Successful Conference for Highland Tenants

18th November 2010

Building on the success of the first Highland Tenant Conference held last year, 92 delegates from across the Highlands gathered in Inverness on Saturday for the 2010 event.

Achievements of tenant and resident groups across the Highlands were showcased. These included Kirkside Area Residents Group in Alness, Ormlie Community Association's Junk2Funk project successfully running in Thurso, a green dog walkers scheme aimed at changing people's attitudes towards dog fouling and the Balintore Lunch Club.

During the morning session writer and actress Naomi Breeze performed her powerful new play called "Four Walls" which looked at antisocial behaviour, lifestyle clashes, mediation and ASBOs through the eyes of tenants, residents and housing officers. The play by Breeze Productions was initially commissioned by Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

Diane Holmes from the conference planning group said "This year's conference was over subscribed which just goes to show the high level of interest among tenants and formal groups. We ensured that the programme for the day was very topical, with a particular focus on recognising the achievement of groups at a local, Highland wide and national level. The workshop sessions included discussions on tackling anti-social behaviour, information on how houses are allocated and a look at the challenges of rent setting. Throughout the day there was a lot of enthusiasm and sharing of ideas and good practice and we have had a lot of positive feedback with delegates saying that they found the programme interesting and helpful."

Chairman of The Highland Council's Housing and Social Work Committee, Councillor Margaret Davidson was at the Council Chamber in Inverness to welcome delegates. She said: "It is very encouraging that so many tenants want to get involved and work closely with us and our partner organisations in order to have a say in the decision-making and future management of their own homes. There is a lot of good work being done by tenant groups across the whole Highlands so coming together to share ideas and learn about new opportunities is a great way to inspire and promote ways to improve the quality of life of all our tenants, as well as the quality of Council houses, and landlord services.