Poplar HARCA
Encyclopedia
Housing association
Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...
in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
, England. It is the landlord of about 8,500 homes in the Poplar
Poplar, London
Poplar is a historic, mainly residential area of the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is about east of Charing Cross. Historically a hamlet in the parish of Stepney, Middlesex, in 1817 Poplar became a civil parish. In 1855 the Poplar District of the Metropolis was...
area, a quarter of which have been sold leasehold; the remainder are let on assured tenancies
Assured tenancy
An assured tenancy is a form of residential tenancy in England and Wales that grants a degree of security of tenure to the tenant. A tenant under an assured tenancy may not be evicted without a reason and the rent under the assured tenancy will often fall under the supervision of a Rent Assessment...
at subsidised rent levels.
The association focuses on community regeneration
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....
as part of its core mission, with a Neighbourhood Centre
Community centre
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...
on each estate. It is the official provider of youth work activities in Poplar, and offers advice and support on benefits and job seeking, running courses such as Basic Skills, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Information Technology and customised training courses.
History
Poplar HARCA was set up by the London Borough of Tower HamletsLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
to regenerate the area, especially certain Council estates whose residents voted to transfer to the new body. Parts of seven estates (about 4,500 homes) transferred to Poplar HARCA in 1998. The following year, tenants on further estates voted to remain with the Council. However, after a lengthy consultation of all Council estates in Tower Hamlets begun in 2002, several more estates in Poplar did transfer between 2005 and 2007. The final ballots were on several estates in East India ward, with a 78% majority in favour of transfer in 2006, including the iconic Balfron Tower
Balfron Tower
Balfron Tower is a 27-storey housing block in Poplar, a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, UK. It forms part of the Brownfield Estate, an area of social housing between Chrisp Street Market and the A12 northern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel...
; and Coventry Cross Estate with 65% in 2007.
Reshaping Poplar
The association recognises that some 2,000 of its homes do not meet modern living standards. Its "Reshaping Poplar" agenda is a twelve-year plan to update, improve and replace this housing, developing hundreds of new homes, alongside parks, health and education facilities. John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, met residents to discuss the plans in September 2009.
Management
The constitution allows for twelve boardBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
members including seven resident directors (tenants or leaseholders), one local councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
and up to four independent members. There are a further three "Focus Boards" overseeing "Places", "Services" and Finance & Audit within the organisation. As of September 2009, the Chair of the main Poplar Board is Bernadette Conroy, and the Vice-Chair is Rev. James Olanipekun, a resident.
Poplar HARCA has also formally incorporated youth empowerment
Youth empowerment
Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults....
into their management structure. Its Youth Empowerment Board is formally represented in the governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
of the association.
The Chief Executive is Steve Stride.
An Audit Commission
Audit Commission
The Audit Commission is a public corporation in the United Kingdom.The Commission’s primary objective is to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local government, housing and the health service, directly through the audit and inspection process and also through value for money...
inspection in 2007 awarded Poplar HARCA two stars out of three, with "promising prospects for improvement".
Awards
- Poplar HARCA won The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
's Public Services Award 2009 in the Housing and Regeneration category, for its Family Intervention Project.
- Community Safety Manager, Sarah Castro, was awarded an MBEMBEMBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
in the 2009 New Year Honours list. This was for her work tackling anti-social behaviourAnti-social behaviourAnti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...
in Poplar and Tower Hamlets.
- Poplar HARCA's chair from 2002 to 2009, Christine Searle MBE, was named one of the 25 most influential people in social housing by Inside Housing magazine in March 2009. She was one of the founder resident directors of Poplar HARCA, and her MBE was awarded in June 2004 in recognition of her community work.
- Winner of the Housing CorporationHousing CorporationThe Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964...
's 2007 Gold Award for Empowering Communities
- Finalist of Inbiz National Housing FederationNational Housing FederationThe National Housing Federation is the umbrella organisation for social housing providers in the UK.-Function:The National Housing Federation is the voice of affordable housing in England....
2006 Housing Awards - Best Neighbour
- In partnership with Lincoln Area Regeneration Group, 2006 Green Pennant awarded for Chiltern Green
- In partnership with Lincoln Area Regeneration Group, Highly Commended in Chartered Institute of HousingChartered Institute of HousingThe Chartered Institute of Housing is the professional body for those working in the housing profession in the UK. It has a royal charter, gained in 1984. Currently CIH has over 21,000 members, mostly in the UK but also overseas, notably in Hong Kong...
2004 UK Housing Award for Best Led Community Initiative - Chiltern Green
- 2001 Commendation for Best in Community Regeneration - BURA Charitable Trust
- In partnership with Countryside plc, Burdett Estate renewal was voted Best Partnership Development in the 2001 What House? Awards
External links
- Poplar HARCA official website
- 2007 Statistics at the Tenant Services Authority website
- Teviot Estate in pictures at BBC News website
- Architects' master plans including Chrisp Street MarketChrisp Street MarketChrisp Street Market was designed by Frederick Gibberd, and built as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951. It is located in Poplar in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and forms part of the eastern edge of the Lansbury Estate....
(pp 6–7), Devons & Lincoln Estates (11—13), Reshaping Poplar (15—16), Teviot Estate (21—22)