Tag Archives: Accreditation

Residents Associations – useful or not?

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  1. Residents Associations – what are they?

The purpose of this article is to provide, on a best efforts basis, an overview of what a Residents Association (RA) and it would be best if you would refer to the Council’s Resident Participation Officer (RPO) for any clarity or clarification regarding RAs. From various discussions with residents of the Alton Estate it is clear that many have little understanding of what an RA is, let alone what they can achieve.

  1. Where can I get the RPO contact details?

In the case of the Alton Estate this is covered by the Western Area and the contact details can be obtained from the Homelife magazine – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/homelife-wandsworth-councils-housing-newsletter-october-2018/

  1. What is an RA?

From the Council’s website a RA is a ‘Local residents forming a group which decide matters relating to their estate and how it is managed.  Residents are expected to attend regular meetings throughout the year and an annual general meeting.  Committee members of the RA will dedicate additional time to the management of the group’ – http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200561/resident_involvement/246/get_involved_-_housing

  1. How do I create a RA?

You need ‘A properly constituted residents’ group with a membership of at least 20% of the estate/block must first be set up’ – http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200561/resident_involvement/1654/resident_management_organisations_and_co-ops

For instance, if you’re block has 50 flats, then you would need 10 flats to sign up to the RA.

  1. What are the Committee roles within the RA?

There should be at least three roles within the RA and they are the Chairperson, Secretary and the Treasurer. The roles, along with lots of other information about RAs can be obtained from the Residents Association Handbook (RHA) on pages 17 and 18 –http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/downloads/file/12980/residents_association_handbook

  1. What documentation is required for the RA?

Membership form

To start up the RA members will need to complete a membership form which is something like the following – https://1drv.ms/b/s!ArEMr7ee7ZCNiG31GbccsUYAJqgF

The membership form might be adapted to better suit your needs though best to discuss with the RPO.

Code of Conduct

Refer to page 13 of the RHA for some details though one such version is highlighted as follows – https://1drv.ms/b/s!ArEMr7ee7ZCNiGx-NJ4q-PLypLMZ

Accreditation and grant

When you have the numbers to create an RA, then an Accreditation form will need to be created (see page 6 of the RHA for more information). The grant is a sum of money which can be used for various purposes by the RA. An example of the Accreditation and grant form is as follows (Appendix 1 to Paper 15-320) – https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/documents/s38665/Appendix%201.pdf

Constitution

Like most associations, a constitution will need to be created and an example is as follows (Appendix 2 to Paper 15-320) – https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/documents/s38666/Appendix%202.pdf

Amendments were agreed to this Constitution Appendix at the Housing and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HROSC) 15th September 2015 Item 27.

  1. Is the membership a one off?

Annually, the RA will need to be accredited. A tip which might make life easier is that you obtain email addresses and when it’s renewal time you request email confirmation of membership renewal. By doing this you save time door knocking, though again, check with your RPO.

  1. How often does a RA have to meet?

The Constitution suggest a minimum of two General meetings a year with one being the Annual General Meeting (AGM), though many RAs have four meetings each year with one meeting nearly every three months.

  1. Can the RA influence what happens in the area?

There are opportunities to influence what happens in your local area or if you wish beyond that by participating in the various RA roles and structures such as Area Housing Panel (AHP), Borough Residents Forum (BRF), HROSC, and the Roehampton Partnership. As you see there are a lot of options.

  1. What is the Western Area Housing Panel (WAHP)?

The WAHP covers the Alton Estate and nearby estates. Two members from RA have the opportunity attend the WAHP and page 6 of the RHA highlights what the WAHP is about. At the time of this article the following WAHP RAs are members and you may notice that the Alton East appears to be well represented;

  • Ashburton Sheltered Residents’ Association (ASRA),
  • Cadnam Point Residents’ Association (CPRA), – Alton East
  • Crown Court Residents’ Association (CCRA),
  • Finchdean House Residents’ Association (FHRA), – Alton West
  • Hayward Gardens Residents’ Association (HGRA),
  • Hersham Close Residents’ Association (HCRA), – Alton East
  • Innes Gardens Residents’ Association (IGRA),
  • Kimpton House Residents’ Association (KHRA), – Alton East
  • Lennox Sheltered Residents’ Association (LSRA),
  • Manresa and Minstead Sheltered Housing Residents’ Association (MMSHRA), – Alton West & Alton East
  • Putney Vale Residents’ Association (PVRA),
  • St Margaret’s Court Sheltered Residents Association (SMCSRA),
  • Stockhurst Close Residents’ Association (SCRA),
  • Stoughton Close/Greatham Walk/Ryefield Path Residents’ Association (SCGWRPRA), – Alton East

To get a flavor of what WAHP’s discuss refer to – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/western-area-housing-panel-24-september-2018/

  1. What is the BRF?

From the WAHP four RA representatives are selected to attend the BRF which is an opportunity to address Councillors and Council employees directly regarding various policies and issues, such as the retro fitting of water sprinklers.

