TRANSFORMING LIVES AND TRANSFORMING SLOGANS

The Alice in Wonderland world of Riverside

Housing

It`s a slogan that Theresa May might have found useful when she took over at Number Ten and on the step outside famously spoke about promising to help those who were “just about managing.”

The slogan is “transforming lives, revitalising neighbourhoods.” The slogan is used extensively by Liverpool-based Riverside Housing Association to describe its work of running a massive estate of 50,000 homes.

Critics frequently remind Mrs Mayof her words

and point accusing fingers when they think she is failing on her promise.

Riverside Housing  Association critics  do just the opposite. They have no need for accusing fingers. Instead, they tell Riverside:”You are doing what you say. You are transforming lives and you are revitalising neighbourhoods.

Then the critics add this damning qualification:“But the transforming and revitalisation are just the opposite of what you intended.”

An appalling example of this Alice in Wonderland world of Riverside is in the town of Longtown near Carlisle where a solar panel deal for tenants has turned into a disaster. It is all because of the  bungling and incompetence of Riverside

In that disaster, an estimated 60 tenants had promises of cheaper electricity. Instead, these 60 unfortunate people had bills of up to £4,000.

These people need no  prompting to say their lives have been transformed- transformed for the worse.

As for revitalising neighbourhoods, Riverside`s recent  moves to try to turn things round in Longtown are proof that the neighbourhood has been changed- again for the worse.

Riverside  cannot escape the fact that these social houses have been so blighted by its own bungling (they still have the dodgy heating systems) that any  prospective tenants  don`t want to know.

Riverside not surprisingly got no return on its investment. Far from it. Riverside has lost many thousands of pounds. More than half the 50 Riverside flats in the town are now empty and tenants estimate that Riverside is losing over £100,000 a year in lost rent.

It is no surprise that Riverside is fighting back. It recently circulated a flyer(below) in the town inviting people to what it called "resident`s meetings".(Riverside needs to learn where to put the apostrophe!)

The flyer glossed over the problems. The flats were referred to as apartments.

It went on:”We want to hear from residents, ideas about what can be done to make these apartments more attractive to local people…some incentives may be available.”

The flyer urged people to recommend a friend as prospective tenant. It said:

“If you recommend a friend who becomes a tenant and you`re a Riverside customer, we`ll give you a week`s free rent.

“Do come along to the residents` meeting and open day and meet the team”.

Not surprisingly, the flyer had little or no effect.

No one turned up to the meeting and no-one was at the open day.

One tenant said: "Riverside have really shot themselves in the foot. What has now happened is what we forecast would happen. Riverside now have such a bad reputation in Longtown that local people just don`t want to know.

"As for Riverside tranforming lives and revitalising neighbourhoods, that is rubbish."

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