Business Plan 2014 - 2018

strong sustainable growth to makea difference to people’s lives,

homes and communities

The Business Plan 2014 to 2018

No profits are taken, no dividends paid, we makeevery penny count. We useour income to improve services and properties. Wealso invest in the future,building more housing inwhich people make theirhome and build their lives.As a business with a strongsocial purpose most of ourmoney is spent locally tomake the biggest difference.Supporting Welsh manufacturers, suppliers andemployers helps our residents and the communities in which theylive.

We take our responsibilitiesseriously. Over 17,000 people depend on us for thehomes they live in and over30,000 people across Walesrely on us being there 24hours a day, every day, to respond to their need for repairs, emergencies, adviceand support. Our serviceusers come from all walks oflife, including some of themost vulnerable and frail insociety and being there, onhand, is an important part ofwhat we stand for.

People come first in ourworld and that’s made a

difference. We were judgedthe 7th best place to work inthe UK by the Sunday TimesBest Companies (not forprofit) and almost nine outof ten residents are reallypleased with us as theirlandlord. In fact residents’satisfaction has increasedyear on year for almost adecade. These achievementsdo not happen by accident,they are the result of listening to residents andstaff and doing the rightthing an oldfashionedphrase perhaps, but one that everybody understands andwe genuinely mean.

Our business has changed inrecent years as we have responded to new opportunities. We have created three new

companies, wholly owned byWWH; Cambria Maintenance Services now covers all ofWales and employs close to90 people, Enfys Developments has over 350homes being built and thecatering division of CastellHomes will serve its first mealthis autumn.

The reach of our organisationand our financial strengthmeans we can help even more residents make the most ofthe opportunities they have.This is what we stand for andwe are proud of the differencewe make.

Kathy Smart, WWH Chair, Anne Hinchey, WWH Chief Executive

What WWH stands for

Wales & West Housing | The Business Plan 2014 to 2018 | 1

Whether it’s building homes, creating communities or simply cutting thegrass, we care about what we do and whether we make a difference. Weknow what we stand for and having a decent home where people are safe,secure and can put down roots is fundamental.

open

commitment

Kathy Smart, WWH Chair and Anne Hinchey, WWH Chief Executive with Jane Styles, resident, at the 2012 Making a Difference Awards.

fairresponsible

sustainable growthmake a difference

people

homes

communities

Strong

supportive

successful

growthmore

efficient

do the right thing

better

greener

wiser

smarter

Together

honest

More homes are urgentlyneeded and some of thebarriers to increasing supplyremain. Available land fordevelopment is limited andthe requirements from bothgovernment and local councils increases the costof new homes considerably.Building a consensus between stakeholders sothat everyone understandsthe relative viability of

developments and what social benefit is reasonableis critical if the housingproblem is to be solved.The welfare reforms risk undermining the considerable benefit thehousing association sectorcan bring. The concept behind changes such as theUniversal Credit is welcomed there is needfor a simpler system, one

that supports employmentand helps individuals takemore responsibility forthemselves. However its introduction needs to bedone carefully and take account of individual resident’s circumstances if itis not to cause undue hardship.

The application of the socalled bedroom tax to

existing households has leftsome in particularly difficultsituations and we are assisting all of them to better afford their rent or tomove. Our stock profilemeans we are less affectedthan most as we have alarge number of smallerhomes and many dedicatedfor older persons for whichthere is growing demand.The impact of the manywelfare reforms remains unclear and our analysis

shows that our businessplan is robust even if theworse predictions come tofruition, though this maynot be true of the sector asa whole.

With lower levels of available capital subsidy,limited rent rises and capson the level of local housingallowance, housing associations are being askedto use more of their financial capacity to bridge

the gap. While we, and anumber of others, can continue to do this for someyears, alternative sources ofincome are needed if weare to continue to grow ourhousing stock in the longerterm. Regulation needs tokeep pace with the diversification of the sectorand impending changes andthe recent review and commitment to more proportionate coregulationis welcomed.

Operating environment


Having a decent and affordable home is fundamental to a successful lifeand to a successful Wales. Everyone knows this and the continued prioritygiven to housing by Welsh Government and local councils makes a big difference. Notwithstanding this, too few new homes are being built and afundamental debate is needed about the standard of these homes andwhat ‘affordable’ means.

2 | The Business Plan 2014 to 2018 | Wales & West Housing

Our development on Kingsmills Road in Wrexham, which together with neighbouring site Rivulet Road will provide 147 affordable newhomes, is nearing completion

Llys Jasmine Extra Care/Dementia Care scheme in Mold, Flintshire, with 61 apartments and 2 bungalows is believed to be the first of itskind in Wales to include purposebuilt apartments for dementia sufferers.

