We are pleased to announce the opening of the office of the BME Fire and Safety Association on Monday, 5 October, 2009, at 5 p.m. in the Main Hall of Castlemere Community Centre, Tweedale Street, Rochdale. The Mayor and the Mayoress of Rochdale will inaugurate it.

Click here to download the invitation form

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) and Rochdale Borough Council have recently been working very closely with the Rochdale Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations (RoFTRA) Board to consider ways in which to give as many tenants as possible a say in the running of their homes and estates.

As a result RBH is commissioning an independent options study to identify the best way to ensure that there is broad based and inclusive collective tenant involvement in the housing landlord service. The aim is to ensure that there is direct tenant involvement in how housing landlord services are developed and delivered in the future. This options study will begin in late July and complete in September and will involve talking to both tenants’ groups and individuals from across the borough about what they want to see in the future.

In the interim the RoFTRA Board has agreed to put on hold all RoFTRA activity and to delegate its powers to a sub-committee. The committee will ensure that any legal duties and responsibilities are properly discharged. A decision on the future of RoFTRA will be taken immediately following the outcomes of the options study. This will enable RoFTRA members to have an input into the options study without fear or favour. The study will give everyone concerned with tenant Involvement in the borough a chance to have their say, and if tenants want a representative body then the Council and RBH have promised to pursue this.

Ghulam Shahzad, Chair of RoFTRA commented “RoFTRA has served tenants and residents for over 20 years and we are proud of our achievements and our contribution to improve the quality of life for our members and the communities they work for. We are very hopeful that tenants will have their say and will take an active part in this study”.

We would like to thank our members, staff, RMBC and RBH for the support they have given us over the years and for the valuable contributions they have made to help us achieve our objectives.

  RHI has recently successfully brokered a deal to bring 26 two bed cottage flats back into use on the Langley area of the Borough as part of its contribution to the Boroughs Empty property Strategy. This has been achieved as a result of its development of the Empty Property Agency by RHI.

This scheme is unique in that involves a partnership of Riverside Pennine (formerly Bowlee Park HA), Homes and Community Agency, RMBC and Seddons. This has resulted in RHI being able to lever in over £580,000 HCA funding in Temporary social housing grant to the Borough, matching that with an additional £447,000 in the form of loan from RMBC to improve these properties on the Langley estate.

The properties have been empty for an average of 8 years each, and will not only provide additional affordable housing for local people but also remove a series of eyesores form the estate. RHI are now looking forward to working with partners to bring back more long term empty homes in the borough therefore maximising the use of the existing housing stock.

RHI have also been elected to the National Executive of the National Association of Empty Property Practitioners (NAEPP) and therefore if you need contacts in other areas, or want to influence national policy on empty homes they'd be happy to talk to you about it.

Tel: 01706 750619

RoFTRA would like to congratulate Pam Smith on her new appointment as Executive Director for Transformation for RMBC

As part of the council’s change agenda, Pam will strategically lead  ‘Stepping Up’, and will oversee the council’s corporate services including finance, communications, customer services, policy, performance and organisational development.

Pam previously worked as the council’s Head of Performance and Development and is credited with overseeing the council’s recent improvement from a two to a three star authority.

Pam is expected to take up her appointment with immediate effect. She succeeds Margaret Carney, who has recently taken up post as Chief Executive of Sefton Borough Council.

Paul Beardmore, former head of strategic housing at Rochdale Council, has left his post to become director of housing on Manchester City Council.

Mr Beardmore started as a trainee environmental health officer in 1976, before becoming the head of strateic housing when Rochdale Boroughwide Housing was formed in 2003.

He left his position in Rochdale and has been working part time for the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities before starting his new position at Manchester Council.