01/04/2014 - Permalink

Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing celebrates first birthday

Related topics: Community / Partner organisations

News from our partners Shropshire Towns And Rural Housing

Shropshire Towns And Rural Housing (STAR Housing) has been looking back at some of its key achievements over the past 12 months as it celebrates its first birthday today (Tuesday 1 April 2014).

STAR Housing took over the management of Shropshire Council’s 4,200-strong housing stock back in April 2013.  The housing organisation, one of England’s newest arms-length management organisations (ALMOs), has made significant progress in its first year.  In just twelve months, Shropshire Towns And Rural Housing have:

  • made efficiency savings in excess of £200,000 which will be invested in service improvement in 2014/15
  • seen an increase in rent collections, despite changes in benefits
  • greatly increased tenant engagement, whereby tenants have helped shape the delivery of the business in terms of performance and recruitment
  • recruited a Financial Inclusion Officer to support and empower tenants to manage their money more effectively
  • established a range of methods for engaging and consulting with residents, including setting up Area Panels, creating a community Facebook and twitter site, as well as a dedicated consultation email for their tenants.
  • enhanced and regenerated local neighbourhoods by investing in £7,000 on community projects
  • taken part and made a significant contribution to the National Direct Payment Pilot, supporting tenants in paying their rent via their Housing Benefit
  • have significantly reduced the time of bringing properties back into occupation
  • commenced development of 68 much needed affordable new homes on 15 sites across the county
  • launched its own website, and revamped their tenant newsletter
  • worked closely with SUSTAIN staff to help vulnerable people move in to more suitable accommodation that meet their needs
  • worked with SUSTAIN staff to help tenants get online by running IT training sessions.

Sue Adams, Managing Director of Shropshire Towns And Rural Housing Ltd, said:

“This has been an exciting year for us and I’m really proud of how much we’ve achieved in such a short space of time.

“The past year has been incredibly busy but really rewarding, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our inspirational staff and tenants, who have played a pivotal role in enabling Shropshire Towns And Rural Housing to move forward as much as we have.

“We want to ensure we continue to take advantage of our pioneer status, where we will continue to develop new and innovative ways of delivering even better services for all our customers.”

Nicki Barker, Chair of Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing Board, added:

“As we celebrate our first anniversary, it’s great to see what progress we’ve made so far. We have changed the culture of our organisation in the way we look, feel and think, to create our own identity.

“Becoming an ALMO has given us a great opportunity to have a new start and a new way of doing things, that really makes a difference to the lives of people who live in the communities within which we work.”

For more information about Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing visit the website at www.starhousing.org.uk.  You can also follow us on Facebook by searching for “Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing” or on twitter @star_housing.