ABOUT US
| The Forum as a group helps to ensure that CHP keeps a clear focus on the needs of residents and helps to improve service delivery. For the Forum to be effective and achieve our aims we need to be a strong group with representatives from all the neighbourhoods in which CHP has homes. The Forum:
The Forum hold their meetings once a month. The Forum is led by a Chair and supported by a Vice Chair and Secretary. These posts are unpaid and staffed by volunteers from the community. The 2009 Committee are:
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THE HISTORY OF CHELMER RESIDENTS FORUM (CRF)
The Tenants Forum was originally created in 1997/8 by Chelmsford Borough Council when the existing Tenants and Leaseholders Forum were separated to allow the two tenures to develop their own requirements and activities.
The Tenants Forum really came to prominence when the possibility of stock transfer was raised in late 1999. It was an absolute requirement for stock transfer to have in depth tenant involvement in the options appraisal for the housing stock. Options were:
- The Council to retain the management and ownership of the housing stock;
- The Council to retain the ownership of the housing stock but set up an Arms Length Management Company (ALMO);
- Transfer to an existing housing association or to create a new housing association
Tenant Forum nominees formed part of the Shadow Board to take forward the stock transfer option, which received a positive vote from tenants in September 2001.
The Tenants Forum was strengthened when Chelmer Housing Partnership (CHP) took over ownership of the housing stock on 11th March 2002. CHP’s offer to tenants was to increase the amount of tenant consultation and involvement and this has been a central theme of CHP’s work ever since. Five members of the Tenants Forum formed 1/3rd of the new CHP board and a new resident involvement strategy was created and successfully implemented.
The Tenants Forum was renamed the Central Forum when area forums were established and has since been renamed the Central Residents Forum (CRF) to take account of different tenures.
The CRF goes from strength to strength and has led to the creation and implementation of a revised involvement framework which was presented to the CHP Board in May 2009.