annual report 2004-5

Southwark and London Diocesan Housing Association

Southwark and London Diocesan HousingAssociation seeks to encourage neighbourlinessand mutual aid among its tenants

This report is circulated to AnglicanParishes, the Dioceses of Southwarkand London, Local Authorities,tenants and all those who workwith the Association.

Southwark and London DiocesanHousing Association aims to:

● continue to develop high qualityhousing at affordable rents forthose on low incomes

● manage and maintain itsproperties to a high standard

● build successful communities

As a Christian organisation,Southwark and London DiocesanHousing Association seeks toachieve this by:

● recognising the needs of thetwo Dioceses and individualParishes and to work closelywith them to secure new sitesfor development

● recognising the huge need foraffordable housing in Londonand the demands placed onLocal Authorities in the areaswithin which SLDHA operates

● making the best use of itsproperties and other assets

● encouraging neighbourlinessand mutual aid among itstenants

Membership is open to those whoshare the aims of the Association.There are currently over 130members.

The Association currently has 140properties in ownership andmanagement in Southwark,Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hillingdon,Lewisham, Greenwich andTandridge Councils.

Whowe are...

sld

ha

an

nu

al

rep

ort

20

04

-05

2

It was fifteen years ago that Southwark Diocesan HousingAssociation succeeded in achieving registration with theHousing Corporation. Although the Association was originally

set up in the 1960s, during its early life it concentrated onmanaging a few scattered properties mainly for those working inParishes in South London. The Faith in the City Report then gavethe Association a new impetus. It became clear that if it was toplay an effective part in the Churches’ response to combatinghomelessness, it needed to change.

A new Management Committee was assembled and anapplication made to achieve registration with its funder andregulator, the Housing Corporation. The fact that this wasachieved in the face of considerable opposition was largely dueto the vision and leadership of the former Archdeacon ofSouthwark, Douglas Bartles-Smith.

The Association represents a good example of co-operationacross the 2 Anglican Dioceses of London and Southwark. Therole of Chair of the Management Committee reflects thisarrangement. After serving as Chair for the last 2 years, I will besucceeded by the current Archdeacon of Southwark, MichaelIpgrave in March 2006 pictured above left.

Today, significant responsibilities are placed on Trustees andCommittee Members of charities and housing associations. For

ambitious yet still small organisations like SLDHA, CommitteeMembers are required not only to have a strategic overview butalso to be involved in the day-to-day workings of theAssociation. I would like to pay tribute to all my fellowCommittee Members for their skill and hard work over this lastyear. Particular thanks are due to our Hon. Treasurer, GrevilleNorman for his continued expertise in overseeing the finance ofthe association, to Janet Heatley and David Freeman forChairing our Committees on Communications and Auditrespectively and indeed to all members of these Committeesand Working Groups. Our thanks finally to Yetunde Otesanya forpreparing our quarterly prayer letter.

The Association will experience a period of considerablegrowth over the next 2 years and it is an exciting time for us. Iwould very much like to thank all our members of staff for theirhard work over the last year.

Lyle DennenChair of Management CommitteeArchdeacon of Hackney

Letterfrom the Chair...

The Association will experiencea period of considerable growthover the next 2 years and it is anexciting time for us

1sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

Satisfaction levels with our service remain highbut there is always room for improvement.

● we received support from the HousingCorporation to develop two, very differentschemes during 2005/6 – one in the Dioceseof London and the other in the Diocese ofSouthwark

● we continued to improve the condition of ourolder properties with central heating anddamp proofing work on 5 houses and flats. Allour homes now comply with the DecentHomes Standard

● we compared a range of our existingservices with members in the SoLFeD Groupof associations. Some of our servicescompare favourably. This has allowed us tocontinue to focus more attention on areaswhere we can improve our service totenants.

● we further developed our work on internalaudit and risk management by setting up anew Audit Committee

● we implemented a training programme andcreated an induction pack for all Committeemembers.

Tenant News

We continue to meet regularly with our tenantsto consult them about all aspects of our workand to encourage their participation in the workof the Association. Results from the most recenttenant survey are shown on this page.Satisfaction levels with our service remain highand satisfaction with the quality of homegenerally was exceptionally high.

Overthe last year

(%) (%)Last Year This Year

Question Excellent/Good Excellent/Good

Quality of home generally 91 96Neighbourhood 91 81Repairs Service 75 84Security 86 93Service from staff 95 94

47% of our residents responded to the survey. The results were as follows:

2sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

New development

A mixed tenure development at the Elephant and Castlecompleted late in 2004. SLDHA received 10 flats from thisscheme and will purchase them during the course of thisyear.

SLDHA is also working on two other proposeddevelopments. Construction of a high density schemecomprised of 58 flats in Poplar, East London is likely tobegin in the Spring of 2006. A further development in arural community in Tandridge, Surrey received planningpermission in September 2005 and it is hoped thatconstruction will begin on these homes in the next fewmonths.

Maintenance and Improvements to older properties

For day-to-day response repairs, SLDHA has a range ofagreements with contractors who continue to do anexcellent job and receive high approval ratings fromresidents.

Major improvement works were commissioned during theSummer of 2005 at some of the Association’s olderproperties in Peckham and Clapham.

Thank you

Thanks are due particularly this year to:

● Officers from Tower Hamlets Borough who havestrongly supported our proposed scheme in Poplar

over the last year...SLDHA has a range of agreements with contractors and consultantswho continue to do excellent work on new projects and our existinghousing stock

● Officers from Tandridge District Council who havestrongly supported our proposed scheme in Felbridge

● Family Housing Association for their work asdevelopment agent at Watling House

● all of our contractors for their excellent work oneveryday repairs and maintenance

● W Hammond and One Stop Gas and Plumbing for majorrepairs work and gas servicing

● our consultants for their excellent and innovative work● to Officers from the 2 Dioceses and their advisors for

their support of the Association’s work

3sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

Who wehoused in 2005...

