COMMUNITY ALERTS FROM A FIRE STATION

Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation 

City council  continues to

up the pressure for major changes at Riverside Housing Association

Report for the year 2017/8  presented by the Chairman

at the annual meeting on January 26 2018

The Federation has had another very successful
 year with  regular
monthly meetings and committee meetings held in Eastern Way Fire Station(left). All our meetings have been stimulating and enjoyable and have attracted people from other groups in the city.

Three city councillors were also welcome guests.

The following are the highlights of the year:

Open-ness and accountability: . A gigantic increase of open-ness and accountability is sorely needed  in the Carlisle area as far as the principal landlord, Riverside Housing Association, is concerned. Riverside, in the view of the Federation is accountable to no one but itself.  It is no longer a housing association but is a profit-making  property development company.

Links with other campaigning organisations: The Federation has continued to strengthen working links with the North West Tenants` and Residents` Assembly. Nationally, housing stock transfers continue to be questioned and successfully challenged, Locally, questions  persist in the city and  district about the wisdom and legality of the Carlisle transfer of its housing stock to Riverside fourteen years ago.

City Council and questions for Riverside:  The Federation has continued to hold Riverside to account through meetings with  councillors and officials. The council` s relationship with Riverside is no longer passive and tame but is now very pro-active and critical  when necessary.The council`s Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel has been formulating a new basis for the future  relationship with Riverside following much criticism of the association and also following Riverside`s national  reorganisation and the abolition of the Riverside Carlisle governing board. The panel  has also been re-organised and  a new panel Economic Growth Scrutiny Panel now deals with Riverside matters.

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 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  statement by twice attempting to block the Federation `s participation in the business of the city council`s Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel. Riverside has  still not explained why it wishes  the Federation`s demise and how it proposes to ensure that demise. Nor has Riverside explained its frequent use against the Federation of its obnoxious Persistent Complaints Procedure.

Ms Sarah Paton  Riverside`s Northern Regional Director based in Newcastle upon Tyne is now in charge of Carlisle but the association`s bossy and inefficient legacy persists. And Riverside continues its deplorable use of incomprehensible gobbledegook in communications with tenants and others. The legacy also persists in  Riverside`s failure to  adopt an acceptable effective complaints procedure and its failure to to have any democratic arrangements available for effective tenant and leaseholder community representation on the Riverside board. It is a scandal that all the previous tenant  and leaseholder community groups which existed before Riverside  arrived on the scene were abolished at the takeover and their grants terminated.The deplorable bossy culture  has been publicly criticised by Carlisle city councilors.

Riverside`s excessive rents and unfair charges: A lot of time has been spent challenging Riverside about its excessive rents,  unfair charges and its incomprehensible chaotic business practices.  Riverside imposed  greatly increased service charges which are currently being challenged by the Federation.

Michael Gee...pioneer

Cumbria Riverside Action Group: Michael Gee a former Carlisle city councillor and supporter of the Federation has  pioneered awareness about Riverside` failures  through Cumbria Riverside Action Group (CRAG) which during the year ceased to hold meetings. But the group remains in being and can if necessary become active again

The group had been supported by the Federation since it started about four years ago. The group has links with the Church of England through its Chairman, Canon Michael Manley, Carlisle Cathedral Missioner and Carlisle Rural Dean. The group met at Canon Manley`s home at the Cathedral every two months and attracted  all those wishing to hold Riverside to account. The Federation Secretary, John Barker was also secretary of CRAG.

Longtown Action for Heat: Much of the Federation work during the year has involved much active  help for the  very unfortunate tenants of Riverside who live in Longtown.

An estimated sixty of them, together with others at Crosby- on- Eden were victims of appalling Riverside mismanagement following the installation in their homes of dodgy heating systems which are so expensive to run the tenants cannot afford to use them. Some of the affected properties now have new tenants on short term tenancies and many  have been vacated and  are still not let. Riverside faces an uphill battle in letting these properties and has been offering extra incentives to prospective tenants but with little success.  Longtown Action for Heat, led by Jimmy Robb and backed by the Federation are tackling this problem together with problems arising from undesirable tenants being  moved into the town by Riverside.

