Pennine Communities Federation of
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5 Lister Court |
For the past 6 months or so, the Federation has been looking at how it can become a stronger and more representative organisation which has a real impact on the future policies and plans of Pennine Housing. We appointed a special review group, chaired by Ruth Rider from Twin Towers TA, which looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the Federation and made a number of recommendations for change, all of which were adopted at our Special General Meeting held on the 25th October '06. These changes include:
A new name
More emphasis on power sharing
Working Groups to take responsibility for supporting Tenants Associations, training and finding out about housing issues which affect Pennine tenants
Wider area of representation to include the new Pennine areas
A new committee has been elected, the key people are as follows:
Chair Richard Guillot
Vice-Chair Bert Swain
Secretary Sue Molineux
Treasurer Mary Battye
Working Groups:
Big Picture Ruth Rider
Training Chris Lates
TARA Support - to be decided
A special welcome to our new Chair Richard Guillot. Richard's from St James Court in Halifax where he is a founder member and Chair of their Tenants Association.
Richard was an active member of the Federation Review Group and is committed to ensuuring that all of the recommendations are properly implemented and to seeing that the Federation becomes a stronger, more active organisation uniting tenants associations across Pennine estates.
Richard feels that one of his major strength is his fairness; he knows he has a lot to learn but also knows there's lots of support available to help him in the months ahead. Enclosed with this newsletter is a letter from Richard to all delegates introducing himself.
The next Federation meeting will be held at Bull Green House at 7.00pm on Tuesday 12th December 2006. Amanda Garrard, Executive Director of Pennine Housing will be attending to discuss future improvements to Pennine Housing homes and answer our concerns about staff changes and office closures. There will also be a buffet after the meeting which will give us all a chance to socialise and get to know each other a bit better.
At the Special General meeting it was agreed that in 2007 the meetings would be held every other month. This means that the first meeting next year will be held on Wednesday 28th February 2007. We are still trying to find a suitable venue for our meetings - if you've any ideas give us a ring.
We were all saddened to hear at the last Federation meeting that Ken Smith was seriously ill. Since the early 1990's Ken has worked tirelessly to ensure that both Calderdale Council and Pennine Housing listened to the views of tenants when making decisions. Ken wants everyone to know that, even though he is not able to attend meetings at the moment, he is still taking a keen interest in everything that is going on and was really pleased to hear that the Special General Meeting went well and a new committee was elected.
The Government recently launched something called the Respect Standard for Housing Management which highlights the importance of strong housing management in tackling anti-social behaviour and creating a culture of respect. The Standard, which is aimed at council and housing association landlords, is built around six core commitments:
Accountability, leadership and commitment
Empowering and reassuring residents
Prevention and early intervention
Tailored services for residents and provision of support for victims and witnesses
Protecting communities through swift enforcement
Support to tackle the causes of anti-social behaviour
The Government feels that a culture of respect is central to creating better communities where people can thrive. They want to ensure that every community is free from anti-social behaviour and all its ill-effects. The Respect Standard creates a clear opportunity for landlords, tenants and communities to work together to achieve this.
Over the coming months we will start to hear a lot more about Respect, as Pennine Housing is committed to signing up to delivering the Respect agenda.
However, tackling anti-social behaviour is something we can all be involved in. As community leaders we can play a key role in working with public services to bring people together, take action and communicate that action back to the community. When this happens people will feel safer and communities will become stronger.
It is important that as a Federation we learn as much as we can about the Respect agenda and then we will be able to communicate to Pennine how they can best work in partnership with tenants & residents to create communities we are all proud to live in. If you want to find out more about the Respect Standard for Housing Management the Tenant Involvement Section (01422 284520) will be able to provide you with copies of the information which the Government has recently produced. Pennine Housing will also be speaking about Respect at the Tenants/Leaseholders Conference on the 25th November at the Kings Centre, Halifax. If you have access to the internet then you can also visit the Respect website at gov.uk or go to www.tpas.org.uk.
The Federation office at 5 Lister Court, Halifax is available for use by any Tenants & Residents Association. In the office we have computers, printers and a photocopier, as well as broadband access to the internet. We don't have a regular opening time but if you give us a bit of notice we'll arrange for the office to be open at a time to suit you. For more information ring 01422 365281 and leave a message on the ansa-phone, we'll return your call asap.
We were really pleased to hear that the tenants of the Wisewood, Wadsley & Loxley estates in Sheffield have voted in favour of becoming Pennine Housing tenants. The ballots on another two Sheffield estates will take place in the near future and we're keeping our fingers crossed that the tenants of Harold Lambert Court and Manor Park will be equally enthusiastic about transferring to Pennine Housing. We are really looking forward to working with the tenants group from these three areas in coming months as their considerable experience can only serve to strengthen our Federation.
All tenants & residents associations are being invited to have a stall at the Tenants Conference on the 25th November. Contact the Tenant Involvement Section for more information 01422 284520
We still to make a decision about whether to have a New Year Party (Sue Molineux has offered to make the Punch!) but if we do it is likely to be on Saturday 13th January 2007 at the Maurice Jagger Centre - more information to follow Don't forget the next Federation meeting is 7pm. Tuesday 12th December at Bull Green House - Amanda Garrard is the guest speaker
Pennine Communities Federation of Tenants & Residents Association (PCFTRA)
5 Lister Court Halifax HX1 5DR
Tel: 01422 365281
E-mail: federation1@tiscali.co.uk
Website: www.calderdalefederation. org.uk
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