At the end of 2020, we were successful in a collaborative bid to Welsh Government with twenty six other housing associations and the Sero Group for the delivery of an Optimised Retrofit Project.
The aim of the project is to enable trialling of new technology, approaches, and improvements to a range of our tenants homes which will achieve better energy efficiency. By collaboratively working together, we are learning from each other and understanding the technology we can use. This innovative project will have a positive impact for our tenants and also enables us to invest in local business.
As a result of the pandemic restrictions, we had to rethink our original plans to survey each home first so instead we installed solar PV and battery storage to twelve homes that we knew would benefit from them based on our knowledge of the homes. We were aware of the Welsh manufactured Solar PV panels that locally based GB-Sol develop and they have worked withus to install Solar PV and battery storage to the twelve homes in Llanharry. Solar PV systems have been shown to reduce electricity bills by providing free electricity to the occupants. However, the difference with this project was the addition of a battery to enable any unused energy generated to be stored for use at a time when the Solar PV panels are not generating electricity.Moving forward we will be taking an optimised retrofit approach where we will develop an individual plan for each home with the aim of reaching EPC A on as many as homes possible by 2030, in line with the recommendations of ‘Better Homes, Better Wales, Better World and Welsh Government targets.
We are very proud to announce that we have been awarded the prestigious 2-star rating demonstrating “outstanding levels of employee engagement” in the 2021 Best Companies Survey.
Our 2-star accreditation is the second highest standard of workplace engagement and this accolade demonstrates that at RHA we truly understand the importance of employee engagement and that we genuinely value our people and have created a great place to work!
We are delighted to have been placed in three listings in Best Companies 2021:
* 11th Best Housing Associations in the UK * 24th in the Best Companies in Wales * 87th in the Best Mid-Sized Companies in the UK
We are delighted to have handed over the new homes at Clos Ewenni (formerly Innovation House) to the new tenants last week.
Work on this prominent new housing development in Llanharan was completed in March, with a total of 39 new affordable homes created on this former derelict site. This vibrant community has warmly welcomed our new tenants and they have access to excellent transport links and wonderful range of local amenities in an increasingly popular area.
The new scheme was built to Welsh Government standards and demonstrates our commitment to provide energy efficient affordable homes with our partners at Morganstone who worked on the construction.
The difference a safe and secure home makes to each of our new tenants is immeasurable and we wish them all every happiness as they settle in.
We are delighted to be able to support the young people in one of our local schools, Ysgol Nant Gwyn, by donating 10 new Lenovo laptops.
We know how important it is that every pupil has access to a device, so they safely learn and study at home, and keep connected with their friends and teachers. It was a pleasure to support the school and help our younger community members.
Our Housing Officer Bev John-Davies delivered the laptops to the school and they were over the moon to receive them! It will make a huge difference to the children in the school who didn’t have access to a laptop or tablet and these new devices which will support their ongoing learning.
If you would like to know more about our Community Benefits / Giving Back commitment then please click here or email [email protected]
As part of our continuing development programme we have now safely handed a further 45 homes and would like to warmly welcome all our new tenants in Williamstown and Bryncae, Llanharan. Provision of these new high-quality homes will make a positive difference in our communities.
The former Williamstown School was demolished over five years ago and the site left derelict. Working in partnership with Willis Construction we have provided 23 new affordable homes, which are a mix of houses, apartments, and adapted bungalows.
Our Bryncae phase two scheme in Llanharan saw us work in partnership with M&J Cosgrove and create 22 affordable homes which are also a mix of houses and apartments. These tenants were welcomed to this already vibrant community where we have an existing thirty two homes and four commercial properties which had been so vitally important to all the community the pandemic.
Both new schemes are built to Welsh Government standards and demonstrate our commitment to provide energy efficient affordable homes. Successful thriving tenancies are so important, and we don’t stop when the keys are handed over as we appreciate that moving into a new home can be somewhat daunting especially if it’s a tenants first home so we help each new tenant through our Get Set tenancy support project.
Never has a safe and secure home been more important and we would like to thank everyone involved in the successful completion of these developments. The joy on the tenants faces says it all.
