Seasons Greetings!
 
The Committee and Staff would like to wish you all a very happy time over the Festive Season.
 
The office will also be closed as follows:
 
Office Closes 23rd December at 1pm – Office Reopens Tuesday 3rd January at 9am.
 
If you have any genuine emergency repairs during this period please contact Stirling Council Tel No 07715 004 265.
New tenants at Archie Bone Way, Fallin Tel No: 01259 219500.
New tenants at Wordie Road, Gateside Road, Torbrex Tel No: 01786 811811 - leave a message on the answering machine and you will get a call back.

Website In-House Demonstration
 
We have held 2 further demonstrations of our website at our office over the Summer following tenant feedback at our Tenants Conference. Those attending confirmed that the demonstrations were extremely useful. Moreover, that they were not aware of the website’s functions, such as being able to report a repair or an anti-social problem, on line, 24 hours a day.

If you would like a demonstration of the website please contact Margaret Glencross or Angela Laley at the office.

New Government Drive to Winter-Proof Homes

Free 'energy saving' gadgets worth nearly £50 are being offered now as part of a major new drive by the Scottish Government to help households lower their fuel bills during winter.
 
The devices are on offer from the Scottish Government's new one stop shop on home energy - Home Energy Scotland.

A digital electricity monitor and a stand-by plug will be sent out to all callers helping households to save, on average, £47 a year on fuel bills and CO2 that would fill 361 wheelie bins.
 
A Scotland-wide campaign will run, promoting the range of help being offered through the Home Energy Hotline including help to switch to cheaper tariffs.

'Home Energy Scotland' is the one stop shop from the Scottish Government, offering information on all Scottish Government home energy initiatives and help and expert advice on how to save energy and money in the home.

To claim your free gadget phone the Home Energy Hotline on Tel: 0800 512 012 or www.homeenergyscotland.org.uk

Forth Housing Association Moves Home!
 
We marked the move to new office premises in the centre of Stirling, by asking one of our tenants, Leha Wallace, to cut a ribbon to our new home.
 
Leah was invited to undertake this ceremony because she shares her surname with Forth’s new home at Wallace House.
 
We have relocated to the new premises to provide improved facilities for applicants and tenants, a modern working environment for staff and meeting rooms which will accommodate the full Management Committee of 15 members.
 

Our Chairperson, Gordon Mason, said: “We are delighted to have Ms Wallace mark this move for us. The new office facilities will allow us to provide an even better service to our tenants and thanks to lower running costs will actually save us money in the longer term.”

The new address is:
Forth Housing Association Ltd
4th Floor Wallace House
17- 21 Maxwell Place
Stirling
FK8 1JU
 
Phone, fax and email contacts remain unchanged

New Partnership to Deliver Housing in Forth Valley

A new innovative housing partnership between 3 locally-based housing associations in the Stirling and Clackmannanshire Council areas is launched today.

Strath For Housing Alliance (‘Strath For’ is Gaelic for Forth Valley) is made up of Forth Housing Association, Ochil View Housing Association and Rural Stirling Housing Association. The three housing associations already have a substantial track record of providing quality housing and services; by combining their skills, experience and resources they hope to deliver an increased number of houses and enhanced value for money for the communities they serve. The arrangement does not affect the independence of the three associations.

The Alliance is responding to the Scottish Government’s desire for greater efficiency in the current difficult funding environment, particularly in the way in which new housing is provided and funded.  The Alliance has received the support of Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils and will work closely with the councils to help them deliver their strategic housing objectives.

Strath For Housing Alliance has set out its plans in a Statement of Intent which has been agreed by the Committees of all three associations.  It includes:

•Exploring the benefits of a collaborative approach to development including:
◦a joint procurement strategy
◦framework agreements for contractors and consultants
◦shared design guides
•Identifying the potential for joint policy development and review across the range of our activities
•Considering the potential to jointly procure reactive maintenance services 
•Agreeing priorities for mutual support in the event of emergencies
•Seeking to work with other partners who share our vision and commitment to local service delivery
Further information is available here.

Forth Housing Association Celebrates Success

In the same week as we celebrated the culmination of a very successful year, with our 22nd Annual General Meeting, Forth Housing Association members were in Glasgow for a prestigious awards ceremony.

