News

Lochaber Housing Association welcomes four apprentices to in-house maintenance service

Lochaber Housing Association has welcomed four new apprentices to its in-house Property Services team.

Jamie MacArthur and Ross MacKenzie, both from Fort William, have taken up joinery and plumbing apprenticeships, respectively.  Donald Pearce from Kinlochleven will train as an electrician while Stuart Donaldson from Inverlochy becomes an apprentice painter.

There were 64 applications for the apprenticeships, and the four young men selected each had to pass a skills exam set by the relevant training body to assess whether they were competent enough to complete the necessary college courses, which will begin this September.

The four-year apprenticeships were an important element of Lochaber Housing Association’s decision to set up its subsidiary company, Property Services, just over a year ago in a bid to ensure an improved service for tenants - as well as projected savings of £500,000 for the Association over a five year period.

Following a strategic review of LHA’s financial strategy,  it was decided the association’s maintenance service – previously provided by outside contractors –  should be delivered by an in-house team of qualified trades people, comprising two joiners, two plumbers, two labourers, two painters and an electrician.

The service includes two teams: one to carry out planned maintenance, eg replacing kitchens and bathrooms, and the other - the “reactive” maintenance team – to respond to requests for day to day repairs. Based at a unit on the Claggan Industrial Estate, the two teams are overseen by LHA Maintenance Manager Sean Doherty - supported by Maintenance Supervisor Alistair Kennedy and Maintenance Co-ordinator, Sheena Coull.

LHA director Blair Allan said: “When we established the Property Services team it was our intention to provide a number of apprenticeships across the trades, enabling LHA to contribute to the local community and economy while continuing to develop its service.

“It’s wonderful that we are able to keep re-investing in the Housing Association stock for the benefit of tenants but the really pleasing aspect is being able to create employment opportunities for young people. In the context of a recession when most people are retracting their businesses we are fortunate to be in the position to expand ours and create jobs.”

He added: “Lochaber Housing Association is now registered as a Community Interest Company, which means we can carry out activities which benefit the wider community - not just the company - such as offering employment to local young people through apprenticeships.

“As well as providing a top quality service, the in-house maintenance service has been running profitably and all savings made as a result – expected to be in the region of £500,000 over the next five years - will be ploughed back into the association to enable continued improvements to the maintenance of tenants’ properties.”

LHA Property Services is scheduled to complete around £950,000 of repairs (both planned and reactive) during the 2010/2011 period.

Arisaig residents move into new homes in time for Christmas

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” for residents allocated new properties within Lochaber Housing Association’s £3.5 million Canon Gillies Place development at Arisaig, who are looking forward to moving into their new homes in time for the festive season.

Lochaber Housing Association’s 20-home development at Arisaig – named in honour of the late Canon Iain Gillies, who was parish priest at St Mary’s, Kilmory, for almost 20 years – has provided much-needed housing for a wide cross-section of the local population.

Following a brief delay in completion, new residents are now starting to move into the well-appointed properties at Canon Gillies Place, which include 16 homes available for affordable rental, and four homes (two two-bedroom and two three-bedroom) available under the L.I.F.T shared equity low cost home ownership initiative. A further two plots within the development have been made available under the Rural Home Ownership Grant (RHOG) scheme.

The affordable housing development consists of four two-bedroom single storey homes (suitable for elderly residents), six two-bedroom houses, and six three-bedroom houses. Funding for the project was provided by the Scottish Government, in partnership with Lochaber Housing Association.

Located to the west of the village - on a hillside overlooking Loch nan Ceall, with views of the Rhu peninsula and the isles of Eigg and Muck - the new housing development is situated close to village amenities including the shop and local primary school.

Lochaber Housing Association Director Blair Allan said he was delighted that the association had been able to meet the challenge of providing suitable accommodation to address local housing needs in Arisaig.

He added: “The Association shared the concerns of many local people who were aware that the properties appeared to be completed for some time before they were finally occupied.

