Manningham Housing Association (MHA) has marked 40 years of providing affordable homes in Bradford district with a celebratory event at Bradford Live.
Guests at the event, which included performances by Dixons Manningham Academy Choir, a traditional Baul music ensemble and cultural group Punjab Roots, included Kersten England CBE, deputy lieutenant of West Yorkshire.
Rupert Pometsey, MHA chair, said the organisation was set up in 1986 following a six-month research project by Bradford’s Bangladeshi Youth Organisation.
He said: “At that time, many people in the district were living in chronic, overcrowded conditions with reports of up to 18 people sharing a single house. Bradford Council needed evidence before they could invest in new housing, so awarded a £3,000 grant to Bangladeshi Youth Organisation – led by its centre manager, Fazlul Haq – to conduct research and report back.
“Its findings proved that the housing needs of BME communities in Bradford district were clearly not being addressed, particularly the requirement for larger homes for South Asian families.”
Pometsey told the audience that MHA now manages more than 1,400 homes in Bradford and Keighley, 75% of which are large family properties.
He said the United Nations had, in the early 1990s, described the association’s community-focused social housing and regeneration initiatives as “hugely successful.”
In the 2000s, MHA acquired land to establish a women and children’s refuge for domestic violence victims and supported the rehousing of international refugees, Pometsey said.
He said the association’s governance rating had been temporarily lowered to G3 by the Regulator of Social Housing a decade ago, before recovering under the leadership of Barrington Billings, who became MHA chair in 2017, and Lee Bloomfield, who was appointed chief executive the following year.
He said: “Under their leadership, MHA completely overhauled its operations and regained the highest possible G1, V1 regulatory ratings. As a result of the dedication and professionalism of our staff, the association has earned and retained the Customer Service Excellence quality mark. We have also become the first housing association in the world to achieve the international Standard for Diversity and Inclusion in HR Management, and won numerous regional and national awards.”
Lee Bloomfield, MHA chief executive, said the association’s new Corporate Strategy, approved by the board earlier this year, restated its vision to provide quality homes and support BME and other communities.
He said: “A key component of this is our new Growth Strategy, the vehicle through which we are putting together plans to deliver up to 150 new affordable homes in the coming years.”
Bloomfield said additional strategies covering tenant engagement, people and culture, and equality, diversity and inclusion had been approved by the board and provided “the roadmap for the next 40 years” for MHA.
Main image: Manningham Housing Association’s chief executive, Lee Bloomfield cuts a specially made cake celebrating the organisation’s 40th anniversary
Read next: Modular homes open for Bristol families facing homelessness
Are you a social housing professional? Sign up for a FREE MEMBERSHIP to upload news stories, post job vacancies, and connect with colleagues on our secure social feed.
