in tuneLonghurst Group business briefing Issue 4 � Winter 2009

Following anoverwhelming ‘yes’vote from tenants,Rutland CountyCouncil’s housingstock transferred toSpire Homes on 9November 2009. This

is a fantastic result and maintains our 100 percent record of positive ballots frommanagement agreements.

We’re proud of our strong relationships withRutland Council and its customers; it provesthat great teamwork makes a huge difference.We now look forward to improving residents’homes and services.

Joining forcesWe’ve completed a key phase in ourbusiness strategy: the amalgamation ofmember companies Longhurst Homes andHavelok Homes. Longhurst & HavelokHomes Limited launched on 1 October,creating a major provider of housing andcare services across four regions.Joiningforces allows us to share expertise in housing management, care and support andcommunity engagement. It has also freed upresources to build more affordable homesand help drive the group forward.

Developing partnershipsThere is a lot of change happening inhousing and local government, withincreased focus on transformingneighbourhoods through partnership.

Our new chief executive’s office is leading on group-wide strategic development,supporting and developing local partnerships,promoting business excellence and drivingthe business forward in future. In leading thisteam, I look forward to getting more involvedwith our partner organisations, particularlylocal authorities. It’s a fantastic opportunityfor us to build brighter futures together.

We’ve also appointed a new managing director,group chair and vice-chair, and director ofbusiness excellence (see page 5 for furtherdetails). And by combining group financialservices within one team - under the leadershipof Rob Griffiths - we’ve created staffdevelopment opportunities, pooled resourcesand laid the foundations for even clearer, moreconsistent financial reporting.

Integrating systemsThe project to integrate housing and financeICT systems across three-quarters of thegroup was achieved on budget and ondeadline; the remaining changes will becompleted in March 2010. This has been acomplex task and I’m proud of our team fortheir magnificent job.

Particular thanks also go to HR and marketingcolleagues, who have done a great job ofinvolving people and communicating changesalong the way. At the same time, I’m deeplysaddened to report the unexpected loss ofBrian Cooke, our director of ICT. Brian’s recentpassing is a real blow to us, both emotionally andprofessionally. He showed a clear commitmentto people as well as systems and was a bigcharity fundraiser and popular colleague.

We’ll miss Brian’s warmth, professionalism andwonderful sense of humour - but are proud tohave known him. Our thoughts are with hisfamily at this difficult time.

Preparing the launchpadConsidering the challenging environmentfacing housing associations over the past 18 months, we adopted a brave businessstrategy. But these developments prove thatwe’ve built a strong launchpad for LonghurstGroup’s future. I’m grateful to the boards,staff and stakeholders that have helped us tomake such substantial progress. Now let’s goout and make the best of it.

Bob WalderChief Executive

Changing faces and placesIf a change really is as good as a rest, we must have one of the most refreshedteams in the country! There’s a good deal of news to report, so let’s begin.

www.longhurst-group.org.uk

In this issueBright start for L&H Launch 2

Customer conference gets people buzzing 2

Raring to go Rutland 3

Building homes and hope 3

Strategy shapers 4

Make the most of what you’ve got 4

The Grove grabs award 4

Lowe gets high-profile job 5

Movers and shakers 5

Big boost for Blue Skies Consortium 6

Balancing books and priorities 6

Opening doors for migrant workers 7

Equality first for new training 7

Getting new letting standards 8

Keep neighbourhoods tidy 8

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The group combinedthe expertise ofexisting membersLonghurst Homesand Havelok Homesto create a majorprovider of housing,care and support

services across four regions. So how is thenew addition faring? Mike Hardy, managingdirector, reports.

“There was a lot of work involved incompleting the amalgamation. Getting all theregistration details finalised was key - thanksto everyone for pulling out all the stops sothis happened on time.”

Two becomes one“Our top priority was to make sure that thetransition from two businesses into one was

smooth for our customers; from 1 October,our front-line services had to be ready.

