Muirhouse Housing Association celebrate their 25th anniversary tomorrow with an afternoon of fun-filled family activities at North Edinburgh Arts preceding the premiere of the Muirhouse Movie and their AGM. The fun starts at 3pm – don’t miss it!
Tag: Muirhouse Housing Association
Christmas comes early for Muirhouse Housing Association
MHA is out of high engagement Continue reading Christmas comes early for Muirhouse Housing Association
Muirhouse Housing Association rebuilds
Muirhouse Housing Association hasn’t had it’s problems to seek over the last couple of years. The local housing association’s travails have been well documented, but the organisation plans to build on community spirit and is fighting back. Continue reading Muirhouse Housing Association rebuilds
MHA team goes the extra mile to support cancer charity
A staff team from Muirhouse Housing Association is stepping out on an intrepid journey to raise funds to tackle cancer this month. The team is taking part in Cancer Research UK’s Walk All Over Cancer campaign – MHA’s Hannah Robertson explains more:
The team at MHA have been working hard to take steps to make Muirhouse Miles Better!
We have decided to get on our feet and raise money for charity! Five of us will be walking 10,000 steps every day of the month of September – that’s five meals EACH every day!
We will be raising money for Cancer Research, and as we do this we will be completing a virtual tour of as many Housing Associations as we can while clocking up the miles every day for a month.
Paula Mcvay, Stevie McAvoy, Susanne Connell, Grit Neilson and Barry Allan are the staff who are taking up the challenge. Luckily Muirhouse is situated very close to the beach and some lunch-time walks will help to increase our step count!
We also have an in house support team to help keep track of the miles and housing associations that we will pass on our journey.
We will walk 500 miles and we will walk 500 more …!
You can support the team by sponsoring a team member (above), and you can follow us on our journey by visiting our Facebook page and our website at www.muirhouseha.org.uk
A new heart for Pennywell
Green light for £1.5 million Shopping Centre transformation
Muirhouse Shopping Centre is to be transformed through a £1.52 million Regeneration Grant, it’s been announced. The cash will see sections of the run-down centre demolished and replaced to give the area a new ‘civic heart’ (writes Dave Pickering). Continue reading A new heart for Pennywell
Muirhouse Housing Association AGM tonight
Tonight we host the A.G.M of Muirhouse Housing association in our large hall at Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre (writes James McGinty)
The following invite comes from the Housing Association Website:
Our A.G.M is just around the corner. It will be held on Monday 28 September at 6.30pm at the Muirhouse Millennium Centre. Light refreshments will be served.
The main purpose of the meeting is to present the annual accounts and future plans for the Association. We will also be announcing the winners of the ‘Good Neighbour’ and ‘Best Garden’ contest and all attendees have a chance to win a price.
Moving home: Brenda leaves Muirhouse Housing Association
Muirhouse Housing Association’s long-standing director Brenda Tonner has resigned following 23 years of service with the area’s largest housing association.
Muirhouse Housing Association (MHA) was formed shortly after the start of the regeneration of the Muirhouse area, established by a group of residents in 1992. Their original objective was quite simple: to improve the housing within the area and make Muirhouse a desirable place to live. Sounds simple, but anyone who remembers the reputation of the area back then knows the scale of the challenge.
Brenda was the first member of staff to be appointed and she worked alongside a strong board of community directors that included activists like Maureen McMillan, John Davidson and Jenni Marrow.
The original plans way back then centred on the Muirhouse Green, Muirhouse Park and Muirhouse Terrace areas but regeneration successful housing partners with the city council, Communities Scotland and private builders resulted in MHA expanding both within Muirhouse and further afield into Drylaw.
Through sheer hard work, Brenda and an ever-growing team built MHA into a thriving, community-based housing association with over 500 homes across North Edinburgh, the latest being a development of 52 units completed just last month.
Last summer the Muirhouse Medway-based organisation expanded to create a subsidiary called Muirhouse Homes, set up to manage a number of mid-market properties in the area, and in February this year new homes were opened in Magill Drive on the former BT site.
It’s not all been plain sailing for the social housing project, however, and there have been problems too. In December last year the Scottish Housing Regulator identified ‘serious and urgent risk to the financial health of Muirhouse’ and serious weaknesses in its governance and financial management. It used its statutory powers to appoint a manager and to make three statutory appointments to the governing body.
The Association also lost it’s long-serving Chairperson Michael Woods, who retired due to health problems in April. Michael first joined as a member in 1999 and he twice served as the organisation’s chairperson.
Since problems were flagged up MHA has taken steps to address the immediate risks faced and is developing plans to strengthen its governance and financial management to address the serious weaknesses it faces.
