Annual Report 2006/07
Annual Report 2006/07
GREAT HOMES GREAT NEIGHBOURHOODS GREAT STAFF
Annual Report 2006/07
FOREWORD
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Our aim last year was to be better again. Our most important stakeholders - our tenants - said we were. For the second year running, we head the league table of large landlords. Our Building Company wonderfully underpins our efforts. The Group's mission remains delivery of the pledges made at transfer in 2000 within resources available. But all those pledges will be complete before April 2010, and we have added activities as customers' aspirations and expectations of us have risen. Whatever the sector is asked to do, we can respond. The Hills and Cave Reviews are opportunities for us to grow. Every tenant matters to us, too. If you like what you see and read, call us.
Ian Munro Ged Cooney Group Chief Executive Chair, New Charter Housing Trust Limited
Annual Report 2006/07
SATISFACTION We are a customer focused business. It is immensely pleasing to report that tenant satisfaction (measured independently in January 2007) rose again to 93%. For the second year in succession, this rating puts us at the top of the league table of large landlords in England.
Our tenants record 89% satisfaction with repairs services, the underlying reason for our high overall ratings. Satisfaction with repairs rose seven points from 2006.
Annual Report 2006/07
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We are delivering our pledge at transfer that tenants would have more say in the ownership and management of homes. A staggering 94% of New Charter tenants are happy with the opportunities they have to participate with us. This means we are also at the top of the league of large landlords with this Housing Corporation Key Performance Indicator.
Annual Report 2006/07
DELIVERING CORE BUSINESS The Housing Corporation awarded us four 'green lights' for viability, governance, management and development - the best assessment possible. Our rent collection services are second to none, and continue to hit the challenging targets we set ourselves. We introduced pre tenancy support to prepare tenants to take on tenancies successfully, and this complements our financial inclusion work. Yet again, we reduced the number of void properties to below our business plan target. At the same time we prepared to introduce choice based lettings, a significant change in the way we let homes.
Annual Report 2006/07
INVESTMENT
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We made further improvements to our investment programme. Both our windows and doors programmes will be complete by December 2007 almost three years earlier than originally promised.
By listening to our customers, we've enhanced our activity on environmental works in our neighbourhoods. To do this, we've enjoyed the support of our funders to spend more. Like us, they see the long-term value of creating not just great homes, but great neighbourhoods.
Annual Report 2006/07
BUILDING Much of our success on investment and repairs is attributable to our own Building Company. It remains in great demand as an excellent repairs and maintenance contractor, and has been successful in winning work inside and outside the housing sector. We moved smoothly to incorporate Aksa Housing Association tenants into repair and maintenance services. Our performance in responsive repairs far exceeds the Housing Corporation expectations. And gas servicing visits were all completed within our 11-month target for a second year.
The last year had challenges we did not shirk. We closed our window manufacturing factory and provided those employees with continued work elsewhere. But we were able to secure new contracts following the alliance struck with another window supplier.
Annual Report 2006/07
NEIGHBOURHOOD Neighbourhood management is at the heart of what we do. Systematic inspection of our estates takes place each quarter and ensures we are dealing with issues important to the locality. Our work tackling anti-social behaviour continued to make headlines, but we base this on good local knowledge. We brand resident involvement as 'you too!' It's a reminder that although we have high ratings for participation, there's always room for improvement and expansion. As we told our tenants, we have improved our performance and services by listening to them, but want to encourage even more tenants to contribute. We want - you, too! Our maturity as an organisation meant we were able to move into and lead regeneration initiatives affecting our neighbourhoods. In particular we were asked by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to lead public consultation and engagement in the Smallshaw and Broadoak areas as part of the Safer Stronger Communities Fund work.
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Annual Report 2006/07
YOUNG PEOPLE Our customers are equally important. But we recognise that engaging young people in what we do pays dividends.
'Newground' - we work with young people who for various reasons need extra attention. They also undertake work in the community and receive training to help them plan their futures. We do this by working with Groundwork.
Youth diversion is the trendy label, but we have several ways of getting younger residents to contribute to the quality of life and have pride in their neighbourhoods.
