LOCALISM GOES COMMERCIAL

HAVE YOU BEEN

KIDDING COMMUNITIES

MR CAMERON?

David Cameron made big play during the last election about his support for local communities. Localism was the buzz word and sure enough, localism is now steaming ahead.

Or is it?

The latest  backing  for localism came this week in a government scheme called Community Cashback offering grants to local groups to start  small services such as grass cutting, cleaning or  property repairs.

Localism gets strong support in Cumbria, mainly though much-admired pioneering work by Mr Rory Stewart, M.P. for Penrith and the Border.

But Carlisle gets no localism. Worse than  that, support for it is in retreat. And that worries community groups which are now struggling to find venues to discuss their problems

Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation and its associated group, Carlisle South Community Association, are typical…. uncertain about how long they will continue to have the use of the friendly Family Church  in Petteril Bank.The two groups have had free use  for about twenty years. But now, the church has closed.

And in nearby Botcherby, a group run by the Federation-Botcherby Forever- is homeless for the second time in not much more than a year because community premises  have  been closed down.

A year ago, Botcherby Forever lost the Crown Social Club which closed. The group`s home since then has been the Botcherby Healthy Living Centre run by a kind and friendly organisation. Now that building has been closed  after more than 30 years as a community centre.

Why is all this happening in Carlisle? Much of the blame lies with  the city`s principal landlord, the giant Riverside Housing Association of Liverpool. Over recent  years, Riverside has closed  down  nearly all the city`s long-established community groups.

Riverside doesn`t like community groups-except its  favourite groups. The favourite community groups get Riverside cash and other support. Other groups  get nothing.

And Riverside is also very commercially-minded  with  its community property . One  property in Welsh Road, Petteril Bank,  has been put on the market.

The centre once was  four council flats. Riverside converted them into a community job creation centre and fitted  it out  with a lavish array of computers. But nothing got off the ground and efforts by community groups to use the centre when it became vacant have been ignored.

Now the centre is empty again. An estate agent`s sign on the property says:”To let for commercial use.”

That  estate agent`s sign, Mr Cameron, says all you need to know about localism in Petteril Bank, Carlisle.

Localism, Mr Cameron?

Have you been kidding?

COMMUNITY VOICE, CARLISLE  is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information about the Federation  is included in the first entry of the blog, dated March 25 2013

THE RACE TO BECOME WORST IN THE COUNTRY

WHO CARES FOR

FRIGHTENED

TENANTS?

What is the next organisation in Carlisle to be  judged among the worst in  the country following this judgement in a damning report on the Cumberland Infirmary  by Sir Bruce Keogh?

Not  many months ago there was a similar report –this time by Ofsted--about the two Carlisle Academy schools. The report  put these schools among the worst in the country.

Today, there is a third report. This time it is about the Carlisle housing organisation, the giant  Riverside Housing Association.Sadly, this report has not  the weight of  Sir Bruce Keogh behind it, nor  has it the nationwide authority of Ofsted .

This third report is simply based  on what took place at a meeting of about a dozen people that lasted under an hour.It was prepared by Carlisle Tenants` and Residents`Federation. And this report came to the same conclusion as Sir Bruce and Ofsted. It concluded that Riverside is among the worst housing associations in the country.

The meeting hadn`t a good start.The dozen or so attending were cramped like sardines into the lounge of one of the flats of Dixon`s Court, Shaddongate.( Riverside don`t cater for tenants` meetings. And previous funding for tenants groups to hold such meetings  was  cut off without any reason when Riverside took over the  council houses ten years ago)

The Dixon`s Court tenants called the meeting because they are  so worried about the standard of care by Riverside that they barricade themselves in at night following the imprisonment of two of the tenants, one for raping a 14 year old girl and the other for drug offences.

Two Riverside executives attended the meeting. But what they had to say offered  no help to the anxious tenants.

***The executives would not talk about any problems in the past, such as why  Riverside withdrew its cash community help for such groups as Dixon`s Court.

***The executives  had no answer to the many criticisms of  Riverside`s  tenant allocation policy of mixing old people and young people together which leads to explosive relationships.

