EastendHomes - Estate Boards - Tenants at the Heart
Submitted by john-s on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 15:25
EastendHomes Ltd is a registered charity as you can see here on the Charity Comission web site.
As a registered charity EastendHomes Ltd have to provide an annual Summary Information Return (SIR)
The purpose of the Summary Information Return is to provide the public with better information about the wonderful works EastendHomes Ltd are performing. Click this link here for the Summary Information Return 2009 submitted by EastendHomes Ltd at the beginning of 2010
In this report Peter Gibbs - Director of Finance & Resources answered the question-
- What are your charity's main objectives for next year?
One of the three answers to this question was:-
- To develop our residents involvement framework and enhance our Tenant and Leaseholder participation..
If you look at the EastendHomes Ltd website about Resident Involvement & Participation you will find a lot about the local estate boards being central to their claims to have "Local delivery of services, decision making and accountability..."
Now to the point of all this:-
- On the St Georges Estate all meetings in June and July including the Estate Management Board and the Regeneration meeting were cancelled by EastendHomes Ltd without consulting with board members
- In Mile End East the last open estate board meeting was 22nd April and the next one we are being told will be after Ramadan. That is the second week in September at the earliest. Four and a half months with no board meeting
- Island Gardens board it seems will now meet every three months.
How can the answer given by Peter Gibbs to the Charity Comission in January 2010 that the charity's main objective "To develop our residents involvement framework and enhance our Tenant and Leaseholder participation" possibly be true when three of the estate boards are effectively non-existent for three months. On the EastendHomes Ltd web site the published Local Boards constitution states that:-
- The objects of the Estate Management Board shall be, to work for the general benefit of the residents and community living in the EastendHomes managed housing
- To consider and respond on matters referred to it by residents and/or their representatives
- The last Estate Management Board meeting on Holland Estate (1) was back in March.
- We are pretty sure that Island Gardens (2) will be switching to meetings every three months.
- Christchurch Estate Management Board (2a) is only meeting 4 times a year.
- Mile End (3) nothing until September.
- The Mile End Tenents and Residents' Association (3a) no longer exists.
- St Georges (4) have had no meetings for about three months.
- Glamis Board (5) have been able to meet and decided to continue with their existing constitution, with the proviso that amendments could be made at an AGM
- Does any one know if the Christchurch Area Tenants and Residents Association (2a) is still about - rumour has it its not.
- The Service Review Board (Sub-Committee) is having problems attracting a quorum to its meetings.
Read the published Local Boards constitution here.
There are some issues about the constitution at the moment that would best be resolved by disscusion at local boards - if they were to meet - more about this later.
EeH Chief Executive interference with the Local Boards
At a time when local boards are suffering from reduced representation, EeH Chief Executive Mr Bloss tries to prevent elected members from representing the interests of fellow residents at the local boards on the basis that they are too critical of his administration.
It is like if the Chief Executive of Tower Hamlets Council was trying to prevent an elected Councillor from taking Office on the basis that he is too critical of the CE’s policies!
It appears that Mr Bloss cannot accept that local board members are entitled to independent thinking and free expression of thought especially when the management of their estates and the cost of service provision is not what they are prepared to put up with. His interference with the election process and the indisputable censorship of nominations further indicate that local board elections are not free and democratic and Mr Bloss is acting beyond his powers.
This act of authoritarian rule and disrespect to the wishes of the estate residents who nominate and support the election of residents to the local boards can only damage local democracy and resident involvement and should be compared with practices only seen in countries where undemocratic regimes prevail.
Mr Bloss has proved that his suitability as chief executive is highly debatable. Residents should lobby for his removal in order to avoid further damage to the reputation of EastendHomes, which during his days in office has become a distant dream of the community led organisation promised by Tower Hamlets Council.
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