Inside Story - November 2011
Inside Story Highlights
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Lord Mayor joins Arawak Walton’s 25-year anniversary celebration
Arawak Walton was delighted to celebrate 25 years of serving its community on Friday 21 October 2011.
We were also delighted to see so many guests from Arawak Walton’s past and present including one of its founder members Eloise Edwards and its first Chief Executive Barbara Quarless.
Formed in 1994 following a merger of two BME housing associations, Arawak and Walton, it currently owns and manages over 900 homes in Manchester, Trafford and Stockport.
With its roots in the African-Caribbean community, Arawak Walton is proud to contribute to local regeneration activities and remains committed to tackling social deprivation.
The association highlighted the work it has done with partners, stakeholders and its tenants to improve community cohesion by creating sustainable multicultural neighbourhoods.
The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of the City of Manchester, Councillor Harry Lyons said: “Arawak Walton has a history of meeting the needs of BME communities and champions the provision of quality, affordable homes,”
“The association continues to grow and I am pleased to note that it is continually
improving its offer to its
tenants and the communities in which it operates".
“There are challenges to face in the housing sector at the moment, particularly for small associations. But Arawak Walton, with its strong Board leadership and management, is well placed to meet these
challenges. I wish it well for the next 25 years.”
The event, held at the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme, saw two tenants recognised for outstanding contributions to their local neighbourhoods.
Shirley Lawrence, Board member and elected Chair of Arawak Walton’s Tenants’ Quality Panel, holds a regular tenants’ surgery assisting residents with queries, while Alan Dunaway turned an area of overgrown land in Ardwick into a communal garden, securing funding and undertaking much of the landscaping work himself.
“It’s a really proud day for us,” said Cym D’Souza, Arawak Walton’s chief executive. “The turnout has been fabulous. Our tenants, partners and friends are together celebrating. It shows how much support there is for the association.
“We have schemes that are models of community cohesion. That’s been our legacy. We can prove that different people from different cultures and religions can live, work and enjoy life together.”
Photography by Jonathan Keenan http://www.jkphotography.com
View slideshow of photos taken at the 25th Anniversary celebrations
Birch Court refurbishment news...
Tenants at Birch Court, a sheltered scheme in Longsight, are seeing many changes to their flats and communal areas. Arawak Walton took ownership of the scheme with seven apartments held void to allow for remodelling work to be carried out.
Phase I of the refurbishment work included new kitchens, bathrooms and windows. It has been so popular that there is now a waiting list for flats. The next stage in the refurbishment is Phase II, which will include a new reception area, and the previous scheme manager’s house will be converted into two new 1-bedroom flats.
One tenant said “We are really happy with our new flats. We have new windows, kitchens and walk in showers. Birch Court is a lovely place to live and Arawak Walton staff have been very helpful throughout all the changes”.
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Opening of Louise DaCocodia Court
The Association has named its latest development after founder member and it’s first chair Mrs Louise DaCocodia. Louise was a passionate fighter for fairness and justice and was awarded an MBE for services to the community in 2005. She moved to Britain from Jamaica in the late 1950’s and spent most of her life in Manchester.
The scheme ‘Louise DaCocodia Court’ on City Road in Old Trafford was developed through our partners Adactus Housing Group. We worked closely with Trafford Council and Trafford Housing Trust and all apartments were let within the first week of the scheme being handed over in March 2011.
The scheme was officially opened on Friday 21st October 2011 by Councillor Whit Stennett, Chair of the Association Mrs Jayne Gouldthorpe and Louise’s children, Sarah and Richard, pictured above. The opening was well attended by local authority partner Trafford and our development agent Adactus, Board members and a scheme tenant.
Louise achieved so much in her Lifetime, alongside her work with Arawak Walton. She helped kick start a number of voluntary organisations for inner city residents and worked tirelessly to help the community.
Louise is sadly missed by staff, Board members and tenants. The naming of this scheme is a tribute to Louise, for her hard work and dedication to Arawak Walton Housing Association.
Louise DaCocodia Cup
We can proudly announce that Arawak Walton won the Louise DaCocodia Cup in the first football tournament which we hope to continue on an annual basis. The cup was presented to captain Liam Matthews at the 25th anniversary celebration.
The tournament was organised by Arawak Walton’s Asset Manager Sam Chen.
Teams taking part were from:
- Arawak Walton
- The Mustard Tree
- Symphony Housing Group
- Trafford Housing Trust and
- SNW Electrical Contractors.
We hope for more participants next year!
Communal garden makeover at Morborne Close
Arawak Walton is keen to encourage tenants to engage with their neighbourhoods and communities.
One of Arawak Walton’s tenants, Alan Dunaway, was named a ’Local Hero’ recently after completing a landscape gardening project at Morborne Close. He turned an area of overgrown land opposite his home into a communal garden for the benefit of all in the cul-de-sac.
Alan consulted his neighbours for their thoughts on possible improvements to the close and created designs for a low maintenance, multi-purpose space. Alan then applied for a ‘Manchester in Bloom’ community grant from Manchester City Council. He was awarded grant of £700, and Arawak Walton added an additional £300 to bring the total available to spend to £1000.
Thanks to Alan’s time, effort, hard work and dedication to the project, the garden was completed in time for the summer and is now regularly enjoyed by friends and neighbours.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting was held on 14th September 2011 and was attended by Board members and shareholders.
The Chair of the Board, Jayne Gouldthorpe, launched the Annual Report 2010-11. She reported that the Association has made an excellent transition to the CSE award, and noted the successes through the Future Jobs Fund of young people finding permanent employment.
She reported that the Association has grown and now has 927 homes in ownership. The Chair also highlighted the work of the Tenants Quality Panel and thanked Ms Lawrence as Chair.
Mr Andrew Simpkin resigned this year and Mr Athar was duly re-elected.
Three new Board member appointments, Ms Powell, Mr Cartwright and Mr Kaushal, made during the year, were confirmed.
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September Board meeting
Following the Annual General Meeting, the Chair, Deputy Chair Honorary Sectary resigned and put themselves up for
re-election and were duly re-elected.
Members received updates on the Local Offer to tenants and progress on Performance Indicators for Quarter 1.
Board members approved:
Statutory accounts to 31st March 2011
Finance & Risk Committee Terms of Reference
Management Accounts to 30th June 2011
Disaster Recovery Plan
Risk Control Framework
Anti-social Behaviour Policy
To request a copy of the Annual Report 2010-11 call 272 6094 or email zgoslyn@arawakwalton.com
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Website redesign...
Our website has recently been re-designed by our website developer Foveo Consultants Limited. You can find previous copies of tenant and stakeholder newsletters under the news section.
We appreciate any feedback you can give via our contact form
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Arawak Walton Performance
| Jul 11 | Aug 11 | Sep 11 | Target | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voids % (no. of properties) |
0.33% |
0.77% |
0.55% |
1.1% |
| Rent arrears (as a % of weekly rent receivable) |
5.59% |
5.55% |
5.67% |
5.8% |
| Repairs Completion Statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11 | Aug 11 | Sep 11 | Target | |
| Emergency | 100% |
100% |
100% |
98% |
| Urgent | 99% |
100% |
99% |
98% |
| Routine | 99% |
99% |
98% |
98% |
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