Staff and committee members attended the Herald Property Awards for Scotland ceremony, where our latest development in Raploch received the Social Housing Development of the Year award.

Gordon Mason, our Chairperson said : “On Wednesday we held our Annual General Meeting, at which we were able to report an extremely successful year, with performance being up across the board. To then attend this awards ceremony two days later was a great culmination to the week. To have scooped the big prize in this category is a major achievement but the most important recognition for us is the fact that our new tenants are generally delighted with their homes”.

The Social Housing Development of the Year was open to all Registered Social Landlords throughout Scotland and the judges were looking for evidence that a development has impacted positively on the lives of local residents and has contributed to the regeneration of the area in which it is set. This award for our development off Drip Road is another clear indication that the current regeneration programme in Raploch is bringing real benefits to this community.

Forth Obtains National Standards for Information and Advice Providers

We are pleased to announce that we are the first housing provider in this area to be accredited by the Scottish Government for the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers.

Staff undertook on-line training on 15 housing information and advice topics. This was facilitated by Shelter. An audit was also undertaken on behalf of the Scottish Government in February 2010: policies and procedures were reviewed and staff were interviewed. The audit assessed the quality of advice given by staff.

Judi Reid, Information & Advice Standards Unit, Scottish Government said: “ by obtaining the accreditation Forth have demonstrated that they are providing quality advice and information which is  an integral part of their service.”

Invite To Stirling Tenants Assembly Conference – Sat 2nd October 2010

Stirling Tenants Assembly is  holding a tenants conference  on Saturday 2nd October in the Mayfield Centre, St Ninians, Stirling from 10am till 3pm. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Speakers from the Scottish Government will discuss :
• Scottish Social Housing Charter – a chance to influence a new policy known as the Tenants Charter. 
• the 'Fresh Thinking' discussion paper - the Government discussion paper on the way forward for   housing   in Scotland.
 
To reserve your place please contact our office for a booking form.

Promoting  Equality of Housing Services – Happy to Translate

We recently held a joint multi-cultural event with Ochil View Housing Association,  at Raploch Community Campus, raising awareness of our Happy to Translate (HTT) pioneering language service.

Guests from  Black and Minority Ethnic  groups, Stirling & Clackmannan Councils, Central Scotland Police and the Central Scotland Racial Equality Council, heard speakers explain Happy to Translate: a service which ultimately overcomes language barriers, and enables good customer service to be provided to all, whatever their nationality.

Staff have been trained to use the Happy to Translate toolkit and intranet. This enables staff to determine the language spoken by the customer and the services  required. Point pages can be downloaded from the  intranet, and these enable customers and staff are able to have a conversation and most importantly, understand each other.

Rohini Sharma Joshi, Housing Equal Opportunities Manager, HTT, said: “It has been great to work with Forth and Ochil View on this multi-cultural partnership event.   Forth and Ochil View are building links and trust with communities, through initiatives like HTT, and are demonstrating they are organisations which value diversity

Forth Housing Staff Give to Homeless

Start-Up Stirling, a local homeless charity, have received a donation of £1,000 from staff at Forth Housing Assocation (FHA). Start-Up help homeless families and individuals when they move into a long-term tenancy from temporary accommodation. They provide basic household packs which include small household goods such as  kettles, toasters, toiletries, food, cleaning materials, duvets and bed linen.

Collecting the cheque on behalf of Start-Up, John McRitchie, Convener,  said: We are very grateful for a further donation of £1,000 from the staff at FHA. Many homeless people will benefit.”

Gordon Mason, Chairperson, FHA added: The Committee are proud that over the last year,  the staff have  raised this sum by donating not only their money  but also their time.  Staff  held dress down days, lunches, staff and committee member of year and donated birthday and Christmas card money etc.”

AGM  21st Celebrations!

Monday 7th September 2009 saw our members and guests gathering at the Raploch Community Campus to celebrate 21 years of success.

The Annual General Meeting looked back over a very successful 12 months during which a healthy operating surplus was achieved and we invested savings in our existing homes.

2008/09 was a year when we achieved site starts on many new homes, completed two new housing developments and invested money in improving our existing homes, with new kitchens and central heating boilers.

