Gary Dalziel

The wellbeing of its customers ranked highly in the Association’s three-yearly satisfaction survey. Over eight out of ten tenants - when they were asked if they agreed with the view that ‘Elderpark Housing cares about me as a tenant’ - indicated that they strongly agreed with this.

Chief executive Gary Dalziel said this question alone and the strongly-supportive response meant a great deal at a time of recovery from the upheaval of the pandemic and several retirals at Elderpark creating significant change within the staff team.

He said the endorsement defined the ethos of community-based housing and the efforts which many housing associations and housing co-operatives have made to grow deep roots in their communities.

He explained: “That was the most important question in our Tenant Satisfaction Survey. To use that great quote ‘people won’t remember what you said or did but will remember how you made them feel’ and knowing that the vast majority of our tenants feel that we care for them means that we are on the right path

“What we take from this is that tenants recognise we are always trying to do the right things and offer the services and support which meets their needs. That doesn’t mean we don’t get it wrong many times but the intention is to then learn from that to get it right the next time.”

Overall satisfaction by tenants responding to the survey remained high at 91%.

Mr Dalziel went on to tell members that both the tenant survey results and their performance across the charter indicators showed Elderpark Housing compared favourably to other housing providers of similar size across Scotland.

He added: “This year has been one of change from dealing with the external factors which have affected all our lives together with the major changes within the organisation. We have lost great people who took the decision to retire when the time was right for them and have been fortunate to replace them with outstanding new colleagues who we hope to have the longevity, enjoyment and success in the organisation that their former colleagues had.

“Replacing such valued and knowledgeable colleagues takes time and we have been recruiting throughout the year. We are delighted with the quality, passion and enthusiasm shown from those who have joined us.”

Meanwhile, chairperson John Kane described the past year as “challenging” as the country emerged from the unprecedented health emergency. He added: “While there were many challenges there were also many positives and this included the completion of 82 new build homes, investment of over £1.5 million in improving homes with vital improvement work undertaken on central heating, kitchens and bathrooms along with the development of a new Business Plan.”

He made special mention of his immediate predecessor Janet Evans who stood down as chair during the year and whose commitment to Elderpark Housing stretches back over the last two decades as a member of the management committee.

The meeting also heard that earlier this year Elderpark Housing appointed a community regeneration officer to bring additional focus and commitment to this most essential aspect of any housing association’s work.