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Balsall Heath Housing Co-op, Birmingham

Strategic Plan 2001-2003

Summary

Introduction

The co-op has been through a period of change in the last twelve months. The Management Committee has identified several areas where improvements can be made and plans are already in place to deal with several of these. The Committee has taken a more hands-on approach to the running of the co-op and will continue to do so. The purpose of this document is to describe some of the exciting ideas which the Committee wants to get off the ground.

Member Participation

The co-op is founded on the principle that all decisions within the co-op are taken democratically by co-op members. In recent years a large number of members have been involved in the Committee at some stage, and at present the Committee has a stable membership and is beginning to work as a team.

However, the overall level of member participation is quite low. There are a number of reasons for this:

The co-op believes that its members are its greatest asset and therefore intends to set up a number of initiatives to address these issues.

Women's Group

There are a number of women members of the co-op who will not attend meetings where men are present. The co-op will be setting up a women's group open to all women who are members of the co-op. The group will gather opinions on repairs and maintenance; will use the collective experience of the co-op for mentoring purposes; will guide members towards educational and cultural facilities within the Balsall Heath community; and will organise social activities.

Repairs and Maintenance Group

This group will be given powers by the Committee to monitor repairs and maintenance, to look at ways to raise standards, and to ensure that members are given choices wherever possible. It will work closely with the contractors and with Moseley and District. It will be open to all members and will be more informal than the Management Committee.

The Repairs and Maintenance Group will take a hands-on approach. It will meet with contractors when necessary and will have powers to inspect the quality of work done by contractors.

Gardening Club - 'Balsall Heath's Garden Army'

A significant number of co-op members have indicated on their talent sheets that they have gardening skills. This is a large source of untapped ability that we need to use. This group will be based upon practical activity and will also be informal. It will look at ways in which individual and communal gardens can be improved, and offer advice to co-op members on gardening issues. It will also monitor the performance of gardening contractors. The club will also look at environmental issues.

In addition to these new ideas, the co-op's existing structures also need to be looked at. Our Annual General Meetings, which all members can attend, need to be made more interesting, and in particular, need to have real decision-making powers. We also need to start having regular General Meetings for all members, which also have considerable decision-making authority.

We need to ensure that all members, old and new, have access to information on how to get the most from the co-op. We will be publishing a 'Guide to Balsall Heath Housing Co-op' which will be based upon research into best practice among other housing co-ops. The Guide will be available in all relevant languages and formats for the disabled.

The co-op has another untapped resource, which is the meeting room at Gosford Street. We need to ensure that this is used for meetings and other activities wherever possible. We are also looking into the possibility of using the meeting room as a resource for local young people during the school holidays, building on the recent trips the co-op has organised to the seaside and the pictures.

Repairs and Maintenance

A large part of the rent that we pay goes on repairs and maintenance and this is a vital issue for our members. While most repairs and maintenance are carried out on time and to a suitably high standard, the Committee is concerned that there have been problems in the last couple years.

The Committee has already begun to address this issue. In February 2000, we started a major review of the repairs and maintenance service as part of taking a more hands-on approach to this issue. Progress has already been made. There are improved procedures for escalating repairs where the member is dissatisfied with work, and for inspecting empty properties before they are handed over to a new occupier.

However, there is still a lot of work to be done, and the Committee has further plans to improve the repairs and maintenance service.

The co-op will be adopting a new written repairs and maintenance policy. A major part of this will be new standards of service, which we expect contractors to work to. A copy of this will be sent to all members so that they know what is expected from contractors.

The Repairs and Maintenance Group will do much of the work needed to raise standards in this area. We know that members of the co-op have many good ideas to contribute and we hope that through the channel of the Repairs and Maintenance Group, these ideas can be used to improve the repairs and maintenance service.

Many co-op members are keen to do DIY, which we want to encourage if it is practical and safe. We will therefore be looking at providing training for co-op members in safe DIY.

Rent Arrears

The co-op has no other source of income other than the rents that we pay. If rent is not paid, then repairs and maintenance cannot be carried out. While the co-op's rents are among the lowest in Birmingham, we are aware that these are hard times and many people have difficulty in paying all of their rent. The co-op takes a sympathetic view of such difficulties and wishes to be fair to everybody. We do not wish to use the threatening methods of some private landlords but we do have to take fair measures to ensure that rent is collected.

The Committee is concerned that the level of rent arrears in the co-op has increased. If this situation continues then this will threaten our future plans. Some of the rent arrears is due to late payments by the Housing Benefit department but we are aware that some co-op members are having genuine difficulties.

The co-op will therefore be revising its rent arrears policy, acting upon guidance from the Confederation of Co-operative Housing (CCH). This will ensure that there are clear procedures for setting and collecting rent. We intend to provide training for members of the Committee in rent arrears management, as this is one of the most difficult and sensitive areas that we have to deal with.

If a member is having difficulty with budgeting, then we will always be happy for them to speak to a debt counsellor. The co-op will be providing a list of local Citizens Advice Bureaux and other local places where members can go to get advice on debts. We would also like for Moseley and District staff who are involved in collecting our rents to receive training in debt counselling, so that help is always readily at hand.

The Management Committee

We have outlined plans above to give more and more power to each and every member of the co-op. However, the Management Committee will still have an important role. In the last two years, the Committee has undergone a lot of training, and we have an ongoing three-year training plan, which is well under way.

Any member who want to join the Committee will be offered training. We are also looking at developing an appraisal programme for Committee members, so they can assess their own training and development needs.

Equal Opportunities

The co-op has a long-standing commitment to equal opportunities and we are pleased that the membership of the co-op reflects the diversity of Balsall Heath.

However, we are concerned that some groups are under-represented and the co-op is keen to address this.

The co-op has therefore adopted a revised equal opportunities policy, which includes a commitment to follow the Commission of Racial Equality's Code of Practice.

We intend to ensure that all information about the co-op is available in all community languages, and is available in accessible formats for people with disabilities. Many co-op members have language skills and we wish to use these as much as possible.

Publicity and Communications

We are keen to make sure that the name of Balsall Heath Housing Co-op is well known. We will therefore be designing a new image and logo for the co-op, which will feature on all letters and other publicity.

The co-op newsletter will be published on a more regular basis. It will be shorter and snappier than before.

We already have a web page, provided by the CCH, at http://www.cch.coop/coops/balsall.html We intend to liven up the web page in the near future. The co-op is beginning to make use of e-mail to make sure that Committee members stay in close contact with each other and with Moseley and District.

Managing Agreement

We have used Moseley and District Churches Housing Association as our managing agents for more than ten years. The written agreement that we have with them is unfortunately out of date, and we will be renegotiating this with Moseley and District. This will also be a chance for both the co-op and Moseley and District to think about where we need to go in the future.

Conclusions

The co-op has provided high-quality homes for people on low incomes in Balsall Heath for nearly twenty-five years. The co-op is financially healthy and can look forward to the future with confidence. If we are able to achieve our goals, then we can be sure that the co-op will be a better place to live. This can only happen if members of the co-op are prepared to give up a little bit of time and effort to help out.

If you have any comments on the co-op's strategic plan, please contact us by one of the following methods.

Contact Details

Gordon Southwell
Balsall Heath Housing Co-op
106 Alcester Road
Moseley
Birmingham
B13 8EF
Telephone: 0121 449 8661
E-mail: gordon.southwell@moseleyha.org.uk>

The co-op has 79 properties in Balsall Heath. Our waiting list is quite long and we only occasionally have vacancies. You are welcome to apply to the co-op, but if we do accept you on to our waiting list, it could be some time before we are able to offer you a property.