'Great Sports' - this is a joint initiative with Tameside Sports Development which creates more physical activity and sporting opportunities for young people. We do this with after-school clubs, street games, Pathway to Sport initiatives and sponsorship of the Greater Manchester Youth Games Team Tameside.
'Dreamscheme' - young people undertake valuable community work, such as gardening, painting, and making benches. In return, they gain points which build up and can be traded for days out and trips of their choice.
Annual Report 2006/07
RESPECT We were among the first to sign up to the Respect agenda. It fitted well with many of the interventions we make to create better neighbourhoods.
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Two of our tenants Darren Holmes and Taff Jeffery were recognised for their efforts in taking a stand by collecting Respect Awards from the Home Secretary. We began to sell our reputation on tackling anti-social behaviour, helping other housing organisations with our expertise and technology. We had another effective year dealing with enforcement issues, but are as active in prevention and intervention. We used our popular ASB quiz “Who wants to live over there?� to highlight awareness with schoolchildren. But at the same time we dealt professionally with nuisance, and two tenants served prison terms after they failed to behave. We are one of only five housing associations across the country to receive funding to set up family intervention projects. These plan to stop the antisocial behaviour of families and restore safety to their homes and to the wider community.
Annual Report 2006/07
IT'S NOT ALL SERIOUS We like to have fun. We try to remember what makes housing such a great job, and are not ashamed to show we and our customers enjoy laughing. Getting the basics right allows us to experiment. We're not afraid to try the unusual! Our own staff development initiative - from Good to Great - has enjoyment at its heart.
Annual Report 2006/07
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Annual Report 2006/07
THE NEW CHARTER ACADEMY Our sponsorship of a new Academy in Tameside sets us ahead of many other regeneration agencies. We are the first housing association to be a sponsor.
As a result of a poor OFSTED report, one of the two predecessor schools was put into special measures, advancing the project dramatically. Plans now include closing the two schools and opening the Academy on both existing sites in September 2008, before a new building on a new campus accepts pupils in September 2010. We have appointed an Executive Director who is well qualified to lead our plans for our Academy to be more than just education.
Annual Report 2006/07
DEVELOPMENT
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Although new development is currently a small part of our activities, we completed 11 new homes in Dukinfield, and a further 13 homes will complete in Droylsden in spring 2007. We have undertaken these developments without the support of Social Housing Grant. Our development of the Aksa brand will continue to provide new homes across Greater Manchester. Our growth strategy took a step forward as we were selected by Gedling Borough Council to be the new RSL partner for the transfer of its 3,400 homes to a new subsidiary of the Group, Gedling Homes. This is planned to take place by March 2008, subject to a positive ballot of Gedling's tenants.
We took our first steps into market renting at Hattersley, and began the unique work to build Beaumont Place in Stalybridge. These 25 flats will replace a local authority care home nearby and provide adults with learning difficulties their first experience of independent living.
We successfully sold our professional services to other landlords. We have also sold our systems improvement skills; and marketing our skills is an area of future development for us.
Annual Report 2006/07
SUCCESS We like to collaborate - but winning is good, too. Our position at the top of the tenant satisfaction league is matched by also recording the highest rating from tenants for their opportunities to participate. Our attention to Health and Safety meant we collected two silver medals from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. Our Building Company was successfully awarded Registered Gas Installer status which opens up new markets for us. We were delighted to receive the Greater Manchester Police Divisional Officer's Commendation. This recognises the professional and practical support we provide to the force.
We nominated one of our tenants as the Tameside Local Hero. Belinda Jeffery won because of her commitment to her own neighbourhood and for her work for tenants across New Charter. We were shortlisted as finalists in the Manchester Evening News Business of the Year awards. We were regional winners of the Edge Employer Awards, and also provided the North West Young Learner of the Year.
