ATHENS POWER, DAVOS POWER AND THE POWERLESS

ATHENS POWER, DAVOS POWER AND THE POWERLESS

Our fire station`World Economic Forum `

Sorry, but we don`t have the power of Sunday`s Greek voters. Or the power of the world`s richest, now just returned from Davos. We in fact are powerless.

But as community activists, we are as determined to change things for the better as much as the people of Athens who have changed things so dramatically in  their historic general election.

As for Davos, the world`s richest and most powerful - such as Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft - chose this Swiss luxury resort for their annual World Economic Forum.

                             Our `World Economic Forum` venue... Eastern Way Fire Station

Sorry  once again, Davos was too expensive for us. Next year, possibly?

 We have a community room in a fire station for our `World Economic Forum`

A community room  can be as cosy as any  luxury chalet in Davos.

And  a community room suits us because  the room costs us nothing and we have only a few pounds in the kitty, all of it  contributed by ourselves.

It was at the community room at Eastern Way Fire Station in Carlisle that we met this week for the annual meeting of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents Federation.

We discussed all  our work in the past year and our plans for the coming year. Our annual report lists  much of this work and is reprinted below.

Our fire station community room  meeting and our report did nothing to shake Europe as it has been shaken in Greece.

But hopefully, in the  determination of those at the meeting and the  success of the year`s community activities listed in the report, there are echoes of the message  that came so strongly from the streets of Athens.

 Rallying support for 

major changes at 

Riverside and

major support for

community efforts

Report for the year 2014/15  presented by the Chairman

at the annual meeting of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents`Federation on January 22 2013

The Federation has had another very successful year with  regular  monthly meetings and Sub Group meetings held in the Family Church, Petteril Bank. Carlisle, by kind permission of the Church Elders, and at the excellent free facilities at the city`s Eastern Way Fire Station. All our meetings have been stimulating and enjoyable and have attracted people from other groups in the city.

The following are the highlights of the year:

Open-ness and accountability: The Federation has welcomed the government`s plans for increased open-ness and accountability by public bodies. A gigantic increase of open-ness and accountability is sorely needed on the housing estates of the Carlisle area as far as the principal landlord, Riverside Housing Association, is concerned. The Federation continues to campaign against Riverside for proper open-ness and accountability. Riverside, in the view of the Federation is accountable to no one but itself.  It is no longer a housing association but is in effect a profit-making  property development company.

Links with other campaigning organisations: The Federation has this year continued to strengthen working links with the North West Tenants` and Residents` Assembly. Nationally, housing stock transfers continue to be questioned and successfully challenged, Locally, questions  persist in the city and  district about the wisdom and legality of the Carlisle transfer of its housing stock to Riverside twelve years ago.

City Council and questions for Riverside:  The Federation has continued to hold Riverside to account with the  very small number of  written questions allowed (two, and possibly  three)about its activities which were due to be addressed to the  chairman of the the city council Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel a month after each Riverside six-monthly report to the council.

However, during the year the Federation found that, like previous years, it continued to be increasingly difficult  to get these questions accepted by the council.

On the last occasion, the council Deputy Chief Executive, Mr Darren Crossley  ruled that the Federation`s questions were not  to be allowed. The Deputy Chief Executive  in his ruling said: “The facility for questions is an opportunity for residents to  engage with the council and not to provide organisations with a platform to make statements of discontent”

The Federation considers this ruling to be offensive and  asked that the ruling be withdrawn. The Federation is not in the business of making statements of discontent. The Federation is in the business of holding Riverside to account.

The council has decided not to withdraw the ruling of the Deputy Chief Executive.

In view of this deplorable ruling which effectively blocks the Federation from further questioning, it seems  that  there will no further opportunity  for the Federation to question Riverside`s activities via  the panel.

Riverside campaign of hostility to the Federation:  The Federation has continued to challenge Riverside`s  campaign of hostility to the Federation which started  when Riverside provocatively, deplorably and outrageously, told the city council that the Federation would cease to exist This  statement was noted  by the council and entered in the minutes.

Riverside followed this  statement by twice attempting to block the Federation `s participation in the business of the city council`s Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel. Riverside has  still not explained why it wishes the Federation to cease to exist and how it proposes to ensure that the Federation ceases to exist.

Council nominees on the Riverside governing board:The Federation continues to challenge the city council arrangement  of four council nominees on the Riverside board. It appears that  these nominees cannot be held to account by either  organisation.The legality, the purpose and the effectiveness of the four nominees continues to be questioned. During the year it was estimated that Riverside had an interest in twelve per cent of the council`s elected members through employment by Riverside or through membership of its governing board,

Appointment of Mr Dean Butterworth as regional director of Riverside Carlisle: During the year Mr Butterworth arrived from Sheffield and has made various statements about improving Riverside Carlisle following the resignation of his predecessor Mr Patrick Leonard.The Federation has noted that since Mr Butterworth`s arrival, there has as yet been none of the promised improvement.

Mr Butterworth inherited a very difficult legacy. During his ten years with Riverside, his predecessor gave no encouragement or support to the Federation and more than once refused to have dealings with us. Mr Leonard`s lack of judgement  was criticised by the Federation and others after he  stood for  election as Labour candidate for the post of Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and amazingly said through an article in the Press that if elected he could do two jobs, the commissioner`s job alongside his Riverside job.

Mr Leonard`s  very difficult  legacy also persists through Riverside`s continued deplorable use of incomprehensible gobbledgook in communications with tenants and others. His legacy also persists in  Riverside`s failure to  adopt an acceptable effective complaints procedure and its failure to to have any democratic arrangements available for effective tenant and leaseholder community representation on the Riverside board. It is a scandal that all the previous tenant  and leaseholder community groups that existed before Riverside  arrived on the scene were abolished at the takeover and their grants terminated.