“Things got off to the best possible start.From launch date, our service centre handledfront-line calls for all L&H Homes tenants; thetechnology was up and running; and somepeople had adapted to new jobs, training,policies and systems. Congratulations to theteam for putting in so much time and effort,this made a big difference.

“The new culture is still settling in, but people areworking really well together. We’ve had a ‘gettingto know you’ event and everyone is upbeatabout the changes, it’s an opportunity to makeour mark.

“L&H Homes is a diverse business. We nowmanage more than 7,000 properties, plussupported housing and care homes.

“Our development programme covers homesfor rent, shared ownership, intermediate

housing, Rent-to-Homebuy and specialistleasehold schemes. We’re also strong onwider initiatives such as financial inclusion - for example, by supporting a credit union andcommunity development finance initiative.”

What about key business priorities? “We’vealready been awarded the Charter Mark for asignificant part of the company and areworking to extend this across L&H Homesover the next year. We’re also pooling ourbest practice resources, such as the customerincentive scheme, Just Rewards.”

Sounds like the new team is ready to go, andthoroughly enjoying the challenge.

Further informationFor more information on our new familymember, please visit www.landh.org.uk

Bright start for L&H launchLonghurst Group’s newest member company, Longhurst & HavelokHomes Limited (L&H Homes), began life on 1 October 2009.

The event attracted tenants and service usersfrom all over the East and West Midlands. Peopleof mixed abilities and with a diverse range ofinterests shared ideas, comments and a chatacross the day.

The purpose of the day was to promote the association’s services and history, andencourage resident commitment to regular feedback.

Participants attended a range of interactiveworkshops, on topics such as domesticviolence, gas safety and even a money advice‘game show’ with teams and buzzers.

The activities were complemented byinformation from more than 35 stalls, withadvice on everything from housing queries topolice, fire safety, adoption and support forolder people.

Victoria Leonard, customer relations manager, said:

“We’ve had lots of lovely feedback frompeople about the event, everyone has beenreally positive. Residents and staff worked

together to organise a venue, agree theprogramme and make everything happen -and we’re delighted with the results.”

Customer conference gets people buzzingMore than 250 people descended on Bournville in early October, for the annual FriendshipCare and Housing key customer conference.

www.longhurst-group.org.uk 3

“It’s our secondsuccessful stocktransfer, and historyalmost repeated itself.We had a 75 per centturn-out and 87.1 percent of people infavour of transfer ;

that’s incredibly close to our first stocktransfer in East Northamptonshire (and thehighest-ever ‘yes’ vote).”

What did Spire do right?“Well, we went to huge lengths to ask peoplewhat mattered to them in their homes andneighbourhoods. We didn’t cut any corners;door-knocking, open days, local events…sometimes customers probably felt we werechasing them around the Market Square!

“By listening to residents’ priorities, we coulddeliver them. There are always local factors; inRutland, the strong sense of community was

an eye-opener. Tenants wanted to getinvolved and see how accountability andmanagement structures would work, ratherthan focus on traditional transfer discussionssuch as kitchen and bathroom improvements.

“The new Rutland management boardincludes council representatives, tenants andpeople from the business community, whowill oversee the local service. There’s even aquality assurance panel, which will assess thequality of new kitchen units from day one.”

So what happens now?“We’re all set to provide better homes,transform communities and bring millions ofpounds into the area. Our strong businessplan will make sure we deliver all ourpromises to residents. We also want toprovide more affordable homes, because localhouse prices are so high and the need isthere. It’s all part of our job to makecommunities stronger.”

Building homes and hope

In 2006, almost a quarter of people onNorth Lincolnshire Council’s housingregister were under 25; but the supply ofsuitable housing for these applicants waslimited. Young people were also more likelyto be homeless or living in poor-qualityprivate homes, and this in turn affected theirjob or education prospects.

So the ‘Build Your Future’ project was born.This partnership - developed with NorthLincolnshire Council and ROOF - helps theunder-25s to access good-quality, affordablehousing.

Three new housing schemes have beendeveloped for the project so far, in

Scunthorpe, Brigg and Barton-upon-Humber. The properties, designed with inputfrom the young residents, are open, airy andmodern.

