Chair's Blog - April 2024

Welcome to my first blog as Chair of Community Gateway’s Board.  I’ll be writing regularly following Board meetings to keep you updated on what’s been discussed, debated and decided. I’ll be giving you the highlights of the issues that affect you, because at CGA we put our tenants at the heart of everything we do.

On 29^th February this year, The Regulator of Social Housing published its revised Consumer Standards, together with guidance on its future approach to how we will be regulated.  The revised standards have been developed to set the outcomes that we, as your landlord, must deliver. They establish the standards for the quality of your homes and the services we deliver.

In line with this, CGA is now undertaking work to carry out a comprehensive self-assessment against the new standards to ensure we are fully compliant.  You may have read that back in December we retained the Regulator’s highest grading for Governance (G1) and Financial Viability (V1) which shows that CGA is well run and manages its finances effectively.  The new regulatory framework has now introduced a new ‘C’ rating for compliance with the Consumer Standards, which means we’ll be under more scrutiny in the future regarding the level of service we provide to our tenants. You can read more about them here https://tinyurl.com/3axedm87.

Our new Corporate Plan was officially approved by the Board at March’s meeting. This has been in development for some time, working with tenants, partners and colleagues to establish our upcoming priorities. In March we signed off the measures and targets which will be used to monitor our performance in delivering our new corporate priorities for the period 2024 to 2030. Our priorities are:

• We will provide great customer service.
• We will provide safe, well-maintained homes.
• We will provide more affordable homes.
• We will make a difference in our communities.
• We will be a great place to work.
• We will manage our business to the highest standards.
• We will create a sustainable future.

The Board also discussed and approved the 2024/25 budget and the 30-year financial business plan.

As we continue to grow and strive to provide more affordable housing where it’s most needed, the Board approved the development of 17 new homes on the site of the former Lea Methodist Church. You can check our website for more information on our latest and upcoming developments.

Board was given an update on CGA’s activities to invest in the quality and safety of our existing homes, and on measures that have been introduced to monitor our performance in tackling damp, mould and condensation.  We also heard about major works on our properties, health and safety compliance and how we’re performing on energy efficiency targets. The Board also approved a programme of activities to invest in our homes during 2024/25, making sure that we invest wisely and continue to provide safe, well-maintained homes.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog – I hope you found it interesting and informative. I look forward to updating you again following the next Board meeting in May.

Phil Parramore
Chair of the Board