Shareholder Visit to Riverside - 10-11 February 2011

Association staff accompanied 19 Irvine Housing Association shareholders on a visit to Riverside's offices and housing stock in Liverpool last week.  The 2-day visit was an ideal opportunity for shareholders to see Riverside for themselves, meet Riverside tenants and staff, and ask any questions about the proposed partnership.  Last year almost 70 shareholders visited Riverside and found it to be extremely beneficial.

Day 1

Gilead Street Development, Kensington - A £24m mixed tenure Lovell development of approximately 145 new homes for affordable rent, shared ownership and outright sale.  The area was previously run down with vacant and derelict retail and commercial units and homes facing demolition.  The site is bounded by former Liverpool City Council homes that have had the benefit of improvement works following transfer to Riverside.  Here we had the opportunity to look around show homes that have all the same fixtures and fittings as the rented homes.  Staff were on hand to answer any questions.

Lee Valley Stock Tour and Area Office Visit - In 2003 Liverpool City Council transferred its homes in this area to Riverside following a ballot of tenants.  The transfer to Riverside kick started the improvements and regeneration of the area, including building new homes on sites previously occupied by multi-storey blocks.  To enable Riverside to fully regenerate the area, as part of the transfer agreement, the Council gave Riverside multiple plots of land to facilitate better use of green space and the building of more new homes.  We visited the local area office where we met Lee Valley tenants and the community wardens.

Day 2

Seven Oaks - A modern new build development comprising of 283 1,2 and 3-storey homes, bungalows and apartments for rent, shared ownership and outright sale.  The area suffered through lack of investment, derelict housing and poor environment.  Many of the tenants lived on the site and have been involved in the development from the early planning and consultation stages.  There is no distinction between the rent and sale properties. Properties include high quality kitchens, floor coverings throughout, front and rear gardens, off road parking and high Eco-build standards.  Here we met with Lovell staff and got a guided tour of the properties.

Cathedral Court - A sheltered housing scheme set in a Georgian Terrace, overlooking a cathedral in the historic quarter of Liverpool.  It opened in 1979 and is home to 34 tenants whose ages range from 61-105!  Tenants include a former Mayor, an ex-ballerina, a playwright and former merchant seamen and docks workers. Here we met residents and had a tour of the facilities including a guest bedroom and a roof garden. 

Four Estates - Riverside took over the four areas of stock from Runcorn Development Corporation.  Residents in the four areas were very community minded and continued to lobby Riverside for community facilities.  The group of residents became a steering group working alongside Riverside.  Although there was a great deal of activity taking place, they needed support, co-ordination and development of activities.  With Riverside's help, the Steering Group applied for national Lottery funding and were awarded a grant to cover employing a community worker for a 3-year period.  The Steering Group eventually became 'Four Estates Limited' and entered into an agreement with Riverside to manage 2 local community centres.  In 2001, Riverside's Community Investment Programme funded an IT suite at one of the community centres, where residents can take up training in an informal atmosphere.  This centre is now the Head Office of Four Estates.  Further funding secured the community worker for additional time and then subsequently a Community Development Manager.   Four Estates has since taken part in various community projects and initiatives in partnership with other agencies, including local schools.  This led to the addition of a Youth Development Officer, funded for 5 years by the Big Lottery. This has had the biggest impact both organisationally and for the communities. As well as providing activities for local children and young people, the Youth Development Officer ensures they are part of the decision-making processes.  The community centres host many activities including lunch clubs, martial arts, community cafes, exercise classes, kids clubs, youth clubs - there's something for everyone.  The IT training facility has provided a range of courses for locals who would not otherwise have taken up further education.  Other training courses have included advice from welfare specialists and careers advisors.  Youth development work includes the provision of an After School Club, football teams and youth clubs.  The young people take part in inter-generational projects, environmental projects, 'question time' sessions and day trips ranging from fun trips to Alton Towers to educational trips to castles and museums.  Working with school councils, they have formed Junior Forums that feed into regular Residents Associations.  Four Estates continues to evolve and respond to the needs of local communities.

Riverside Customer Service Centre -  The 24-hour, 365 day a year Customer Service Centre (CSC) has enabled Riverside to provide a successful and effective first point of contact for all customers in each of its divisions, except for Carlisle. The CSC has just over 100 staff who are all highly trained to answer any query regarding Riverside's services.  As well as answering Riverside calls, the CSC provides an out-of-hours service for 7 other housing associations across the country.  The CSC also manages Riverside's Helpline, which is a monitoring service for elderly and vulnerable people, answering approximately 9000 calls per year for tenants in sheltered and supported accommodation and approximately 300 Lifeline customers.