut, albeit at a
cost to our ability to develop new and increased
housing options for those in need.
There were however some unintended consequences
for the Government which has already had to modify
its demands and which may see even more change.
The first change was to understand that some types of
tenancy needed to be exempted from the rent
reduction altogether. These included some areas
where the Association has been active such as:
l Specialist Supported Accommodation – This is
accommodation provided for people with different
types of disability needing support to live independently
in the community or certain other vulnerable groups
such as victims of domestic violence.
l Temporary Social Housing – This is in cases where
the Association does not own the property but holds it
under a short lease from a landlord.
l Fair Rent Tenancies – Early tenancies prior to 1989
where the rent is set in consultation with the Rent
Officer, a public servant.
PAY TO STAY – It was announced that tenants with a
joint income of over £30,000 would be expected to pay
a market rent for their tenancy. There were all sorts of
practical problems in introducing this and the
Government soon exempted housing associations
from the requirements.
‘RIGHT TO BUY’ – The Government made an Election
manifesto commitment to extend ‘Right to Buy’ to
housing association tenants and made it clear that they
were set to introduce legislation to achieve this.
Seemingly by co-incidence articles began to appear in
newspapers and on the TV (in particular Channel 4
News) which suggested that housing associations were
not doing enough to help solve the housing crisis
which the National Housing Federation had brought to
public attention prior to the election.
After much debate, most housing associations agreed
to work with the Government to introduce a voluntary
scheme, which would allow them as independent
charitable organisations to have final control over what
it would be prepared to sell and under what
circumstances. The details of this are still being worked
out at a national level.
LOCAL
HOUSING
ALLOWANCE
(LHA) ‘CAP’
LOCAL
HOUSING
ALLOWANCE
(LHA) ‘CAP’
LHA is a mechanism set by Government to restrict the
level of Housing Benefit they will allow towards an
individual’s rent. It is loosely based on the lowest 30%
of private sector rents in a local authority area but as it
has not been changed to keep pace with inflation, it
has effectively become a fixed cap. LHA is dependent
on household size and Housing Benefit is therefore
restricted to the size of property the Government
decides a particular household needs.
So far the LHA has been used only in the Private Sector
and the Social Housing Sector has always operated
differently. In the last Parliament the Government
introduced the ‘Bedroom Tax’ as a step towards this.
The new Government has decided however, that LHA
will apply to all our new tenancies from April 2018.
This announcement caused a lot of concern straight
away and in the face of this, the Government has been
forced into undertaking a ‘strategic review’ of rents for
sheltered and extra care accommodation for the
elderly and also for specialist supported
accommodation. This is because if the current LHA
levels (which were devised for general needs housing
in the Private Rented Sector) are applied to such
Summer 2016
schemes, they will be forced to close down as no longer
viable, thus creating a new and different housing crisis.
For new tenancies, whilst the Association will set an
initial rent in a number of different ways, from April
2018, Housing Benefit will be limited to the relevant
LHA level, meaning that such tenants may need to top
up from their own pocket.
This is very concerning for the Association which is
considering its options for overcoming any hardship this
may cause. Of particular concern is letting to individuals
under the age of 35 who, as a result of further
Government changes, will be restricted not to a single
bedroom unit Housing Benefit level (currently £86 per
week in Wirral) but instead to a single shared room rate
of £65 per week. Early indications are that many housing
associations will stop renting to under 35 year olds as a
result of this and clearly that could have very serious
consequences for homelessness.
FUTURE FUNDING FOR NEW
FUTURE FUNDING
FOR NEWPROJECTS
HOUSING PROJECTS
HOUSING
The Government has made it clear that it wishes the
housing crisis to be solved through the provision of low
cost home ownership initiatives. The capital funding it
has historically made available through the Homes &
Communities Agency will, after completion of the
current programme, be focussed almost entirely on this
type of provision. The Association will therefore have to
consider how best to continue to meet the increasing
housing need with restricted funds available.
