And the winners are…
The winners in the 2019 Welsh housing Awards were revealed by CIH Cymru at an event in November.
As ever, the winning projects and people offer represent a cross-section of innovative and inspiring work across the country.
A Good Practice Compendium that is free to download from the CIH Cymru website features full details of all the shortlisted schemes.
The winners in the 2019 Welsh Housing Awards were:
NEW DEVELOPMENT – SMALL DEVELOPMENT
LLYS CYNFRAN – CARTREFI CONWY
The latest social housing development from Cartrefi Conwy provides a mix of three- and four-bedroom general needs houses, wheelchair adapted apartments designed for those with specialist needs and one-and two-bed general needs apartments (four).
The derelict site proved extremely difficult to develop due to the shallow bedrock, harsh contours and a high pressure water main running through the site. To gain efficiencies the scheme was designed with a split-level approach, avoiding a large scale cut-and-fill and instead using the topography of the site to create a lower storey.
SHORTLISTED:
- Glan Morfa, Westbourne Avenue, Rhyl – Clwyd Alyn
- Ty Newydd – First Choice Housing Association.
- Llys Aur, Gabalfa – Cardiff Hafod
- Lle Ysgol, Hirwaun – Rhondda Housing Association
- Iard y Parrog, Newport, Pembrokeshire – Wales & West Housing
NEW DEVELOPMENT – LARGE DEVELOPMENT
HAFAN CEFNI EXTRA CARE SCHEME, LLANGEFNI – CLWYDALYN HOUSING
An outstanding example of partnership working that has created a unique opportunity for those aged 60 and over to live independently and safely with access to 24-hour onsite support. The scheme does much more than meet individual housing and support needs of tenants, it also values their contribution to the community and empowers them to continue to be able to be a part of the local area.
As well as a specialist Extra Care Warden Call Telecare technology, the scheme includes technology such as wandering tracking devices, alarmed patio doors and heat, water and gas detection devices.
SHORTLISTED:
- Captain’s Walk and Captain’s View – Braunton & Clevedon – A Cardiff Living Project – Cardiff Council
- Llys Raddington Extra Care Independent Living Scheme – ClwydAlyn Housing
- The Mill – Canton – Lovell.
COMMUNITY FOCUSSED CONTRACTOR
CREATING ENTERPRISE AND CARTREFI CONWY
Creating Enterprise, a subsidiary of Cartrefi Conwy, started trading in 2015 and has quickly grown into the social contractor of choice for North Wales. Born out of the need to create commercial income streams to support its growth agenda whilst offering employment opportunities to unemployed tenants, Creating Enterprise has quickly become a multi award winning social enterprise with a £9.82 million turnover last year alone. It has brought many essential work streams ‘in-house’ and has expanded with contracts in the private and public sectors.
SHORTLISTED:
- Anwyl Construction – Anwyl Construction
NEW IDEAS AND APPROACHES
UNITED WELSH & ALERTACALL – IMPROVING HOUSING MANAGEMENT WITH INCREASED CONTACT – UNITED WELSH
United Welsh was seeking a cost- effective solution to replace ageing hard-wired alarm systems in their sheltered schemes for older people. It wanted to improve service delivery by offering more effective tenant communication and promoting independent living by enabling individuals to better manage their tenancies. After evaluating several different options United Welsh selected a solution delivered by Alertacall.
SHORTLISTED:
- Remote Asset Management – IoT (LoRaWAN / TTN) – Mid-Wales Housing Association
- Residents at the heart – Newport City Homes
- Flexible payment plans for all – Wales & West Housing
VALUING EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
ALL OUT FOR SCRUTINY – LINC CYMRU
In 2018 Linc Cymru reviewed its approach to scrutiny. Whilst it worked, it was ‘exclusive’ and a good time
for a change. It agreed to open up the process, attract those not usually involved, include a small financial incentive, take scrutiny to a fresh environment and enable it to take place in less than two days. It also agreed to take a risk based approach and together researched how best to facilitate the process.
BUILDING SAFER COMMUNITIES
TACKLING COUNTY LINES – UNITED WELSH
When it became apparent that an issue with County Lines and cuckooing was affecting some of its properties, United Welsh quickly established a method of dealing with the problem which is now being adopted by other social landlords in South Wales.
It set up an intensive housing management system in the area
of Cardiff which appeared to be
most affected. But what was really needed was an approach where all information was shared between different organisations who could all decide what to do in the best interest of those being targeted by the drug gangs. The standardised inter agency adult protection VA1 form seemed like the best way forward with all agencies using this method of reporting.
SHORTLISTED:
- Tai Tarian and the Police ‘Better Together’ – Tai Tarian
WORKING WITH OTHER SECTORS
WELLBEING 4U – UNITED WELSH
Wellbeing 4U is a community wellbeing service delivered by Thrive, the team that manages specialist accommodation and related services for the United Welsh.