The Regulator has since extended the appointment until December 2015 and has published a revised regulation plan which sets out how it will work with Muirhouse to resolve outstanding issues.
Ian Brennan, Director of Finance and Risk, said: “The action taken has dealt with the immediate issues which led to the statutory appointments being made in December 2014.
“During the next six months, the manager and appointees to the governing body will work with Muirhouse to help it address the underlying causes so that it is able to comply with our Regulatory Standards of Governance and Financial Management.”
Now, having overseen the completion of a significant new build scheme and helped secure a new chair for the Association, Brenda (pictured above (second from right) at MHA’s 20th anniversary celebrations) feels the time is right to move on and let a new team take MHA forward.
After her final Board meeting last month, Brenda said: “Inevitably I feel some regret about leaving MHA. I have worked with a great team both within the board and the office staff.
“However, 23 years is a long time and now is the time for others to take up the challenges ahead. I am looking forward to having a bit more time for myself and my family and to take time to assess a new direction and opportunities with my career.”
Brenda Tonner’s commitment to MHA has never been in question and her outstanding dedication has been recognised by the board, the staff and the tenants of MHA.
Acting chair, Alison Blezard said: “We will miss Brenda’s unquenchable optimism and sheer determination, but she can look back with pride at the role she has played in growing MHA. We all wish her the very best for the future.”
Digital Information Day for MHA tenants
Muirhouse Housing Association tenants have an opportunity to brush up their technology skills at event at Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre tomorrow (writes James McGinty):
Come and find out more about using phones,tablets and computers with the M.H.A. Team at Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre (Lounge/Cafe area) on Tuesday (9 June) from 11am – 1pm.
This is an event for M.H.A.Tenants only.
An expert from the field of computers will be there joining the Team and if you attend your name will be entered to a lucky dip to win a tablet!
Muirhouse: mid-market flats to let
Our subsidiary company MH4 has a number of two bedroom flats available for let now. These flats are set within two blocks, all of which are let as Mid Market Tenancies.
To be considered for one of these flats you need to earn more than £18,000 and less than £37,000. And not rely on Housing Benefit to meet the cost of your rent.
The rent is £518 per month, due on the 1st of each month. A deposit of £518 is also required prior to signing the tenancy agreement.
The flats have an open plan living/dining/kitchen, two double bedrooms with built in wardrobes, a bathroom with an overbath shower and ample storage. Carpets are provided in the bedrooms and livingroom, and vinyl in the kitchen area and bathroom.
The flats are available for occupancy from the start of July.
If you are interested in applying please contact MHA on 336-5282 or email info@muirhouseha.org.uk
It is crucial that you apply quickly so that references and employments and bank details can be checked to allow you to move in July.
MHA welcomes tenants to new homes
Muirhouse Housing Association (MHA) has announced the completion of the first batch of flats within their latest development. The flats, on Macgill Drive at the end of Muirhouse Avenue, are part of their second development on the old BT Training Ground site.
MHA accepted handover of twelve cottage flats yesterday. The flats are all main door, within a traditional four in a block design, and are all one bedrooms. They are aimed at an older age group and the ground floor flats are fully accessible to wheelchair users.
The flats benefit from an efficient gas central heating system and reach the Silver Sustainable Standard of energy efficiency. The ground floor flats have a wet floor shower room, and the upper flats have an over bath shower.
All tenants will have access to a shared garden which in the next year will be developed to meet the tenant’s needs. This includes drying areas and amenity space. MHA will maintain the shared garden area and we hope it will be well used as a communal area.
Of the twelve flats, seven have been allocated to existing tenants of MHA who are either downsizing from family houses or require a ground floor flat due to medical reasons while the remaining five have been allocated to applicants from Edindex.
As a result of twelve new units being built, 19 households have been housed or re-housed to suit their current needs.
May and Alan Price (above) are among the families on the move. “We have lived at Muirhouse Close for eighteen years – since the houses were built,” May said. “Our family has grown up and moved on now and it made sense for us to move to a smaller home. I really like the new flat and I think this will be great for us; perfect, really.”
MHA Chairperson Roy Douglas (pictured above with Bank of Scotland’s Douglas Spowart) said: “We’re delighted to welcome our residents to their new homes today and we hope they will be very happy here. Everyone is impressed with the quality of these new flats and of course we will have more to come in the summer. These are exciting times for MHA!”
The second phase of the development also includes some mid-market flats which will be available in July. These two bedroom flats will be marketed by Muirhouse Homes, and are targeted at households in employment who do not require Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance. Advertising will start soon locally, and then will be expanded to cover the city.
If you are interested you can register your contact details with MHA and you will then be included in the marketing mailing list. Contact 336-5282 or email mh4@muirhouseha.org.uk
