Argyle Street Housing Co-operative

This is the text of the working group reports section of our Annual Report.

Working Groups

A lot of the work of the co-op is done through the various working groups in the co-op. These groups are:

• allocations
• computer
• development
• education
• employment
• grounds and gardens
• maintenance
• rent
• secretarial
• welfare

Each group carries out the following tasks:

• groups prepare proposals for the General Meeting
• groups carry out activities and review policies
• each group has two co-ordinators/officers
• the working group co-ordinators are appointed by the General Meeting
• groups report to the General Meeting

For this year’s report, each working group was asked to give a brief statement of what they have been up to in the past year. So here is what they said…

Allocations Group

Since last summer allocations have been co-ordinated by Elma, Rich, and Simon. We are mainly responsible for organizing short-list interviews for potential new members. Having three co-ordinators has made the workload pretty manageable, and a few stalwart regular interviewers have really helped (thanks!). It would be great to have a few more regular interviewers though – it only takes half an hour or so and is a good way to meet new people who are moving in to the co-op, so please let us know if you’d like to help.

We’ve been using Google Calendar to schedule interviewees and interviewers which has been really useful, since any of the co-ordinators or office staff can log in and update it or check information whenever we need to. This is probably something that whoever takes over the group in future will also find helpful. We do have some outstanding tasks hanging over us, including a review of allocations policy, investigating wider advertising to make the co-op accessible to a more diverse range of people, and (to the same end) analysing the equal opportunities data we collect from applicants, which at the moment we don’t do anything with. Anyone who wants to help out with any of these would be more than welcome.

The interview and allocations process seems to be working smoothly at the moment. Please keep volunteering to do interviews (or start if you’ve never done one) because having plenty of volunteers is what makes it work.

Computer Group

The Computer Group formed this year. It looks after the office computers and the server that runs our website and email. We deployed a new website this year, making it much easier to add updates to our website. We are also working on an online application form for people who want to join the shortlist, though as with all technical projects it’s taking longer than we first thought.

On the more boring end of the scale, we’ve improved the backups of the files on the office computers and there is ongoing work to improve maintenance record keeping.

Development Group

This year the Development group have been continuing to work on the possibility of building new housing. We continue to be in partnership with Accord Housing and Birmingham Co-operative Housing Services (BCHS) who have been negotiating with Network Rail on our behalf in order to secure the purchase of the piece of land that sits between the Argyle Street garden and the railway. Accord has provided various architectural drawings showing possible designs of the housing layouts that could be developed should this project go ahead. In February 2010, ASH Co-op held an EGM in which we committed to going ahead with this onsite development of new housing, provided that the land is available and the project is financially viable.

We have also begun the exciting new project of retrofitting the existing houses at ASH Co-op. 8 Argyle Street and 1 Fletchers Terrace nominated themselves to be guinea pig houses. These two houses have been pressure tested, and a survey of the houses has been undertaken by a contractor. The houses have had energy monitors fitted, and various recommendations have been made to address issues such as draft proofing, fitting insulation and ventilation systems, reducing water use
etc.

Education Group

We – Fara and Ali – are the Education Group Co-ordinators. We are responsible for investigating and organising training courses for members and staff, providing information about training and education opportunities and upholding Principle 5 of the Co-operative Constitution.

5th Principle: Education, Training and Information

Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public – particularly young people and opinion leaders – about the nature and benefits of co-operation.

So far this year we have organised a communications training session and a number of first aid training courses. We are looking at running more courses that would be of interest to the wider ASH membership, such as chairing meetings skills, interviewing techniques and presentation skills, as well as other sessions such as music workshops, shiatsu massage, well being sessions, CV advice sessions, animal welfare, language courses, creativity workshops etc… just tell us what you want and we’ll try and get it organised!

We are also in the process of speaking to all of the working group co-ordinators about their job-specific training needs, and organising relevant courses and sessions for them to attend. We recognise that members may not have any previous experience/knowledge about the working groups they are interested in getting involved with, and want to support and encourage people to get involved and settle in to their new roles – just let us know if there are any areas you’d like to learn more about and we’ll investigate.