Referral Source of Tenants Employment Status of Tenants

Main reasons for rehousing

End of Short term tenancy 1

Required to move by current landlord 1

Required to move by family and friends 1

Need for independent accommodation 3

Couldn’t afford rent 1

4sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

Ourpeformance

How our income was spent

VOID PERFORMANCEThe average turnaround time on re-

letting empty properties in our generalhousing needs stock was 4 weeks.

AVERAGE RENTS ALL HOMESassured securetenancies tenancies

bedsit £52.95 n/a

1 bedroom £67.64 £56.25

2 bedroom £82.90 £61.48

3 bedroom £93.71 n/a

4 bedroom £102.21 £97.35

5sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

SLDHA is part of the South London Federation of SmallHousing Associations (SoLFeD). The other members of SoLFeDare Housing for Women, Ekaya HA, Lambeth and SouthwarkHA and New World HA who each have their own specialistarea of work.

During the last year:SoLFeD participated in the “Black on Board” scheme -supporting the project to increase and promote Boardmembership from black and minority ethnic communities. Thescheme was devised by OLMEC, part of the PresentationHousing Group. Black on Board has successfully led to anincrease in black and minority ethnic participation across anumber of mainstream and specialist associations inSouthwark and the surrounding boroughs.

Community Development WorkerEkaya employed a community development worker as part ofSoLFeD’s commitment to the Peckham area. Costs have beenshared by housing associations working in the PeckhamPartnership and the Housing Corporation.

TrainingSoLFeD members have completed a variety of joint trainingprogrammes including training on rent arrears collection,financial skills and the role of board members.

BenchmarkingSoLFeD members have continued to monitor performanceacross the group through benchmarking.

DevelopmentJoint working between SoLFeD members and Family HousingAssociation led to the completion of around 30 new homes onNew Kent Road

Mutual SupportThe SoLFeD network enables and encourages members towork together to share and develop new policies andprocedures, learning from each other what has workedelsewhere.

Solfed Black on Board has successfully led to an increasein black and minority ethnic participation across anumber of mainstream and specialist associationsin Southwark and the surrounding boroughs

6sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

New World HA

Housing for Women

Ekaya HA

Lambeth and Southwark HA

summary revenue accounts 2005 2004

turnover from rents/other income 597,420 535,240

less costs 391,031 348,179

surplus 206,389 187,061

less net interest payable (162,045) (143,894)

net surplus in the year 48,869 46,422

summary balance sheet

properties at cost 9,131,715 8,937,785

less Social Housing Grant (5,824,690) (5,824,690)

less depreciation (167,976) (135,569)

other fixed assets nil nil

less creditors 190,801 (53,559)

net current assets 2,948,248 2,923,967

loans 2,015,878 2,040,470

designated reserves 280,705 280,705

reserves 651,530 602,661

share capital 135 131

2,948,248 2,923,967

the salary of the most senior member of staff was £47,972

the pension costs for all staff for the year were £17,612

finance

7sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

committee of management

Southwark Committee London Committee

The Venerable Michael Ipgrave The Venerable Lyle Dennen

(Vice-Chair) (Chair)

Les Alden Revd George Bush

John Ebenezer Yetunde Otesanya

Greville Norman (Hon. Treasurer) Carol McGarry

Janet Heatley David Freeman

Steven Essayan Hazel Miall

Revd Neil McKinnon

Martin Day

co-opted member joint presidents:

Beverley Douglas-Blake The Bishop of London

The Bishop of Southwark

solicitors

Devonshire Solicitors

Salisbury House

London Wall

London EC2M 5QY

auditors

Beever & Struthers

3rd Floor

Alperton House

Bridgewater Road

Wembley HA0 1EH

committeeand staff...

staffDirector: Steve Joyce

Housing Services Pauline AdjeteyManager:

Housing Officer: Kathryn Watson

Administrator: Anita Bailey

8sl

dh

a a

nn

ua

l re

po

rt 2

00

4-0

5

St Georges Close, SW8(St Georges, Battersea)

Kings Grove, SE15(Christchurch, Camberwell)

Watling House, SE1(London Borough of Southwark)

St Matthews Court, SE1(St Matthews at the Elephant)

Wodehouse Avenue/Muscatel Place(London Borough of Southwark)

Proposed development- Flora Close

(London Borough of Tower Hamlets)

Blackheath Hill, SE10(London Borough of Greenwich)

Footscray Road, SE9(London Borough of Greenwich)

Mylius Close, SE14(All Saints, Hatcham Park)

Bromfelde Road(Clapham Team Ministry)

Dane Road(All Saints, Warlingham)

Dacres Road, SE23(London Borough of Lewisham)

Clarendon Rise, SE13(London Borough of

Lewisham)

Purkis Close, St Jeromes,(London Borough of Hillingdon) Barkworth Road, SE16

(London Borough of Southwark)

Vicarage Park, SE18(London Borough of Greenwich)

Proposed development(Felbridge, Tandridge)

Location of our properties

SOUTHWARK AND LONDONDIOCESAN HOUSING ASSOCIATION

Trinity House, 4 Chapel CourtBorough High Street, London SE1 1HWTel: 020 7403 4847 Fax: 020 7403 3827

Email: steve.joyce@southwark.anglican.org

Housing Corporation Registered No. LH 3934Industrial & Provident Society Registered No. 16905 R

An Exempt Charity