“However, while this appeared to be the case, there were a number of outstanding defects that we were anxious to have rectified before we accepted the properties from the contractor. Some issues remain outstanding but we are working with the contractor and our consultants to ensure these are addressed with the minimum of disruption to tenants”.

Canon Iain Gillies, known locally as Father Iain, was parish priest at Kilmory from 1964 – 1983. He remains a fondly-remembered figure throughout the area, and is credited – among other things – with helping to bring TV to Arisaig, as well as designing and creating beautiful church furniture which can still be found throughout the diocese.

Pictured are Mr & Mrs Maclean who were presented with a hamper after moving into their new home in Canon Gillies Place.

Christmas Competition Winner 2009

The Association again played host to a Lochaber primary school. Nicole Farrell and her class mates from Duror Primary School visited local company Printsmith at the Nevis Bank Industrial Estate to watch Nicole’s winning design turned into the Association’s Christmas card 2009.

Primary schools throughout Lochaber had entered the competition which is now in its fourth year. The standard remains high with staff at the Association faced with the difficult decision to find only one winner.

Our website will show some of the runners up in "the gallery".

The children and their teachers then visited LHA’s offices for juice and cakes, Sheena and Irene, both staff members, took the children for an informative tour around the offices, during which they met Santa and his helper who were happy to pose for photos. As a prize Nicole received her Christmas card framed and an art set. Nicole was happy to receive her presents, the art set would be very useful as she attends an art class weekly.

At the end of the visit the children by way of thanks sang a beautiful version of Silent Night and a song from the play that they will be performing at Christmas.

Lochaber Housing Association launches in-house maintenance service

Lochaber Housing Association’s brand new subsidiary company - Property Services was launched this week in a bid to ensure an improved service for tenants - as well as projected savings of £500,000 for the Association over the next five years.

Following a two-year strategic review of LHA’s overall financial strategy,  it was decided the association’s maintenance service – previously provided by outside contractors –  should be delivered by an in-house team of qualified trades people, comprising two joiners, two plumbers, two labourers and an electrician.

The new service will include two teams: one to carry out planned maintenance, eg replacing kitchens and bathrooms, and the other - the “reactive” maintenance team – to respond to requests for day to day repairs. Based at a unit on the Claggan Industrial Estate, the two teams will be overseen by LHA Maintenance Manager Sean Doherty - supported by Maintenance Supervisor Alistair Kennedy and Maintenance Co-ordinator, Sheena Coull.

LHA Chair Alison Gainsford, explained: “Repairing and maintaining our tenants’ properties is one of the most important services we provide as a landlord. It is crucial that we provide a top quality service which represents value for money.

“We believe that by directly employing skilled trades people within our own company, we can ensure that we provide tenants with the highest quality repairs service, meet our strict targets for completing repairs on time and reduce our maintenance spend while increasing value for money.

“The new service will also enable us to arrange suitable morning or afternoon appointments for tenants, while allowing for a more proactive approach to maintaining home, such as testing smoke alarms, oiling window mechanisms and locks and immediately carrying out any additional repairs which come to light during a visit to a tenant’s home. We are aiming to complete works in more houses, more quickly, at less cost to our tenants.”

She added: “It is also intended that the reactive repairs team would carry out small scale inspections of properties to identify future works, which can then be planned for completion during less busy periods, eg. if a garden gate was seen to be coming towards the end of its lifespan, its replacement could be planned, thereby giving less inconvenience to the tenant.”

There are also plans to employ painters for cyclical work from 2010, as well as providing apprenticeships across the trades in the near future, enabling LHA to contribute to the local community and economy while continuing to develop its service.

Savings made as a result of the new scheme – expected to be in the region of £500,000 over the next five years - will be ploughed back into the association to enable continued improvements to the service. Tenants will also benefit from the security of knowing all LHA Property Services’ staff will wear a uniform, drive liveried vans and carry personal ID.

