Great Places Housing Group Southern Gate, 729 Princess RoadManchester, M20 2LT

TEL: 0161 447 5000FAX: 0161 447 5001

info@greatplaces.org.ukwww.greatplaces.org.uk

@mygreatplace

find us on:

CONTENTS

VISION & VALUES

MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND THE CHAIR

ABOUT GREAT PLACES

BIG NUMBERS

BUILDING FUTURES

OUR NEW HOMES

SUPPORTING VULNERABLE PEOPLE

OUR RESIDENTS

LIVING, GIVING, TOGETHER, GROWING

PLUMLIFE

A GREAT PLACE TO WORK

SENIOR STAFF & FINANCES IN BRIEF

04 - 05

06 - 07

08 - 09

10 - 11

12 - 13

14 - 15

18 - 19

20 - 27

28 - 33

16 - 17

34 - 35

36 - 37

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KEY LOCATIO

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OF OUR M

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OFFIC

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the colours show the number of our properties in each local authority area

ROTH

ERHAM

STOKE

CHESHIRE

EAST

CHESHIRE

WES

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HIGH PE

AK

SHEF

FIELD

LEED

SBRADFO

RD

RIBBL

E VALL

EY

PENDLE

BURN

LEY

WYR

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LANCAST

ER

PRES

TON

FLYDE

SOUTH

RIBB

LE

CHORLEY

BLACKBU

RNRO

SSEN

DALEHYN

DBURN

ROCHDALE

BURY

BOLTO

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WIG

AN

MANCHESTE

RSA

LFORD

TRAFF

ORD TAM

ESID

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STOCKP

ORT

ST H

ELEN

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LIVER

POOL

WARRIN

GTON

CHESTE

RFIEL

D

OLDHAM

BLACKPO

OL

MAP

OUR VISION & VALUES

04

STRONG BRIGHT

TO BE FAIR, OPEN AND ACCOUNTABLE

TO KNOW AND VALUE OUR CUSTOMERS AND THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY LIVE

TO RECOGNISE OUR TALENTED, ENTHUSIASTIC STAFF AND ALL THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SUCCESS

05

“...we’ll never sit back and take our achievements for granted.”

“residents remain our top priority and we work tirelessly to provide them with the best service possible...”

06

Despite another difficult year in which all sectors wrestled with a double dip recession, we’ve surpassed our own expectations in several areas of the business. Financially we’ve remained robust, improving on last year’s turnover and significantly upping spend on our ambitious development programme, even in the wake of the government’s budget announcements.

We’ve adjusted to these changing times by exploring new ways of funding, becoming one of the first northern housing groups to take a determined step into the bond markets which will allow us to continue creating large-scale developments and improving infrastructures in the communities we serve.

The Welfare Reform Act will have an impact on thousands of our residents, including those who are vulnerable and rely on specialist support services. We’ve spent the last year preparing them for the challenging times ahead, providing advice on everything from downsizing to saving money on fuel bills.

We’ve streamlined our operations with a number of value for money initiatives and saved the business thousands, enabling us to invest more into improving neighbourhoods and services.

Residents remain our top priority and we work tirelessly to provide them with the best service possible. Despite gaining full marks in over 54 customer-driven standards as part of the government’s Customer Service Excellence accreditation, we’ll never sit back and take our achievements for granted. Constant improvement and alternative thinking are vital to help businesses thrive in such volatile times.

Stephen Porter Chief Executive

Ted Stott Chair

07

MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND THE CHAIR

ABOUT GREAT PLACESGreat Places dares to be different. We’re a not-for-profit organisation that puts residents at the heart of everything we do. We believe we’re unique in our culture and attitude. Even as one of the largest housing associations in the north with a portfolio of more than 16,000 homes, we want the communities we serve to be able to relate to us. We’re accessible yet professional, ambitious yet community-focused, innovative yet realistic.

