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Community Partnerships Transformed Berneslai Homes Community
 
A partnership project at Berneslai Homes has been short-listed for a national award by the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) which represents 67 ALMOs who oversee over one million council owned properties across the UK.

The ALMO has devised a project which has been recognised as one of the country’s top ‘Effective Partnerships’.  Berneslai Homes has forged community and stakeholder partnerships to improve the quality of life of some of the most impoverished residents on the Kendray estate.

Development partners are investing skills back into the estate through apprenticeships and by using local labour and supply chains where possible.  Environmental and traffic management improvements to Kendray’s major gateways and elderly persons bungalows are providing construction training opportunities for local people and addressing both traffic safety and fear of crime issues.

The results are positive; a recent MORI poll concluded that 96% of Kendray residents plan to remain in the area with 87% being satisfied with Kendray as a place to live and 82% wanting to stay in their present home long-term.

The Lovell Partnerships NFA 2008 ALMO ‘Effective Partnership’ category recognised the hard work of the ALMO’s who are making a difference at a grassroots level.  ALMO’s who went above and beyond the call of duty, engaging with residents, setting up partnerships and organising projects to tackle some of the most difficult issues facing them were represented in the category.

Designed to honour and credit the individuals and teams who do so much at ground level and beyond, the NFA awards have been developed to recognise and celebrate the hard work and achievements of the 67 social housing organisations – which manage more than 1 million council homes, over half of all council housing in England.

The awards were judged by an independent panel; Roy Irwin, the Chief Inspector of Housing at the Audit Commission Housing Inspectorate; Janet Dean, the Strategic Housing Advisor, for the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), Michael Gelling, Chairman of the Tenants and Residents Organisations of England (TAROE) and Steve Hale from awards sponsors Lovell Partnerships.

Steve Hale of sponsor Lovell Partnerships Ltd, who was part of the judging team, said: “This is an inspirational project. Berneslai Homes has forged some very positive and effective partnerships to make the community a better, cleaner, safer place to live.  The project also shows a longevity which shows a real commitment by ALMO staff and residents.”

Dennis Rees, NFA Chair, said: “The 2008 NFA awards have received an overwhelming response and the quality of entry was excellent.  The fact that the government has begun to recognise the quality of the ALMO framework and are extending the role of ALMOs, giving us broader responsibilities and functions is testament to the great work being done around the country.”

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Notes to Editors:

Short-list for Most Effective Partnership Project
Brent Housing – Partnership between the ALMO, police and other authorities to improve the St Raphael’s estate
Stockport Homes – Stockport Intensive Partnerships ‘SIPS’
Berneslai Homes – ‘Kendray Blueprint’ where the residents decide the issues to be tackled

About the National Federation of ALMOs

The National Federation of ALMOs promotes the ALMO option in council house management which provides housing management and housing services to more than one million council properties across 67 live and 3 aspirant ALMOs nationwide.

ALMOs are the top performing social housing sector according to the Audit Commission judgements; 14 ALMOs have scored three star ratings, a haul well in excess of that achieved by either directly managed councils or housing associations.  .

By the end of 2007/08 £3.7 billion had been allocated to ALMOs to invest in improving social housing for tenants.

About Lovell Partnerships

Lovell Partnerships Limited is Britain’s leading provider of affordable housing, working in partnership with social housing providers at the cutting edge of urban regeneration to create sustainable communities.

The company’s expertise in mixed tenure regeneration embraces open market housing, design and build schemes, large-scale housing refurbishment programmes and Private Finance Initiatives as well as cost modeling and cross-subsidy arrangements to fund community activities, buildings and affordable rented housing.