Maintenance Manager Sean Doherty said: “These are exciting times for Lochaber Housing Association. I am confident that our tenants will notice continuing improvements in our repairs service.”

LHA Property Services is a subsidiary of Lochaber Housing Association, which celebrated its 21st anniversary this year, and will be registered as a Community Interest Company, meaning it can carry out activities which benefit the wider community not just the company.

Tenants will continue to report the need for repairs by phoning LHA’s office at 101 High Street, Fort William (Tel: 01397 702530) while the out of hours service for emergency repairs will still be provided by Highland Council (Tel:01397 700123)

Lochaber Housing Association marks 21st Anniversary at AGM

As it celebrated its 21st anniversary, Lochaber Housing Association remains committed to providing “good quality, truly affordable housing opportunities and services for local people in their preferred communities,” the organisation’s AGM heard on Monday 14th September 2009.

And, despite a reduction in “development ambitions” during 2008/09 due to funding constraints, the Association has continued to see improvements across its housing management and maintenance services – including the establishment of a subsidiary company to carry out maintenance for the association “in-house” - as well as completion of several new-build developments throughout the area.

Speaking at the AGM, Chairperson Alison Gainsford said: “Our principal strategic objective is to supply increasing numbers of high quality affordable housing solutions throughout Lochaber.  Regrettably, for the first time in the Association’s 21 year history, we have felt that we have not completely fulfilled this important objective.

“This has been because of a government decision …. to amend the way in which it calculated the amount of private finance that housing associations have to borrow for each new home we develop. This would, in our view, result in unsustainable levels of borrowing for the Association. We would need to either inject the Association’s cash reserves into development activity or to cross-subsidise development using our housing stock over which no security for borrowing has been taken. Both of these alternatives have been considered by the Management Committee to be incompatible with the need to ensure that we retain sufficient reserves to support our long-term planned maintenance obligations to tenants.”

However, despite the funding cuts, Ms Gainsford revealed that the Management Committee had decided to seek government approval to develop a limited number of new homes – 42 in total – during 2009/10, subject to being able to secure private finance on acceptable terms, and said a recent meeting with the Minister for Housing and Communities had been “very positive”, with the result that the Minister had established a joint working party to seek solutions to the funding crisis.

“The Management Committee therefore remains hopeful that a way forward can be found that enables the Association to continue developing affordable rented housing opportunities in the communities it has served for the last 21 years,” she added.

The Association’s Annual Report 2009, launched at the AGM, reveals a total capital expenditure on housing development of £3,814,393 during 2008/09.

Five housing developments, totaling 29 new homes, were completed, including 16 homes for rent at Kings Way, Mallaig; four homes for rent at Old Banavie Road, Banavie (Former police house); two homes for rent at Kilmallie Road, Caol (Former police house); three homes for rent at Union Road, Fort William (Former police house) and four homes for rent at Lochyside, Fort William. A further 22 homes at Arisaig (16 rented, 4 shared equity, 2 RHOG plots) and 5 homes for shared equity at Achintore Road, Fort William, are due to be completed in the near future.

Projects due to commence on site in 2009/10 include 21 homes for rent at Heathercroft, Upper Achintore, Fort William; 22 homes at the former industrial unit, Claggan, Fort William (15 rented, 7 shared equity); three homes for rent at Glenancross, Morar and two homes for rent at the Former Primary School, Acharacle, while future projects in the pipeline include developments at Strontian, Kinlochleven, Spean Bridge, Inchree and Lochyside & Inverlochy in Fort William.

Following the formal business, the AGM heard a presentation from Di Alexander, the Association’s longest standing and original committee member, about the Association’s “Beginnings”, followed by some personal reflections from special guest Monsignor Wynne about his time as the Association’s first Chairperson.

Chairperson Alison Gainsford, Di Alexander and Monsignor Wynne are pictured above cutting a cake to mark the Association’s 21st Anniversary.

Minister visits Lochaber Housing Association

On a visit to Fort William this week, Scotland's housing minister couldn't promise any new money for developments – but he did promise to return in November to review progress.