Mr Leonard`s very difficult  legacy also persists through its deplorable bossy culture which has been publicly criticised by a Carlisle city council member. It has been reported that Mr Butterworth  agrees with much of this criticism and  is  actively working to  change this..

Riverside`s excessive rents and unfair charges:A lot of time has been spent challenging Riverside about its excessive rents and  unfair charges.

Federation blog: Most of the issues raised in this report have been previously covered by the Federation blog and  the blog`s viewing figures have risen consistently since the blog started  in March  2013. The blog is increasingly seen as a very useful Federation publicity tool.

The blog is  named Community Voice Carlisle.The link to the blog is:http://carlisleruraltenantsfederation.blogspot.co.uk/

Lobbying councillors and M.P.`s:    The Federation has continued to hold meetings with councillors and has  been in touch with Mr. John Stevenson M.P. for Carlisle and Mr Rory Stewart M.P. for Penrith and the Border.

Longtown Action for Heat: Most of the Federation work during the year has involved much active  help for the  very unfortunate tenants of Riverside who live in Longtown.

An estimated sixty of them are victims of appalling Riverside mismanagement following the installation in their homes of dodgy heating systems  which are so expensive to run the tenants cannot afford to use them.

These tenants are suffering, living in unheated homes, some of them crippled financially after paying astronomically-high  heating bills, in some cases running into thousands of pounds.

A year ago - two years after the dodgy installations - a delegation of four of these tenants approached the Federation for help. They were desperate because there was no effective help from  Riverside or from  the two local authorities  or from the local councillors.

Since that time, the Federation has organised and helped to run numerous  joint  tenant and Federation  meetings at Longtown Community Centre and at places in Carlisle. These meetings have been well supported by the local and national press and the local ITV  and  by the Longtown community with attendances of up to thirty.

After several of these meetings the tenants decided to form their own community action group, Longtown Action for Heat which now meets regularly every month in the community centre under the chairmanship of Jimmy Robb.

Jimmy has played an admirable leading role working with the tenants and the Federation to ensure the success  of Longtown Action for Heat

Cumbria Riverside Action Group/Carlisle Leaseholder Action Group:  Over the years, Riverside  leaseholders have been active supporters of the Federation and the Federation has attempted to support various efforts to form an effective leaseholders` organisation which would hold Riverside to account.

Sadly, these efforts failed - or were sabotaged - and Riverside continued with its haphazard management and incomprehensible excessive charging for services which have been continuously  challenged and opposed.

Following this Riverside policy,  two leaseholders who were defendants in county court cases were supported by the Federation.The two won their cases after very humiliating  comments about  Riverside by the judge.

Now the leaseholders have again come together with Carlisle Leaseholder Action Group. led by Malcolm Craik of Brampton, which is getting active support from  the Federation.

At the same time, a new leaseholders` initiative by Billy Lyon of Upperby led to an approach for help to the Bishop of Carlisle. This in turn resulted in three meetings in Carlisle Cathedral Close, at the home of Canon Michael Manley, the Rural Dean,  and the formation of Cumbria Riverside Action Group. Another meeting is  planned for next month.

These meetings were attended by Riverside tenants and  leaseholders and participants in Riverside shared ownership schemes, together with councillors and others wishing to challenge Riverside. Canon Manley is acting as chairman  and the Federation Secretary, John Barker is acting as secretary.

Carlisle South Community Association: The Federation continues to  be actively involved in the work of Carlisle South Community Association   which does excellent work supporting communities, particularly in tackling dog fouling and improving  the facilities in Dale End Park.

A new group, Friends of Dale End Park, was formed by the association and during the year, the Friends worked with the city council on a £80.000 improvement scheme for the park`s children`s play area. The play area was opened during the year and is now much enjoyed.

The  Friends are now planning further improvements to the park, particularly the provision of soccer facilities and a BMX Track. The association continues to have the active co-operation of the NHS in Carlisle and the  city council Green Spaces  and  Environmental Health.

Botcherby Forever . The Federation has continued to give active support to those members of Botcherby Residents` Action Group(BRAG) who were banned from BRAG meetings following the takeover of the group  by  a group of Durranhill residents and other residents living outside the original Botcherby estate.

These  banned members formed a new community group. Botcherby Forever, which meets  monthly, helped by the Federation.

Botcherby Forever has spent much of the year helping local author Pat Hitchon who is writing a history of Botcherby. Pat has attended all our meetings along with many residents, all very keen to help the planned publication.

Altogether, Pat has had help from more than 50  local people, many of them  linked together  through Botcherby Forever meetings. Botcherby Forever has had  many difficulties in finding suitable places  to hold its meetings and has met in five different places-including one member`s home.

However, with kind  and helpful cooperation from all members, all meetings have been a great success and are now held regularly in Eastern Way Fire Station.

Thanks to everyone: I wish to thank everyone who has helped the Federation during the year and thank all who have attended our meetings and contributed to our many interesting discussions and debates. Special thanks to the Elders of the Family Church, Petteril Bank who  made available their church, with its excellent facilities, with no charge to the Federation.Sadly, the church is no longer available.

Thanks too, to members of Carlisle South Community Association who have helped at our meetings, particularly Joan and Kenny Simpson and their friends and family who continued to provided excellent  buffets and refreshments at all meetings throughout the year. 

The Federation is entirely supported financially by contributions from its members.

                                     


 Carlisle  Tenants` and Residents`Federation.

Chairman Denise Moses  Vice Chairman Tony Clifford

Treasurer Kenny Simpson  Secretary John Barker