GHA agrees tenant power plans

Glasgow Housing Associations board agreed proposals on Friday which will see tenants help design a structure to devolve more decision making to five local areas.

Recently appointed chief executive Martin Armstrong also said an organisational review will also be done to ensure GHA is moving closer to communities.

‘This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for GHA,’ he explained. ‘We are looking forward to working with our tenants and stakeholders to create a new GHA that is closer to its communities, closer to its customers and closer to its partners.

‘We will have more staff on the frontline, dealing directly with tenants and our factored homeowners, and although GHA will be a smaller and more community-focused organisation, it will still have the size and scale to continue our major improvement programme across the city.’

GHA was also fully committed to second stage transfer, he added, but for tenants who wanted to stay with the landlords it would ‘develop a new structure that will bring our services closer to them and their communities’.

This comes after a report in the summer from the Scottish Housing Regulator which accused GHA of lacking direction and not give a clear indication of its future to stakeholders. The landlord was originally set up in 2003 with the intention of handing over the 81,000 homes from Glasgow council over to local community-based organisations, although no time scale was ever given.

Mr Armstrong said: ‘The new purpose and direction will also help us develop stronger links with our partners such as the city council, police, fire and health services.’ The plans include a proposal for GHA to ‘remain a long-term landlord but with the door open to future community ownership’.

They also include:

• ownership of up to 16,000 more homes passing to community-based housing associations by 2011;
• devolve housing management and service delivery, including more decision-making and budget control, to up to five area boards based on the city’s strategic planning boundaries;
• strengthen the efficient and effective delivery of front-line housing services;
• provide local focus and local empowerment through the area boards;
• retain Local Housing Organisations (LHOs) at a community level, feeding into the area boards;
• continue as a key partner in the wider regeneration of the city through stronger partnership working;
• and continue with the investment programme on homes, fulfilling the original promises to tenants.

The proposals will now be subject to consultation with key stakeholders, including the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, and will also go to the Scottish Housing Regulator for approval.

GHA Board Chair Sandra Forsythe said: ‘If they give their support, the next important step will be for tenants, following our January Board meeting, to be consulted and involved again in the details of how the plan should be implemented.’

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