Alex Neil was in Lochaber on Tuesday to highlight a project to help community-based housing associations keep developing affordable homes.

And he vowed to return later this year to review the progress of a newly-created joint working party including Scottish Government officials, Highland Council, Lochaber Housing Association, Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association and Pentland Housing Association. After cuts to the Housing Association Grant (HAG) created a funding deficit – putting on hold some schemes to create low-cost rented and shared equity homes in Lochaber – the group must look for solutions. Lochaber Housing Association has been concerned about the viability of working with the revised HAG levels since May last year. It says that given the levels of private finance now needed per unit for new build, there is little prospect of developing and still remaining viable.

Speaking after Mr Neil's meeting with council and housing association representatives, Lochaber Housing Association director Blair Allan said: "We had a very positive discussion with Alex Neil. As well as initiating the joint working party, he's agreed to come back to Fort William in early November to review its progress." He underlined his view that he sees an ongoing role for all three housing associations in the area to create new-build affordable homes. "Although he hasn't promised us any new money we did feel the minister understood our position and that he is willing to work with us."

Before the meeting, Mr Neil visited Canon Gillies Place in Arisaig to see LHA's new £3.5 million development, due for completion in September. This affordable housing development – financed under the previous grant allocation rates – consists of 20 homes. Four of them were financed through the LIFT (Low-cost Initiative for First Time buyers) scheme, a recent government initiative. Two plots are also available for self-build projects under the rural home ownership grant scheme.

Mr Neil then visited a new private development at Glenloch View, on Achintore Road, Fort William, where Lochaber Housing Association have bought five properties from the developer Holme Park Developments Ltd. They will be sold on under the LIFT scheme.

Mr Neil said that across the Highlands, £32 million will be spent by the Scottish Government to help deliver 401 affordable homes in 2009-2010. At Arisaig, Mr Neil said: "This superb new development is great news for families in Lochaber looking for affordable rental housing, and low-cost home-ownership."

Official Opening of King’s Way, Mallaig, by Stewart Maxwell MSP, Minister for Communities and Sport

Lochaber Housing Association’s newest development – the £3.3 million King’s Way in Mallaig – was officially opened this week (Monday 25th August) by Minister for Communities and Sport, Stewart Maxwell MSP.

The long-awaited 16-home development, completed in January 2008, has been named after former local councillor Charlie King, who served the community as Highland councillor for Mallaig and the Small Isles for 23 years.

The affordable housing development consists of six two-bedroom houses, seven three-bedroom houses, and three specially adapted homes for tenants with special needs. Funding for the King’s Way project was provided through grants from Communities Scotland and Highland Council, as well as private finance from the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Built on the exposed Coteachan hillside, the site initially posed considerable difficulties for The UBC Group, the development’s main contractors. And the wind and rain which plagued early ground-works at the development returned with a vengeance on the day of the official opening, forcing those present to quickly decamp to a nearby hotel.

Undeterred by the weather, however, the minister – a regular visitor to the Mallaig area – praised the quality of the new development and the hard work undertaken to provide "these marvellous new homes" for the area.

Describing rural housing as "a political hot potato", Mr Maxwell went on to give an assurance that the Scottish government" remains committed to ensuring housing in rural areas remains at the top of the political agenda."

Lochaber Housing Association Chairperson Alison Gainsford added that the Association was aware of the need to continue to seek land in Mallaig – a difficult task due to the topography of the area - in a bid to address the local waiting list for housing, which stood at 292 names prior to allocation of the King’s Way properties.

Speaking after the official opening ceremony, Charlie King said it was "a great honour" to have the new LHA development named after him.

"Mallaig has needed these houses for a long time and a lot of hard work, by a lot of people, has gone into bringing this development to fruition," he added. "This is an extremely well set-out site with houses built to a very high standard – let’s hope there are more to come like this!"

Work is now underway on Lochaber Housing Association’s 20-home development at nearby Arisaig.