AFTER A STORMY MEETING....A NEW MOVE

TENANTS SAY

THEY ARE GETTING 

NOWHERE

Reports last week of a  stormy meeting...now, Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation has been called in.

And a special Federation get together of members will take place in a couple of days to help Riverside Housing Association tenants who were at that stormy meeting.

The meeting was at Longtown, near Carlisle last week, and was also attended by Riverside  representatives. The Longtown tenants are very annoyed and frustrated. They  say they are getting nowhere in their long-standing dispute with the Liverpool housing association which is increasingly being seen in the Carlisle area as a property developer.

The Longtown tenants have asked the Federation  for help.

It is the third request  to the Federation for help  so far this year. A couple of weeks ago, the BBC Five Live radio programme, Five Live Investigates sought help for a programme about the  extra charges Riverside is imposing on its Carlisle Leaseholders.

Shortly afterwards, the campaigning magazine, The Big Issue sought Federation help about Riverside`s soaring rents which the Federation has discovered have risen nearly a third more than equivalent rents in Barrow where the social houses are still owned by the local authority.

The three requests to the Federation for help indicate a busy start to the year.The previous year was busy too, according to the Federation`s 2013 annual report, presented by the Chairman, Denise Moses, at the annual meeting a few days ago

This is what the report says:

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. 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 Carlisle as far as the principal landlord, Riverside Housing Association, is concerned. The Federation continues to campaign against Riverside for proper open-ness and accountability.

Links with other campaigning organisations: The Federation has this year continued to strengthen working links with the North West Tenants` and Residents` Assembly. The Secretary has attended meetings in Birkenhead of the assembly executive. Information from the assembly for distribution to Federation members has been received on an almost a daily basis. Nationally, housing stock transfers continue to be questioned and successfully challenged nationally. Locally, questions  persist in the city and  district about the wisdom and legality of the Carlisle transfer of its housing stock to Riverside  eleven years ago.

Bedroom Tax: The Federation supported the Carlisle Axe the Bedroom Tax campaign and attended several of the group`s meetings in the city Enterprise Centre and also attended demonstrations in Botcherby.

Thamesmead Residents: The Federation recently succeeded in linking up with Thamesmead Residents,  an organisation in the London area  opposing Gallions Housing Association in a similar way to the Federation`s opposition to Riverside .Residents in several London boroughs support the organisation, mainly as a result of Gallions charges and way  it is operating. The link was established through  a radio programme about Thamesmead by BBC Radio Five Live. Gallions is based at Sidcup in Kent. The link is :  http://www.thamesmeadresidents.co.uk/

Carlisle City Council and questions for Riverside:  The Federation has continued to hold Riverside to account with written questions about its activities which were addressed by the city council Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel . The Federation has been in  helpful correspondence about the work of the Panel with Mr Jason Gooding the city council Chief Executive and Mr Mark Lambert, the council`s Head of Governance.However, during the year it became increasingly difficult  to get these questions accepted by the council and it was decided that the questions were leading nowhere and were not worth the considerable trouble involved in preparing them.

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 by twice attempting to block the Federation `s participation in the business of the city council 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.

The late Councillor Joe Hendry:The Federation  continued to pursue the issue of the late Councillor Joe Hendry  Leader of the city council, who for nearly two years failed to attend to a Federation request for help about Riverside issues by failing to  acknowledge or reply to a letter making the request. The issue was concluded during the year with Councillor Hendry`s death. Councillor Hendry was one of the four city council nominees on the board of Riverside and the Federation issue was raised with both the city council and with Riverside. Neither the council nor Riverside could help the Federation and it appears that council nominees  on the Riverside board cannot be held to account by either  organisation.The legality of the council`s arrangements for the work of the four nominees continues to be challenged.