Wales & West Housing | The Business Plan 2014 to 2018 | 54 | The Business Plan 2014 to 2018 | Wales & West Housing

Well placed for the futureWe are well placed for the future; socially responsible, leaner, more responsive and fair in how we treat our residents and staff. People wantto be treated as individuals and listened to not provided with a ‘onesize fits all’ service, instead something that is tailored to their specificneeds. We all expect more and successful landlords are those that listen,are flexible and respond to changing demands. Carl Sargeant, Housing Minister, with Ryan Baillie and Nathan Platt, apprentices, and Anne Hinchey

Chief Executive of WWH on site at Llys Jasmine Extra Care/Dementia Care scheme in Mold


Landlords never want totransfer stock but we feltthis was the responsiblething to do and the last onewas sold in January 2013.We are now better placed tofocus on those countieswhere we have more homesand can have a real impactin the locality. We investmore than £65 million eachyear in these areas, keepingmore than 1,000 people inwork, for example our new150 home development inWrexham has supported 19apprentices and over 10,000hours of training.

“Our commitment tokeeping every penny aslocal as we can meansthat our £65 million annual spend results inover £160 million to the economy, most of it staying in Wales.”

Many aspects of public provision are under ‘reform’ – welfare, health,social care – services we alluse. In times of change weall need a little support tohelp us learn new skills orcope in new surroundings.Each week we visit morethan 1,000 people in theirhomes supporting them tostay out of debt, out of

hospital, in work or in education. Through our accredited customer service centre we take over600 calls every day andthrough the night makingsure emergencies are lookedafter whether it’s a repair, anoisy neighbour or monitoring whethersomeone has had a fall.

Decent, affordable housing isfundamental. All our homesmeet the Welsh HousingQuality Standard and inmany areas particularly forenergy efficiency, exceed it.While gas and electricityprices only seem to go up wehave cut the cost of living inmany of our homes in somecases by hundreds of poundsa year.

We are one of Wales’ largestlandlords and we continueto grow at pace. Across theGroup, we employ close to500 people, each playing akey part in our achievements.

Our size and financialstrength is important, enabling us to provide newhomes, create new social

enterprise and take advantage of opportunitiesto become more efficientthrough growth. Our sizealso enables us to play an increasing part in influencingthe sector and helping toshape national policies thataffect our residents, their communities and our business.

At the heart of our vision for the future isto make a difference inall that we do. We nolonger own propertiesin some counties ofWales, such as YnysMon, Gwynedd andCeredigion, becausethere were other sociallandlords more able tomake a difference inthose communities.

WWH staff in fancy dress at our Annual Staff Conference 2013

Even more homes areneeded though and in thelast year or so we have focused on how we can further increase the supply.Our current programme willsee us build more than1,000 homes in the next fiveyears with an investment of almost £140 million in theWelsh economy. Familyhousing has been our mainfocus and for the futuremore homes will be forolder people, in particularextra care schemes andsmaller homes. Our localauthority partners are really important to helping us sustain this level of development and thestrong track record achievedto date stands us both ingood stead.

We have created two newcompanies which will helpus with our development

programme. Enfys will manage developments forthe Group and currently hasover 350 homes on siteunder construction and issaving us £1 million over thenext few years while providing homes of evenbetter quality than before.Castell will build over 90new properties in the nextfive years, all for sale.

We see affordability as key – both in terms of the rentand the other costs of livingin the property. All ourhomes are within the rentlimits for housing benefit sothat everyone can afford

any of our properties, somewith the help of benefit andothers not.

Keeping rents lower thanthe market is only part ofthe solution. People need tobe able to afford to runtheir home, especially theheating. We have changedthe design of the newhomes we build to exceedthe minimum building regulation standards andmake them cheaper to run.Our focus has been to makethe structure as energy efficient as possible thus reducing the need for heating and lowering theircarbon footprint with features such as solar panels providing free electricity during the day.

Provide homes for people in housing need We will build more than 1,000 homes in the next few years.

The first of six themes to the business plan is to provide more homes for people in housing need. The chronic shortage of housing in Wales has beenmade worse with the lowest level of completions for decades. We have responded to this challenge and year on year are building more homes with460 homes built in the last five years.

More


We will build more than 1,000homes in the next few years


Opposite: Michaela and Michael Williams and their children Lacey 18 months and Joseph,5 months at their new home in Llys Bryniau, Bryniau Road, Llandudno.

