Fields ahead
Essex-based Greenfields Community Housing has proved that it is green in nature as well as name after being given planning permission to build an eco-friendly new headquarters at Freeport Designer
Shopping Village, Braintree
The organisation, which is a community gateway association, took over Braintree District Council’s homes in November 2007, following a tenant and leaseholder vote for transfer and has approximately 8,100 tenanted homes and 435 leasehold properties in the district, which covers the Braintree, Witham and Halstead areas.
It has five offices in the district - Causeway House, Warners Mill and Millennium Tower in Braintree, and also area offices in Halstead and Witham.
Last September, construction began on the new headquarters, which will have eco-friendly features, such as natural ventilation, underground heat pumps and rainwater harvesting, and is due to be completed by the autumn.
The building will accommodate approximately 130 office staff - bringing all employees from the three current Braintree offices together for the first time - as well as providing meeting rooms and facilities specifically for board members and residents.
Phil Adams, chief executive of Greenfields, said: “I can’t wait for us all to move in. Moving into the new building will be a major event for all of us - staff and customers - and the environmental benefits of the building will be a big plus.”
Having a building that is easily accessible to tenants has been a key factor for Greenfields and the Freeport site was chosen because of its excellent transport links, as it is very close to the Freeport train-line and business park, has a regular free bus service from Braintree town, a cycle-way and good road links to the bypass.
Peter Cook, who is overseeing the HQ project for Greenfields, said: “Although we looked at 10 other sites, Freeport was the best for transport links and accessibility for our residents. We are keen that our residents continue to visit us at our offices and will be working with the Freeport bus provider to help us make this happen.”
Greenfields was the third community gateway association set up in the country and the model that it follows means that its tenants and leaseholders have a greater say than usual in the decisions that affect their homes and communities.
So much so that an HQ working group has been formed, comprising staff, board members and residents, which has been involved in all major decisions concerning the project.
Seven out of the 15 board members at Greenfields are residents and there are 18 tenants and one leaseholder in the Community Gateway Group (CGG), which makes recommendations to the board, based on residents’ views of their homes and communities. There are also three Area Forums, made up of residents who decide how to spend £100,000 per year on environmental improvements in their areas.
As with all housing organisations Greenfields has an ongoing Decent Homes programme and is currently carrying out £98 million of improvements to its homes with contractors Higgins Construction and Connaught Partnerships.
Besides all of the improvement works it also has a busy programme of resident-led events and programmes including a community art project to create two art displays which will be erected in the new HQ building at Freeport.
Several events have been held for people to take along mementoes of their homes and communities and have them scanned for use in the displays, which will be put together by Sarah Sabin, an artist from Colchester.
The project was launched at The Mulberries, a Greenfields’ sheltered housing block in Braintree, where resident Betty Vince, 85, was among those who took part. She took along two brooches, her late husband’s home-guard badge from the 1940s and a selection of British coins from the 20th Century, for use in the displays. Other mementoes put forward by members of the public have included photos, drawings, postcards, badges, jewellery, ornaments, coins and sports memorabilia.
Greenfields is also happy to support resident-led schemes and has set up some major new funds to be used for communities in the district. These include an £11million joint partnership fund with Braintree District Council for major regeneration schemes in the district, and an annual £50,000 community fund.
The Community Fund was established last year to support voluntary and community groups and projects and is managed on Greenfields’ behalf by Essex Community Foundation. Groups are encouraged to apply for grants to support anything from new play equipment, to improving wildlife areas or renovating community halls.
Organisations receiving grants in the first round included Braintree, Halstead & Witham Citizen’s Advice Bureau, which received £9,855 to pay the salaries of two part-time trainee advice supervisors; Parc (Essex), which was awarded £3,225 to provide Saturday activity sessions for disabled children in mid-Essex and respite for their parents and carers; The Tabor Centre, which was allocated £5,370 to provide professional tutors for drama, IT and history classes for people with disabilities and the Witham Town Luncheon Club, which received £1,800 towards its running costs.
As one of the first community gateway associations in the country, Greenfields is a trailblazer. Leigh Jones, chair of the Greenfields’ Community Gateway Group, said: “Who better to influence the decisions than the people whose homes and communities rely on those decisions? We put all our staff, resident and board expertise together, to achieve our vision as a team, and it’s working.”
Greenfields is used to leading the way in a number of areas, especially tenant involvement, and, as it eagerly anticipates the completion of its new headquarters, it is hoping that the building will be another example of innovation and putting its customers’ needs first.
