As this most unusual and challenging of years draws to a close, I’d like to send my warmest of wishes and a thank you to all Triathlon Homes residents.

The speed of the recent lockdown has made it difficult to reflect on the past year. It symbolises how so much of the year has been unpredictable and how our lives have been up-ended.

I have to confess being tired out by 2020 and I’m very much looking forward to a New Year. However, I do not really have to think too hard to alight on some of the things I’d like to keep on doing in 2021.

Over the past 12 months along with Coronavirus, the life of Triathlon Homes has been dominated by two other things; developing a positive working relationship with our new managing agent, Southern Housing Group; and the various and serious issues that have arisen as the cladding has been inspected.

The cladding issues have caused such distress to many residents and for some leaseholders in particular, the impact on well-being and autonomy has been hugely damaging. Still, much is unknown and there doesn’t always appear to be an easy path through to resolution. I am grateful to all residents who have been in touch to share the impact on them and to those who are helping their neighbours through this. While some of the building issues across East Village won’t be fully resolved by the end of 2021, I’m expecting and hopeful the year will be ‘full-on’ in our preparations and work to sort it all out. If I look for silver linings in this, I’d point to the following: we’ve built closer relationships with leaseholders which I hope we’ll build on; our relationship with EVML and Get Living is closer and stronger; and finally, it seems as though the government is now acknowledging the range of issues which led to the national cladding crisis.

Our service is provided on our behalf by a Registered Provider of social housing. In November last year we transferred the management to Southern Housing Group. I was impressed with the way they managed the transfer, not everything went according to plan, but much of the feedback we received highlighted that, for residents, it was fairly seamless. Part of my role is to manage and monitor the contract with them. Early in 2020, I saw a transformation of our repairs service. Many of you will know Alan and his repairs team. They’ve completed over 2700 repair jobs this year. One of the things I am most grateful for is how well this team have worked this year – in difficult circumstances, I’ve been impressed how they’ve kept delivering a good repair service. There are some things that have been challenging to resolve but the team have always worked hard to reach positive outcomes. One of the most difficult repair items has been the windows. We’ve asked EVML to put resources into delivering a better service for everyone and in 2021 they will be looking for new contractors for window repairs.

Finally, I’d like to mention how the East Village community has changed over the last year and thank everyone who has played a part. One of the impacts of the pandemic has been on work and incomes. This has been such a worry for people. People have responded so positively and 40 families who have found the last few months really difficult have received food parcels. Thank you to everyone who brought food to The Pantry (now running at The Hall on Victory Parade) or delivered essentials to their neighbours. Thank you too, to those residents who have volunteered their time mentoring local young people; and to the mentees who have found the courage to try something new. It’s been so encouraging to see new relationships flourish throughout the year.

It’s likely that your Christmas this year will be smaller and quieter than in previous years – on behalf of everyone at Triathlon Homes, I wish you all the best.

Kath