Cefn y Nant, a development of 55 new affordable homes, is part of a £17m building programme across two sites in Wrexham that we are building in partnership with Wrexham County Borough Council.

We are not complacent andwant greater success. Wewant our residents to be ourgreatest ambassadors andwe will expand how residentsare able to engage with usand shape the services wedeliver to meet their needs.The continued expansion ofarea improvement planningwill ensure staff and residentswork together keeping ourschemes great places to live.

The impact of welfare reformis far reaching and has affected both our rent andlettings services. We remaindetermined not to let thechanges undermine our commitment to helping ourresidents remain in theirhome for as long as theywish. We will strengthen ourservice to help people manage their finances andstay out debt, simplify accessto our homes and explorehow we can expand our tenancy and housing relatedsupport to all residents irrespective of age and wherethey live.

Our Connect24 emergencyalarm and customer servicecentre continues to grow andnow supports more than27,000 people across Wales.We are working with severalmore housing associationsproviding their out of hoursrepairs service and are ambitious that we can become one of the largestproviders of these services inWales.

Cambria has also grown andits impact is being felt morewidely. The company, established at the start of2011, now covers all of Walesand undertakes a wide rangeof different repair and improvement works. Lastyear the company movedinto kitchen and bathroomrenewals and electrical

rewiring, in all completingworks to 180 properties.Cambria saved WWH over£400,000 in 2012 and provided secure employmentfor more than 90 people.

Making a difference does nothappen by accident; it isachieved through the dedication and hard work ofour staff. The better they are,the more that can be donefor our residents, which iswhy we will invest in coaching and training of ourstaff, and where possible residents, so they make thebest of new technology andsystems of work.

Maximising our impact Continuous improvement comes from listening to residents. It is only by listening that we can tailor our services to what matters to each and every resident. We focus on what residents tell us and this is what we measure ourselves against. People’s needs and circumstances change and we are learning how we can get better in responding to these changes quickly and reliably. We know we are getting there, as more of our residents are satisfied with us as their landlord and the home they live in.


BetterContinuous improvement comes from listening to residents

Opposite: Craig Atherton, Housing Officer, withNewtown local resident Nicola Jarmen, at our

recent public consultation event regardingplans for our new extra care scheme.

Craig Davis, Housing Options Officer, discusses our plans for Llys Jasmine Extra Care/Dementia Care scheme with local residents in Mold

Saving people money andsaving the planet, we believeare two sides of the samecoin. Finding ways to helppeople reduce the cost ofheating their home, eatingfresh vegetables or drivingless miles is good for the environment and the pocket.We are changing ourschemes to ones with fruittrees, vegetable plots andsolar panels; changinghomes to ones with high levels of insulation and newtypes of heating systems andelectricity from renewable

sources. We have madegood progress with thesechanges, completing over 30projects in 2012, and willcontinue to work with residents on new ways to reduce our impact.

We have struggled to make areal impact on the businessmiles our staff do each year.More of our staff are schemebased and many others workfrom home which has reduced the carbon impact.We have more to do and thisremains a challenge.

Minimising the impacton the environment byWWH and our residents Spending our money differently buying better,more sustainable products is at the heart of ourthird theme for this business plan. We are shiftingour business to one that is having less of a negativeimpact on the environment and helping our residents to do the same.


GreenerSpending our money differently buyingbetter, more sustainable products

Owen Jones, WWH Environment & Sustainability Officer on site at the St Mellons Community Garden in Cardiff.

Chris Ruane, MP, Councillor AndyRutherford, Mayor of Rhyl, CouncillorMargaret McCarroll (South WestRhyl) with Anne Hinchey, WWH ChiefExecutive and residents at the officialopening of Buxton Court communalgardens

Wiser

We want our residents tokeep their home for as longas they want – making themmore affordable will help aswill carrying out adaptationsas people age and their circumstances change. Weadapt over 200 homes,spending close to £1 million,each year making them suitable so our residents donot have to move. In totalwe will spend around £70million in the next five yearskeeping homes in excellentcondition, adapted, warmand affordable.

With an annual spend closeto £8 million on materialsused in building, repairingand maintaining ourproperties we will be seekingto improve the value we obtain by standardising whatwe buy and from whom tomake sure they are the bestquality, most sustainable andwhere possible make thegreatest contribution to thelocal economy.