Resignation of Mr Patrick Leonard:  During the year, Mr Leonard resigned as Carlisle Regional Director of Riverside and took up a new job in Whitehaven. During his ten years with Riverside he 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

Riverside`s excessive rents and unfair charges:A lot of time has been spent challenging Riverside about its excessive rents and  unfair charges. A detailed and extensive investigation of rent increases in Cumbria found that Riverside`s increases were thirty per cent larger than comparative rents in Barrow where the social houses have  remained in council ownership. Unfair  charges to Riverside leaseholders introduced fairly recently have added twelve per cent to bills.

The Federation blog: During the year, the Federation was encouraged by community activists in West Cumbria to start a blog on the internet which since it started has been contributed to by several  Federation members.The activists, Rebecca Hanson and Geraldine McNamara and her son, Cain, gave considerable help to get the blog up and running  and we thank them. Most of the issues  in this  annual report have been covered by the blog  at various times and  the blog`s viewing figures have risen consistently since the blog started  in March . The link to the blog is:

http://carlisleruraltenantsfederation.blogspot.co.uk/

Radio Five Live and the magazine The Big Issue: It was through the internet and Federation blog that Radio Five Live and The Big Issue contacted the Federation  and invited our help.The programme, Radio Five Live Investigates needed help with a programme about excessive and unfair charges faced by housing association leaseholders  following Right to Buy purchases.The Federation was happy to give examples of these outrageous charges by Riverside in Brampton and in Dixon`s Court, Carlisle.

The Big Issue needed help with an article  about excessive rents charged by Riverside.

In both these cases, the Federation was happy to help.

3

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.

Carlisle South Community Association: The Federation continues to give active support to 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, has been formed by the association and is working with the city council on a £80.000 improvement scheme for the park`s children`s play area.The association continues to have the active co-operation of the NHS in Carlisle and the  city council Green Spaces  and  Environmental Health departments.

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 meeting 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.

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 have made available their church, with its excellent facilities, with no charge to the Federation.. 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 have continued to provided excellent refreshments at all meetings throughout the year.                                       

CAMERON CONDEMNS FAT CAT SETTLEMENTS

RIVERSIDE`S

`£7-A-TENANT

CHARGE TO

FUND PAY-OFFS`

Soaring rents and  hidden extras are not the only new  financial burdens for tenants of Riverside Housing Association in Carlisle.

What about another Riverside “extra”- the money involved in fat cat pay awards for bosses? Are tenants involved in paying for these?

Malcolm Craik....one time Riverside
company director

A man once closely involved with Riverside finances has been looking into this and  in the current issue of  the Carlisle newspaper, the Cumberland News, he writes about what he has found.

Malcolm Craik of Brampton says that every Riverside property in Carlisle has contributed more than £7 to one of these recent fat cat awards. And he finds that Riverside is not the only housing association involved in fat cat awards: a similar pay-off in the London area  was severely criticised by the Prime Minister,

Mr Craik  is a former director of a Riverside company,Carlisle Housing Association He has this to say in a letter to the Editor of the Cumberland News:

David Jepson...£393,000
redundancy package

When John Barker wrote about Botcherby and the plight of its residents I wonder if he was aware that as well as the major rent rises imposed by Riverside Carlisle Housing Association there are many hidden housing costs associated with the  transfer of council houses that rarely get a mention.

For example I feel sure that the hard pressed residents of Botcherby will be surprised to learn that every Riverside property in Carlisle contributed £7.33 to the recent £393,000 redundancy package paid to Riverside’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, David Jepson who is now Chief Operating Officer at another housing association, the 13,000 home Regenda  housing group.

His payoff needs comparison with another redundancy payoff in the social housing sector that was raised at Prime Ministers Questions before Christmas.

Teresa Pierce MP (Lab Erith & Thamesmead) asked the Prime Minister to look into the £397,000 redundancy package that Gallions Housing Association of Sidcup(Kent) had paid to its Chief Operating Officer, Tony Cotter, who had taken another well paid position in the social housing sector.

Tony Cotter...£397,000
 redundancy package

 David Cameron was highly critical of such payments especially when the redundant officer was taking up another well paid post within the sector.

