Another year of outstanding achievements at the TPAS Scotland National Good Practice Awards

July 23, 2023

Hosted by Michelle McManus, the awards were a fun filled evening celebrating the successes of many individuals and organisations across the social housing sector.

 

The winners on the night included;

 

  • Cassilhill Tenant Association were the winners of the Alan Ferguson Award. This award was collected by Colin Stewart.  Runner up was Iain Ralph a tenant of Fife Council Tenant Participation.

 

  • Albyn Housing Society won the Best practice in digital involvement award. Sunny Govan Radio picked up the runner up prize.

 

  • l Champion of the Year Award – Group was picked by Stirling Council and Stirling Tenants Association. Runners up were Central Burnstisland tenants and residents association.

 

  • Organisational Champion of the Year Award went to Link Living Ltd. Barrhead Housing Association picked up the runners-up prize.

 

  • Two individuals picked up the Champion of the Year Awards for their amazing contribution – Anne McKay from Albyn Housing Society and Margaret Fraser from NG Homes. The runner-up in this category was Neil Watts from Aberdeenshire Council.

 

  • Another two winners picked up the Best Practice in Developing Community Award – Elderpark Housing Association and North East Tenants, Residents and Landlords (NETRALT). Runner up in this category was Caol Residents Group from Fort William.

 

 

And finally….

 

  • An Outstanding Contribution Award went to NG Homes.

 

Elaine Scoular, Managing Director of TPAS Scotland said, “We had over 40 entries into this year’s awards, and I want to express a huge congratulations to all our winners and runners-up.  Massive thank you to everyone who entered; it’s great to see so much good work happening across the sector, particularly when we are all experiencing such difficult challenges.”

 

Deputy Director of Regeneration at ng homes, Margaret Fraser added, “Having worked across the Housing and Community Sector for over 30 years, it has been an incredible journey and a privilege to work in North Glasgow with the most amazing community, board members and staff at ng homes for the last 11 years. We have worked together on a range of programmes across different age groups and cultures for positive change including the ‘Green Champions’ initiative from funding through the KSB Climate Challenge and the Activate Course with Glasgow University that has seen hundreds of community members gaining community development accreditation and some gaining college and university degrees.  One of the most important areas is that of partnerships and this has been key to building such a strong and resilient community.

 

Across all these projects, tenant participation has been a key factor in their success.  Therefore, receiving such as prestigious award for Outstanding Contribution in Developing Communities from TPAS Scotland, who are at the forefront of developing and maintaining tenant participation, is a high accolade indeed.

 

On a personal level, I am both humbled and delighted to have received the Champion of the Year Staff Award and it is a wonderful way to complete my career as I retire at the end of July.   I would like to thank those who nominated me; it has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside tenants, community members and staff in North Glasgow. The resilience they have shown through some of the most challenging times has been immense.  In the words of a famous writer “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has”.