Good quality assets can beused as security to borrowand fund the building of newhomes. We have over 3,000properties currently available to offer as securityand several hundred morewhere the land is leased. Wewill look to buy the freeholdof this land so we are able tomake better use of these assets. We have the potential to borrow an additional £150 million todevelop a further 2,800 social rented homes inWales.

Making the best use of our assets We will continue to help our residents live inhomes that best meet their needs – right facilities,affordable and the right size. We have achieved theWelsh Housing Quality Standard and our homesare some of the most energy efficient of all socialhousing and we will improve these further to reduce fuel poverty.


We will continue to help our residents live in homes that bestmeet their needs – right facilities, affordable and the right size

Becky Pierce who lives in the Balaadapted bungalow at Henllan,Denbighshire, with support workerBecky Cumming.

Anne Dixon, WWH resident in St Mellons,Cardiff, proudly shows Finance Minister, JaneHutt, AM, her newly adapted bathroom,thanks to a physical adaptation grant, whichwill allow Anne and her husband to stay intheir own home.

Technology plays a more important role in how werun our business than ever.Information about residentshelps us tailor the deliveryof services and tells us howto improve our performance. We willchange our technology overthe coming couple of yearsto better support our staffand residents and give us

the management information we need. A keypart of this is ensuring easyaccess to information by ourstaff who work remotely inthe communities where ourproperties are located. Wewant also to understandbetter how our residentswould like to communicatewith us and the role socialmedia could have.

Making best use of technology We will give almost 2,500 residents access to freeWiFi based broadband. We wish we could do moreand as both the technology and telephone/cableinfrastructure improves across Wales we will lookfor ways to expand this service. Getting online isso important to stay in touch, get the best dealsand soon will be the primary way to apply for welfare benefits.

Smarter


We will give almost 2,500 residents access to free WiFi based broadband

Finance Minister Jane Hutt, AM, with Lorraine Morgan at Ty Pontrhun, Merthyr Tydfil. Lorraine has been enjoying IT training at the scheme.

Opposite: Anne Winterbottom is delighted with her new IT skills thanks to computer training at Nant y Môr Extra Care scheme in Prestatyn.


Good lives are ones that are healthy, active and independent. The doctorsand hospitals can help uswhen we’re ill but we allhave a responsibility to lookafter ourselves. We will support public health andsocial services with theircampaigns and initiativessuch as those to help stopsmoking and maybe one dayWWH and all its propertieswill be smoke free!

Staying with the theme ofgood lives, we are activelypursuing new opportunitiesas a business and we wantour residents do the same.Cambria has been very successful and we hope thatCastell Catering will enjoy

similar success. We will usethese enterprises, and others, to give our residentsopportunities for employment, learning andexperience that they can usein their daily lives.

Our staff make a differencein communities every day. Inline with our operating principles we will empowerour staff to do the right thingto deliver what matters, sothat residents get their problems solved or queriesanswered at the first point ofcontact. We will achieve thisby equipping our staff withmore skills in debt andmoney advice, energy efficiency and accessing benefits.

Making a difference incommunitiesNeighbourhoods are best when everyone works together to solve the problems they face. We willexpand our redesigned service dealing with anti social behaviour which has been so successful inhelping our residents play their part in resolving issues in their communities. Empowering communities in this way is a key component of thesixth and final theme of this business plan.

TogetherNeighbourhoods are best wheneveryone works together to solvethe problems they face

Meleri Jones, Grant Manager with Waite Recycling Environmental Ltd, with Anne Hinchey, Chief Executive, Vy Cochran, Community Development Project Officer, and children at Hightown Intergenerational Play Plant Project.


The motivation for us ineverything we do is toachieve strong sustainablegrowth to make a differenceto people’s lives, homes andcommunities, and we wantthe difference we make tobe both real and practical.

From community engagement programmes tocleanup initiatives, we placegreat emphasis on caring forthe community and the environment through ourMake it Happen Grant andEnvironment Fund. And nowin its sixth year, our Making a Difference Awardsare our way of recognisingand rewarding the strength,selflessness and communityspirit of so many of our residents.

Each year our Board setsaside a substantial sum todonate to a housing relatedcharity within Wales, such asPrime Cymru, Clubs forYoung People Wales andCrossroads Care Wales, aswell as supplementing staff charitable activity by matchfunding the yearly total.

As we have already said,making a difference does not

happen by accident, it isachieved through the dedication and hard work ofour staff. Over the past fiveyears, staff have raised in excess of £75,000 for charities includingAlzheimer’s Society, Help forHeroes and Stroke Association Wales. We arealso proud to provide all staffwith the opportunity of aday’s paid leave each year touse their time, skills and energy to benefit others andmake contributions to ourresidents’ communities outside of their usual daytoday roles.

