East Ayrshire Tenants Federation and East Ayrshire Council were delighted to welcome more attendees that ever before at St Joseph’s Campus, Kilmarnock, to take part in a full and varied programme that included an excellent line up of keynote addresses and speakers from throughout the housing sector.

Practical workshops explored key themes and discussions surrounding health, wealth, and housing - specifically housing solutions for the older generation, housing investment, and dampness and condensation.

Presentations included an introduction from Bruce Cuthbertson, chairperson of East Ayrshire Federation; an official welcome from the Depute Provost, Claire Leitch; Bob McCulloch, head of housing and communities at East Ayrshire Council, who praised the excellent work of the Federation; and an update from Blair Miller, housing services manager at East Ayrshire Council.

These were followed by sessions from Chris Morton on the council’s local housing strategy; and James McKee on the council’s transformation strategy.

Greatly anticipated highlights of the conference also included an insight into the work of the Scottish Housing Regulator from Board member Simon Little. Simon focused his presentation on how housing organisations across Scotland can effectively report on performance to both the Regulator and tenants.

Attendees made the most of a packed market place that provided the perfect opportunity for people to network with contacts, old and new, and explore the numerous information stalls.

The event ended on a high with a presentation of awards and raffle which raised £180 for Beautiful Inside and Out, a Scottish registered charity, supporting bereaved parents and siblings of suicide victims; promoting feelings of self-worth.

Award winners and runners-up recognised at the event were:

Presenter: Karen Shaw, CCG

Winner: Lisa Fulton

Presenter: Depute Provost, Claire Leitch

Winner: Longpark & Gladstone

Runner-up: Campbell Area Tenants and Residents Association, Newmilns

Depute Provost, Claire Leitch, commented on the overall success of the day: “I was delighted to open the event which was a great day, not just for the inspiration we got from listening to an impressive array of speakers, but also for the contacts that were made on the day and the ideas that came from it.

“It was a very enlightening, productive and hopeful conference which showed that there are so many people in our community who are committed to working out how we can best meet people’s individual housing needs.”