History
On 16 February 1990 the Association was registered (as Blochairn Housing Co-operative) with the Registrar of Friendly Societies (now the Financial Conduct Authority) (No. 2341 R) and on 5 March 1990 it was registered with Scottish Homes (which became Communities Scotland and is now the Scottish Housing Regulator) as a non-fully mutual housing association (HAC 223). Under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 the Association is now referred to as a “registered society”.
The transfer of houses from Glasgow District Council was completed in two phases between 1991 and 1993. Early development was not as quick or as successful as residents had hoped. The final development was completed in 2002 - twelve years after registration. This was typical of housing association development activity at that time. However, this was not explained clearly to residents by professional officers involved in the transfer of houses.
The early years were difficult as groups within the local community tried to forward their views. Major problems with senior staff ended with the Director leaving in 1994, followed by the Projects Officer in 1995.
Scottish Homes froze development funding in 1997 affecting every association in Glasgow. This was particularly frustrating for Blochairn as the Association had overcome earlier difficulties and had produced a good development at Contract 4 (19/27 Dunolly Street and 3/7 Sandmill Street).
The Management Committee had been stabilised and joined by two experienced co-opted members. Staff were employed to cover management and maintenance and agents were used to cover development and finance.
Modernising houses had to be to a high standard but the Association’s long term success would rest on providing a first class management and maintenance service. Involving the local community was vital to make sure the Association was successful in the long term and to maintain and protect the investment of public funds in the regeneration of the area.
In January 1995, Scottish Homes rated the Association as "serious cause for concern". By March 1996, there was still "cause for concern" because of the lack of written policies but the Senior Monitoring Officer was confident that the Association would continue to progress. A Performance Audit in 1997 rated the Association as 'C' grade, using a new classification. The Performance Audit in 1999 saw the Association achieve a 'B' grade. This was a tremendous achievement and evidence of the hard work and commitment of Committee and staff over the previous 5 years.
The last Performance Audit was in 2006. Another new system meant the Association did not receive a grade because it had less than 250 houses. However, the report showed that it would have been graded at least “B” and possibly “A”.
This progress reflected the Association’s philosophy and culture which is to seek continuous improvement. The word “Kaizen” had been adopted as a motto. It is the Japanese word for "improvement". It refers to activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to assembly line workers. In the case of Blochairn Housing Association it reflects the desire to involve everyone - Management Committee, staff and residents - in the ongoing development and improvement of the organisation. Together they will seek to create a place where people want to live and are proud to say they come from.
In 2002 we created a piece of public art at Cloverbank Gardens. Young people in our community worked with sculptor, Andy Scott, on the design. We created a stone cairn to represent Blochairn, which means 'place of stones' and the people figures have open arms welcoming you to the Blochairn community. Andy has gone on to be world renowned with one of his most famous pieces being 'The Kelpies'. It's nice to know we helped him on his way!
On 11 June 2008 the Association applied for Charitable Status. On 10 September 2009 the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) confirmed that Blochairn met the charity test as laid out in sections 7 and 8 of the Charity and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. The Association has the following charitable purposes under the 2005 Act:
o the advancement of citizenship or community development (Section 7 (2) (f))
o the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage(Section 7 (2) (n))
The Association was registered in the Scottish Charity Register (No SC040816) and changed its name from 'Blochairn Housing Co-operative' to 'Blochairn Housing Association'.
In July 2011 the Association completed its second new build development at Blochairn Place. The development was on land which had various industrial uses, latterly a Council Roads Department Depot, vacated by the Council in 1997. In 2000 the Council leased the land to Tarmac to be used for recycling motorway waste. Despite constant protest, Tarmac occupied the site until 2008. The Association bought the land on 31 March 2009 and development work began in January 2010. The c. £12 million development was completed in July 2011, 5 months ahead of schedule and under budget.
In September 2011, Blochairn Place was voted “Development of the Year 2011” in the Herald Property Awards, contested by both public and private developments throughout Scotland. The judges praised the Association for “its clever design of a difficult space” and for “being a superb example of appropriate urban density”.
Other awards associated with the Blochairn Place development were:
“Galvanising in Detail Award 2012” for the design of the entrance gate
“Community Project of the Year (Runner Up) 2011”
“Bronze National Site Award 2012”
“Architect of the Year 2012”, awarded to Cathy Houston of Collective Architecture by Women in Construction;
“Runner Up, UK & Ireland Construction Manager of the Year 2012”, awarded to Gary Weir of CCG Ltd in November 2012
Finalist in the GIA Design Awards (Residential) 2012
Finalist in the Scottish Design Awards (Affordable Housing) 2012
Finalist in the European Copper in Architecture Awards 2012
The Association was awarded “Small Housing Association of the Year 2012” in the Scottish Home Awards.