This update is very much the start of a process of
appraisal for Wirral Methodist going forward.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2016
To all those interested in what the Association has
been getting up to (particularly our tenants) please
keep Thursday, 22 September 2016 free in your diary
for the Association’s AGM which will be held at
6.00pm at the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum,
Slatey Road, Birkenhead. The theme for this year will
be ‘Making Places Special’. Refreshments will be
available. If you would like to attend, and especially
if you need help in getting to the event, please give
Sharon in our office a call on 0151 666 8510.
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GOOD NEWS FOR
GAS SERVICING
During 2015 we went to a lot of
trouble to explain the importance
of ensuring that the Association was
given access to maintain and service
the gas appliances in tenant’s homes. To improve
our performance in keeping homes safe we
introduced new procedures and asked for our
tenants’ co-operation.
The good news is that we were able to get in to
service gas appliances in most cases to deliver our
legal expectation. As with any new system things
did not always work out as intended and we have
sought to learn from these, to improve our service
in 2016. We are grateful for the support and
understanding of our tenants in this.
How our latest developments are developing..!
Work is well underway on the construction of two
new two bedroom semi detached homes in Slatey
Road, Birkenhead, which are being built on the
former communal car park for the adjacent houses
owned by the Association.
Those houses were amongst the first to be developed by
Chief Executive, Alun Hughes in the early 1990’s but
changes in Council Planning Policy over the years, have
enabled residents to be provided with parking driveways
now in front of their homes and so the communal car
parking arrangements are no longer necessary.
It is expected that 2 bedroom houses will be much in
demand as a result of the difficulties created for some
social housing tenants as a result of the introduction
of the ‘Bedroom Tax’ by the Government.
Meanwhile in Tranmere, a century old landmark has
passed into history as a result of the demolition of the
former U.R.C. Church on Old Chester Road adjacent to
Clifford Grange in preparation for redevelopment of
the site to create four, new two bedroom flats and
three, new two bedroom bungalows for the elderly.
Work is expected to start on the new development in
the spring and some elements of the Church have
been carefully salvaged to form part of the new
scheme to pay tribute to the site’s past.
The latest news is the Government’s Health &
Safety Executive have agreed to look at the
possibility of allowing a ‘MOT’ style approach to
servicing deadlines which would provide greater
flexibility for the benefit of the Association and
residents alike.
Towels to the YMCA
Birkenhead YMCA`s homeless hostel has been serving
the community of Birkenhead for over 140 years. So
when they contacted us to ask for our help. The Board
members were more than happy to get looking for
unwanted towels hiding in their airing cupboards to
pass on to the YMCA’s night shelter.
WMHA collected over 200 towels of all sizes and
colours and were very much appreciated by the YMCA.
The YMCA receives no direct funding to open its
doors every night of the year to provide a bed and a
warm meal to men and women that find themselves
in an emergency in need of a safe place to sleep.
Our two bedroomed semi detached homes on Slatey Road near completion.
...and the River flows on - Project update
Since June 2015, WMHA has been busy working on
its biggest and most ambitious community art
project entitled ‘...and the River flows on’.
The community art project has brought together
professional artists and over 400 local residents to
create six individual painted panels each
representing a different aspect of Birkenhead’s past
and a vision of the future.
The completed panels will be brought together to
form a large mural to be installed within the Peel
Holdings new development in Birkenhead Docks.
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We would like to take this opportunity to thank all
the residents that came along to our pop up
workshops in the Summer and the organisations
and their clients that worked with us in creating
the wonderful individual panels: Wirral Mind, The
Spider Project, Birkenhead YMCA, the residents of
Lee Court and Fellowship House and The
Williamson Museum and Art Gallery and the
Grange Shopping Centre.
News from around the Granges...
Wesley gets a haircut..!
After: Carefully pollarded,
the trees will grow back
strong and healthy and
be easier to maintain.
The Association had tried on many occasions without
success to get the Council to cut the trees back, and
finally managed to get their consent for the trees to
be pollarded albeit at the Association’s expense.