The question Riverside’s tenants and residents must now be asking is why they had to pay £7.33 in redundancy payments to a man they’d never heard of and especially to one who was taking up a well-paid post elsewhere in the sector.  No doubt the honourable member for Carlisle will be following the example of Teresa Pierce MP and will raise this case with the  Prime Minister.

The magazine, Inside Housing reported in November that Gallions’ Board may have contravened charities regulations by paying Cotter more than was legally necessary and that its board members might have to repay some monies from their own pockets.

The residents of Carlisle need assurance that the payment made by Riverside complied with regulations 

and that if it didn’t, then the residents in Carlislewill get their £7.33 back.

Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information about the Federation is available on the first post of this blog, dated March 25 2013

HANDS OFF THE FAMILY SILVER

PRESS STATEMENT


If councils build 
houses
they should hang on to them

Councils can build houses once again and if any are built in Carlisle, the city council should  learn a lesson and keep hold of  them  as it would with ” family silver”, says a community group today.

The city  has a long record of building – it built houses for more than 100 years until  Riverside Housing Association of Liverpool bought the lot- 7200 homes- eleven years ago

Riverside is now imposing soaring rents and extra charges says the group, Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation.

This is  a cause of hardship  for many people on the city estates- the hardship  has been highlighted in the local press. At the same time, Riverside`s coffers are bulging.

“Riverside has given no explanation  for these outrageous rents and charges and,  amazingly,  it is not obliged to,” says  a letter to the city council.

“The money being raised is not benefitting the city which created these houses but  is in fact helping to boost the reserves (profits) of Riverside, a giant property development company 100 miles away.

“Riverside`s reserves  soared 41 per cent in the last financial  year from £22 million to £32 million. This situation is unacceptable”, says  the  letter .

The letter calls on the council
 to ensure that Riverside
is transparent and
 accountable in its dealings
 with  the public.

George Osborne visits newly weds Emily and Nick.
 In his Autumn Statement he announced
 a limited relaxation of the cap 
on local authority borrowing to finance
 10,000 new social homes

 “The city deserves nothing less, given its long and proud record of building houses –selling out to Riverside was like selling the family silver” said a Federation spokesman.

“If the council builds houses again, the council should say: `Hands off the family silver`”.

Permission to build council houses again was announced by the Chancellor, Mr George Osborne in his Autumn Statement.

               

HERE IS A COPY OF THE FEDERATION LETTER TO CARLISLE CITY COUNCIL ADDRESSED TO MR JASON GOODING,THE COUNCIL`S CHIEF EXECUTIVE

I am writing about a Cumberland News article  in the issue of December 20 2013 which highlighted severe hardship being experienced by Botcherby families caused by low pay and rising debt.

Subsequent to that article, a letter from the Federation in the current issues of that newspaper (dated January 3 2014) pointed out that one of the principal causes of this hardship was Riverside Carlisle`s soaring rents.

The letter said that in the course of a year, these rents had increased by thirty per cent more than the equivalent rents in Barrow (a similar sized Cumbria town) where the council houses had remained in the ownership of the local authority.

The letter also said that additional to Riverside`s increased rents, tenants were now being charged extras for  many varied “services”, such as for cleaning. These extra charges add another 12 per cent to a typical rent.

You will understand that Carlisle Tenants` and Residents Federation is very concerned about these increased rents and  extra charges, particularly as there has been no transparent explanation for the increases and charges nor does Riverside Carlisle appear to be accountable to give any explanation for the  increases and charges.

Carlisle Civic Centre....fifty years old this year...but
 it no longer administers the city`s social houses

This Riverside failure to act with transparency  and accountability, you will recall, was the principal reason for the many  complaints by the Federtion  to your council over a period of many months and even years as attempts were made via a  considerable number of letters, emails, lobbying and other meetings,  to bring these issues to your council`s attention.

.