08

Plumlife, our affordable homes division, helped 573 households onto the property ladder through FirstBuy

We became the first northern housing association to achieve an AA credit rating

We launched our Great Places smartphone app which provides our customers with another way to contact us, report a repair, pay their rent and stay informed about our news

We put an impressive £1 million back into our residents’ pockets through money-saving initiatives instigated by our financial inclusion team

We enhanced our customer access system which has recorded around 110,000 customer contacts to date, bringing in new elements like complaints management and anti-social behaviour

We became one of the few housing associations nationally to achieve 100% compliance with the government’s Customer Service Excellence standard

We launched our in-house repairs service to half our homes and will have extended it to all of them by 2013. Centred around first-time fix and appointments at our customers’ convenience, satisfaction has risen from 73% to 93%

HIGHLIGHTS

09

WINNERGreen Leadership Award for our environmental officer Sarah McClelland, Women in Construction Awards 2012

WINNERBest small development, The Waterside, Rochdale. First Time Buyer Readers’ Awards 2012

WINNER National Social Landlord of the Year, Housing Excellence Awards 2012We’re the only housing association to have been awarded the title of National Social Landlord of the Year for three consecutive years

201220112010

10

BIG NUMBERS

£1BILLIONWE OWN PROPERTY W

ORT

H

£7.2O

UR

SURP

LUS

FOR

THE

YEA

R

MILLION

EVERY PENNY ISREINVESTED INTOCOMMUNITIES

11

16,147 HOMES OWNED OR MANAGED

11,5971,7541,0941,052

414236

GENERAL NEEDS HOMES

SUPPORTED HOUSING/ HOUSING FOR OLDER PEOPLE

LEASEHOLD HOMES

SHARED OWNERSHIP HOMES

KEY WORKER HOMES

RENT-TO-BUY HOMES

502 HOMES BUILT IN THE LAST YEAR

£72.6MILLION TURNOVER

£105.2MILLION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME SPEND

£113

MILLIO

N

SIGNED ON THE DOTTED LINE FOR OLDHAM PFI, A 25YEAR

REGENERATION PROJECT. AS PART OF THE INSPIRAL OLDHAM CONSORTIUM, WE’LL BUILD AND REFURBISH

2,300SHEFFIELD HOUSING COMPANY, A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL, KEEPMOAT AND GREAT PLACES, GAINED APPROVAL TO BUILD

HOMES OVER THE NEXT 15 YEARS

750 HOMES

BUILDING FUTURES

The housing sector has endured a difficult year which has seen the introduction of a raft of new government policies and key announcements around plans to reduce the fiscal deficit. This has already had an enormous impact on the number of affordable homes being built. These key changes, on top of the Welfare Reform Act, the abolition of the Tenant Services Authority (TSA), and the rise in VAT to 20%, have hit housing associations hard.

Despite the shift in the fortunes of the housing sector, Great Places’ development team has bucked the trend and overseen the build of hundreds of new homes in 2011/2012 thanks to continued investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The HCA launched its £1.8 billion investment programme in 2011 which will deliver 80,000 new affordable homes across England by 2015. As part of the BLOC partnership, we received a £40 million

grant, the largest allocation north of London, to build 1,751 homes in the north west and Yorkshire. We build homes for people from all walks of life, made available through Shared Ownership and affordable rent.

In an effort to combat the government cuts in public spending, we’ve explored alternative avenues of funding, and in April 2012 became the first exclusively northern-based housing association to achieve AA credit rating from two ratings agencies - Moody’s and Fitch.

The ratings assessment marks an important step in our funding strategy as we work towards a bond issue. Our intended move into the bonds market follows hot on the heels of other prominent housing associations and will ensure we can continue with our ambitious development programme over the next five to six years.

12

OUR DEVELOPMENTS

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

13

OUR NEW HOMES

14

Palmerston, BeswickA selection of 3-bedroom family homes on the site of the former Medlock Valley High School. Built predominantly to re-house residents whose homes were being demolished

The Waterside, RochdaleAn outstanding 27-home, mixed- tenure, canal-side development offering larger family housing for the thriving local community

15

The Guts, New IslingtonGreat Places’ third housing development at New Islington, East Manchester

Alder Street, SalfordA unique development of new and refurbished terraced family homes in Langworthy, Salford

South Beach, BlackpoolA stunning development of 19 restored 19th century town houses in the heart of Blackpool

PLUMLIFEWe’re unique in that we marry the responsibilities associated with a registered landlord and developer, with our commercial operation, Plumlife, a market leader in the provision of desirable, affordable homes for working people who can’t afford to buy outright.