L&H Homes also secured funding from theRegional Housing Board, which helped toprovide a fridge, cooker, washing machine,carpets and blinds in each property.

Importantly, life skills training and support ison hand to help residents look after theirhome, manage their budget and accesstraining or employment opportunities.

Expectations are high, as some communitieswere concerned about the client group; so

scheme partners have introducedprospective neighbours and reinforced theneed for residents to be responsible citizens.

The first homes were let in September2009 and this project is making a bigdifference. Early signs show that the youngpeople are making a real effort to look aftertheir homes and make the most of theopportunities available to them.

Building on the successes achieved so far,the project team hopes to extend thescheme to include other excluded groups in future.

Remember, remember the ninth of November. That’s the date homes transferred fromRutland Council to Spire Homes - a major milestone for the association. Julie Doyle,managing director, explains the facts.

Raring to go in Rutland

Young people in North Lincolnshire are being helped to find a new home,support and job opportunities - thanks to a new partnership initiative.

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Alan Whyte,Longhurst Grouppartnerships directorsays: “It’s important tolook at lots ofinformation incontext. That meansabsorbing housing

strategy statements, comprehensive areaassessments, sustainability plans and so on. It also needs detailed information and ideasfrom a range of stakeholders, includinghousing associations - that can be a muchharder balancing act.’

How we can helpLonghurst Group helps authorities toenhance their housing strategies and meetregulatory expectations. After all, we workacross four regions and have operated insome areas (such as Lincolnshire,Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire) formore than 30 years. So we’ve got a goodunderstanding of the issues that matter aswell as strong and pro-active relationshipswith a wide range of local contacts.

We’ve helped partners to tackle wide-rangingchallenges, both in a supportive and a

leadership role. Things like responding torapid population growth; supportingdispersed rural communities; transformingplaces through regeneration; and securingaffordable housing in highly affluent locations. So we can support local place-shapingstrategies and help authorities to fulfil their‘civic leadership’ responsibilities.

Wherever Longhurst Group can contributeand support partners, we will always graspthat opportunity with both hands. Our workaround the regions proves this: from key rolesin the East Midlands Regional Assembly, localstrategic partnerships and county housingforums, to supporting choice-based lettingsschemes and tackling anti-social behaviour.

If we’re invited to contribute towards astrategy or comment on a draft, we alsomake it our business to respond. Building linksenhances our joint effectiveness.

Further informationIf you need a pro-active, long-term housingassociation partner - or would like moreinformation about positive partnershipworking, talk to us. Please contact AlanWhyte on 01205 319640 or emailalan.whyte@longhurst-group.org.uk

Make the most ofwhat you’ve gotThe Audit Commission’s latest message to local authorities isloud and clear: make the most of your housing strategy, bypulling together all the resources at your disposal.

Our new chief executive’s team has beencreated to help Longhurst Group achieveits key strategic objectives.

The team consists of five key people:

� Bob Waldergroup chief executive

� Julie Doyledeputy group chief executive andmanaging director of Spire Homes

� Zoe Wortleystrategy director

� Alan Whytepartnerships director

� Mandy UpsallPA to the group chief executive.

The team’s primary role is to sustain anddevelop relationships, both across ourstakeholders and within the business.

That means an emphasis on localpartnerships and joint ventures,developing management agreements,providing ‘critical friend’ input to membercompanies and exploring financeinitiatives.

It’s also about us having open andaccountable governance. A healthy boardand committee structure means strongdecisions and helps us to managebusiness risks effectively.

Further informationFor more information, please call Mandy Upsall on 01205 319618 oremail mandy.upsall@longhurst-group.org.uk; she’ll be happy to pointyou to the right member of our team.

Strategyshapers

Congratulations to The Grovecare home, owned andmanaged by L&H Homes, on winning the north-eastregional award in the Yoursmagazine Care Home of theYear Awards 2009.

The Grove grabs award

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Did you start out in housing?“No, I worked in banking for 10 years. Backthen, it was more about products thancustomer service and that’s partly why I left -although it’s very different now.