We understand that in thecurrent economic climateeven small sums of moneycan make a huge differenceto local communities and wesupport a number of localinitiatives, including RomanVillains FC and CantonRangers FC U14s, based inCardiff, Rhydycar BowlingClub in Merthyr and MerthyrTown Football Club, GwentChiefs Rugby League inRhymney, St Christopher’sSchool cricket team in Wrexham and various foodbanks across Wales.

Social ResponsibilityWe understand the importance of managing theeconomic, social and environmental impact of ourbusiness in order to create thriving, sustainablecommunities both now and in the future.

Cambria Maintenance Services staff refitwarehouse for Cardiff FoodbankAnne Hinchey and Kathy Smart donating£600 to Ty HafanFollowing our rebranding we donated ouroldstyle branded polo shirts to a Ugandanfootball teamAndrew Richards, Commercial Manager (Repairs) helps resident Keith Owen fromBuxton Court prepare the ground for theirnew communal gardens.Our staff charity team presented a cheque for£26,500 to Help for HeroesAnne Hinchey presents Tom Griffiths and KyleOffer of Cardiff’s Roman Villains with theirnew branded kitDiane Barnes, Verity Kimpton and AnneHinchey jumped from 13,000 feet overSwansea airfield, raising more than £10,000for Stroke Association WalesWe helped Canton Rangers U14s purchasenew branded rain jackets

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

2.

8.

6.

1.


7.

5.

3.

4.

Total

647

Wrexham

197

Flintshire

189

Denbighshire

24Conwy

28

Powys

71Merthyr Tydfil

50

Bridgend

68Cardiff

20


Total Stock

9,354

General Needs

36

Re�rement

204

General Needs

251

Extra Care

58

Re�rement

58General Needs

600Re�rement

137

General Needs

694

Re�rement

88

General Needs

632

Re�rement

158Supported

49

Supported

32

HomeOwnership

4

General Needs

65

General Needs

64

Re�rement

245

Re�rement

149

Supported

5General Needs

93Re�rement

106

General Needs

2,052

Supported

31

Re�rement

128

Supported

19

Home Ownership

34

General Needs

959Re�rement

305

HomeOwnership

26

Supported

26

General Needs

243Home

Ownership

164

Re�rement

712Home

Ownership

599

General Needs

228

Conwy

Denbighshire

Flintshire

Wrexham

Powys

SwanseaBridgend

Vale of Glamorgan

Cardiff

Rhondda Cynon

TafCaerphilly

HomeOwnership

31

HomeOwnership

31

HomeOwnership

1

Merthyr Tydfil

HomeOwnership

2

Supported

12

Home Ownership

23

Where we operate

These figures represent developments which are on site now and programmed to commence in the next 12 months.

Number of homes in developmentby LA area


Our values really mean something to us and our behaviour as a company reflects this. Weare proud of our social purpose and the contribution we make in Wales and take our role asone of the major housing providers very seriously. We live our values and the actions mentioned in this plan demonstrate, in particular, our focus on efficiency, our openness tochange and our support for our residents in what continues to be difficult times.

How we run our organisationWe’ve made excellent progress in achieving our vision of strong, sustainablegrowth to make a difference. We have built more homes, created more jobs andnow provide a wider range of services than we did just 12 months ago. We area strong organisation that knows what it stands for and what it wants toachieve. This plan sets our future direction and this section says more aboutwhy we are so confident.

We are getting better at understanding how we can measure what matters to our

Balanced, givingpraise where dueand constructivelycritical. Inclusive inour approach, respecting the dignity and individuality ofeveryone

Open to change,committed to continuous improvement andlearning. Transparent, honestand trustworthy

Fair Open Responsible Supportive Efficient

Our values

We will understand bothour purpose andwhat matters toour customers

We will understand ourperformanceusing both evidence and experience

Purpose Performance Problems People

Our operating principles guide what we do as a business with the emphasis on ‘doing theright thing’ for our residents. Too many companies put profit first whereas we put our residents first, redesigning what we do to deliver what they have told matters most to them.Listening to residents and tailoring service delivery accordingly is what has made us strongand satisfaction levels so high. We don’t get it right everytime but we learn, we improve andwe get better.