With approximately 2,000 properties under our belt, we’re also the government-appointed HomeBuy Agency for Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire, providing a one-stop-shop registration and information service for first time buyers who have a household income of less than £60,000 per annum.

We’ve been a major player in delivering FirstBuy, the government scheme aimed at helping working people get a foot on the housing ladder. Plumlife continues to help working people realise their dreams of home ownership in a financial climate that can seem impossible for would-be first-time buyers.

16

reservations out of the applications

17

850

of customers were satisfied with the overall service provided by Plumlife sales93%of customers were satisfied with the major works Plumlife management have carried out on their homes

97%of customer calls to Plumlife management were answered within 15 secs94%

COMPLETIONSSINCE AUGUST 2011573

HomeBuy Direct completions in 2011/12, the scheme ended in March 2012 233

2,212 applications through the new FirstBuy scheme

AN

D

SUPPORTING VULNERABLE PEOPLE

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At a time when supported housing is suffering cutbacks, Great Places has made a real committment to protecting services and jobs. The stark reality of the difficulties the sector faces was highlighted when many councils had to slash their Supporting People budgets earlier this year.

Although we had to close one of our projects in Manchester, we made a pledge to spend £85,000 a year subsidising the others so that we can continue to provide help and support to the most vulnerable people in society. We believe passionately in the importance of keeping these services alive and will continue to place supported housing at the heart of everything we do.

people have been helped to move on from supported housing655 of people in supported housing

completed their programme of support and moved on83%

of people in supported housing maintained independent living95%

of people in supported housing engaged in training and/or employment80%

19

SOME FACTSOur floating support team in Bolton won a new contract to support 81 vulnerable people in the community

We expanded our in-house floating support service to Blackburn, Bury, Salford and Oldham

We subsidised two projects in Blackpool, The Foyer (for people aged 16 - 25) and Williams Lyons House (for the homeless) to cover cuts in funding by the local council

We spent £150,000 on refurbishing Hawkshaw Court, an elderly scheme in Salford

We have re-housed 124 homeless applicants so far this year

OUR RESIDENTS

20

Our residents have always been at the top of our agenda. We’re continuously striving to maintain and improve the respected position we hold with our customers. This year we were rewarded for our hard work when we became one of the only housing associations nationally to achieve a 100% success rate in the government’s Customer Service Excellence award. But we won’t stop there.

We’ve always valued the views of our residents and this year was no different. We held numerous focus groups, organised tenant participation events, carried out face-to-face visits and used digital media to communicate with them.

We enhanced our customer access system which has recorded over 110,000 customer contacts to date, set to rise to over 200,000 by the end of the year

We introduced SATNAV, a satisfaction monitoring tool covering all our areas and allowing us to immediately address issues of dissatisfaction

We launched our Great Places mobile app which provides our customers with another way to contact us, report a repair, pay their rent and stay informed about our news

89%of our residents were satisfied with the overall service we provide

of our residents were satisfied with the quality of their home87%of our residents were satisfied with our repairs service, up from 73%93%of residents were satisfied with how their call was dealt with and had it answered within 15 sec

93%

21

“”Christine Goulden

Great Places board member and Chair of Tenant Services Committee (TSC)

The Tenant Services Committee (TSC) is a resident majority committee of the board which monitors how well Great Places delivers services to residents. We work hard to make sure there are continuous improvements to housing and property services. It’s great that we’re given so much authority to make key decisions on behalf of so many people.

The Go For It! team is made up of 10 staff and a fundraising co-ordinator working across 32 local authorities. They empower residents to get involved in improving services, invigorating deprived communities and increasing customer satisfaction. Since the team was set up, satisfaction with views taken into account has increased from 54% in 2009 to 85% in 2012. The team’s ‘Go for it - Get involved’ strategy involves residents in everything from formal meetings to fun days in the community.