“After having children, I went to work atGrimsby Borough Council, looking afterhomeless hostel administration. I’d neverthought of housing as a career before, but itgot me hooked!

“Then I was promoted to managing an officein a deprived neighbourhood. There were lotsof people falling between gaps in the system,and I realised then that one organisation can’tdeliver everything that people need; housingwas only part of the solution.

“Whilst I enjoyed housing, the business sideof things was where my real interest lay, so Icompleted a postgraduate diploma instrategic business management.

“Later I moved into corporate services, aspart of a team responsible for best valuereviews. But the work wasn’t housing-specific,so I took the opportunity to move toHavelok Homes in 2001.

“I’ve worked in various jobs within thecompany - most recently as director ofoperations for housing, maintenance andbusiness support.”

Any career highlights?“Lots really, but the most recent was takingthe lead in the Havelok Homes inspectionprocess; we achieved two stars and promisingprospects for improvement. Two strengthswere highlighted - asset management, whichis a clear resident priority, and supportedhousing, which both contributes tocustomers’ wellbeing and shows the strengthof our partnership working.”

What about the new job?“The essence of my new job is to provideconstructive challenge and advice on goodpractice, co-ordinate ideas, and generallysupport Longhurst Group and our membercompanies to achieve excellence.

“This involves translating national guidanceand standards into operational reality. In otherwords, we need to make sure that customerneeds are considered alongside goodbusiness practices, to get the best results.

“Operational management taught me somuch about the practicalities of deliveringgood services, so I understand how thegroup’s work needs to be meaningful andsupport our customers.

“And pursuing continuous improvementbenefits the business; not only will we beproviding better services to our customers,we’ll also improve opportunities for businessgrowth.”

Lowe gets high-profile jobInTune recently caught up with Yvonne Lowe to find outabout her experience and expectations for the newdirector of business excellence role.

With so much change on the horizon,there are some new faces to introduceand familiar ones to welcome in a new guise.

Board changesDavid ArmesIs the new Longhurst Group chairman,following 12 years as chairman ofLonghurst Homes.

Tina McEwanHas been appointed the new Longhurst Group vice-chair.

Sidney McFarlane MBEIs the new L&H Homes chairman, havingpreviously spent three years on theLonghurst Homes board.

Executive changesPeter OsbornePreviously managing director at HavelokHomes, has become Longhurst Groupmanaging director.

Mike HardyFormerly managing director withLonghurst Homes, has been appointed asmanaging director of the newly-formedL&H Homes.

Yvonne LoweHas been appointed as director ofbusiness excellence for Longhurst Group;she was previously director of housing,maintenance and business support forHavelok Homes.

Janet MatthewsLonghurst Group's head of marketing hasbeen promoted to the post of marketingdirector.

Zoe WortleyPreviously strategy executive, she is nowLonghurst Group strategy director.

Kate WoodHas been promoted from head of grouptreasury to director of group treasury.

Katie NorthFormerly head of financial services,recently appointed as director ofoperational finance.

Movers andshakers

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Our status as a major developer - andlead partner in the Blue Skies Consortium- was reinforced in October, when thenew National Affordable HousingProgramme figures were published.

The latest statistics show the consortiumhas attracted the fourth largestdevelopment grant outside London. We’re also the eighth largest developer of affordable homes nationally.

What’s more, Blue Skies is the number onedeveloper across the East Midlands region -attracting almost double the grant of ournearest regional competitor. One areawhere the consortium definitely tops thecharts is on value for money; the grantwe’re getting for each property is amongthe smallest in England. The grant moneyallocated will help Blue Skies Consortium tobuild 1,973 homes, provide much-neededemployment in the construction industryand support investment in other sectors.

Great outlookAlan Whyte, Longhurst Group partnershipsdirector and consortium chair, said "This isa fantastic result for all of our members.

"When we created the consortium in 2006,the whole idea was to create a gateway forhousing organisations to access grant, sharegood practice and collaborate effectively.Since then we've grown from strength tostrength - with 16 members working acrosscentral and eastern England.