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Jenny Cray...loves dogs and loves Dale End Park

Carlisle South Community Association: The Federation continues to  be actively involved in the work of Carlisle South Community Association which does excellent work supporting communities, particularly in tackling dog fouling and improving  the facilities in Dale End Park at Petteril Bank.

 A  group, Friends of Dale End Park was formed by the association which is now planning further improvements to the park, particularly the provision of  a BMX Track. The association continues to have the active help and co-operation of  the  city council Green Spaces and of the county council..Group chairman is Jenny Cray.

Botcherby Forever ..The  Federation community group Botcherby Forever has spent much of the last three years helping local author Pat Hitchon in writing a history of Botcherby, entitled Botcherby ... a Garden Village which was published in May .

  About 80 people attended the very successful launch of the book in Botcherby Community Centre following its publication. The first  edition of the book was soon sold out and a second  edition is now well on the way to being sold out. The book sells at £20.

 Pat has attended all our meetings along with many residents, all very keen to help the  publication. Altogether, Pat has had help from more than 1,000 local people, many of them  linked together  through Botcherby Forever meetings which have been a great success and are now held  in the Magpie Inn

Botcherby Forever  members  also published another book. It is Botcherby Heroes Remembered  which  tells the stories of the Botcherby men killed in World War One.It continues to be sold a year after publication

Federation blog: Most of the issues raised in this report have been previously covered by the Federation blog. The blog`s viewing figures have risen consistently since the blog started  in March  2013. The blog is increasingly seen as a very useful Federation publicity and information tool.

The blog is  named Community Voice Carlisle.The link  is:http://carlisleruraltenantsfederation.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks to everyone: I wish to thank everyone who have helped the Federation during the year and thank all who have attended our meetings and contributed to our many interesting discussions and debates. 


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

                                    

MYSTERY OF THE MISSING DISTURBING JUDGEMENT

The Impact 

of 

a

story

Following news of the planned merger of two Cumbria housing associations, the following letter has been sent to the Carlisle newspaper News and Star about the  mystery of two versions of the same story.

January  22 2018

Editor

News and Star

Carlisle

Dear Editor

Readers are puzzled  and concerned by your story “Homes providers plan merger deal” (News and Star January 10).

They wonder why the same story when it appeared in another publication contained  disturbing facts which were absent from the News and Star report.

Perhaps you can help.

The story was of the possible merger of Impact, the Workington housing association  with the Liverpool association, Riverside.

Your story claimed that the reason for the merger plan (according to Impact) was to “improve long-term prospects for their homes, tenants and staff.”

Your story went on to quote the Impact chairman, Mr Mark Costello about “challenges that have led to us seeking a partner organisation.”

What the challenges were was not explained in your story.

Perhaps you can explain why there was no explantion of these challenges in view of the disturbing facts I mentioned earlier.

These facts were outlined in the other story mentioned earlier which appeared in the national housing industry magazine Inside Housing.

The headline on the Inside Housing story was:”Non-compliant Impact selects Riverside as partner”

That story went on:

“A troubled Cumbria-based social landlord has opened talks with a large housing association, with a view to joining it later this year.

“Impact was downgraded to non-compliant by the social housing regulator in May last year for both governance and financial viability.

“The judgement, which was issued following an in-depth assessment, said there was not sufficient “headroom” in its business plan should things go wrong.

“It 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”.

The difference between the two versions of the same story has been the subject of considerable comment on social media and by housing activists.

The community group Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation which meets this week will be discussing this difference and what appears to be the troubling situation at Impact.

Members of the federation are also puzzled and concerned about why the facts of this situation were not contained in your report.

Members have asked me to write to you seeking an explanation.

Many thanks.

Yours sincerely

John Barker

Secretary

Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation 

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