22

We worked with more than 40 residents’ groups to secure external funding for community projects, totalling over

£300,000The Tenants Services Committee have re-directed

of funds into new fencing £50,000£90,000 towards affordable

warmth initiativesAN

D

For us, while building homes is a big part of what we’re about, we continue to invest our money, time and energy into the community long after the cement has dried.

for youth work in Levenshulme, Manchester towards a full-size football pitch in Knutsford

to help a Bury resident turn an old church attic into a fantastic community space

grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create a people’s history project in Levenshulme

£30k£50k£60k£40k

GIVING BACK

RESIDENT INVOLVEMENT

people got involved with community events in the last year1,727

young people have been helped into work through our Toolbox programme since it launched45

23

RESIDENTS AT THE ZOOWe held our last annual residents’ conference at Chester Zoo.

people came along to the day400of people who went hadn’t been to any Great Places event before54%of the residents that came were under 55; the year before it was only 5%65%

residents and their carers came from 20 different supported schemes120

Through our various money saving initiatives, this year we’ve saved residents over

Great Places considers the broader aspects of value for money (VFM) where cost is only one element, and service, quality, customer satisfaction and sustainability are also crucial. Achieving value for money is a consideration across all our decision-making and is key to all our services, including repairs, maintenance and improvement of homes. We have two overarching priorities which both have an emphasis on improving value for money: providing excellent customer service and becoming financially stronger.

88% of our residents were satisfied that their rent was good value for money

24

£5 MILLIONspent on improving residents’ homes this year, next year we plan to spend even more

£1 MILLION

We piloted a downsizing initiative to give up to 10 households the chance to move into a smaller home that’s cheaper to run. To encourage residents, we offered a range of incentives including up to £600 towards removal costs

In Salford, we helped residents reduce their rent arrears. The total amount raised during the project stands at £70,000 With Salford-based Footlights Theatre Company we staged an exciting performance of “Just A Few Quid”, a play about the dangers of loan sharks

34 residents were referred to our debt management team. We helped these residents increase their annual income by a collective total of

VALUE FOR MONEY

Our award-winning NHS No Smoking campaign helped residents kick the habit and save an estimated £2,000 per year£27,000

THIS YEAR WE SAVED

£200,000through our grounds maintenance contract review, reducing the number of suppliers from 17 to 3

£100,000securing the group’s gas & electricity contract for communal areas until 2015

£400,000a year for 7 years through an 8-year interest rate swap with Credit Suisse

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HOW WE SPEND OUR RESIDENTS’ RENTSurplus

22%

20%15%

13%

11%

10%9%

Depreciation

Routine repairs

Interest payments on loans

Services

Staff & office costs

Planned or major repairs

because we’re a not-for-profit organisation, all of our surplus goes back into improving our homes, funding our supported housing projects and creating new developments

26

Continuous investment is one of the ways we can satisfy our growing customer base. To help us do this we’ve installed an asset management system which allows staff to get information on energy, adaptations and future home improvements instantly. It provides us with information on when, and where, to invest in our stock. We also involve residents in decision-making to target our resources effectively and develop standards we know we can afford in the future.

1792homes painted

641new kitchensinstalled

565A-rated boilers installed

289homes got new windows

163new bathroom suites fitted

109homes got new doors

55full heating systems installed

99%of residents were happy with the work we did

41,138repairs carried out

96%of repairs completed on time

100% of our properties have a valid Gas Safety Certificate

98%of repairs appointments made & kept

85%of repairs completed on very first visit

93%of residents satisfied with repairs

REPA

IRS

STANDARD OF HOMES

100%of our homes meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard

27

We are always working to improve the general look and feel of our neighbourhoods whether that’s creating green spaces for all to enjoy or liaising closely with local organisations like the police and fire service to ensure we have the same aims in mind.

Residents’ safety is also a major priority. Creating an environment where people can go about their daily business with confidence is what Great Places strives to do every day.

