Ferguslie Park Housing Association BUSINESS PLAN 2017-2020
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Ferguslie Park Housing Association 30 Years of community ownership in Ferguslie Park 1988 - 2018 BUSINESS PLAN 2017-2020 (Updated February 2018) Version: 22nd Feb 2018 Contents Section 1: Introduction Page Section 5: Key priorities Page INTRODUCTION 3 FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY 22 PURPOSE OF OUR BUSINESS PLAN 3 EARLY ACTION PROGRAMMES 22 OUR BUSINESS PLANNING PROCESS 3 STRATEGIC ASSET MANAGEMENT 23 ENGAGING WITH STAKEHOLDERS 4 PROCUREMENT & CONTRACT MANAGEMENT 24 WIDER ROLE 24 CONNECTIVITY 24 GOVERNANCE & BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT 25 Section 2: About us Page Section 6: Resources Page OUR STRUCTURE 5 OUR FINANCES 26 THE FERGUSLIE GROUP 5 OUR PEOPLE 27 OUR HISTORY 5 OUR SYSTEMS 27 OUR TRACK RECORD 7 OPTIONS APPRAISAL 8 OUR STRENGTHS 9 OUR WEAKNESSES 10 Section 3: Operating environment Page Section 7: Risks Page THE NATIONAL CONTEXT 11 OUR APPROACH 29 THE LOCAL CONTEXT 13 OUR RISK FRAMEWORK 29 THE OPPORTUNITIES 16 OUR AUDIT & RISK COMMITTEE 29 THE THREATS 17 OUR RISK REGISTER 30 OUR RISK CONTROLS 30 Section 4: Our business strategy Page Section 8: Review Page THE GROUPS’ STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 18 MONITORING & REVIEW 31 OUR VISION STATEMENT 18 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 31 OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTION 19 OUTCOME BASED APPROACH 31 OUR SOCIAL IMPACT 19 OUR EVIDENCE-BASE 32 OUR CORE VALUES 20 KPIs 32 20 OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OUR UNDERLYING APPROACH 20 Appendices: Key Performance Indicators SWOT matrix Statements of Comprehensive Income and Financial Position Organisation Structure 2 Section 1: Introduction INTRODUCTION This business plan is our central strategic document and sets out our strategic direction up to March 2020. It is primarily for internal use and we review and update it annually. It is approved by the Board prior to the start of each financial year. In developing this plan, we have taken account of business planning guidance published by the Scottish Housing Regulator (Dec 2015). PURPOSE OF OUR BUSINESS PLAN The purpose of the business plan is to: help us to understand the opportunities and threats inherent in our operating environment as well as our own internal strengths and weaknesses; clarify and communicate our strategic objectives and priorities and set out the key actions we will take to achieve these objectives; demonstrate that we have the resources necessary to carry out these actions and help us to identify and mitigate any risks we face in delivering these actions; provide a strategic overview for our other strategies and plans; and provide a framework with which we can monitor our progress and measure our success. OUR BUSINESS PLANNING PROCESS We reviewed and strengthened our business planning process in 2016 and introduced a new protocol which sets out the key steps we take to prepare our business plan. They are: business planning timetable is agreed data is collected and strategic analysis undertaken vision, strategic direction and objectives are reviewed action plan for the years ahead is developed financial and resource plans are prepared risks are assessed business plan and budget are approved objectives and targets are communicated to staff monitoring and review are embedded. This process is led by our Board, supported by senior staff, and is highly participative ensuring a whole organisation approach. 3 ENGAGING WITH STAKEHOLDERS In preparing (and updating) this business plan, we spoke to several of our key stakeholders and received invaluable feedback from: a focus group of our tenants a focus group of our staff telephone interviews with individual stakeholders (CEOs of neighbouring RSLs and community organisations, local & national politicians, senior government officers and consultants) a comprehensive, independent, tenant satisfaction survey as well as quarterly pulse surveys a joint meeting of the governing bodies of the association and our subsidiary The New Tannahill Centre Ltd initial discussions with the newly formed Ferguslie Community Council informal feedback from residents, not only tenants, at the summer Gala Day. 4 Section 2: About Us OUR STRUCTURE Ferguslie Park Housing Association (FPHA) is an independent community-controlled housing association governed by a volunteer Board, several of whom are our customers. We are a registered social landlord and a society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. We are also a registered Scottish Charity and do not distribute our surpluses, but rather, we reinvest these for the benefit of our current and future customers. We currently employ around 15 permanent staff members and a copy of our staff structure can be found in the appendices to this plan. We have one wholly-owned subsidiary, the New Tannahill Centre Ltd. It is also a registered Scottish Charity and is run by a Board of volunteers. Together we form The Ferguslie Group. THE FERGUSLIE GROUP FPHA acts as the parent organisation in The Ferguslie Group of companies. We have a formal intra-group agreement which sets out our