"We're delighted at this latest news as itproves the outlook is bright for Blue Skies."

Further informationFor further information about theconsortium and its achievements, pleasecontact Alan Whyte on 01205 319640 oremail alan.whyte@longhurst-group.org.uk

Rob Griffiths, executive director of groupfinancial services, explains: “We’ve justsecured funding for the Rutland stock transfer,concluded discussions for the Longhurst &Havelok Homes amalgamation, handled abusy development schedule and managed thenormal day job - it all keeps us on our toes!”

Alongside these long-term priorities, theSeptember RPI figures are negative, whichmeans our rentalincome will reducein real terms nextyear. It’s going to bea challengingyear, but not alldoom andgloom; withsome expenditurecontracts alsolinked to RPIindices, spendingshould reduce inthose areas.

We’ll need to checkoperating budgets andensure we’re maximisingefficiency. But it’s not about cutting services orjobs, just ensuring that we deliver things in thebest way.

Group procurement secures collective buyingpower, and by standardising IT systems we’llachieve business savings and avoid duplicationof effort.

Rob says: “Our funders have been key inhelping us to achieve our objectives. Marketconditions are a lot more challenging thanthey were a couple of years ago, but thebanks and building societies we work withhave been very supportive.”

Centralising servicesWe’ve recently centralised all financefunctions into the parent company. This givesus a great opportunity to strengthen servicesand share the many examples of best practicethat already exist across the group.

Finance staff still work in member companies’offices, but are now employed by Longhurst

Group. Moving towardsstandard reporting andIT arrangements willhelp us to managevaluable resourcesmore easily andimprove the service we provide.

Consistency andquality is driving this

strategy. Finance islikely to get even

more complexin future, sowe must be

well-preparedfor changes to

accounting standards.

Our funders, board members and budgetholders will soon see a more standardisedapproach to financial reporting across ourGroup. This approach will both save time andhelp us to manage valuable resources moreefficiently.

Further informationFor further information about Group finances, please contact Rob Griffiths on 01205 319664 or e-mail robert.griffiths@longhurst-group.org.uk

Balancing booksand priorities

With stock transfer, amalgamation,development schemes, rentalprojections and staffing changes allunderway, our finance team ismanaging an impressive balancing act.

Big boost for BlueSkies Consortium

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The ‘Opening Doors’ project - run by theChartered Institute of Housing, Homes andCommunities Agency and HousingAssociations’ Charitable Trust - aims to helprefugees and migrants access affordablehousing more easily.

L&H Homes, as one of 11 national pilots,examined the housing needs of migrantworkers in South Lincolnshire - particularlypeople involved in the agricultural and foodindustries. Our pilot project aimed to:

� Improve understanding of migrantworkers’ needs

� Ensure appropriate support and servicedelivery that reflects cultural differences

� Improve staff awareness of workers’ housing and support needs

� Give migrant workers training,volunteering and skills to enhance their job prospects.

We partnered the Citizens Advice Bureau andlocal authorities to assess numbers of workerscoming into the county and improve ourunderstanding of community needs.

This showed that many people were cominginto the country, but not getting housing orsupport; they either didn’t register for a home, orweren’t nominated very often.

They just didn’t knowtheir rights - and eithergot lost betweenagencies or believedmyths about waiting ayear before they couldbe housed. Oftenpeople couldn’t accessprivate housing either,so they slept on friends’floors.

To turn things around,L&H Homes workedwith partners to:

� Complete 300surveys (helped by a contact with links tothe community) to explore workers’future housing needs and aspirations

� Provide joint training for local authoritiesand housing associations, to clarify migrantrights for front-line advisors

� Produce a housing leaflet and contact list,so workers can see the options availableto them

� Point people to a useful web resource -www.housing-rights.info - that explains therights of migrant workers.

There’s still some way to go before peoplefully understand their rights, but so far thisapproach is paying dividends. We now getmore housing nominations for Polish,Lithuanian and Latvian residents, and have aclearer picture of the housing needs ofmigrant workers.

