Latest NewsBroxbourne Housing Association: a ‘First Class’ organisation to work forBroxbourne Housing Association has been awarded one star in the Best Companies accreditation scheme, marking it as a ‘first class’ organisation. 
Chief executive John Giesen said: “Last year we became the youngest housing association to achieve 2-star status from the Audit Commission. This year’s star from Best Companies is a further recognition of the commitment of our staff working together to provide excellent local services.” He continued: “The Board and senior team has a strong ethos of staff involvement and we are very pleased to see it recognised.” To be accredited in the scheme the staff must rate the organisation on: - Leadership: How they feel about the head of the organisation, senior managers, and the organisation’s values and principles;
- My manager: How they feel about and communicate with their direct manager;
- Personal growth: What they feel about training and their future prospects;
- Wellbeing: How they feel about stress, pressure at work, and work life balance;
- Giving something back: The extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society;
- My company: The level of engagement they have for their job and organisation
- Fair deal: How happy they are with their pay and benefits
Best Companies is the name behind The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For lists. CEO and founder Jonathan Austin comments: “The companies that have achieved accreditation are among the best employers, and are to be congratulated. The scheme acknowledges excellence in the workplace. Based on staff feedback, it looks at employee engagement as an integral part of a company’s success and growth, and sets a benchmark for other employers.”
NextStep appoints new Community Information and Advice OfficerRecent law graduate Charlotte Jesson has started working at The NextStep Centre in Waltham Cross as the Community Information and Advice Officer. In her new role, Charlotte is keen to help local people who want to improve their chances of getting work. She will help if you want to gain, update or improve your computer skills; if you need careers advice, help with a CV or if you want to take a course. Part-funded by Broxbourne Housing Association (BHA), Charlotte will also be working with BHA tenants to increase their employability. Stephanie Mills, NextStep Centre manager said: “Charlotte will be in the community finding out what skills are needed, giving advice about the services on offer and identifying where the gaps are. The appointment is a really good example of two very different organisations working in partnership.” 
BHA Business Services manager Ken Goodsell added: “We are delighted to be able to part-fund a post which will be of service to our tenants and also to the wider community.” Anyone interested in NextStep and the services they offer should contact the centre by telephone on 01992 301 050, visit the website www.next-step.org.uk or call in at NextStep at 66-67 The Pavilion, High Street, Waltham Cross. Alternatively, residents can email info@next-step.org.uk Broxbourne Housing Association manages rented homes for some 3,400 families and 750 leaseholders. It is contactable on 01992 453 700 or at Broxbourne Housing Association, Scania House, 17 Amwell Street, Hoddesdon, Herts, EN11 8TS www.broxbourneha.org.uk.
Waiting for your callEver had a quick question that took ages to answer? Well Broxbourne Housing Association has listened to its residents and created a Customer Service Centre. Service Improvement Manager Sue Scanlan explains: “We had a pretty good record for dealing with phone calls, but like most organisations, we can’t guarantee that a specialist member of staff will always be at their desk when the phone rings. “So we’ve trained a customer service team and each person can answer the most commonly asked housing questions immediately. The idea is to avoid having to refer callers to another department, saving them time and inconvenience. 
“The Customer Service Team should be able to answer at least 80% of queries. As for the other 20%, unlike a call centre, our team is on the premises with us, so they can track down expert help quickly.” Residents will be able to talk to the Customer Service Team about housing or tenancy issues including their rent accounts, repairs and refurbishments and anti-social behaviour. BHA manages homes for more than 4,000 families in the area and is continually improving its services by listening to what its residents want. ‘Brilliant community work’, says top journalistColumnist of the year and president of the British Humanist Society journalist Polly Toynbee today spoke of the “brilliant community development work that Broxbourne Housing Association (BHA) is undertaking locally”. Speaking at an event to mark BHA’s 4th birthday, Ms Toynbee said that at a time when unemployment and poverty are key concerns for society, the role played by organisations like BHA is invaluable. She cited BHA’s work supporting low income families through the local credit union, the Homestart Family Support Service and through its own Safer Communities team. 
Since it was formed, BHA has focused on keeping its promises to residents, spending £26million on bringing homes up to the Government’s Decent Homes Standard. It has also spent more than half a million pounds on community development projects. Chief executive John Giesen says: “Providing someone with a decent home is not enough in itself; we need to build successful, vibrant communities.” BHA manages rented homes for 3,400 households and also has 750 leaseholders in the area. Residents spend Christmas in their new, affordable homesBroxbourne Housing Association (BHA) officially marked the completion of 22 new high quality affordable homes with an opening ceremony attended by Charles Walker MP on Friday 18th December 2009. Williams Court, Turners Hill in Cheshunt, has 13 two-bedroom flats and nine one-bedroom flats, providing much needed affordable housing for local people on the Borough’s housing lists. Mrs Phillips, a resident of the new development said: “The place is lovely and we have settled in really well. We used to rent privately so this home is more affordable and will help us get a fresh start for the new year.” The scheme has been named after Mr Laurie and Mrs Noreen Williams who had lived on the site for nearly 50 years, and had worked tirelessly for the local community. 
The BHA development has been achieved through working in partnership with Broxbourne Borough Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, East Thames Housing Group, The Hills Partnership and RLF. The properties are part of BHA’s development programme which will provide over 100 new homes in the borough in the next year. Sandra Royer, BHA’s Chair said:” We are working with partners to build better homes and better communities in the Lea Valley and this development achieves both of these aims. They are modern, attractive and energy efficient in a great high street location”. The properties have been built to high energy efficient standards, meaning less carbon emissions and lower electricity and gas usage for the new residents. They include photo voltaic panels on the roof which powers all the communal lighting, internal and external, and the fire alarm and door entry system. Any power which isn’t used will be sold back to the distribution company to help reduce residents’ service charges. Each home has its own ‘smart meter’ which calculates the average monthly cost of bills based on the electricity being used. Charles Walker MP said: “I am delighted to open this new development which is providing much needed new affordable homes for local people” .