Chief Executive Alun Hughes explained, “We could by
law have cut back the branches which overhung our
boundary but this would not have stopped the upper
branches blocking out the light to the flats and also it
would have spoilt the look of the trees to passers-by.
Pollarding looks very drastic but is a very efficient way
of giving our tenants back their light in the short term
and the trees will soon recover as well as being
stronger as a consequence. Council budgets are
stretched these days and these trees were not a
priority for them, even if they were for us. It’s another
example of the Association carrying out its work in a
way which benefits the wider community at the same
time. It’s a case of “going the extra mile”.
Before: shaggy and unkempt,
Wesley’s trees block most of the light.
Bit by bit, over the years Wesley Grange residents
have been seeing less and less from their windows
and suffering from the shadow caused by the
overhanging trees on adjoining Council land.
Clifford Grange
‘Souper’-man..
Simple Lentil and Bacon Soup
Ingredients -
Meat:
4 Rashers smoked
back bacon
Produce:
3 Carrots
3 sticks Celery
1 Onion, large
1
⁄4 tsp Parsley, dried
1 Potato, small
110g Split red lentils
Canned goods:
1 Oxo vegetable
stock cube
Produce:
3 Carrots
3 sticks Celery
1 Onion, large
1
⁄4 tsp Parsley, dried
1 Potato, small
110g Split red lentils
Baking & spices:
1 Salt and pepper
Oils & vinegars:
1 tbsp Olive oil
Liquids:
1 1⁄4 litre Water
Method -
Prep: 10 min › Cook: 45 min › Ready in: 55 min
1. In a large saucepan heat the oil and fry the
chopped bacon until the fat runs.
2. Add the onion and fry for a further 2 minutes on
medium heat, stirring. Then add the remaining
vegetables and lentils and stir around for a
further minute.
3. Pour in the water, parsley, stock cube and
seasoning and bring to the boil. Turn the heat
down low and simmer, covered, for 35 to 40
minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
4. The soup can be served chunky as it is, or
liquidised with a hand blender, or potato masher.
5. Enjoy!
..shares a warming soup recipe
It may be summer - but it’s hardly flip-flop weather..!
So, while we wait for the sun to arrive, why not try this
delicious recipe recommended by our very own
‘Souper’- man from Clifford Grange.
John has been making his delicious soup for residents
and visitors at Clifford Grange for the last three years
and if you ask him for a recipe he will tell you that he
just throws in a bit of this and a bit of that.. So, after
much persuasion, we were able to prize this recipe
from him.
We hope you enjoy it and if you have any ‘tried and
trusted’ recipes that you would like to share, we would
love to have them and will publish them in our next
edition of Topics.
The ladies of Clifford Grange have been busy again...
this time creating a wonderful ‘House’ quilt for us to
put on display here at our offices in Hamilton Street.
This is the biggest project the group have completed so
far. It took them seven weeks to make and included a
shopping trip to Abakhan in North Wales to get a few
special bits and bobs to finish off the completed quilt..!
The quilt was made from old pieces of fabric that were
used by each member of the group to create their own
individual house. The individual house panels were
then sewn together to create the finished quilt.
The group are currently working with the Birkenhead
Fruit and Vegetable show to knit fruit and veg and
make felted flowers to create a window display in
Birkenhead Town Centre.
Tip: This soup recipe can easily be made in a
pressure cooker - bring to highest
pressure, reduce heat to
low, cook for 12
minutes, then allow
pressure to
reduce at room
temperature.
You can also
use lean
smoked
streaky
bacon in
this recipe.
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INTRODUCING OUR NEW
BOARD MEMBERS..!
LIONEL BOLLAND
Lionel will need no
introduction to many of
with
long
those
connections with the
Association because he
once worked in the office
as Deputy Chief Executive,
until 2003 when he left to
take up a successful career
as Chief Executive of Port Sunlight Village Trust and
from which he retired last year.
Congratulations to Board Member Noel Scorah and
the rest of his team from employers Rathbones
Investment Management on completing a 500km
charity cycle ride trip from London to Paris in four
days last June.