Annual Report 2006/07
OUR PERFORMANCE IN 2006/07 There are three RSL companies working together in the New Charter Housing Trust Group. The data listed here covers all three. Figures are at 31st March 2007 or for the 2006/07 financial year. The RSLS are: RSL
Homes
Location
Aksa New Charter Housing (North) New Charter Housing (South) Total
671 7,590 6,768 15,029
Oldham, Manchester, Bury, Tameside Ashton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge, Mossley, Droylsden Hyde, Denton, Audenshaw, Dukinfield, Longdendale
B. Decent Homes 96.6% of our homes meet the Decent Homes Standard. Nearly every Aksa property complies with Decent Homes, as most of Aksa’s stock is relatively new. The New Charter Housing (North) and (South) stock is older, and still undergoing massive investment. All stock will comply with Decent Homes within the next twelve months. On average, we invested £2,400 in every property during the year. We spend about £150,000 on investment and repairs on our property every working day.
C. Energy Efficiency All our new property has very high energy efficiency standards. For our older homes, we are investing heavily in cavity/loft insulation and energy efficient boilers and windows.
Bury 72
A. Distribution by Borough Oldham 461
Property Portfolio
The measure for housing energy efficiency is the SAP score. Our SAP score is 70.3. The national average for similar RSL Groups is 67.
D. Leased Property Tameside 14,395 Manchester 101
Number of properties sold but freehold retained (eg) flats: 200
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Annual Report 2006/07
Rent Levels
Letting Homes
Our rents remain very affordable, well below market rents and below the average rents for RSLs in the North West.
Number of homes let in the year: 1482
Lettings by Ethnic Origin of Household Aksa Black 3%
White 33%
Average net weekly rent (excluding service charges) £58.65
Asian 64%
Bury 4 Oldham 23
Average Rents Average Rent General Needs Housing Supported and Housing for older people Tameside Bedsit 1 Bed 2 Bed 3 Bed 4 Bed
£pw 45.44 53.07 58.39 60.55 61.82
Tameside Bedsit 1 Bed 2 Bed 3 Bed 4 Bed
£pw 47.77 53.69 57.64 58.40 65.78
Lettings by Ethnic Origin of Household New Charter (North/South) Tameside 1451
BME 5%
Manchester 4 White 95%
Rent Collection Rent collection as a percentage of rent debit (less rent lost due to voids)
Lettings by Household Type Increase in average rent 5.28% Rent collected as % of rent debit 99.77% Annual rent debit £46,884,629 % of rent debit in current arrears 5.57% % of rent lost due to voids 2.35% % of rent debit written off in year 2.46%
Older Households (60+) Singles/ Couples 61%
14% 25%
Families with children
Annual Report 2006/07
Empty Homes
Investment
Homes vacant available to let at year end: 106
New homes for rent built in the year: 11 Properties acquired and refurbished for rent: 21
Homes vacant not available to let at year end: 155
Homes improved in the year with new:
Void rate: 1.74% of all stock
Repairs Performance Last year, we did 19,339 emergency repairs (within 4 hours) and 15,717 urgent repairs (within 7 days). We completed 100% of these within timescale, a fantastic perfomance by our own Building Company. We also undertook 17,612 routine repairs. Our target timescale for completion of these repairs is 28 days. 96.2% of repairs were completed within this timescale. The average time between the tenant reporting a repair and the repair being completed is 4.86 days.
Rewires Kitchens Bathrooms Heating Installations Windows Doors Roofs External Painting
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333 2,124 2,048 1,957 2,134 2,388 323 4,031
Investment Cyclical Maintenance Responsive Maintenance and void properties New Building Environmental Total
£’000 £20,275 £782 £9,055 £4,721 £6,221 £41,054
Tenant Satisfaction Tenants satisfied with the New Charter Group as their landlord Tenants satisfied with opportunities for participation in management and decision making Tenant satisfaction with New Charter repairs and maintenance * Based on two surveys of 1250 tenants undertaken in January 2007.
92.3% 93.2% 88.1%
Annual Report 2006/07
Other Services - Housing Options
Property Sales
New Charter provides a complete housing advice and homeless service for the Tameside area. It has over 5000 visitors each year. The emphasis is on homeless prevention.
Properties sold in the year under the Right to Buy/Acquire: 99
Advice cases worked on in the year: (of which 282 became actual homeless applications).