However, this year’s AGM was also an opportunity to look back on 21 years since Forth was founded. Those present enjoyed a presentation looking at key points over the past 21 years. Also highlighted were the contributions of an original committee member, staff member, and two tenants who remain with us today, but started out as the original tenants of our first development at Colquhoun Street.

Polmaise Partnership

A site start ceremony at Polmaise Farm Cambusbarron recently marked the benefits of Forth’s partnership approach.

By working with Stirling Council and Persimmon Homes we have been able to get £2.6m of additional grant funding from the Scottish Government. This when combined with a £1.4m mortgage will allow us to build an extra 34 homes at Clayhills Drive, Cambusbarron.

Gordon Mason, Forth’s Chairperson, was joined on the day by Councillor MacPherson and Tony Cain of Stirling Council and Colin Connell of Persimmon Homes. Thanks to this contract Persimmon will be able to provide continuity of employment for construction workers.

Forth‘s 500th Home

The completion of Forth Housing Association’s (FHA)  five hundredth home for rent was some good news for its new tenants.

Mr & Mrs Jamieson, who recently moved into their Cambusbarron home, described it as  :“The first bit of luck the family has had for years”. Prior to moving the family had lived in tied accommodation, related to Mr Jamieson’s employment. Unfortunately, the dampness and general disrepair affected Mr Jamieson’s health.  The central heating and comfort of their new home, have already brought health improvements.

Marking the completion of this milestone in FHA’s development, Gordon Mason, Chairperson, highlighted  :“We are delighted that we’ve been able to provide over 500 quality homes for rent in and around Stirling and it is very rewarding to see  people such as the Jamieson’s benefiting so obviously”. Mr Mason continued by saying: “FHA has begun a period of marked growth. We expect to reach six hundred homes within a year. Moreover, thanks to our collaboration with Stirling Council and the Raploch URC, FHA could double in size within 5 years”.

Leaving the last word to the Jamieson’s, Mrs Jamieson proudly stated: “If I won the lottery tomorrow I wouldn’t move. The whole family feel like they’ve won a watch!”
For more details on rented housing with FHA, telephone 01786 446066 or log on to www.forthha.org.uk.

Our AGM

Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 7th September 2009 at the Raploch Community Campus from 7pm-9pm. All members of the Association are welcome to attend. As this is our 21st year this will be a chance to look back over the past 21 years at our achievements as well as updating members on our annual performance. The election of committee members will also take place. We hope to see you there!

Policy Review News

The following policies are being reviewed in the next 6 months, commencing April 2009:

Maintenance
Customer Care
Anti-social Behaviour
Complaints
Abandonment
Abandoned Vehicles
Alterations and Improvements

If you are interested in having your say regarding these policies please contact Angela Laley at the office.  We have also set up an E Group. This is to enable tenants who do not have time to attend meetings or visit the office etc to be consulted by e mail.  If you are interested in being consulted on issues affecting Forth by e mail please let Angela know. Tel: 01786 446066 or angela@forthha.org.uk.

Website Survey -  A Success!

We had a great response to our recent website survey. We are currently collating the results and this will help shape the development of the website. We will report back to you the outcome in the next Newsletter.

In the meantime, a number of you confirmed that you were happy to receive the Newsletter and other correspondence by e mail.  Moreover, a number of you confirmed that you were interested in being consulted by e mail on a quarterly basis on current issues. We therefore propose to set up an ‘E’ Group for this purpose. If you would be interested in joining this ‘E’ Group please contact Angela Laley or Margaret Glencross, at the office, for more information

Happy To Translate

We are delighted to announce that we are the first organisation in the Stirling area to sign up to the ‘Happy to Translate’ initiative.

‘Happy to Translate’ is a national initiative funded by the Scottish Government.  It aims to promote access to information and services by overcoming language
barriers.

The official logo, symbolising successful communication between 2 people who do not share a common language, will be displayed on our literature and in reception areas. This will let non-English readers and speakers know that we will provide confidential translation and interpreting services. Following a few simple steps, staff will determine what language the customer prefers to use, and what information they require.

