Several major milestones were highlighted at its 38th Annual General Meeting held in the Salvational Army Hall in Main Street.

The AGM was attended also by East Renfrewshire Provost Mary Montague and councillors Andrew Anderson, Paul Edlin and Andrew Morrison, along with Sergeant Eddie White of local problem-solving team at Barrhead. 

Barrhead Housing’s 2023-24 milestones included:

• being congratulated in person by Scotland’s housing minister Paul McLennan in reaching the 1000 homes mark;
• achieving 86% customer satisfaction;
• investing £1.6 million in modernising and improving homes;
• being awarded Investors in People Gold status;
• securing £326,000 of welfare support for 211 households across East Renfrewshire
• putting in place a new, improved repairs service;
• installing a new housing-management system to improve services and safeguard data;
• introducing faster, easy-to-access online services through a new website and Chatbot;
• and completing 718 home visits to check in and support tenants.

A presentation by tenant Marian Doyle highlighted how a tenant-led Service Improvement Group (SIG) had put forward a series of recommendations aimed at improving all aspects of how the association supports and serves tenants.

Chairman John Hamilton said: “Tenants are at the heart of everything we do at Barrhead Housing, and this is underlined by the invaluable work being carried by the SIG.”

Applauding Barrhead Housing’s achievements, Provost Montague said: “Well done to Barrhead Housing Association Board and staff for all their achievements in housing provision, support for their tenants and the benefits they bring to the local community.”

Chief executive officer Lorna Wilson told the AGM the association had delivered £4m in social value through its Brighter Futures project.

“We are unwavering in our commitment to improving the lives of our tenants and factored homeowners and strengthening - with our partners and stakeholders - the communities we serve,” Ms Wilson said.

External recognition included being shortlisted for ‘Team of the Year’ at the Scottish Housing Awards organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing and being runners-up for ‘Champions of the Year’ at the National Good Practice Awards held by the Tenants Participation Advisory Service. This prompted MP Kirsten Oswald to recognise Barrhead Housing’s efforts in tackling poverty and inequality in a motion tabled in the House of Commons.

Find Barrhead Housing’s complete Annual Performance Report here.