I am very proud of all our hard work at the Trust that has taken place over the last 3½ years and that this is now being recognised by the local community as well as the housing sector.

This week Mulalley’s invited me to attend the Considerate Constructors Awards which took place at Plaisterers Hall in London. Mulalley’s were awarded the “Silver Award” for the third year running for carrying out major improvements to our homes right across Watford. We are delighted that they have been officially recognised in this way. We have always been impressed with Mulalley’s track record as a responsible and considerate contractor.

We are also delighted to be shortlisted in the National Housing Federation’s “What we are proud of awards” as we submitted an entry for Best Partnership working for the Partnership Protected Area (PPA). We have also been shortlisted for an award for our contribution to the community. Congratulations to all those involved.

The PPA is a community safety initiative in Watford and the project covers three wards in the Borough. Partnership working has been the key in this project and work has been undertaken to improve community safety to residents. The project is run by Hertfordshire Police, Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue, Hertfordshire Police Authority, Hertfordshire County Council, West Hertfordshire NHS, Watford Borough Council and of course the Trust. This represented a real group effort by the Safer Watford partnership to make Watford an even safer, healthier and more attractive place to live and work. What an exciting life I lead mixing with all those people in uniforms!!

Another exciting bit of news is that we entered 3 categories in this year’s Inside Housing “Housing Heroes Awards 2011” and a case study about Gateway Committee member Judith Moores has been successfully shortlisted in the category of “Career Development Star of the Year”.

The nomination showcased Judith’s journey as a Gateway Committee member and her progression into a community engagement role at Housing Solutions. As a Community Gateway, we give tenants like Judith a key role in decision making – this makes a real difference to their career prospects and personal development. By volunteering for the Trust, Judith has picked up skills to start a new career in housing. The awards ceremony will take place on Friday 20th May at the Hilton, Park Lane and we will also be using this as an opportunity to promote the Gateway model with national coverage in Inside Housing.

On a different note, I went off to see Watford Football Club play Norwich on Tuesday – what a nail-biting event. I really liked the look of Harry the Hornet and I’m hoping to meet him in the future for a photo opportunity – so watch this space!

If you would like any further details about our successes, please contact me at trusty.house@wcht.org.uk.

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