Category: Latest News

Important Tenant Information

Shire Housing Association Ltd has appointed Simply Diligent to carry out Legionella risk assessments in approximately 20% of our properties during this financial year.

These assessments are a legal requirement and help ensure your home remains safe and compliant with health and safety standards.

What To expect:

• • A representative from Simply Diligent may visit your home in the coming months.
  • They will carry a letter of authority from Shire Housing Association Ltd, which they can show you upon request.
  • The surveyor will need access to all water outlets, including:
    • Taps
    • Showers
    • Hot and cold-water storage tanks (both in use and unused)

Why This Matters

The risk assessment will identify any potential risk of Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease—a serious lung infection.

To help you understand more about Legionella and how you can reduce the risk, please refer to our information leaflet .

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep your home safe.

Our office will be closed on Friday 23rd January due to the red weather warning.

The office will be closed, but staff will be available as normal on the phone, please continue to call us on 01290 421130.

Our normal out of hours emergency repairs service will be in operation via 01290 421130 over the weekend.

Rent Payment can be made at any time by calling 0330 041 6497, via the AllPay website www.allpayments.net or by using the Allpay mobile app. You can also continue to make payments directly into our bank account, or using the Post Office or PayPoint outlets.

The following numbers may also be of use:

For gas escapes: Transco 0800 111 999

For electrical supply faults: Scottish Power 0800 092 9290

For burst water mains: Scottish Water 0800 731 084

 

As of 23 January 2025, our office will be closed every Thursday from 3pm for staff training.

Our normal out of hours emergency repairs service will be in operation via 01290 421130.  

Rent Payments can be made at any time by:

• • calling 0330 041 6497,
  • via the AllPay website www.allpayments.net,
  • using the Allpay mobile app.

You can also continue to make payments directly into our bank account, or using the Post Office or PayPoint outlets.

The following numbers may also be of use:

For gas escapes: Transco 0800 111 999

For electrical supply faults: Scottish Power 0800 092 9290

For burst water mains: Scottish Water 0800 731 084

 

Shire Housing Association in partnership with Rosewood Homes have been working on plans for a new development of homes to rent on a vacant site off Craigens Road, Cumnock.

The development will provide a mix of 49, one, two, and three bedroom properties and will include family housing and wheelchair accessible homes.

We would like to invite you to drop into one of our Community Information Sessions on Wednesday 8^th January 2025.

The sessions will be held at Netherthird Community Centre, Cumnock at the following times:

10am to 12 noon

1pm to 3pm

4pm to 6pm

Please consider dropping in during any of the above times so you can see the proposed plans and site layout that is being submitted to East Ayrshire Council for planning permission.

These are early stages in this development and plans are subject to planning permission.  Decisions on how these homes will be allocated will not be made until nearer the site completion date. We are hoping to have the site starting in the Autumn of 2025 with homes ready to let by the end of 2027.

 

 

Our office will close at 4.45pm on Monday 23 December 2024  and will reopen at 8.45am on Monday 6 January 2025. 

Our normal out of hours emergency repairs service will be in operation via 01290 421130.  

Rent Payments can be made at any time by:

• • calling 0330 041 6497,
  • via the AllPay website www.allpayments.net,
  • using the Allpay mobile app.

You can also continue to make payments directly into our bank account, or using the Post Office or PayPoint outlets.

The following numbers may also be of use:

For gas escapes: Transco 0800 111 999

For electrical supply faults: Scottish Power 0800 092 9290

For burst water mains: Scottish Water 0800 731 084

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year.

We want to thank all our tenants who recently gave us feedback on our Rate My Estate survey.  The overall results are in and can be found here.

Your feedback is very important to us and we are really pleased with the results and the amount of useful information that has been provided.

Our next steps are looking at the detail for each of our estates and agreeing what we will do and who needs to be involved in addressing the feedback provided.

Stay tuned for further updates.

In early December 2024, we sent out mailings to all households asking for you to participate in this year’s rent consultation.

The rent consultation pack, available here, includes information on proposed rent charges and our home improvement plans for 2025/26.  Please read the pack fully and respond to the consultation using one of the following methods:

• Complete the free online survey at:  https://forms.office.com/e/iEtKT8W57w
• Post the survey included in the pack to: Shire Housing Association Limited, FREEPOST RTJA-LEEA-KXRX, Netherthird House, Cumnock, KA18 3DB
• E-mail us at: info@shirehousing.com
• Phone us on: 01290 421130

All tenant responses, where contact details are provided, will be entered into a Prize Draw to win a £50 shopping voucher.

As always, if you need help paying your rent, please contact our customer service or financial inclusion team.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

 

Shire Housing Association is a successful progressive housing association based in Cumnock, East Ayrshire.  We currently own just under 1,000 properties and manage more than 900 properties on behalf of owner occupiers.

Our current internal audit arrangement expires on 31 March 2025 and the Association requires a new Internal Audit Service, for an initial 3-year period from 2025/26. This will critically review our functions, supporting our commitment to continuous improvement, reviewing internal controls and meeting the assurance requirements of the Scottish Housing Regulator.

A copy of the invitation to tender can be downloaded here or  by contacting Jade McLelland at the Association’s office on 01290 421130.

For an informal chat about the service please contact Jim Munro, Chief Executive on 01290 428014.

The closing date for return of tenders is 12 noon on Friday 6 December 2024.

Everyone at Shire Housing Association is deeply saddened by the sudden death of Grace Scott, our long serving Housing Officer.

A well-known and highly respected figure at the Association and across Ayrshire, Grace had worked with Shire HA since its formation in 1997, and prior to that Scottish Homes.

Paying tribute to Grace, Chief Executive Jim Munro said: “Grace was one of our most loyal, kind, supportive and dedicated staff who championed communities across East Ayrshire. She will be sadly missed by Staff and Board Members. Our thoughts are with Grace’s family”.

Current chairperson Simon Roberts extended his sympathies and condolences to Grace’s family describing her as someone who “cared passionately about our tenants and communities, making a huge contribution to the Association.”