Home for ChristmasResidents of Wormley Court, Broxbourne Housing Association’s (BHA) retirement housing scheme, celebrated their home coming at a party on Friday 18th December, after a fire in the roof of the building in November. All 30 residents are back at the scheme together with their scheme manager and the homecare team. While work was carried out at Wormley Court, residents stayed in accommodation provided by Riversmead Housing Association or with relatives. A BHA spokesperson said: “We pulled out all the stops to make sure residents homes were ready to return to as soon as it was safe to do so. Because of the sound building construction of Wormley Court, there was minimal damage to the interior of the scheme. The work to renew the section of roof damaged by the fire can be completed externally without inconveniencing residents who have been understandably keen to return home.” 
The party was attended by Sandra Royer and Chris Mitchell BHA Board members and each resident was given £50 in shopping vouchers to spend at their local shop. BHA Chair Sandra Royer said: “Our residents have shown great fortitude in dealing with this unfortunate incident and of course are delighted to return home so quickly. I would like to thank the local community for their help and support.”
Broxbourne Housing Association welcome new PCSOBroxbourne Housing Association (BHA) has recruited a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) to develop the work of its community services team and help tackle anti-social behaviour in the borough. This new position is funded by BHA in partnership with Hertfordshire Police. Jane Collins, PCSO, warrant no: 6601, will spend two days at BHA and will provide a valuable link to all the other PCSO's across the borough. She said: Being a PCSO means getting involved in communities and listening to residents to help find a solution to their problems. I'll be working in partnership with Broxbourne Housing Association and other agencies to eradicate a lot of residents, problems with anti-social behaviour. 
During a 2008 survey, some residents expressed concerns in relation to problems with disruptive children, noisy neighbours and vandalism. The recruitment of a PCSO is part of BHA's pro-active response to improving residents feelings of safety on their estates. BHA's Director of Housing Services Simon Walton said: We have recruited Jane to meet the needs of our residents who have expressed a desire to have a greater police presence on their estates. The appointment of a PCSO is a natural progression from the close working relationship we already have with the Police. Jane's day to day duties include meeting residents to update them on local issues, visiting estates where there has been anti-social behaviour, coming to estate audits along with BHA staff and residents, visiting retirement housing schemes and helping BHA keep an eye on empty properties.
Sandra Royer to be new Chair of Broxbourne Housing Association BoardBroxbourne Housing Association (BHA) has appointed Sandra Royer as its new Chair following the retirement of Derek Hawes. Sandra, who has a background in Human Resources and Social Housing said: I am delighted and excited to take up the role chairing the Board of this dynamic and innovative housing association. BHA has its roots firmly in the community and, as well as improving local homes and communities, has taken a positive approach to changing lives for the better. Sandra is Director of Housing Management at Brent Housing Partnership (BHP), an arms length management organisation (ALMO) which was awarded three stars by the Audit Commission. Her direct involvement in the process of leading organisational change from local authority to ALMO and subsequent leadership in achieving three star status for BHP has given her both practical and strategic vision to lead the Board through the next stage in its progress. Her career to date has included senior management roles in Human Resources management, Housing management and a wide involvement in working with voluntary bodies and community activists. She works at Board level within BHP, is experienced in chairing meetings and is a panel member for Investors in People. Her community work includes involvement in a number of voluntary organisations. At it's AGM on 14th September the BHA Board also paid tribute to Derek Hawes who has been Chair since the inception of BHA, leading the association through the transfer of housing stock from Broxbourne Council to achieving an Audit Commission inspection result of two stars with promising prospects for improvement when the association was just 30 months old.
HOME Newsletter, now available in Audio!Did you know you can now listen to an audio version of our newsletter for residents from this website? The latest Autumn 2009 HOME newsletter is now available - simply click on the following link HOME newsletter,Winter 2009 (link to audio)or go to the Publications page.
A GOOD, TWO STAR SERVICE FROM BROXBOURNE HOUSING ASSOCIATION .... AND PROMISING PROSPECTS FOR IMPROVEMENT!!We are delighted to have been assessed as providing a good, two star, service with promising prospects for improvement in our Audit Commission Inspection published last week. We think that this is a considerable achievement for an organisation only two and a half years old at the time of inspection, and a reflection of the hard work and commitment of our staff and Board. We would like to thank our residents and local partners from the statutory and voluntary sectors for helping us on our journey to provide better homes and better communities. The commission team reported that "The association is an active and well respected participant in local partnerships" 
The inspection found that "Broxbourne Housing Association is a strong performer in the basic areas that matter most to residents. It runs a substantial programme of re-investment improving individual homes and estates, and is ahead of schedule". We are pleased that our residents appreciate our steadily improving services. 89% of those surveyed earlier this year were satisfied with these services, an increase of 6% on last year. It was also reported that "BHA is financially strong and well led, and that staff are well trained, work well together in multi-disciplinary teams, and are closely aligned with the ethos of the business". In our recent staff survey 96% of staff were clear about how their roles contribute to our success. Our promising prospects for improvement will see us focus on the areas we and the inspection team identified for further improvement including the collection of rent and arrears; targeting services to meet the needs of our customers; and giving residents a greater role in contractor selection and contract monitoring. If you would like to find out more about our business, please contact Pippa Gavaghan, Communication Manager on 01992 453778 To read our Audit Commission report please click here - (PDF Document) |