Annual Report
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Report of the Board Including Strategic Report Annual Report For the year ended 31 March 2017 Poplar HARCA Annual Report For the year ended 31 March 2017 Contents Page Review of the year by the Chair of Poplar HARCA 3 Strategic Report and Board Report 4 Statement of the Board’s Responsibilities in respect of the Board and the financial statements 25 Report of the Independent auditors, KPMG LLP, to the members of Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association Limited 28 Statements of Comprehensive Income - Group and Association 30 Statements of Financial Position - Group and Association 31 Statements of Changes in Equity - Group and Association 32 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 33 Notes to the Financial Statements 34 Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association Limited Limited by Guarantee Trading as “Poplar HARCA” Directors’ Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2017 Company registration number: 3249344 Homes and Communities Agency number: L4170 Charity registration number: 1064397 2 Report of the Board Including Strategic Report Chair’s Review Of The Year This has been a very challenging year. That we have Value for Money has always been a key priority for risen to the challenges so successfully is tribute to Poplar HARCA, especially given the income profile of the extraordinary support and practical input of our our residents and the financial pressure some will face. residents and to the quality and hard work of our staff. Being held to account by residents who scrutinise what The Board and I are very grateful to them all. we do and how we do it has kept us grounded in terms of ensuring we maximise the impact of every pound. Increasing financial resilience has been a key focus for After a very difficult year which saw changes to services the Board over the year and the 2016/17 results and as a result of financial constraints, still 76% of tenants the June 2017 approved business plan show significant said that we provide Value for Money services. To progress has been made without detriment to the ensure compliance with the Homes and Communities delivery of our vision of discovering, developing and Agency Value for Money Standard we have carried out a implementing opportunities to help our community Value for Money self-assessment. The resulting report is thrive. published on our website The Board has continued to monitor and evaluate our www.poplarharca.co.uk/who-we-are-documents-and- financial and corporate strategic direction in response publications/value-money to the changing environment. An innovative and We also won awards during the year. We started off opportunistic approach continues to be taken and an in style with the Guardian Public Service Award for addition to the strategy called Recycling Assets and Transformation followed later by a hatrick of accolades: Creating Opportunity (RACO) was approved mid year. 24 Housing’s Innovation of the Year, a Women in Poplar HARCA is assessing void properties, some are Housing award and a 4th place ranking in Inside being sold and we anticipate that we can replace 1.5 Housing’s Innovation Index. new affordable homes. As always, my thanks go to all those who live and work Thinking back to the beginning of the year, in many in our area who share our purpose and contribute to respects the UK housing world is now a very different our achievements. In particular, I thank our staff, my place. In addition to the general election and the fellow Directors, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, resulting minority Conservative government, there has other partners and our contractors for their continued been the awful tragedy at Grenfell Tower. Issues of fire commitment to what Poplar HARCA wants to achieve. safety and likely regulatory changes came into sharp focus at our recent board meetings and strategy days, and will do so for the coming months and years. The Aberfeldy New Village project continues to move along at a quick pace. Phase 2 is complete delivering 219 new homes and phase 3, which will deliver 344 new homes, retail space and a community and health centre is on site. The final phase of our Leopold Estate regeneration scheme which replaces old concrete bison blocks with 362 energy efficient modern homes is almost Dr Paul Brickell complete with 191 of the homes built by year end. Chair 3 Poplar HARCA Annual Report For the year ended 31 March 2017 About Poplar Harca Since 1998 Poplar HARCA, A Public Benefit Entity (PBE) has been investing in its area, community and homes to achieve our vision: discovering, developing and implementing opportunities to help our community thrive. We are a registered provider of social housing and a We have an international reputation for innovation registered charity formed by large scale voluntary stock and award-winning services delivered by award-winning transfer from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. people. Much more than this, Poplar HARCA is a catalyst and enabler – working with like-minded partners to Working with statutory and third sector partners, realise the ambitions of our local community. Poplar HARCA has leveraged significant investment into the area. As well as refurbished existing homes, Poplar We own and manage approximately 9,000 homes. HARCA has built new homes, transformed estates and We also own and manage 12 community spaces, 210 re-shaped the whole neighbourhood to connect it amenity / open space areas, 15 “pocket parks” or other literally and figuratively to the potential of its location. green spaces, and a number of commercial and retail spaces in just four square miles of East London. 