The Association notes with sadness the passing
of one of our longstanding and remarkable
tenants, Kitty Owens who died in February this
year age 93.
Kitty and her husband Ron were very much part of
the scheme at Wesley Grange where they resided
for the last 30 years, having lived ‘on the
Woodchurch’ for 32 years before that.
Kitty was particularly active at Wesley Grange,
running Bingo on a Thursday and taking a
prominent role in helping organise charitable
events, for St. John’s Hospice and the MacMillan
Coffee Morning. Friends described her as “Loving,
loyal, chatty, funny (and at times) formidable”.
Kitty and her husband Ron enjoyed 69 years of
happy married life before Ron died in 2013.
Rest in Peace
Noel raised over £3,000 for the charity ‘Cure
Leukaemia’. Leukaemia is often referred to as a ‘blood
cancer’ which affects the cells in our bone marrow
which produce white cells essential for fighting
infection in the body.
Noel was helped with a
donation of £100 from the
Association’s Community
Development Fund.
If you are taking part in a
charity fundraising event
maybe we can help
support your efforts? For
more information, please
contact Jill at our office.
A professionally qualified Accountant, he is now
enjoying his well earned retirement with his three
grandchildren and sailing on the Mersey (in addition
to his service on the Board !).
NOEL SCORAH
Noel has a professional
background in I.T. within
the Finance Sector
which has given him
valuable experience in
business administration
and finance, which
he now brings to
the benefit of the
Association in a voluntary capacity.
As a member of Hoylake Methodist Church, he
assists with their property and financing whilst
enjoying a number of ‘spare time’ pursuits
including cycling - see also the article about Noel’s
epic sponsored bike ride on this page.
IAN CUBBIN
The Association also
welcomes Ian onto the
Board.
A busy man
lecturing at Liverpool
University in Pharmacy
and
Biomolecular
Sciences as well as
operating an important
family pharmacy business.
So long,
Matt..!
Our
‘Apprentice’
Matt has finally
‘graduated’ to a
permanent full-time
job and we wish him
all the very best for
his future career.
Top: Noel finishes in Paris. Bottom: The finish line seems
a long way off as Noel starts in London.
Matt joined us from school under an apprenticeship
initiative operated by Wirral Council as a receptionist
in our office. Once settled into the world of work Matt
developed a taste for accountancy work and the
Association was pleased to support him in the
development of his training towards an appropriate
accountancy qualification. He was retained long
after his initial contract came to an end and we were
pleased to recommend him for his new job at The
ACC Group Liverpool which he started in January.
Unfortunately the Association has no immediate
plans to repeat it’s involvement in the councils
apprenticeship initiative, partly because of cuts
imposed to its income over the next four years
by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his
Autumn Statement.
Out of hours emergency
calls - A Warning..!
We have received feedback that we want to share
with tenants who may need to use our ORBIS ‘Out-ofHours’ repair Helpline - 0844 822 6217. (This does not
apply to tenants who live in one of our three Sheltered
Schemes – Clifford, Wesley and Epworth Grange).
Ian is a Trustee and long term supporter of Wirral
ARK (Wirral Churches’ Ark Project) providing
emergency accommodation and support for
homeless people in Birkenhead in their particular
journey to recovery.
If telephoning at busy times and finding yourself in a
queue, you will be charged while you are ‘hangingon’, so it may be best to phone back and try again. The
‘Out of Hours’ Service is only for emergencies that
cannot wait until the office re-opens. Sheltered
Scheme tenants should always use their pull cord
alarms in an emergency.
The Helpline operates on an 0844 number which for
those phoning from a landline means a local call
cost. Tenants using mobile phones should check with
their mobile network operator if there are any
additional charges.
Wirral Methodist Housing Association Limited
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Oswald House, 42 Hamilton Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 5AE
Tel: 0151 647 5471 Fax: 0151 647 5178 Email: admin@wmhaltd.org.uk Web: www.wmhaltd.org.uk
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