New Progress is awarded a prestigious anti-social-behaviour accreditation

Published by lpriest for Progress Housing Group in Housing and also in Communities

New Progress Housing Association has been awarded a nationally recognised accreditation for the way it deals with anti-social behaviour and its commitment to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) in its communities.

The Lancashire-based housing association, which manages over 4,000 homes throughout South Ribble and the surrounding areas, has achieved the prestigious HouseMark ASB accreditation. New Progress is one of just 19 housing associations out of the1200 in the UK to have achieved the accreditation.

Awarded by HouseMark, a national organisation jointly owned by the Chartered Institute of Housing and the National Housing Federation, the accreditation enables social landlords to demonstrate to their tenants, partners and the wider community that they take anti-social behaviour issues seriously and give them high priority.

The accreditation was developed in partnership with the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group (SLCNG), the leading best practice and benchmarking group for anti-social behaviour related issues in the UK.

In order to gain the award, New Progress Housing Association was assessed against a set of expectations and best practice in tackling ASB. This included the association’s leadership and strategic commitment, action taken to protect communities, how residents are involved in developing the service, and the provision of support for victims and witnesses.

Bernie Keenan, Managing Director of New Progress Housing Association, said: “It is an incredible achievement to have our work recognised by HouseMark. We are extremely proud of the excellent service we provide to our customers and the personal commitment of our staff to tackling anti-social behaviour in our communities.”

“The accreditation is a fantastic reward for the work of our Tenancy Enforcement team and the resources that they, and our partners, have invested in the service.”

New Progress Housing Association has robust mechanisms in place to deal with anti-social behaviour issues, including noise nuisance, abusive and threatening behaviour, hate crime and vandalism.

New Progress recognises that it cannot tackle anti-social behaviour alone and it is committed to working in partnership with local agencies, such as the local Community Safety Partnership and local Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Councillor Cliff Hughes, South Ribble Borough Council cabinet member with responsibility for strategic planning and housing, said: “I’m delighted New Progress has received national recognition for its work in tackling anti-social behaviour. We work very closely with New Progress and their commitment to dealing with this important issue and making communities safer is excellent. It’s great to see that a housing association that was born in South Ribble is continuing to look after local communities in the borough.”

Gez Kinsella, Assistant Director of HouseMark, said: “Demonstrating accountability to tenants and stakeholders, New Progress Housing Association subjected their ASB service to the rigorous and robust accreditation process. The organisation showed strong commitment and leadership in addressing ASB and this was supported in practice, with notable evidence of swift action to address the problem. New Progress will now implement the accreditation report's recommendation, committing to continual improvement.”