We are also looking into a number of other ideas that will help promote the benefits of co-operation, including hosting knowledge sharing days/sessions and running training courses that we can invite members of other co-operatives to attend. The Education Working Group aims to keep members informed and is here to help/advise members about all things education related, whether you want to attend a particular course, are interested in running a workshop, want to get involved, need some advice on finding training/work, or just want to find out more about what we do… we value your contributions and we can only do a good job if you tell us what you want, so please feel free to pop round and see either of us.

Employment Group

The employment group was formed this year. The co-ordinators are Tom and Sam. The group meets with the office workers once a month after General Meetings, to discuss current workload, and tasks for the month ahead. They also check in with the workers before General Meetings to see if there’s anything that needs bringing up in the meeting.

So far, the group’s tasks have included recruiting a replacement for our office worker Emilia when she leaves later this year, and keeping the office running in the current short staffed situation.

Grounds and Gardens Group

We had a very productive clear-up day in the spring. There was much litter picking and skipping, weeding and pruning, many paving slabs laid, a fire-pit moved and a new seating area created. Delicious food and refreshments were provided for the workers.

A number of improvements have been made. An ash tree was removed from the large garden to let in more light and the stump was later ground away. The dead glory vine was removed from the office roof. Salvaged sleepers were used for the allotment border, asparagus bed and a lovely container garden outside 1 and 2 Swann’s. Privet hedging was planted for 8 Argyle hopefully we can move on to 6 Argyle next to complete the street. A couple of small areas have been reseeded with grass and a major reseeding is planned for autumn. New planting and containers have brightened up the office area.

Preparations for the summer-house construction are moving along – we are ready to lay the foundations. Some bird boxes were built and put up around the place, with a few successful breeding pairs taking residency.

Paths were cleared and gritted during the icy weather of winter. There was a good tidy of the front car park for the winter fair. Where possible, there have been gutters cleared and repaired. Firewood has been gleaned and chopped up….supplies are running low so if anyone can get some please do. General maintenance and smaller clear-ups have been completed around the place by various people.

We would like a special mention for Harvey who has made a grand effort to create a beautiful area of the gardens.

Grounds and Gardens have had a reasonable year but due to low meeting attendances we didn’t achieve as much as we would have liked. There does seem to be renewed enthusiasm with several people now growing plants so hopefully the next meeting will have a better turnout.

Maintenance Group

The Maintenance Group carries out minor repair jobs around the Co-op and ensures contractors are called to deal with more major ones, and that necessary ongoing maintenance work is done. The Maintenance Co-ordinator was Jaime.

During the year regular maintenance was carried out and some cyclical items were purchased. We budgeted for responsive maintenance, and for planned maintenance and also for cyclical maintenance.

Some considerable time was given over to researching the various possibilities open to the Co-op regarding the damp and condensation issues in various properties in the coop. After doing extensive research on the subject the co-op decided that ventilation was a key factor to this and responded by putting in low watt, silent running eco-fans. This project was managed onsite and has so far delivered the desired results. The waste was hand sorted and only 4 buckets went to landfill rather than an entire skips worth.

The maintenance policy was adapted to current spending trends, as well as a new paint policy and sustainability policy.

Rent Group

The rent Co-ordinators are Teresa and Elma. Members can pay rent to them when the office is closed.

The rent group has had a busy time recently with collecting rent and following our policy procedures when there are arrears.

Secretarial Group

The secretarial group’s main day-to-day responsibility is meetings – putting together agendas, recording the minutes and distributing them.

The email list has been very useful for collecting agenda items, and both agendas and minutes are sent out via email, although paper forms still go out and are still considered the primary form for both agendas and minutes.

The email lists also allow for informal discussion of ideas outside of meetings. So discussions that might have just happened among a few co-op members can now be shared with most of the co-op.

There is a long standing intention to review our policies, but this has remained on the back burner. If you’d like to help us get stuck into that process then give us a shout.

Welfare Group

The welfare group can deal with any welfare issue affecting members. This includes disputes between members or complaints against the Co-op. Members are encouraged to view the Welfare Group as a resource which can enable them to find their own resolutions.