Further informationFor more information about the ‘OpeningDoors’ project, please contact Alex Ray on01205 319682 or email alex.ray@longhurst-group.org.uk

Opening doors for migrant workersThrough our involvement in a national project, L&H Homes is helping to improve housingopportunities for migrant workers in Lincolnshire.

The new human rights-based toolkit is tailoredto suit Friendship’s services. It looks at equalityin the real world - what does this mean for ahousing officer, surveyor or receptionist?

Sophie Hall, service improvement managerexplained: “Often training focuses on one area- race, gender, or disability. We wantedsomething more about human rights.

“Our training is tailored to situations staff dealwith every day, rather than having a one-offsession where people go back to work andforget what they’ve learned.”

The new toolkit is being launched inNovember 2009, with pilot training sessions inJanuary 2010. The new training will form partof the association’s supervision and meetingsstructure, making sure the equality is at theforefront of its work.

Further informationFor more information about the equalitytoolkit, please contact Sophie Hall on 0121 233 8651 or e-mail sophie.hall@fch.org.uk

A pioneering toolkit being developed by Friendship Care and Housing andequalities charity BRAP will mainstream human rights awareness into theassociation’s day-to-day work.

Equality first for new training

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In July, the national housing regulator invitedlandlords to bid for funding that would helpthem develop agreements with their tenants.Spire Homes was one of the successfulbidders - receiving £1,000 to develop a newlettings standard that gets a thumbs-up fromcustomers.

A group of tenant inspectors are leading theproject, alongside staff at Spire Homes. Theyaim to answer the question - when we let ahome, what are the standards it should meet?

Initially, tenants are conducting a desktopreview of policies and standards in differentorganisations. Then they’ll visit other housingassociations and local private rented housing,to look at the standard of homes on offer.

Getting an idea of people’s feelings andexpectations is also key. So group discussionswith new tenants and customers on thewaiting list will gauge people’s feelings andexpectations.

So what happens next? Samantha Horne,head of customer services for Spire Homes,said: “The final step involves agreeing whatthe local standard should look like, and we’ll

report tenants’ views back to the TenantServices Authority (TSA). The TSA will thenconsider our report along with all the otherpilots that have taken part.”

Further informationFor more information about tenantinvolvement at Spire Homes, please contactSamantha Horne on 01933 415375 or email sam.horne@longhurst-group.org.uk

L&H Homes is working with communitypartners and the Keep Britain TidyCampaign to achieve the prestigious‘Cleaner, Safer, Greener’ kitemark on aSpalding estate.

The Royce Road estate combinesproperties owned by L&H Homes, SouthHolland District Council as well as privatelyowned and rented homes, so engagingresidents and partner agencies is key toproject success.

L&H Homes has also worked withGroundwork Lincolnshire to improveneighbourhoods. A survey found thatresidents were concerned about litter, fly-tipping and a lack of activities for youngpeople, so partners pooled resources totackle these problems - they planted trees,improved landscaped areas and installedlitter bins.

A junior warden scheme launched in June,monitors problems on the estate and raisesenvironmental awareness; LincolnshirePolice has been supportive, and supervisethe wardens.

L&H Homes is now co-ordinating aneighbourhood action plan with partners, and will promote the project through estate-based events.

We hope you have enjoyed this thirdedition of the Longhurst Group businessbriefing, InTune.

We aim to highlight some of ourachievements and show how the teamsmake a real difference to the quality ofpeople’s lives.

We’d welcome your feedback, particularlyon any articles you enjoyed (or didn’t) sothat we can tailor future content to meetyour needs. Please email our marketingdirector, Janet Matthews atjanet.matthews@longhurst-group.org.ukwith your views. Or if you’re pushed fortime, just fill in the header line with anoverall mark out of 10. Many thanks fortaking time out of your busy schedules!

Getting new letting standards

Keeping neighbourhoods tidy In tune oroff-beat?

Spire Homes customers are shaping a new local standard for letting emptyhomes, as one of the Tenant Services Authority’s chosen pilot projects.