Ochil View Housing Association has announced its intention to end the suspension of its development programme during its Annual General Meeting last month.

Around 40 members, tenants, guests, committee members and staff attended Alloa’s Town Hall to also hear chairperson Tom Brown and auditors Alexander Sloan both report excellent financial results for the year.

Tom Brown’s annual statement equally highlighted the extent to which the Association was listening to its tenants with the commencement of a £2 million shower installation programme, which was a priority action from the Association’s 2013 customer satisfaction survey.

Tom was also able to reflect on another significant and positive event - the end to the ‘Right to Buy’ legislation in Scotland – and highlighted the impact that this had had since its introduction in 1979 with the loss of almost 500,000 council and housing association homes which had contributed significantly to the housing crisis that exists today.

In addition to the formal business of approving the annual accounts, electing the Governing Body and appointing auditors for the new financial year, the audience heard an inspiring presentation from a “well-kent face” in the RSL housing movement, Craig Sanderson, the chief executive of Link Group.

Through the use of reasoned argument and selected statistics, Craig argued passionately that the Scottish Government’s target to build 50,000 houses within the next 5 years was deliverable (if RSLs and local authorities stepped up to the plate).

Craig congratulated the Association on its intention to recommence building new homes and for its partnership arrangement with Kingdom Housing Association - as that was what was required – and with all major impediments now having been removed it simply was a case of RSLs and local authorities “getting on with it”.

The Association further reported that Tom Brown re-elected as chairperson, Margaret Baxter as vice chairperson and Bob Dunbar as treasurer during the first meeting of the new Management Committee.

On being re-elected as chairperson, Tom Brown said: “I am very pleased to be re-elected as Chairperson in the knowledge that the Association has a highly skilled and motivated Management Committee, Management Team and complement of staff. We are well placed to continue making improvement to our tenants’ homes and to develop new affordable homes as opportunities arise.”