The association’s first proper face to face AGM in three years took place this afternoon. Thanks to the technology in new The Local, online guests were also able to ask questions.
Board Chair Simon Leslie said “when I spoke last year, we were all looking forward to the general lifting of restrictions. We were thinking about reopening our offices. Little did we know the effects of Omicron! So it wasn’t until this May that we reopened the doors to our office and this splendid new community space.
“We’ve been busy though in the background working with our contractors to get our services back to where they should be. We are still not quite there yet. You’ll see this reflected in our performance figures in the report that we will send to our tenants in a few weeks.
“On a more positive note, it’s great to see our new build developments taking shape. The first tenants are moving in at Troon. Work continues apace on the striking blocks of flats across from the Gaiety Theatre here in Ayr.
“Growing inflation is a real challenge. We not just focused on managing rising costs but also on keeping rents as low as possible. We’ve done well over the years to minimise rent increases. You will have heard the Scottish Government’s proposals for a rent freeze. We don’t know if this will apply next April when our rents normally go up. If it does, it’s a real concern because we will have to cut back on services and planned work like kitchen and bathroom renewals.
“We’re focused on developing services which both help our tenants and the wider community as we emerge from Covid to a cost of living crisis. Working in partnership with the Riverside Community Trust and Seascape, we secured £100,000 to work with both their clients and our tenants to provide a range of support services. We also secured funding from HACT for much needed fuel vouchers.
“It’s been great over the last few months to at last see the benefit of this new space. The Local as we call it has already been used by more than dozen groups and advice services. We’ve had great feedback from all these groups both about the facilities and our helpful reception team.”
Two new tenants joined the Board, Marcus Tindal and Suzi Williamson.
Our accounts which you can see here, continue to show a positive picture.