Grŵp Cynefin Annual Report 2016-17 Grŵp Cynefin is proud to More than housing report another busy and We work in many ways to improve the lives of our tenants and their communities. successful year Our achievements during 2016-17 have included: • Increasing our housing stock across North and Mid Wales by Our Strategic Aims: 67 units, to 4,552 1. Quality homes • Achieving the Investors in People standard, demonstrating our com mitment to high performance through good people 2. Excellent services management 3. Improve lives • Being selected as the development partner for two new Extra Care 4. Sustain communities Housing schemes in Denbighshire 5. Manage effectively • Forming the Local Homes Scheme, an innovative partnership with Gwynedd Council, to deliver affordable homes in rural areas within the county Our mission: to provide excellent We’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to our successes homes and services, and develop over the last year. sustainable communities where people John Arthur Jones, Chair and Walis George, Chief Executive want to live To find out what Grŵp Cynefin does as a registered housing association and as a group of social businesses, please visit: www.grwpcynefin.org Quality homes Repairing and Housing Stock @ 31/03/17 Housing Stock @ 31/03/17 improving homes By: Type By: Local Authority We shall provide high-quality affordable homes that meet local needs 77 2000 In 2016/17 we added 67 units to our housing stock, which now totals 4,552, including 436 supported housing homes for a variety of client groups, and more than 700 shared equity and intermediate rental properties. 648 Intermediate market Social Housing 91% of repair work 241 completed by target date 71 95 1500 24 105 331 1000 99% of tenants satisfied 158 3201 with the repair work 1528 130 500 787 196 574 102 81 317 246 7 118 0 67 y General needs (3201) Welsh Housing Partnership (95) Conw Powys Supported Housing (331) Intermediate Rent (71) Gwynedd Wrexham Flintshire Extra Care (105) Homebuy (684) Denbighshire Isle of Anglesey Shared Ownership (24) Shared Equity (77) Quality Homes... The £11m Lon Ganol development in Denbigh will comprise 71 two- and one-bedroom apartments for people with extra care Excellent services and supported living needs. Extra Care Housing Communal facilities include catering facilities within a café, to assist We shall provide excellent those less able to prepare meals, and also to offer residents the chance to eat together. customer service Developments consistently across Proposals for a second phase of development on the site of our current Grŵp Cynefin was proud to be selected by Denbighshire County scheme in Ruthin, Llys Awelon, have also been approved, and work the group Council as its partner to develop two new extra care housing schemes continues on the Hafod y Gest scheme in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, with in Denbighshire. completion of the £8.5m project expected in Spring 2018. We believe that tenants should have a Extra care housing projects allow people to continue living central role in developing our services, independently in their own homes, with the reassurance that help and we’ve been working to provide and support is available 24 hours a day, should they need it. opportunities for tenants to contribute towards shaping our future provision. For example, this year’s Tenant Roadshow visited 28 estates across our operational area. Tenants were asked to complete a short survey on their health and wellbeing. We’re now using the results to plan future events and activities, making sure they are tailored to tenants’ needs. Also this year, we continued investment into a new housing management system. Due to go live by the end of 2017, it will integrate two systems into one and provide better services to customers and partners. Improving lives We shall provide help and opportunities for people Excellent services... Grŵp Cynefin provides more than housing. And 2016-17 saw significant growth in our role as a provider of housing-based support Letting and managing property that enables people with a variety of needs to live independently and safely. The formal merger of Gorwel (our internal business unit) and South Target 2015/16 2016/17 Gwynedd Domestic Abuse Service was completed on 31st March 2017. Gorwel now provides support to victims of domestic abuse across Rent loss – arrears 2% 2.10% 2.03% Gwynedd and Anglesey, in addition to supporting people at risk of homelessness in Gwynedd, Anglesey and Denbighshire. Rent loss – empty properties 1% 1.10% 0.68% Gorwel was also successful in winning the contract for an innovative Days taken to let 25 32.5 28 new service for older people on Anglesey. It delivers community based support for people aged 55 years and over, irrelevant of their housing Number of ASB cases during the year n/a 432 511 tenure, across the island. The support includes assistance with independent living