PRAISE FOR EDITOR AFTER NEWS EXPOSURE

 

Newspaper  and housing merger secrecy worries     

 The saga of secrecy about a planned Cumbria  housing merger continued last weekend in an article in the leading county newspaper. New allegations are made and the newspaper, the Carlisle-based Cumberland News highlights worries about the secrecy.

The new allegations come from Councillor Barbara Cannon who says she is in annoyed that the decision about planned merger- between Workington-based Impact Housing Association and  the Liverpool-based Riverside Housing Association was taken without input from tenants.

“The residents need to be included and I don`t know what consultation is taking place” she said.

Barbara Cannon..."annoyed"

 Mrs Cannon is  borough councillor for Salterbeck, Workington and she adds in the article:

“When Riverside and Impact made the decision to go for a merger, it was announced on social media before Salterbeck residents got a letter telling them what was happening. I think that is very poor communication.

“If you are running a company you make sure the shareholders hear about something before the rest of the world does.”

The article is spread over four columns on the paper`s leader page under the headline: “Worry as association merger talks are shrouded in secrecy.”

It was written by Stephen Blease and follows a promise to investigate the planned merger made by the paper`s associate editor Chris Story. The promise was made to the campaigning group Carlisle Tenants and Residents` Federation which publishes this blog and which  first highlighted the secrecy in a letter to the editor.

The Federation has  congratulated Mr Story on his investigation which holds to  account the governing board which runs the Impact association.

The Federation in a letter to Mr Story says the article is “ a great service to the community and is in the very best traditions of journalism”

Sadly, the story did not tell readers the correct reason for the merger: i.e. Impact was downgraded to non-compliant by the social housing regulator in May last year for both governance and financial viability.

The  regulator  said it had lacked assurances that the board of Impact was managing its affairs with “an appropriate degree of skill, diligence, effectiveness, prudence and foresight”.

Readers of the Cumberland News are still in the dark about this.

Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803