Gordon Mason, our Chairperson,said: “We wanted to ensure that we were providing a service to all the communities in which we operate.   Signing up to the Happy to Translate initiative enables us to break down the barriers that may  prevent people accessing our services.”

To find out more about this service please  Tel No: (01786) 446066.

Celebrating 20 Years by Announcing Completion of More New Affordable Homes

The opening of our new development at Bryden Road, Whins of Milton was celebrated by the Provost, Margaret Brisley,  presenting 2 of Forth’s tenants with a bouquet of flowers, prior to a tour of the properties.

Our Chairperson, Gordon Mason said:  “Whilst celebrating our twentieth year of operation the Management Committee is delighted that this new development of 16 new  affordable homes for rent and for sale is completed. All the properties have been allocated from our waiting list or from nominations from Stirling Council, to people in housing need.”

This is our first development where a Stirling Council planning condition required the developer, Cala Homes, to make part of the site available for rented housing.  This is in accordance with the Council’s Affordable Housing Policy.

20th AGM

We held our 20th Annual General Meeting on 9th September 2008 at the Stirling Tollbooth.

This meeting is the members once a year chance to hear how the organisation has been performing, how the finances are and what the plans are for the coming year.

It also gives members a chance to determine who is in control of the organisation. This they do by standing for a place on the Management Committee and if required, voting for Committee Members.

At the time of writing there aren’t enough candidates to have a vote. The Management Committee for the coming year will therefore be as follows:

Audrey Anderson  ~*~ Thomas Bell
Wilma Burns  ~*~  David Cumming
Clark Davidson ~*~ Harry Deerin
John Fyfe ~*~ Patrick Heneghan
John Holliday ~*~ Gordon Mason
Linda Mason ~*~ Neil Macleod
Cllr Jim Thomson

This still leaves 2 spaces for anyone who is interested in getting involved.

Serving as a Committee member is both interesting and worthwhile. Training is available for Committee members and further information about what is involved is available from our Director, John Cameron.

Bob Bows Out!

After several years of involvement with Forth’s Management Committee Bob McInally, of Riverside, recently retired from active service.

Gordon Mason marked the occasion by presenting Bob with a bottle of whisky and his wife, Cathy, with a bouquet of flowers. Gordon said “Bob served on committee for many years and helped us with many decisions. He brought a great deal of dedication and humour to the task and we wish both Bob and Cathy many years of happiness.”

Bob will no doubt continue to be active in the Stirling community and we know he is looking forward to visiting his daughter in Canada this summer. Thanks for everything Bob and all the best!

Painter work

The Association has appointed Stirling Council Housing Services’ contractor, Drumbreck Decorators, to carry out the external decoration of its developments at

9A –C Menzies Drive\ 1 – 8 Thistle Place, Raploch.
1 – 22, 26, 27, 30 and 31 Gillespie Terrace, Plean.
2 and 4 Hirst Crescent.  1 – 17, 2 – 48 Colliers Road, Fallin
 
Weather permitting, these works will start on Monday 7 July and should be completed by the end of the month.

Stirling Council Strike

Craft workers at Stirling Council will strike on 1st June at midnight for 24 hours and thereafter every fortnight to 10th August until their issues are resolved. There will be a limited availability of standby cover provided ie one each of joiner, electrician, gas technician and plumber.  This means that emergency repairs may take a bit longer to attend to than normal.

Gas Maintenance and Service Contract

Unfortunately the Association has had to end its contract with Danros Heating Services Limited.

As of Monday 12th May Stirling Council Housing Services (SCHS) will provide the gas maintenance and servicing of the Association’s properties.

If you are having problems with your heating or hot water which is provided by a gas fired combination boiler, please telephone :

During Office Hours          0800 027 5888
Outwith Office Hours        0771 500 4265

New Joinery Contractor

The Association has added A.T.S. Building Services Ltd to its Approved List of Contractors to provide additional joinery services.

New Face at Forth

The beginning of March saw a new face around Forth as John Cameron started as Director.

John comes to the Association with 23 years experience of working in housing and most of that in the housing Association sector in Edinburgh or Glasgow. He is keen to find out about the ways of Stirling and hopes over the coming weeks to be able to meet Forth tenants and find out their views on the organisation and area.