skills; cefnogaeth a mwy • support and more managing finances and maximising income; and help with adaptations to improve home safety and accessibility. G rwel The shed also includes two workshops and business box workshop units, Sustain communities plus a community shop for small artisans to sell their goods. Innovative partnership Grŵp Cynefin prepared the Lottery application, and will manage this boosts supply of rural We shall engage with local communities and significant regeneration project, in partnership with Denbighshire be a catalyst for positive change County Council and community volunteers. housing We aim to complete the asset transfer and renovate the building by the end of 2018. Grŵp Cynefin has launched an innovative housing We’re proud to collaborate with others to meet the specific needs of partnership with Gwynedd Council, the Local Homes communities across North Wales. Two other schemes that we set up and run for the benefit of the Scheme, to deliver affordable homes for young people community, HWB Dinbych and Canolfan Fenter Congl Meinciau, have in rural Gwynedd. In 2016, we helped to secure a £1.4m Big Lottery Fund grant to create significantly increased occupancy rates and income streams this year. a community asset and help regenerate a rural area. This improves the long-term sustainability of the schemes. A nine-property development at Mynytho, Gwynedd, was the first scheme developed by the partnership. The funding will transform a Grade 2 listed former railway shed at Meliden, Denbighshire, into a heritage centre and café. Whilst the new properties in the village have an open market value of £205,000 to £230,000, average local salaries remain low at around £22,000, meaning that young local families are often priced out of the market. Thanks to the funding provided by the scheme, Grŵp Cynefin are able to sell the properties through shared equity, with purchasers owning a minimum of 50% and maximum 80% share of the property. When owners move on, they will sell their share back to Grŵp Cynefin or to a nominated person, ensuring that the properties remain affordable in the future. Under the partnership, future developments will be planned according to local housing need, with new homes in Penygroes, Waunfawr, Bethesda and Llanuwchllyn being considered for the scheme. The tenures offered will driven by the needs of the local area. Manage effectively Manage effectively... We shall demonstrate the best leadership, governance and Employees celebrate management practices as a group achieving By continually working to ensure best practice and outstanding governance across all our operations, we provide the most effective organisation and services for our tenants and communities. performance We continue to invest in the development and improvement of our governance arrangements. award The primary focus in 2016-17 was to introduce a new Board member appraisal system, carrying out a Grŵp Cynefin has been awarded the Board self-assessment exercise, and developing a Board succession plan. Investors In People (IIP) management standard. IIP enables organisations to benchmark against the best in the business on an international scale. It recognises commitment to high Number Full-time performance through good people management. of staff equivalent Securing this status means Grŵp Cynefin can 222 Staffing 191 deliver the best and most efficient services possible, to all our families and communities. And it was only achieved thanks to the high standards of work and commitment of our 200-strong Grŵp Cynefin employees. We are now working towards achieving the IIP Gold standard by 2020. Corporate governance The board of Grŵp Cynefin directs the actions of the Association in accordance with its objectives and rules. It has prime responsibility for the effective governance of the group. Details of its functions, sub-committees and of the Group structure are available on our website. John Arthur Jones Bob Jones Carys Edwards Chris Schoen Dafydd Lewis Di Bushell John Pollard Julia Hughes Melfyn Parry Paul Quirk A retired bank official A Grŵp Cynefin tenant The former head of adult Chris works in an A former corporate Di was manager of the John is a senior A former director of adult Melfyn is a self-employed Paul was head of housing from Llanrwst. from Trefnant, Bob is a services with Isle of administrative position at director for housing and Citizens Advice Bureau on conservation manager and community learning financial advisor and lives at Denbighshire County specialist trainer in the Anglesey Council, Carys Ysbyty Gwynedd. He is a social care in Gwynedd Anglesey prior to for CADW and lives in at Coleg Llandrillo, Julia in Llangaffo on the Isle Council before he retired. John is Chairman of the care sector and catering & lives in Y Parc, near Bala. tenant of the Association Council, he lives in retirement. She has Llanllyfni near Caernarfon. lives in Llangwyfan of Anglesey.