At the time of this article the following WAHP RAs are members;

  • Hersham Close Residents’ Association (HCRA), – Alton East
  • Innes Gardens Residents’ Association (IGRA),
  • Kimpton House Residents’ Association (KHRA), – Alton East
  • Stoughton Close/Greatham Walk/Ryefield Path Residents’ Association (SCGWRPRA), – Alton East

What is discussed at the BRF is noted and published within the Council’s HROSC. An example being item 3 (Paper 18-278) the HROSC 13th September 2018 – https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=575&MId=5828&Ver=4

  1. What is the HROSC?

From the BRF one RA representative can be selected to attend the Council’s HROSC and speak on behalf of the BRF. The current attendees are – https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/mgMeetingAttendance.aspx?ID=5828

Details of the meetings can be found at the following – https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?XXR=0&Year=2018&CId=575&MD=ielistmeetings

  1. What is the Roehampton Partnership (RP)?

The RP is meant to be the main advisory body for the Alton Estate regeneration and three RA representatives are selected from the WAHP to attend the RP. At the moment the following WAHP RAs are members;

  • Ashburton Sheltered Residents’ Association (ASRA),
  • Hersham Close Residents’ Association (HCRA), – Alton East
  • Putney Vale Residents’ Association (PVRA),

The constitution of the RP is – http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/downloads/download/1444/what_is_the_roehampton_partnership_terms_of_reference

Who attends the RP – https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/mgMeetingAttendance.aspx?ID=5939

What the RP discusses can be found at – https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=531&MId=5939

  1. Where do meetings take place?

RAs on the Alton Estate – might have their own club room otherwise it might be in the Manresa Pensioners Clubroom – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/manresa-pensioners-clubroom-where-is-it/

  • WAHP – has its meetings at the Manresa Pensioners Clubroom
  • BRF – at the Town Hall.
  • HROSC – at the Town Hall.
  • RP – various locations throughout Roehampton.
  1. Ask to sit in or join with other RAs?

Not sure about RAs, maybe you might be able to attend a RA meeting to see how they work, though each one might work differently based on how they choose to run the meetings and who attends.

If you are in a block with no RA and wish to join another RA, it might be an idea to discuss this with the RA and see what it thinks. One building is currently working towards obtaining the 20% membership required so that it can join an accredited RA to have a greater voice.

  1. How to find out the mix in your block?

Some residents would like to know the mix of their block before starting a RA. The reasons for this vary. To have a rough idea of which flats are leasehold refer to the following – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2018/08/11/how-to-locate-leaseholders-in-your-block/

  1. Interesting in funding for small local projects?

Then the Small Improvement Budget (SIBs) might be able to assist you. This is a small fund that can make improvements to where you live. For more information refer to the following link – http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200561/resident_involvement/1645/small_improvement_grants_for_housing_estates

Examples are;

Tidy up and regressing of an area, along with the creation of two new car spaces – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2018/03/16/did-you-see-the-newish-car-parks-in-hersham-close/

Removal of cobble stones and replaced with grass – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2018/03/13/holybourne-avenue-2-24-looking-good/

Grassing over of former recycling area – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/this-green-area-was-unloved-until-a-residents-association-sorted-it/

Creation of motor bike bays – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/new-motorbike-parking-bays-in-hersham-close/

New path – https://roeregeneration.wordpress.com/2017/11/26/new-path-at-bordon-walk-holybourne-avenue-intersection/

  1. What else can RAs do?

At the moment one RA has completed a Stage 2 complaint regarding what it considers the poor implementation of double glazing.

Caveats

Please note that all information is provided on a best efforts basis and that readers should make their own efforts to review and assess the provided content.

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Please note that all information is provided on a best efforts basis and that readers should make their own efforts to review and assess the provided content.

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 Contact

Email us at – roeregeneration@yahoo.com – and let us know of any concerns/thoughts you may have or add a comment at the end of the blog entry in the ‘Leave a Reply’ section.

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