Facts & Figures |
| Organisation Name: | Renton community anchor organization |
| Individual Name: | |
| Area Served: | Renton, West Dumbartonshire, 20 miles west of Glasgow |
| Population: | 2,500 |
| Sketch: | Renton is a village with a proud industrial history, renowned for its bleaching and dying industry. In more recent times Renton has suffered from unemployment due to the demise of heavy industry in the surrounding area. At one time Renton was known as 'Little Moscow' because it produced two communist councilors at local elections. Prior to the establishment of the Housing Association, Renton was characterised by poor shopping facilities and council owned housing stock that was in very poor condition In Renton, the anchor role is fulfilled through a collaboration of three organisations: they are the Cordale Housing Association, Renton Development Trust and the Carman Social Inclusion Centre. |
| Legal Form: | Cordale Housing Association was set up as a community based association but changed to charitable status three years ago. |
| Volunteers: | 15 |
| People Benefitting: | The whole community |
| Staff: | 27 |
| Turnover: | £1,270,000 |
| Earned Income: | £1000,000 |
| Assets: | 320 houses, Carman Centre, Healthy Living Centre. |
| Value of assets: | |
Roots & Links |
| Origins: | Cordale Housing Association was founded in 1993 to response to poor quality housing conditions. The association always held a vision of redressing the social, economic and environmental issues that disadvantaged and stigmatised local residents. Thus the Cordale Housing Association has evolved into the catalyst for social change in Renton and its surrounding areas, taking a lead role in the initiation of the Carman Social Inclusion Centre and the Renton Development Trust. |
| Governance: | All three organisations have their own voluntary/resident management committes and separate remits, but they share a common aim – to regenerate Renton. Local people come up with ideas; the decision as to which organisation takes them forward is based on which is the best ‘vehicle’ to accomplish the task. |
| Community Links: | All the anchor organization regularly consult the community using various sources. Cordale recently held a successful tenants consultation event based on the television show “Baddiel and Skinner”. Strong links to local youth groups and other community groups, many of which regularly use the Carman Centre. |
| External Links: | Renton anchor takes a strong advocacy role and articulates a community perspective at a range of national and regional forums. |
Activities |
| Physical Hub: | Yes. The Carman Social Inclusion Centre situated in the centre of Renton has become a focal point for the community. The building a houses a community cafe, IT facilities, internet café and meeting rooms. |
| Builds Local Capacity: | Yes. Both staff and volunteers are encouraged to develop their skills and capacity through support and training. Members of the Youth development group have been given opportunities to work in overseas development projects to gain skills and experience. The Trust provides drama, art and music classes for local people. |
| Delivers Services: | Residential and sheltered housing; brought health services and a supermarket to Renton; youth development. |
| Develops/Manages Property: | Yes. The Housing Association currently manages 37% of housing in Renton; developed, own and manage the Carman Social Inclusion Centre and the Healthy Living Centre; developed (and subsequently sold) the supermarket. Currently
developing sheltered housing for elderly residents.
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| Other: | New housing developments include a proportion of homes for sale, and it’s a source of local pride that visitors cannot distinguish between privately-owned and Housing Association properties in these mixed tenure areas.
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| Main Achievements: | Bottom up regeneration through:
• Acquisition and development of quality housing stock
• Development of Carman Centre – the community hub
• Development of Healthy Living Centre and attraction of a range of health services to Renton
• Development of supermarket
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What Next |
| Biggest Challenge: | to convince local people that we could achieve our ambitions…and then to convince external funders to back us. |
| Lessons Learned: | Not to be afraid to take risks and to make sure that we stay as close to our community as possible. |
| Aspirations: | • Complete the sheltered housing project
• More youth development
• Ongoing economic development
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Contact |
| Name: | Archie Thomson |
| Title: | Development Worker |
| Address Line 1: | c/o Carman Centre, 175 Main Street |
| Address Line 2: | G82 4PF |
| City: | Renton |
| County: | |
| Telephone: | 01389 721216 |
| Fax: | 01389 755990 |
| Email: | archie@rcdt.co.uk |
| Website URL: | www.cordalehousing.org.uk |
| District: | |