4 Report of the Board Including Strategic Report Our Values And Behaviours Poplar HARCA’s Board, staff, partners and volunteers share a common purpose - achieving our vision to Create Opportunity. Our Values and Behaviours are the foundation upon which our Vision will be realised. Values Wholehearted Commitment Constant Enthusiastic Improvement Support Behaviours Inspirational Collaborative Considered Fresh Agile 5 Poplar HARCA Annual Report For the year ended 31 March 2017 About Our Staff Team Poplar HARCA employs 303 staff, 276 full-time and 27 part-time. The most recent annual survey (completed in 2016) showed that our staff are clear about their expectations; have colleagues that are committed to doing good work and believe that their manager cares about them. Poplar HARCA values the diversity of its workforce A Staff Board has been recruited to, with a remit to which is broadly reflective of its local community. The provide strategic input to the organiation’s development. Finance and General Purposes Committee and Board Poplar HARCA is a London Living Wage Employer. consider a range of HR indicators. The Board has approved a refreshed strategy for Organisational Development which sets out how Poplar HARCA will approach attracting, retaining and developing the best people. Resident Driven Involving And Involved Holding Poplar HARCA to account through opportunities to inform, influence and scrutinise is our most important driver for improvement. Poplar HARCA has a strong resident representation throughout its Board and Committee structure. The Chair of its Services Committee is a resident, We have developed a successful accredited as is the Vice Chair of the Board. training programme that provides an introduction to governance, community organising and board/ In the most recent independent satisfaction survey, 72% committee skills which is a valuable capacity-building of Poplar HARCA’s tenants said they were satisfied with opportunity for new and interested residents. available opportunities to be involved. 6 Report of the Board Including Strategic Report Creating Opportunity Our Strategy The profile of the area in which we work is changing radically and rapidly. New development and infrastructure is attracting new communities to East London. Poplar HARCA’s Corporate Strategic Plan 2016-21 is called ‘Creating Opportunity’. It celebrates how much has been accomplished and acknowledges there is still a lot to achieve. We delivered The full Creating Opportunity document is available on Poplar HARCA’s website www.poplarharca.co.uk 416 new homes and In the first year of our ‘Creating Opportunity’ Strategic a mosque Plan we have achieved a great deal, including: 300 450 residents were residents were supported into helped to gain employment accredited training 120 year 3,4 and 5 4,236 young people are pupils attend SHINE 230 registered Spotlight volunteers engaged sessions with two- members – each with local projects thirds expected to attending an averge and initiatives progress in maths of 8 sessions and English Poplar 1,233 Urban Gym was residents have 7 launched, and accessed health social enterprises procurement is and well-being were supported underway by the sessions Council for a BMX track We are developing a new on-line service offer for residents which leads our move towards reducing transaction costs 7 Poplar HARCA Annual Report For the year ended 31 March 2017 Resourcing The Vision The financial and operational strategy that is in place to deliver ‘Creating Opportunity’ is called ‘Resourcing the Vision’. In response to rent reduction, the Group has implemented a number of strategic initiatives as part of Resourcing the Vision. MIXED INCOME TENURE STRATEGY (MITS) RECYCLING ASSETS, MITS increases income, increases diversity and CREATING OPPORTUNITY (RACO) helps the homeless. Empty properties are assessed RACO, a new addition to Resourcing the Vision, started against an asset evaluation matrix and only those flats in September 2016. The objective is to sell homes that most suitable for MITS are then offered to people in the asset evaluation matrix identifies as less suitable for temporary housing with the London Borough of Tower re-letting and to use the sales proceeds to supply 1.5 Hamlets. A small minority of homes are at market rent.