We have a dedicated anti-social behaviour team and we employ a fair but tough stance, tailoring action to individual cases. Recently we have developed a Sustainable Neighbourhoods Toolkit that identifies which neighbourhoods are thriving and which need re-energising.

89% of our residents were satisfied with their neighbourhood 84%

were satisfied with how the ASB case they reported was dealt with

There have been many significant changes made by the government which will affect our residents and how they live. The most important is the Welfare Reform Act which will have an enormous impact on how much benefit our residents receive and how it’s distributed.

Great Places has been working hard to offer advice and guidance, signposting residents to our financial inclusion team and supporting them to downsize or get back into work.

Current arrears (including arrears due to housing benefit) 4%

Rent loss from empty properties 0.8%

Average re-let time was 22

DAYS

NEIGHBOURHOOD STANDARDS

TENANCY MANAGEMENT

Because we’ve been re-letting our properties so quickly, the amount of rent we’ve lost is one of the lowest percentages in the housing sector

28

LIVING, GIVING, TOGETHER, GROWINGCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – we’ve been doing it for years – long before it was the hot acronym in boardrooms everywhere. We just call it something else. This year we formalised our approach by creating a structured year of events around Living, Giving, Together, Growing. These have been the bedrock of our organisation since we started.

The well-being of our residents and staff is as important to us as the homes we build, the communities we nurture and the workplace environments we create. We always aim to promote healthy lifestyles through our community events and the numerous initiatives we set up.

LIVING

Residents at Bluebell Court, a supported project for young women in St Helens, recently attended an eight-week cooking course learning how to cook healthy food on a budget

At our Extra Care schemes in Blackpool, residents are encouraged to take part in chair-based exercise classes, Tai Chi, dance classes, and the hairdressers is busier than any high street premises

Residents at Lorna Lodge, a supported housing project for young women in Wythenshawe, were given the chance to get moving together when a professional Zumba instructor came to give them free taster sessions

As part of our Living Quarter, staff were given the opportunity to get involved in various activities like bike rides, Shiatsu massage, yoga and Boot Camp

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GIVING

Working alongside the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) we funded the installation of two freshwater pumps in the Indian state of Bahir

We also devoted a quarter of the year to raising money for local and national charities and raised over £7,500

£20,000to our various charities

Each year we give around £10,000went to our Kenya charity to support our work there

£2,500went to residents through our staff consultation forum, Voice

620Our staff dedicatedD

AYS

to charity fundraising over the last year

TOGETHEREquality and diversity is extremely important to Great Places. This is reflected in the sheer diversity of our workforce. This year we’ve worked harder than ever to promote equality and opportunity for all.

Equality and diversity workshops have been attended by 333 staff in the last year in an effort to educate and help create an open and understanding culture

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) representatives presented to staff on their experiences of discrimination

Diversity Week is a regular occurrence and promotes the idea of understanding and embracing other people’s views, culture or disability. This year we held 30 sessions, attended by over 180 staff

Over 50 residents trained as community interpreters, gaining a qualification in return for voluntary use of their new skills

Great Places’ staff are some of the most generous people around. This year they went fundraising mad, organising hundreds of money-making events and giving up their time to support numerous charities.

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GROWINGGreat Places is truly a trailblazer when it comes to environmental achievements. Our active programme to improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock is reducing the number of residents in fuel poverty as well as the associated carbon emissions of our homes. In the last couple of years we have established a comprehensive environmental policy, strategy and annual action plan, and are currently working hard to make sure the organisation achieves ISO14001 accreditation.