The coming few years should be exciting for Forth as there will be a good number of new homes available to meet local needs. John’s role will be to lead the staff team and alongside the Management Committee ensure that everyone can meet the challenges of growth, an ever changing political climate and the demands for a quality service from our tenants.

If you would like the opportunity to meet with John and share your views on the organisation or even find out what his plans may be please contact him via the Forth office. He will then try to arrange suitable time to meet and he is very happy to come to you rather than drag you to the office.

Rent Increase

The Management Committee agreed at the meeting held on 25 February 2008 to a rent increase of 4.5% effective from 28 March 2008.  All tenants and sharing owners will be notified in writing of the new rent amount.

The Association has advised Stirling Council of the Rent and Service Charge Increase for 2008/09.  However tenants should contact the Housing Benefit Office to advise of any change of circumstances or if confirmation of this increase is not received from Housing Benefit by the 21 April 2008.

Tenants paying by Standing Order must contact their bank or building society now to advise of the change of payment amount from the 28 March 2008.

Direct Debits are automatically increased by the Association.

New Development at Bryden Road, Whins of Milton, Stirling

The Association is delighted to announce the completion of its 28th development project at Bryden Road, Whins of Milton.

The development consists of 16 properties, 5 x 3 bedroom terraced homes, 2 x 2 bedroom semi detached homes, and 5 x 2 bedroom terraced homes, for rent.  This is also the first development where the Association is providing 4 x 2 bedroom terraced homes through “Homestake”, a Government initiative which provides grants to help people on lower incomes into home ownership.

The official opening of the development was carried out by Provost Margaret Brisley on Wednesday 26 March 2008.

Homestake

The Association is in the process of allocating the four Homestake properties at Lademill, Whins of Milton after a ballot took place at the Management Committee meeting on Monday 28th January 2008. The Association received 471 enquiries for the Homestake scheme although only 16 applications were returned.

10 applicants were interviewed and as the majority of the applicants met the criteria of first time buyers the Association agreed a ballot would be the fairest way to allocate the properties.

When the Association develops future Homestake or other low cost home ownership schemes, information will be posted on our website. The Scottish Government recently announced the low-cost initiative for First Time buyers, LIFT which will be managed by Link Housing, tel no. 0845155 0019.

Forth Housing Staff Donate to Start-Up to Help Homeless

Staff at Forth have raised £600 for the charity Start-Up. This is a local charity, whose aim is to help homeless families and individuals, when they move into a long-term tenancy from temporary accommodation. 

Kath Arton  (Secretary) of  Start-Up commented: “We are most grateful to the staff of Forth Housing Association for their generous donation of £600 to the project. It will help with the cost of items such as electrical goods and duvets .” This money was raised by staff donating their time and money to dress down days, lunches, staff member of the year, birthday and Christmas card money etc.

Tenant Handbook Launch

We are pleased to announce that the new Tenant Handbook has recently been completed. Copies were hand delivered to all existing tenants during the month of December.

It has been designed to allow any amendments to be made easily. We will regularly review the content and send you replacement pages or sections, when things change.  Therefore, please keep your new Handbook in a safe place and use the amendments we send you, to keep it up to date.

The Handbook provides an outline of our services, as well as useful telephone numbers.  We are able at the office to provide more information on many of these services.

Our Chairperson, Gordon Mason, was delighted to present a bouquet of flowers to 2 of of our tenants from ‘Have your voice heard’, who helped to develop the Handbook, from inception to completion. He said “ this is wonderful participation when tenants can see their ideas develop and come to fruition.”  Angela Laley from Forth said “ a special thank-you  is due on behalf of Forth to Mrs Reid and Mrs Petrie, who gave not only their time but moreover their ideas and feedback. It is this effort that has made the Handbook user friendly and hopefully, able to be used by all our tenants for many years to come.”

New Money Advisor

We have recently recruited a Money Advisor – Tracy Doran.  Tracy will be able to provide advice in the office or in your home, on the following areas:

• Maximising your income, by claiming all benefits.
• Basic debt counselling.
• Information in relation to sources of affordable credit and household contents insurance.
• Budgeting skills.

Please contact the office for more information.