You will also be aware that the government has similar concerns about issues of transparency and accountability in public bodies, particularly in the present climate of financial  stringency.

You will also be aware of the moral rights of today`s Carlisle taxpayers in this matter which have frequently been brought to your council`s attention i.e. that the 7200  former Carlisle council houses sold to Riverside were built and paid for by the ratepayers and taxpayers of  the city over a period of more than a century,

Similar sales have famously been described as “selling off the family silv

It now appears that Riverside`s soaring rents and extra charges which are helping to cause hardship for families on the city estates, far from benefitting the city which created these houses are  in fact helping to boost the reserves(profits) of Riverside. 

These reserves in the last financial year soared 41 per cent, from £22 million to £32 million.This situation is unacceptable.

The Federation considers that all the matters outlined in this letter  should be brought to the council`s attention and ask you please to do this, particularly in view of the possibility of  a return to council house building in the city following the Chancellor of the Exchequer`s Autumn Statement.

The Federation also urges the council to ensure more protection for the family silver in future.The Federation therefore urges that if more Carlisle council houses are built they will remain firmly in council ownership.  

Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants and Residents Federation. Information about the Federation is available on the first post of this blog, dated March 25 2013.

            

CHRISTMAS AND FAMILY HARDSHIP DEEPENS

THIS POST PREVIOUSLY APPEARED ON THE BLOG, DATED DECEMBER 21 2013.

 IT WAS REMOVED ACCIDENTALY FROM THE BLOG

RIVERSIDE RENTS ROCKET... AND LIVES TRANSFORMED

It`s Christmas, so no surprise in the charitable Cumberland News headline:”Hardship on estate deepens amid low pay and rising debt”.

The story highlights the plight of families on Botcherby estate in Carlisle who are becoming increasingly hard-pressed... one in five of them have incomes of less than £200 a week. They struggle to pay even food and energy bills, never mind Christmas.

BOTCHERBY RESIDENT GEORGE
 CORNISH ..HE SAYS "FAMILIES
HERE ARE STRUGGLING".

So no surprise then about the charitable headline. But much surprise that one big bill  facing the struggling families never got a mention in the  story underneath the headline.

That one big bill is for rent. Rent bills have rocketed this year in Botcherby and on  the other Carlisle estates.The increase in rent bills is 30 per cent more in Carlisle than in a similar- size Cumbria town, Barrow, where, unlike Carlisle, social  houses continue to remain in council ownership.

In Carlisle the 6,500 social houses- former council houses- are owned by the giant Liverpool property organisation, Riverside Housing Association which recently reported a big surge in its reserves (profits) to nearly £1 billion.

So Barrow council house rents are very much cheaper than Riverside former council house rents. And Barrow council house rents are even cheaper still when Riverside`s “extras” are added to the comparison.

Riverside” extras” are increases in the way Carlisle rents are  now charged- by introducing new “services” for tenants.

These “services” take the form of new cleaning charges. There are also new charges for door entry systems, for fire alarms, for emergency lighting, for electricity, and for what Riverside`s claims is its “high quality” administration.

These  new charges add about £10 (12 per cent)  to a typical Riverside  rent of £84 .

Carlisle Tenants and Residents` Federation has campaigned for many months against Riverside`s rocketing rents and these extra charges.

About these rents and charges and about the struggling Botcherby families, the Federation now has this comment:

“Riverside every week boasts that it is transforming lives. For two years it has run an advertisement saying as much in the Cumberland News. The advertisement reads:

“ Riverside...transforming lives... revitalising neighbourhoods”

“Riverside`s rocketing rents and extra charges are certainly helping to transform the lives of the struggling people of Botcherby this Christmas.

“The Botcherby transformation is told in the headline (above)  of the same Cumberland News:”Hardship on estate deepens amid low pay and rising debt”

“Was that the transformation that the Riverside advertisement is boasting about?”

Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information about the Federation is available in the first post of this blog, dated March 25 2013.