Our values OperatingPrinciples

We will do the right thing to deliver what matters to customers

Easy to deal with,approachable andaccessible. Welcoming, caring,listening and responsive

Make the best useof resources andmaximise the impact of our activities

Professional, challenging existingarrangements, taking ownership ofissues and using ourinitiative to seethem through toresolution

We will solve the problems that getin the way of usdoing the rightthing

We will enableand support people to do theright thing

residents and using this to improve performance. We liaise closely with our strategicpartners and our assessment and corporate planning process concentrates on trendsin performance over time and knowing what gets in the way of improvement. Finding solutions is best done by the staff responsible for service delivery and ensuring ourstaff have the skills and support they need is a continuing priority. We are changingthe culture; it takes time and our progress is good. Our values and operating principlesare the two core foundations that make us the organisation we are and guide us inwhat we do.

Castell Homes Ltd will incorporate a number of divisions focusing on socialenterprise, the first beingCastell Catering.

Castell Catering will providemeals in our extra careschemes and will work withpartners to provide training,assisting people into employment.

Castell Homes is the second division and willbuild homes for sale, oftenalongside the social and intermediate rental properties developed forWales & West Housing.


In all we have formed threenew companies, whollyowned by Wales & WestHousing with very differentfunctions:

Cambria Maintenance ServicesEstablished in 2010 CambriaMaintenance Services, withdivisions in North and SouthWales now undertakes awide range of housing maintenance work for WWHacross North, Mid and SouthWales

Enfys Developmentsengages consultants andcontractors and willconstruct all of our newhomes for rent.

Wales & West Housing – a growing groupWith more development and new services we havechanged how Wales & West Housing operates. Wehave created subsidiary companies to help us do allthe things we want more effectively than with justthe one company.

Peter Jackson, Head of Cambria (South), and Neal O’Leary, Chair of Cambria Board, are pictured with stafffrom the South and Mid Wales region.

Following the expansion of Cambria into North Wales, surplus computer equipment was donated to MIND Cymru, a charity that promotes good mentalhealth and challenges mental health stigma. Phil Parry, Resources Manager, andNigel Parry, Head of Cambria (North) are pictured with Meaghan McCauley fromFlintshire Disability Forum in Mold.


Board and Executive informationBoard of DirectorsLeadership is critical for anycompany to achieve its aimsand at WWH we have an excellent team in place withthe skills and experience tolead the organisation in thecoming years. The strengthof our Board comes from its diversity – twelve peoplewith collectively hundreds ofyears’ experience running businesses, providing bothpublic and private services,raising families, supportingcharities and socialenterprises and acting as passionate advocates of theimportance of housing in ourcommunities.

Drawn from and elected byresidents and shareholders intwo distinct processes, ourBoard members successfullyuse their skills and knowledgeto provide responsible and effective governance of theGroup.

Kathy Smart Chair of Board

Kathy is a master’s graduate in Entrepreneurship and Businessand has a sound understandingof the property developmentmarket. Kathy is well knownamong the business community in South Wales andis a strong advocate for thehousing sector. She has been amember of our Board since2004.

Alex AshtonVice Chair ofBoard

Alex has manyyears’ experienceworking with low income families and individuals bothfrom his time with a local authority housing benefits section and from his work asthe pastor of a church in Bridgend. MBA qualified andwith a sound understanding offinance and social enterprise,Alex has been an active member of our Board since2005 undertaking many roles.

Barrie Scholfield

Barrie worked formany years as amental healthnurse up to his retirement. Barrie was afounder member of a socialand community enterprise inBradford which oversaw the regeneration of three estatesconsisting of more than 4,500homes. Barrie, a leaseholder,was elected by residents to theBoard in 2013.

David Davies

David, a residentBoard member,was elected in2006. He is activein the sector and has represented tenants on theboards of various organisations. These includethe Welsh Tenants Federation,the Chartered Institute ofHousing and Tenants Participation Advisory Service(TPAS) Cymru.

Emma Del Torto

Emma is a solicitor specialising inemployment lawand is the managing director of her owncompany based in SouthWales. Emma was elected tothe Board in 2013 after a yearas an independent member ofthe Probity and Audit Committee of which she is stilla member.

Ivor Gittens

Now retired fromthe Royal AirForce and with a background inelectrical engineering, Ivor hasbeen on our Board since 1994and is the longest standingmember. Ivor is involved with arange of organisations including independant monitoring at Parc Prison Bridgend, he is also Chair ofGovernors at Mount Stuart Primary School, Butetown anda Governor at Ninian Park Primary School in Grangetown.

James Rides

James, a formerfireman and previous Boardmember. James recently completed his degreein housing policy and also sitson the Tenants Advisory Panelsupporting the WalesRegulatory Board. James is aresident Board member electedby residents in 2013.

