Born Leader

As the first housing association in the country to receive a three-star rating from the Audit Commission West Kent Housing Association is used to being a leading light

Established in 1989 to accept the transfer of stock from Sevenoaks District Council it was one of the first large scale voluntary transfer (LSVT) associations in the country.

It now has around 5,800 homes and is continuing to lead the way and set standards, becoming Standard Bearers for Customer Service Excellence, the replacement for Chartermark – the Government Standard – in January 2009.

The organisation works to the principle that it is “more than just a landlord” and the local community is at its heart.

“Our relationship with our residents underpins everything we do,” explains Mark Leader, development director. “Our residents are treated not as passive consumers, but as people with an active role to play in creating a better environment for everybody.”

Tenants are active partners within West Kent and make up a quarter of the organisation’s board, putting them at the forefront of the decision- making process. As well as maintaining its existing stock and working with tenants to provide a wide range of housing-related services, building more affordable homes is a priority for West Kent due to a high demand for housing of all tenures and insufficient supply.

Once again the organisation is leading the way and is developing apartments with Goldstar Contracts using a volumetric building system. The apartments, part of a pilot scheme in Tonbridge, are built in a factory, where everything from wiring, plumbing and internal decoration is completed, leaving just the roof, brick and external finishes to be applied once the building has been positioned, fixed and connected onto site. The benefits include less waste, very high SAP ratings and improved quality of build.

Partnership working plays a key role in West Kent’s new-build programme and as well as partnering with a wide range of contractors it works closely with Callao Housing Consultancy, who carry out tests for codes for sustainable home ratings and legal firm Cripps Harries Hall, which helps it with site acquisitions.

The flagship Kent History and Archive Centre is a joint development between West Kent, Bouygues UK and housing and care provider, Housing 21.

The £12million mixed-use development project, will comprise a History Centre including an historic archive, public library, digital studio and a large space for displays and events, as well as a residential development and work is expected to be completed in S pring 2012.

The archive will provide a controlled environment in which to store Kent’s wealth of documents, photographs, images, maps and records about the history of the county.

As part of the development Bouygues UK will build 60 flats to rent on behalf of West Kent and 55 extra care flats for Housing 21 and the site will include a reading garden to hold local events.

Section 106 developments are an important supply of new housing for West Kent and it has continued to grow its partnership links and now works with an increasing number of house builders to provide affordable housing as well as being able to develop other schemes directly such as smaller rural exceptions sites like Charcot – a development of just four homes for rent to local people.

West Kent’s work with social services, health authorities and specialist agencies has enabled it to provide homes in the community for people who need extra support and its supported housing services are recognised as among the best in the country.

Working closely with West Kent Primary Care Trust and Kent County Council it is developing six new apartments in St John’s Road, Dartford, for people with learning difficulties. “We’ve delivered designs based around flexibility and adaptability to give residents an enhanced standard of living,” explains Leader.

Partnership working is not just key to the success of the new-build programme, it is ingrained in West Kent’s everyday operations and it regularly collaborates with business partners, statutory agencies and the local community.

“At West Kent we strive to be forward-thinking and progressive in our partnerships,” explains Leader. “Our innovative partnerships with the county, district and parish councils enable us to deliver a service which contributes positively to the communities in which we are based.”

Its partnership agreement with Sevenoaks District Council enables West Kent to deliver a wide range of services to benefit the community including the provision of social and affordable housing, grants for people with special needs to adapt their homes, housing benefit, managing the housing register, providing temporary accommodation for homeless people and one-off projects such as joint bids to attract external funding and the 8-12s project, which offers weekly clubs and frequent trips and outings to youngsters aged eight to 12.

Its community development charity West Kent Extra’s (WKE) aim is to work with neighbourhoods across Kent to “create strong, vibrant and supported communities by sharing its expertise, contacts and experience with neighbourhood groups and agencies so that together they can make life better for local people.”

WKE runs youth involvement activities, the Abacus furniture recycling project – a charity which sells good-quality, pre-owned furniture, electrical and household goods at affordable prices – the Boomerang volunteer project and resident involvement in conjunction with the Association of West Kent Tenants and Residents (AWKTR).

With its increasing involvement in the wider community coupled with the active new-build programme West Kent looks sure to achieve many more firsts, continuing to maintain its place as a leader in the social housing sector.