Manningham Housing Association (MHA) marked 40 years of providing affordable homes for individuals and families in Bradford district with a celebratory event at city centre venue Bradford Live.
The packed audience enjoyed performances by Dixons Manningham Academy Choir, a traditional Baul music ensemble and the energetic cultural group Punjab Roots, alongside an awards ceremony and the cutting of a stunning anniversary cake.
Welcoming guests - including Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Kersten England CBE - MHA Chair Rupert Pometsey said the organisation was set up in 1986 following a rigorous six-month research project by Bradford’s Bangladeshi Youth Organisation.
Long-serving MHA staff members receive flowers from the Association’s former Chair Barrington Billings (right)
“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,” he explained. “Bradford Council needed evidence before they could invest in new housing, so awarded a £3,000 grant to Bangladeshi Youth Organisation – led by its legendary 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.”
Mr Pometsey told the audience that MHA now manages more than 1,400 homes in Bradford and Keighley, 75 per cent of which are large family properties.
“In the early 1990s, Manningham Housing Association achieved global recognition when the United Nations hailed its community-focused social housing and regeneration initiatives, describing them as ‘hugely successful,’” he continued.
“In the 2000s, MHA expanded its social responsibilities, including by acquiring land to establish a dedicated women and children’s refuge for domestic violence victims, and by actively supporting the rehousing of international refugees.”
Mr Pometsey said the association suffered a temporary setback a decade ago when the Regulator of Social Housing temporarily lowered its governance rating to a G3 grade.
But the arrival of Barrington Billings as MHA Chair in 2017, and the appointment of Lee Bloomfield as MHA Chief Executive the following year, set the organisation on course for an unprecedented run of success.
“Under their leadership, MHA completely overhauled its operations and regained the highest possible G1, V1 regulatory ratings,” he said.
“As a result of the dedication and professionalism of our incredible 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.”
Mr Pometsey added: “Our people are incredibly important to us. Enabling them to reach their full potential is at the heart of all we do. But there can be no resting on our laurels – and that is because of the individuals, families and communities we exist to serve.”
MHA Chief Executive Lee Bloomfield told the gathering that everyone in the room should take great pride in the many lives the association had changed for the better over the past four decades.
He said: “I want to make it clear this evening that, in my view, the best is yet to come.
“Earlier this year, the Board approved our new Corporate Strategy which restated our vision to provide quality homes, empower BME and other communities, and create opportunities that help people to live well and thrive.
MHA Chief Executive Lee Bloomfield cuts a specially made cake celebrating the association’s 40th anniversary
“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. Every one of the new homes will have the potential to change the lives of each individual and family who takes up residence.”
Mr Bloomfield also referenced a series of additional MHA strategies – covering areas including tenant engagement; people and culture; and equality, diversity and inclusion – which had been carefully considered by the Board and were inter-linked.
He continued: “Taken together, they provide the roadmap for the next 40 years of success for MHA – and hopefully many more after that.”
Concluding his remarks, the MHA Chief Executive said: “I want to thank Board members – past and present – for their support.
“And I pay special tribute to my team for all they do to make Manningham Housing Association what it is today. Their professionalism, skill, foresight and dedication make them a credit to the organisation, to Bradford district and to themselves. I am immensely proud of every one of them.”