Alan Dowling juggles working in the NHS with his recent appointment as chair of Mount Green’s resident committee group. Here, he shares his hopes for the future of the group and explains why landlords are placing more importance on resident engagement when it comes to managing their homes
I’ve been a Mount Green resident for just under three years. My husband and I ran successful businesses in Spain and had a very comfortable life. But unfortunately, in 2020 the economic downturn forced us to close those businesses, and we returned to the UK with £500, a dog, and a van full of furniture!
As my husband has ongoing health issues, we were offered an assisted living apartment with Mount Green. Like most 50-somethings, it wasn’t a move we had considered, but we decided to give it a go and settled in quickly. We also soon found that as the ‘youngsters’ in the block, other residents approached us regularly, sharing their concerns or anything they needed help with.
I like to help people, and whilst we were very happy with our home, I felt that I’d like to get involved in the bigger picture at Mount Green and help make positive changes for the other residents. I applied for the resident committee group (RCG) after seeing an article in our regular newsletter, and thought I’d go along and give my two pennies’ worth at a meeting every now and again, but me being me, ended up as chair of the group.
As an ex-group marketing manager, consultant with a neonatal charity, and an operations director in the publishing sector, I knew I’d got the skills and confidence to make some significant strides in resident satisfaction at Mount Green.
“The resident committee group doesn’t just feel like a box-ticking exercise – it feels like our scrutiny and suggestions are welcomed and taken on board”
We have six members now, and the group has been going just over a year. I’m pretty new to the chair role, but it’s exciting to have an opportunity to influence decisions and strategies that affect residents.
I think most of us would agree that Mount Green is a good landlord. They have their weaknesses like any organisation, but I believe they do have the best interests of their residents and customers at heart. The RCG doesn’t just feel like a box-ticking exercise; it feels like our scrutiny and suggestions are welcomed and taken on board.
My main aim for this year is to make sure we use the time we have as a group efficiently. There’s no point us looking at a whole host of key performance indicators that aren’t relevant to us every quarter, so I’ve proposed a condensed list that we can really get our teeth into. We’ll be focussing on communications and repairs for the foreseeable future: the two areas we know mean the most to residents and where we know there are improvements to make.
There’s lots of different expertise in the RCG already, and I’m keen to make sure everyone can get involved and contribute as much as they’d like to. It can be tricky on Zoom, but I’m currently developing a strategy to make sure we keep in communication between meetings and get the most out of our time together.
The group is still in its infancy for a resident committee, but I have high hopes and expectations for what we can deliver for Mount Green and its residents. I hope to set the foundations for a successful and meaningful relationship between senior leaders and the people they are there to support – in 2023 and well beyond.
Mount Green gave us a safe and secure place to live when we had very limited options, and I’m happy to be giving something back.
Image: Ian Dowling, chair, Mount Green resident committee group
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