relationship with our subsidiary and reinforces our responsibility for overall strategic direction and control for the Group. We each employ our own staff and we also have a service-sharing agreement which allows the subsidiary to draw on our staff in accordance with agreed work plans. Along with our subsidiary, we seek to make a positive contribution to the Group’s core purpose, namely:- To work together to regenerate Ferguslie Park; and To work with partners to channel ideas, action and investment. OUR HISTORY Ferguslie Park was built as a council housing estate, from shortly before the Second World War and expanding until the 1950s. Ferguslie Park became a working class neighbourhood in the west end of Paisley, with residents working mainly in the huge Chrysler car plant in neighbouring Linwood, the nearby Stobo carpet factory and making textiles in the Ferguslie Mills. The demise of the car factory has been commemorated in The Proclaimers' reference to "Linwood no more" in their hit song "Letter from America". Ferguslie had its own artists too. John Byrne lived in Ferguslie Park and his "Slab Boys Trilogy" of plays features rebellious carpet factory workers from the 1950s to the 1970s. The closure of traditional textile and manufacturing industries in the '70s and '80s led to widespread unemployment, poverty and stigma. Even so, Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan had success in the '70s with their band Stealers Wheel and their album covers, including "Ferguslie Park", were designed by John Byrne. Rafferty went on to great commercial success, including with "Baker Street". But Ferguslie Park continued to slide. Renfrewshire Council made many attempts to stem the growing unpopularity of the estate which was almost cut off from the rest of Paisley, intensifying its reputation as a no-go-area. 5 Ferguslie Park Housing Association was established on 1 July 1988 as Dalskeith Housing Cooperative. The Co-op was set up to acquire and improve Renfrewshire Council homes in the Dalskeith area of Ferguslie Park. Westburn Woodvale Housing Association was established later, to build new homes in another part of the estate. In a strategic move to strengthen community ownership, the Co- op changed its structure and its name to FPHA. Westburn Woodvale HA became part of the organisation in November 1993 to form Ferguslie Park Housing Association. This created a single housing association for the whole of Ferguslie Park as part of the widest- ranging strategy to date to regenerate the area. This was the New Life for Urban Scotland programme, in which Ferguslie Park was one of four areas facing deprivation which were identified for a new multi-agency and innovative area-based approach. As FPHA, we were a partner in the Ferguslie Park Partnership; with the community, the council, Scottish Executive, health board and police. Significant progress was made in replacing unpopular council housing with 750 new association homes, improving the 500 remaining popular council homes, introducing over 600 homes for owner occupation and shared ownership, building a new link road and improving the environment. The Tannahill Centre was completed in 1995 and John Byrne opened the new Community Library. It was not an altogether smooth transition. Late in 1994 Paisley suffered extensive and serious flooding. Ferguslie Park, being flat and low lying, experienced the most property damage. 250 homes were flooded; 100 of these so seriously that residents had to move out for around a year while they were repaired. Just before Christmas, this made international news. Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip visited Ferguslie Park the following summer to meet people who had been affected and to see the on-going repairs. The flood risk restricted sites for further house building. The association built a pumping station in the lowest part of the area which has protected the homes there from further flooding. From 1996 Ferguslie became part of the Paisley Social Inclusion Partnership. We became a founder member of FLAIR, the federation of local associations in Renfrewshire, set up to foster collaboration in the social inclusion partnership area, benchmarking and wider regeneration activity. FLAIR brought Youthbuild to Scotland – a ground-breaking partnership with Barnardo's supporting unemployed young people into construction apprenticeships in our house building projects. In 2006 we formed a Group with the New Tannahill Centre Ltd as our subsidiary. This was so we could combine our regeneration activities. For 30 years, we have played a key role in the improvement of Ferguslie Park, responding to the needs of the local community and the opportunities available for significant investment into the area. This has involved us in a range of high-profile programmes, many of which were trailblazing but some were ultimately short-lived. Housing has been transformed, there are low levels of crime and there is a strong community spirit. However, it has been much harder to improve health, educational attainment and to tackle poverty. The local primary schools remain well regarded and highly valued in the community but Ferguslie pupils still mostly underachieve at secondary schools.