It is commissioned by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and has been life-changing for patients and a life-line for health professionals since launching in 2016. Wellbeing 4U is a social prescribing service that supports people to be responsible for their own health by placing them at the centre of their care, promoting independence and personal responsibility.
SHORTLISTED:
- Mitigating the impact of Universal Credit – Adra
- The Old School Master’s House, Llanrwst – ClwydAlyn Housing
- Tackling ASB together – A Police & RSL partnership – Gwent Landlord’s ASB Group
- Fit & Fed Merthyr Tydfil – Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association
- Welcome to Our Woods Partnership – Rhondda Housing Association and Welcome To Our Woods
- WISDOM project – Trivallis
- YMCA Aspire – YMCA Cardiff
EMPOWERING AND INVOLVING COMMUNITIES
GRUB HUB – RHONDDA HOUSING ASSOCIATION In 2017 two volunteering tenants identified a need to support those who were in food poverty and struggling with welfare reform. With RHA’s support, they created the Grub Hub project, a community food recycling scheme which is available to everyone who is struggling to afford food, pet foods, sanitary products and basic household items and helps them on
a weekly basis. By addressing food poverty and the impact of welfare reform it is not only supporting those struggling but it also offers those vitally important initial steps to engage with the association and support better tenancy management.
SHORTLISTED:
- SiopGriffiths–Grwp Cynefin
HOUSING CHAMPION(S)
LOGAN OBERHOLSTER – RHONDDA HOUSING ASSOCIATION
Tenant volunteer Logan Oberholster was nominated for this special award, as his passion, enthusiasm and commitment has made a real difference to the lives of tenants, community members and staff at Rhondda Housing Association. He’s been involved in many projects: from being a member of the Scrutiny Team, to representing RHA at events and supporting ommunity projects and facilitating the food poverty project – Grub Hub.
SHORTLISTED:
- Alan Jones – Carmarthenshire County Council
- Tenant Panel – Linc Cymru • Neighbourhood Team – Monmouthshire Housing Association
INNOVATION IN COMMUNICATIONS
FILLING A VOID – CAERPHILLY COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL
The council set up a working group consisting of staff from the council’s communications and public sector housing teams to review its approach to marketing hard to let properties. The working group introduced a number of marketing methods, including simple ‘for rent’ signs similar to those used by estate agents. This simple, low cost method proved to be particularly effective for sheltered housing schemes. A ‘Find a Home Friday’ social media campaign was also launched with a feature property posted each Twitter pages.
SHORTLISTED:
- Taff Housing Association – Taff Housing Association
SUPPORTING FUTURE GENERATIONS
FUSION – ENGAGING UTILISING CULTURE AND HERITAGE IN NEATH PORT TALBOT – TAI TARIAN
In 2017 Tai Tarian was the only housing association to successfully bid for Fusion funding from the Museums Archive and Libraries division of Welsh Government. The funding was utilised to create a coordinator’s post which developed and enhanced existing connections and relationships using arts and culture as engagement for learning and creating routes to employment.
Pivotal to this work is an exciting relationship that has been developed between Tai Tarian, and Ysgol Bae Baglan, an all through school (age 3-16 years) with over 1,500 pupils.
SHORTLISTED:
- Growing Green Spaces – Linc Cymru Housing Association
PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR
SERENLIVING LETTING AGENCY
Serenliving letting agency was created to be a socially responsible agent able to balance the needs of tenants and landlords in the private rented sector. It is committed to raising the standards in the private rented sector by offering a best practice letting agency service with its main focus being on providing excellent customer service.
POSITIVE PLACEMAKING
TRE CWM – CARTREFI CONWY
In 2015 Cartrefi Conwy began an ambitious programme to regenerate and revitalise the Tre Cwm estate, incorporating the needs of the community within the wider landscape agenda. The result was a much changed appearance, improved access and parking, green space where there was once concrete, and in direct correspondence with community aspirations.
SHORTLISTED:
- Old School Masters House – Clwyd Alyn Llys Raddington – Clwyd Alyn • Glan Morfa – Clwyd Alyn
- The Mill – Canton – Lovell
SUPPORTING ACTIVE LIVING
LLYS RADDINGTON – CLWYDALYN HOUSING
Llys Raddington is a new-build housing scheme for people aged 60 and over who have an identified support need. Some 15 of the 73 self-contained one- and two-bed apartments are specifically designed for those living those living with memory loss.
SHORTLISTED:
- Hafan Cefni – Clwyd Alyn
- Gorseinon scheme – First Choice Housing Association
- Vintage Days – Linc-Cymru
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO HOUSING
MICHAEL SHEEN OBE