John Williams

John worked as amanager in the manufacturingsector for most of his career and since retiringhas been actively involved inhis community in various roles including Vice Chair of the OffaCommunity Council, on theboard of Hightown Communities First and is Chairof Barracksfield Residents’

Association, Wrexham. Johnwas first elected to the Boardby fellow residents in 2004 andagain in 2009. John is also amember of the Board of Cambria Maintenance Services.

Neal O’Leary

Neal is a chartered surveyor with anextensive background in property maintenance and management. Neal is Head ofConservation for Cadw prior towhich he worked in socialhousing for 16 years. Nealjoined our Board in 2009 and isalso currently the Chair ofCambria Maintenance Services.

Rachel Fleri

Rachel graduated as amarine biologistand worked as asecondary school teacher forseveral years before leaving towork in pharmaceutical sales.Since 2004 Rachel has run herown security company inCardiff employing more than100 people. Rachel joined theBoard in 2012 after severalyears as an independent member of the Probity andAudit Committee, which shenow chairs.

Sharon Lee

Sharon is a housing professional with 14 years’ experience in both England andWales as a senior manager.Sharon’s experience is wideranging from anti social behaviour management, to callcentres and public relations.Sharon joined the Board in2011.

Winnie Davies

Winnie is a passionate advocate forcommunity andresident engagement. Sheworked for 7 years for theAudit Commission as a TenantInspector and has been an active member of the ValeHousing Federation for manyyears. Winnie also sits on several Boards and panels including Cardiff and ValeCrossroads Care and the Senate for Older People organised by Age Cymru. Winnie has been on the Boardsince 2006.

Anne HincheyChief Executive

A graduate inpolitics and education as wellas holding a professional qualification inhousing, Annestarted her career as a rent collector in 1985 in Cardiff.With extensive experience inthe local authority, voluntaryand housing association sectors Anne joined Wales &West Housing in 1999 and became Chief Executive in2006. Anne sits on severalboards including CambriaMaintenance Services, EnfysDevelopments and CastellHomes.

Shayne Hembrow Deputy Chief Executive / Commercial Director

Shayne has more than 20years’ experience in housingand regeneration working inboth England and Wales. Afterseven years in the private sector, Shayne came in to socialhousing working for GloucesterCity Council and then for theAudit Commission managingtheir housing work in the SouthWest of England. At WWHShayne is responsible for

support services, developmentand performance improvement, and sits on theBoards of Community HousingCymru, Shelter Cymru, Cambria Maintenance Services, EnfysDevelopments and CastellHomes.

Tony WilsonFinance Director

Prior to joiningWWH in 2002,Tony spent 18years in senior managementpositions mainly in FTSE listedblue chip companies, the last of which was Centrica. An economics graduate and chartered accountant withmultisector experience, Tonyhas also worked in bankingand venture capital. At WWHTony is responsible for finance,information systems, healthand safety, audit and probity.Tony also sits on the SORPWorking Party which determines best practice forthe housing association movement throughout the UKand is also a board member forCambria Maintenance Services, Enfys Developmentsand Castell Homes.

Steve PorterOperations Director

A graduate insurveying with aprofessional qualification inconstruction, Steve has over 20years’ experience working inthe housing sector in a varietyof client and contracting roles.After almost five years atWWH as Head of PropertyServices Steve was appointedOperations Director in 2012.He is responsible for Housing,Property Services and CambriaMaintenance Services, whilstoutside WWH he sits on theBoard of Tai Calon CommunityHousing. He is a Board member for Enfys Developments and CastellHomes.


Achievements and Accreditations

7th place on The Sunday Times BestCompanies NotForProfit List 2013 and 3 Star ‘Outstanding’ rating byBest Companies 2013We are the top rated notforprofitorganisation in Wales, in the top 10for the whole of the UK, and we retained our coveted 3star rating forthe second year running.

Top 30 Employers for Working Families – 2012 We are rated as being one of the top30 companies in the UK and are theonly Welsh housing association towin this award, and only one of twoHAs in the whole of the UK to makethe top 30. Others in the top 30 include blue chip companies likeDeutsche Bank, Dell Corporation,McDonalds and Sainsburys.

Investors In PeopleWe achieved the highest rating atthe assessment undertaken in Spring2012.

Stonewall Cymru – ‘Diversity Champion’Since 2008 we have been recognisedas being committed to equality anddiversity on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Age Positive – Employer Champion This award recognises that we arecommitted to equality on the basisof age in all aspects of our business.

