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Cumbrian housing association to transfer operations to Riverside

Impact Housing Association has begun to consult tenants on proposals to transfer its operations to  Riverside Group.

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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Impact Housing unveils plan to transfer operations to Riverside #ukhousing #transfer

Impact Housing initially became a subsidiary of Riverside in 2018 after it was rated G3 and V3 by the regulator #ukhousing

The association, which manages 2,770 homes in Cumbria and north Lancashire, completed a merger with Riverside in August 2018 and became a subsidiary of the group.

Impact would cease to be an autonomous housing association if the transfer were to go ahead.

The merger in 2018 secured 120 jobs at the provider and came after Impact was rated non-compliant for both governance and viability by the Regulator for Social Housing in May 2017.

The regulator downgraded Impact from G1/V1 to G3/V3 after reporting “serious” concerns over its operations.

Both Riverside and Impact are responsible for providing a large part of the region’s affordable housing, most of which is for social rent. A transfer would involve moving Impact’s entire business, including its homes and staff, to Riverside Group.


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Mark Cullinan, chair of Impact, said: “Joining Riverside as a subsidiary has brought many positive changes for our tenants – including a £25m investment to update and modernise homes. This was something we couldn’t afford to do on our own.

“It was always our intention to look at options for a full transfer to Riverside in the near future. But, with Impact continuing to experience a number of financial challenges, our board is proposing to transfer sooner, on or before 31 March 2020.

“A move like this would secure the future of our operations across Cumbria, protecting tenants and staff, as well as the multimillion-pound investment programme currently under way. We are pleased that both the Regulator of Social Housing and our own staff support the plans.”

According to Impact Housing, tenants and leaseholders have been informed of the proposals and invited to take part in a formal six-week consultation process, due to end on 13 December.

Under the transfer, Impact staff would move to Riverside through Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) arrangements – meaning they would keep their existing terms and conditions of employment.

While the associations’ tenants and leaseholders would see no change to the way services are delivered, their landlord would change to Riverside.

Sarah Paton, regional director (North) at Riverside, added: “We made a number of pledges to Impact when it joined Riverside last year, and we will continue to honour these pledges as we move forward. We are working collaboratively with our Impact colleagues to provide better quality homes [and] improved services and build more housing to suit the different needs of people living in Cumbria.

“We are confident that the transfer being proposed is in the best interests of the association’s customers, staff and the wider Cumbrian community. It will enable business to carry on as normal, with no effect on the region’s social housing provision, jobs or the supply chain.”

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