We cemented relationships with other housing associations, taking the lead in the Innovation Chain North West (ICNW) – a partnership of four award-winning housing associations with a fundamental commitment to sustainable development and sustainable communities

Our retro-fit of Queen Street, a block of flats in Blackpool, has seen a reduction of 490 tonnes of CO² per year, the equivalent of taking 180 cars off the road

32

Our homes have an average EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of C, which is above the national average

We were one of the first housing associations to harness photovoltaic (PV) panel technology and completed one of the largest roll-outs of its kind in the north west

Sarah McClelland, our environmental officer, won the Green Leadership award at the Women in Construction Awards 2012

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Over the last 18 months we’ve installed over

620so far they’ve generated over

530,000 SOLAR PANELS

KWH

of clean, green electricity

20 TONNESof CO2 are now being saved every year by us switching to LED lighting at our head office

20,000

mile

s

of business travel have been saved using web conferencing

We’ve reduced water usage at our head office by8%

at our homes and offices

5 YEARSwe’ve been installing only energy efficient ‘A’ rated boilers in our homes

of our homes have double glazing

97%

FOR

68%FEM

ALE

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A GREAT PLACE TO WORKThere’s a unique atmosphere at Great Places, and that’s down to the people who work here. Our aim has always been to attract, develop and retain talented, skilled and motivated staff at all levels.

We’re proud of the diversity of our staff and have an extensive communications network, plus an employee engagement officer to make sure everyone’s in the loop, all the time.

It’s our quest to make sure everyone feels valued and that they get the right opportunities to stride onwards and upwards in their careers.

We extended our coaching programme further, demonstrating our commitment to ‘developing our own’. We currently have 21 coaches working across the business

We made e-learning available to all staff. Courses available include Food Safety, Professional Boundaries and Microsoft Office

We delivered tailored training packages to supported housing staff which covered safeguarding, support planning, dealing with difficult situations, and personalisation

New courses rolled out were managing difficult situations and handling difficult conversations

We employed 11 new apprentices in 2012

85% of employees feel proud to work for us

84%of employees were happy with the training and learning opportunities

23%BM

E

4% HAVE A DISABILITYOU

R ST

AFF

35

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SENIOR STAFF

Tenant Services Committee

Great Places Housing Group BoardTed Stott (Chair) Andrew Beeput Janet Clafton Tina Cook David Copley Malcolm Faulkner

Christine Goulden Lars Hansen Anne Harris Roger Kirkwood Stephen Porter Tony Snape

Christine Goulden (Chair) Guy Cresswell Robin Gardner Janice Kay Angela Lindsay Maureen McDermott Carol Neale

Robin Ogle Sajad Qureshi Brian Sedgwick Selvie Selvaetnam Geoff Simpson Evelyn Uche Dereck Waters

Plumlife BoardLes Coop (Chair) Michelle Gray Matthew Harrison Roger Kirkwood Colin Maguire

Joanne Moon Max Pilotti Lee Rawlinson Philip Stott Gwyn Williams

Cube BoardLes Coop (Chair) Michelle Gray Roger Kirkwood Colin Maguire

Lee Rawlinson Gwyn Williams Matthew Harrison

Great Places Housing Association BoardLars Hansen (Chair) Janet Clafton Guy Cresswell Christine Goulden

Anne Harris Matthew Harrison Maggie Shannon Ted Stott

STEPHEN PORTERChief Executive

MATTHEW HARRISONDeputy Chief Executive and Director of Development

GUY CRESSWELL Director of Housing Services

PHIL ELVY Director of Finance

MAGGIE SHANNON Director of Performance & Innovation

FINANCES IN BRIEFAll figures in £000s

Group 11/12AssetsHousing Stock Social Housing Grant Depreciation and impairment Other fixed assets Investments Net current assets

TOTAL

Financed byLoans etc Revenue reserves Designated and other reserves

TOTAL

IncomeGross income from lettings Other turnover Surplus on sale of properties

TOTAL INCOME

ExpenditureServices including Supporting People expenditure Management Maintenance Major repairs Other operating costs Interest

TOTAL EXPENDITURE

NET SURPLUS FOR YEAR BEFORE TAX

Group 10/11 restated

37

923,329-502,638

-61,013 7,776

12 14,080

381,546

332,090

49,274 182

381,546

57,995 14,072

554

72,621

11,131 13,081 10,510

4,047 15,624 10,852

65,245

7,376

826,337

-454,203 -53,970

7,813 10

6,901

332,888

290,750

42,138 0

332,888

52,488 14,378

1,816

68,682

11,074 13,486

9,592 6,274

13,962 11,199

65,587

3,095