***The executives appeared  to have no proper appreciation of Riverside`s duty of care to its  tenants . Any duty of care appeared to end at 5 pm when Riverside staff finished work.And  any duty of care appeared to be a police problem.

Perish the thought that it was Riverside that had a duty of care to frightened  tenants.

The  government has ordered special measures for the Cumberland Infirmary  and for the Academy Schools.

Special measures for Riverside to help the frightened tenants of Dixon`s Court cannot come quickly enough.

AND NOW, ANOTHER LIVERPOOL CARE PATHWAY

NO MORE CARING

THAN THE FIRST PATHWAY,

SAY ANXIOUS VICTIMS

There is no stopping a Liverpool Housing Association from  telling the world of just how much it cares for its staff.

Paul Taylor, the Carlisle  operations manager, is the latest executive of Riverside Housing Association to take up the theme of Duty of Care.

In  just a short report to Carlisle councillors last week, Mr.Taylor introduced the theme several times, to emphasise Riverside`s policy towards its staff and just how much--how very, very much-- Riverside cares

All very  admirable. No one now can  possibly doubt that Riverside takes its duty of care to its staff very seriously. But is all this banging on really necessary?

Paul Taylor`s hymn of praise for the much- caring Riverside, reminded some people of a similar “hymn”  a year or two ago  after a group of Riverside staff walked out of a community meeting. The  meeting was being held in a community club.

It was a quiet, well-ordered meeting. The Riverside walk-out was a total surprise to everyone. Afterwards Riverside explained that because alcohol was being served in the club, its staff were at risk from drunks. That was why they walked out, they said.

There was no sign of drunkenness anywhere. Riverside said it was a health and safety issue and added:” We have a duty of care to our staff.”

Riverside needs to remember that its duty of care to its staff is not its only duty of care. Riverside has a duty of care to a group of people many times greater in number than all its staff.

That duty of care is to its tenants- all 50,000 of them.

Some banging on about  Riverside`s duty of care to this army of tenants would now be very welcome from Paul Taylor and his colleagues.

Particularly welcome would be some Paul Taylor banging on to help the anxious tenants in Dixon`s Court, Shaddongate, Carlisle who barricade themselves in their homes at night because of their undesirable neighbours.

Dixon`s Court tenants are due to meet Riverside this week hoping to get some assurance about Riverside`s duty of care. And to get some assurance that Riverside`s duty of care will make them  feel safe enough to take down their barricades.

WHEN YOU HAVE A CHILD RAPIST AS A NEIGHBOUR....

FRIGHTENED

TENANTS

MAN THE

BARRICADES

When  you have a child rapist as a neighbour, how do you cope, particularly when you are old and living alone?  People  in a block of former council flats in Carlisle have taken to barricading themselves in at night.

The situation has led to questions about the present approach to housing  undesirable people and whether the present landlord, Riverside Housing Association, is up to  doing the job.

The frightened people  live in Dixon`s Court, Shaddongate, and in the past they have put up with tenants jailed for drug offences and jailed for other serious crimes. But when they learned that one neighbour had been arrested and jailed for four years for raping a 14 –year-old girl , the barricades went up.

These frightened people  are not the only victims. There other frightened people in Carlisle who  have  abandoned their homes in despair and  gone away to live with relatives because of neighbours from hell or because of neighbours convicted of serious offences put there by Riverside.

Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation is  far from happy with the present Riverside  policy and this week urged  city councillors to investigate that policy and also the frightened tenants of Dixon`s Court.

A Federation spokesman said:”These frightened people tell us that Riverside is not acting as a responsible landlord. There seems to be no proper policy for  housing undesirables.  Responsible tenants are suffering and should have a say in choosing their neighbours.

“Responsible tenants are often too scared to complain to Riverside in case they lose their tenancy. So, in that respect it is a hidden problem. And Riverside is not the best of organisations for tenants to deal with - far from it- as the Federation has found over several years”

Information about Carlisle Tenants`and Residents`Federation is contained in the first  entry of this blog, dated March 25 2013.