Working with partners to donate over 50 hampers to tenants and over 35 gifts to children in our communities this Christmas.
This Christmas may be very different, and sadly we won’t get to celebrate together in the usual ways with our family and friends. We also know that many will be struggling this Christmas, after an unprecedented year of flooding, the restrictions, and challenges of Covid, and its impact on the economy and jobs.
In recognition of this, we are working with partners to donate over 50 hampers to tenants in our communities, ensuring that local families in need will be provided with the Christmas treats we all look forward to at this time of year.
We are also proud to support the RCTCBC Santa Appeal, with staff generously donating over 35 gifts to children across the borough this Christmas.
We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
RHA has delivered on its new treasury management strategy, securing new facilities with Barclays and funds managed by M&G Investments.
Centrus acted as our advisors on the refinancing, including strategy development, through to implementation and completion of the Private placement. The refinancing was supported by Devonshires, who advised on the private placement financing, and Clarke Wilmott on the property security elements and bank financing.
The transaction has streamlined RHA’s treasury portfolio and secured long-term interest rate security, providing RHA with increased capacity and a strong financial platform from which it can deliver its growth ambitions.
We were delighted to hand over eight new homes in our Cwrt Coed Y Lan scheme in Pontypridd recently. This exciting project gave us the opportunity to transform a former school site into much needed affordable housing, creating new homes and contributing to the heart of the community.
The new scheme was built to Welsh Government standards and demonstrates our commitment to provide energy efficient affordable homes. Despite challenges during the pandemic, we worked closely with Weston Contractors to deliver these high-quality homes. We wish all our new tenants every happiness as they settle into their new homes.
Tenant Involvement is important to us here at RHA, and despite lockdown our tenant volunteers have been busy working with us digitally to review policies and help us to plan how we reintroduce our services to tenants. Our Get Involved team have been working hard to ensure our tenants could provide us with valuable feedback and share their suggestions on our services and the way we work.
Volunteers worked with us to review our new decant and antisocial behaviour policies and developed our ‘Delivering Services Safely’ tenant survey, suggesting questions and testing out the survey before it went live. The feedback we receive is really important to us and helps ensure our priorities reflect those of our tenants.
To show our appreciation for their support and to say ‘Thank you’ we worked with local businesses to put together sustainable and locally sourced thank you packs, which were delivered to all those involved.
We’ve also been busy on a new project called ‘Get Connected’. We know that not all our tenants have access to the internet and that many would like to be more involved if they could, so we’ve secured a grant of £10,000 through Pen Y Cymoedd Wind Farm. This funding will help us to expand our digital projects and support those who are socially isolated and have been shielding during lockdown, providing tablets and equipment to tenants who want to access online services and to connect with friends and family. Working in partnership with Phoenix Initiative, a digital skills and training company, this project will support those involved to improve their digital skills and confidence.
If you’re a tenant and would like to know more or if you want to Get Involved, please get in touch:
Your health and well-being are our priority at RHA.
Further to recent Government advice and to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) we closed our offices in Compton Road, Tonypandy on Thursday 19th March until further notice.
We want to reassure all our tenants and partners that we continue to operate all critical services, responding to telephone calls, emails and messages via our social media. Our staff are getting in touch with you regarding any individual appointments you may have arranged for the coming weeks.
If you are a tenant and need to speak to a member of our team, then please call our usual number 01443 424200.
We will continue to follow advice from the UK and Welsh Government and Public Health Wales, and we will keep you updated via our website and on our social media channels.
Please visit the below websites for further information and advice:
Following Government advice issued on Monday 23rd March, we have switched to an emergency repair service only.
Emergency repairs are those that are a priority to protect your health and safety or there is serious damage to your home
If you have a repair and you are unsure if it is an emergency or not, then please contact us on the number above or email: [email protected]
We will continue to monitor the situation and are working closely with all our contractors regarding this matter on a daily basis. As soon as we can, we will instruct the contractors to resume with routine repairs and orders.
A letter to all social housing tenants from the Welsh Government Minister for Housing and Local Government regarding support for those in with any financial difficulties as a result of Covid-19 can be viewed below:
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