Green Dragon AwardSince 2010 we have achieved the environmental Green Dragon Level 2Award for both our Cardiff and Flintoffices.

Telecare Services Association Our Emergency Alarm service is accredited by the Telecare ServicesAssociation (TSA) which, via call monitoring, ensures that our staffprovide the highest quality emergency alarm service to our residents and corporate clients.

Association of Retirement HousingManagers We are accredited by the Associationof Retirement Housing Managers,meaning we provide a high quality service to our older residents.

Staff Awards Our staff are also regularly recognised by the housing sectorand other awarding bodies for theirgreat work. These include:

• We were shortlisted for the Inspirational Colleague category in the 2013 Housing Heroes Awards

• National Housing Heroes Awards – shortlisted 2011 and joint winner 2010

• We won the Community Champion Award 2011 from Partnerships and Communities Together (PACT)

• In 2011 we were shortlisted for one Chartered Institute of HousingUK Housing Award as well as threeCIH Welsh Housing Awards.

• Also in 2011 we won Cymorth Cymru’s Promoting Independence 2011 Good Commissioning Award.

• We were shortlisted for 2012 CIH UK Housing Award and and have won several TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service Cymru) awards.

We have been recognised by a number of independent organisations for the way in whichwe work and the services we deliver. Here are some examples.

Executive DirectorsAs with our Board, the strength of our Executive team comes from its diversity. The differentskills and experience have brought innovation, ideas and energy to both the direction of theGroup and how it is managed.

Over the five year period to2018 we will reinvest £36 million in our current housingstock, keeping them compliant with the WelshHousing Quality Standardwhich has already beenachieved. This not only includes new kitchens, bathrooms and other replacement assets, but alsoadditional services such asfree WiFi for many residentswhere communal installationsare feasible. All of this together with existing contractual loan repaymentsdue will be paid for from ourincome and by careful management of expenditure. We will be investing £139 million over the next fiveyears, building and acquiringmore than 1,000 homes, ofwhich around 200 will beunder the Housing FinanceGrant scheme where the equivalent of Social HousingGrant is received in instalments over 30 years.This means that we will beborrowing a greater amountupfront compared with moretraditional grant fundedschemes. Whilst grants areconfirmed for most schemesin the first two years of the

plan, the Government’s abilityto award grants beyond 2016is less certain. We will developusing grant whenever available as that will maximisethe delivery of affordablerental homes and make thegreatest difference to peoples’lives and communities. Wheregrant is not available we willstill develop homes andcharge rents at a higher levelthan social rents so thatschemes are viable and atleast 1,000 units can be delivered over the period offive years. From a planningperspective we have assumedwe will receive £46m in grantreceipts, and will be raising£60m of new loans, in addition to existing facilities asat July 2013 and a further£25m expected to be raised inthe second half of 2013 underthe “Welsh Bond” arrangements linked with theHousing Finance Grantscheme. We expect at least750 of the badly neededhomes to be at social housingrents with the remainderbeing at intermediate or market rent levels. We also intend to build a further 90homes for market salethrough our Castell Homes

subsidiary, further stimulatingthe economy and deliveringprofit which will be reinvestedin providing additional homesfor rent.The generation of surplusesenables us to build up our reserves though our gearingratio of borrowings to networth will still rise from 37%at the end of 2012 to 48% by2018 due to developments either without grants or withdeferred grant receipts. At thislevel we will remain within thelowest gearing covenant constraint of 50% imposed bytwo of our lenders and comfortably meet lender interest cover requirements. Whilst there is still much uncertainty around the implementation and effect ofWelfare Reform on debt management, our plan prudently allows for a higherlevel of working capital and additional resources towork with residents. Ourstrong financial position andprospects mean we are wellplaced to access the substantial funds we will require for our growth aspirations.

Financial positionOur strong financial position is enabling us to borrow substantial sums of money tofinance growth of our housing stock, making a difference to peoples’ lives and providing economic stimulus in their communities. Our efficient operations and lowcost of finance is also contributing to healthy annual surpluses and cash flows whichare reinvested into the business. We expect to achieve year on year increases in surpluses even after absorbing the bad debts and additional costs of helping residents to pay what will arise from changes to welfare benefits.


Wales & West Housing3 Alexandra Gate, Ffordd Pengam, Tremorfa, Cardiff CF24 2UD.

andUnit 2, Acorn Business Park, Aber Road, Flint CH6 5YN.

Telephone on 0800 052 2526Email: [email protected] Website: www.wwha.co.uk

@wwhawwhahomesforwales

Published September 2013

Documents

Business Plan 2014 - 2018