AGM 2008

ACHA's AGM was held in Inveraray on 11 September 2008.

The Chair of the Board, Norman Beaton, pictured right, adressed the meeting with a summary of the year. His full speech is below:

This is ACHA’s second AGM and I wish to summarise a number of areas of work that the Association has been involved in during the last year and set out our plans for the coming period.

The Association’s largest project has been the investment programme in our homes.  Since September 2007 we have installed 1314 kitchens and bathrooms, 741 windows and doors, 707 new heating systems and rewires and 5 roofs and roughcasts.  In total this has resulted in an investment of £9,195,268 in our housing stock to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard since our last Annual General Meeting.  This is a significant start to the massive task of improving our homes, which we are committed to completing by 2015.

The Association has also put on site its first new build housing development in Campbeltown, and we invited Stewart Maxwell MSP, the Sport and Communities Minister, to launch this development in June of this year.  When the development is completed it will provide over 80 new homes to meet housing need.  In addition, it is planned to build new homes in Oban, Garelochhead and Tarbert in the near future, and we are exploring opportunities for other sites throughout Argyll and Bute.

During the last year the Association’s performance exceeded expectations in the areas of letting houses and collecting rents.  Out of a housing stock of over 5,000 we only have 90 voids and our rent arrears level is currently lying at 2.2% of rents collectable.  We have also been proactive in tackling anti social behaviour, as we are well aware this is a priority for our tenants.  In the past year we have obtained 3 decrees for Recovery of Possession from tenants who have been dealing in drugs from their homes and a further 2 decrees for persistent anti social behaviour.  There are a number of other cases pending and we hope that the success that we have had to date shows that the Association will do all it can in partnership with the Police to protect our tenants from the above.

The Association, during the year, commissioned an Elderly Services review.  The review was very much about identifying what needs currently existed with our elderly tenants, what was not being met and to come up with structures and services to provide assistance to those who are not receiving any.  It is hoped that we will be in a position to develop a number of proposals later this year, which we would plan to put in place next year. 

Regrettably during the year the Association had its £274,000 per year Supporting People grant discontinued by Argyll and Bute Council.  This funding went towards ACHA’s sheltered housing warden service.  Despite lobbying the Scottish Government and the Council we were unsuccessful in having this decision reversed.  It was therefore necessary to restructure the service by reducing warden hours on site and providing backup through telecare.  The sheltered housing service will continue but in a different way from previously.

During the year, the Association was a key contributor to the local economy.  We provided contracts for businesses across Argyll and Bute and beyond and at a time of growing economic uncertainty the ongoing investment programme, in all its guises, should be a force for economic stability and growth.  This has also generated local employment and we have encouraged apprenticeships and training to add to the skills base in the local economy.

Could I turn to the future.  We are in challenging times.  The Scottish Government has cut the new build housing investment programme in Argyll and Bute by 16½% this year, which amounts to around £7million.  That will have an impact on how quickly, or otherwise, we can put houses on site to meet housing need.  The Government is also considering the introduction of one lead developer for housing in certain areas, which could replace the independence of housing associations and their own development programmes.  There is also an expectation that grant levels will drop to £73,000 per unit from the current average of £105,000.  This could have a profound impact on the ability of rural housing associations to build because construction costs are higher in rural and island areas.

On a more positive note, the Government is considering reforming the Right to Buy for new tenancies and we understand that around £60million of Government money will be brought forward from 2010/2011 to this year and next to assist house building with problems associated with the credit crunch.  While we appreciate that this is not new money, and we have still to see the detail, we welcome any initiative which can deal with problems that we have just now.

The Association’s priorities for the future will be, to improve our homes as quickly as we can, to build new homes to meet housing need, to provide excellent services and to deliver against the targets that we have set.

We have also been mindful of our wider role in the community and have worked in collaboration with other Housing Associations, Tenants Associations and other agencies to make our communities better places in which to live.

Could I thank all the Board and Area Committee members of ACHA for their hard work, dedication and for giving up their time, knowledge and expertise on a voluntary basis.  Sadly, we lost one of our Board Members, with the death of Mrs Christine Williams in July of this year.

I would also like to extend my thanks to the Association’s staff who have worked very hard since transfer to make things happen on the ground, and to deliver for a better future in housing terms in Argyll and Bute.

It is not easy managing and governing an organisation which stretches from Cardross to Tiree, and a good many places in between.

Our key priorities are to provide a friendly and responsive service for customers and to that end there has been substantial investment in staff training.  I am confident that we have substantially achieved this goal but we are not complacent and are always looking for ways to improve.

Thank you very much and I am happy to take any questions.

Norman Beaton

Chairman

11th September, 2008