Employees
1898
The Group currently has 785 employees. Number of applications accepted as homeless and in priority need:
145
Homeless cases prevented for at least 6 months:
172
Ethnicity Black 5
Households temporarily accommodated in the year: > Women’s Refuge: > New Charter accommodation: > Bed and Breakfast:
50 112 91
Asian 35
Other 8
White 737
Gender
Female 333 Male 452
Annual Report 2006/07
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 2006/07
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RTB sales of 86 properties generating £5.3m (2005/06: £8.7m) Capitalised major works of £4.3m (2005/06: £4.3m) Rent losses from voids decreased by 7.15% (2005/06: 15.1%)
Group Income and Expenditure account for the year ended 31st March 2007
£'000
Turnover
Rent collected
52,348
Maintenance, management and other administration costs
Cost of providing our services
60,365
Operating deficit Surplus on sale of properties
-8,017 PRTB and RTA sales
Surplus on ordinary activities before interest and taxation Net interest and tax payable Deficit for the year
3,102 -4,915
Interest charges we pay on our borrowings
-14,713 -19,628
Group Balance Sheet at 31st March 2007 What we own Value of investment in our housing stock Cost of the investment in our offices, IT etc
312,240 13,419 325,659
Cash in hand and money we are owed - less bills not paid at year end
-4,930
Net wealth (assets)
320,729
How we fund our investment Borrowing from our loan facility
216,550
Other long term creditors
14,040
Accumulated reserves
90,139
Total funding
320,729
Annual Report 2006/07
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2006/07 The Boards wish to express their appreciation of the contribution of several directors who stood down during the year - Marie Clegg, Joe Robinson, Bill Skilki and Steve Simpson. (A = Aksa; B=Building; N=North; P=Property; S=South; T=Trust) Alan Alcock Asghar Ali Maria Bailey Margaret Barker Alaha Begum Tony Berry Alan Bezer Andrew Broadhurst Malcolm Burbridge James Burns Rex Charlton Marie Clegg Gerald Cooney Margaret Downs Jacqui Fendall Joseph Fitzpatrick Hamid Ghafoor Stephen Hall Julie Hardman Jed Hassid Geoffrey Howarth Sajjad Hussain Nasir Ilyas Desmond Jeffery Aslam Khan Nasim Khan Kevin Kirtland
(N from 15/08/06) (A) (N) (S) (S co-opted) (S) (N) (N, P) (S) (P, T) (N) (N resigned 15/08/06) (P, T) (S) (N) (S) (T) (T resigned 16/05/06; B) (B, P, S, T) (T) (B) (A) (A) (T) (A) (A) (N)
Liliane Laine-Slater Geoff Loughlin Jacqui McCann Danny McLoughlin Jim Middleton Ian Munro Iram Nisar Joe Oliver Abdul Quayum Kieran Quinn Mohammed Rahman Vincent Ricci Joseph Robinson Joan Ryan Anjam Shahzad Wizarat Siddiqi Anne Simmonite Steve Simpson Bill Skilki Helen Smith Philip Smith Andy Stafford Gordon Tow Martin Wareing Audrey White Ann Whittam
(B from 17/05/06) (S) (N) (P) (N) (B, P) (A) (A) (A) (B) (A) (B, S; T from 15/08/06) (S resigned 15/08/06) (S) (A) (A) (S) (N resigned 15/08/06) (B resigned 17/05/06) (A) (N, T) (B) (N, T) (S, T) (S from 10/05/06) (T)
We are also grateful for the contributions of two co-optees, Richard Sainsbury (Audit Committee) and Mark Dunford (Finance Committee). We are sorry to report the recent deaths of two tenant directors who served during this year. Both Margaret Barker and Alan Bezer had been with us for several years and they will be missed.
Annual Report 2006/07
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Design: Bang Marketing 01484 540412 wwwbangmarketing.co.uk Photographs: New Charter, Studio 3000 of Stalybridge and Guzelian Issued by New Charter Housing Trust Limited, a company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England and Wales, company number 3807262; registered office: Cavendish 249, Cavendish Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7AT
CONTACT Telephone 0161 331 2000 Facsimile 0161 331 2001 Email info@newcharter.co.uk Registered office: Cavendish 249 Cavendish Street Ashton-under-Lyne Lancs OL6 7AT www.newcharter.co.uk