Get real Riverside,
and abandon
your bossy
ways
There are more perils
ahead as Riverside Housing Association struggles
in Carlisle and in Maidstone, 300 miles away. Riverside has been warned to end its bossy and inefficient ways.
In Carlisle the county town of Cumbria, there
are now new job cuts... an additional 11, this
time from the maintenance team after the
22 job losses through the closure
of Riverside`s Careline telephone
support network for the elderly and vulnerable.And the number of staff working
in Riverside`s Carlisle head office has
been cut by 18 through re-deployment.
 |
| Maidstone town centre |
In Maidstone the county town of Kent, the angry tenants who have formed the Tenants
Against Riverside organisation are stepping up
their campaign via the web site they themselves have created.
News of the job cuts
has led to speculation that Riveside may soon close its Carlisle office and run its 6,000
Carlisle houses and flats from the
Liverpool head office 100 miles away. It did the same thing last year when administration of the 300
leaseholder properties was moved from Carlisle to Liverpool.
Politically, these Riverside
problems are being highlighted in the
run-up to the May local elections where several Carlisle Labour candidates support a growing movement to return the Riverside houses to ownership by the city council.
Meanwhile, storm clouds are
gathering for Riverside and the 1,700 other housing associations as two
influential figures in the world of
social housing warn of perils ahead if
bossy and inefficient
associations like Riverside do not move into the 21st century and change their ways.
Riverside has yet to learn that it is not the lord-high-and-mighty and its tenants are not serfs.
Riverside has yet to learn that it is not the lord-high-and-mighty and its tenants are not serfs.
Mathew Gardiner. Chief
Executive of the Manchester based Trafford Housing Trust
writes in the social housing trade paper Inside Housing about the need for
much greater accountability.
 |
| Move fast...Mathew Gardiner |
He writes:“In an age
of greater freedom from regulation and greater transparency through technology,
the strains (on housing associations) are now really starting to show.
"We need to move fast; our reputation is inherently linked to the accountability we demonstrate for the value, and sometimes the lack of it, we create for all our stakeholders.”
"We need to move fast; our reputation is inherently linked to the accountability we demonstrate for the value, and sometimes the lack of it, we create for all our stakeholders.”
 |
| New danger...Andrew Cowan |
paper, that there is a new danger to housing associations from the Charity Commission.
He says that the commission is using new powers following the scandal of the aggressive tactics used to raise money by Age UK.
He writes:
“As the need for
public subsidy grows, housing associations are set to become significant
housebuilders...But as these operations ramp up, so do new sources of potential
complainants – including housebuilders themselves who may see competition
against entities who do not pay tax as unfair...
“Charging higher
rents to working households within a charity, could lead to allegations of
profiteering....
Housing associations
will need to ensure that their market and quasi-market rent businesses are
clearly distinguished from their core rented activities...
“And if housing
associations want to keep their charitable status, they must continue to
demonstrate that they are involved in charitable activities.”
Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.
Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.
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