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Today we’re taking you further forward in time, looking at the 1930s and 40s and housing in the Midlands during the war years. The Second World War led to a significant loss of COPEC’s stock. COPEC changed from a ‘Public Utility Society’ to an ‘Industrial and Provident Society’, becoming eligible for war damage funding to make emergency repairs. Post-war, COPEC surrendered many of its properties as part of post-war redevelopment but remained a managing agent of those awaiting clearance by the council. Take a look at the larger image below from 1942, showing the aftermath of bomb damage in Long Acre, Birmingham, which is still one of our operating areas 80 years on.
Did you know, Midland Heart is almost 100 years old? We’ve not always been called Midland Heart, a number of different organisations have developed and merged over the years laying the foundation for us to become the organisation we are today. It’s been 100 years since the Conference on Politics, Economics and Citizenship (COPEC) was held in Birmingham that led to the founding of the COPEC House Improvement Society, the very first version of Midland Heart, in 1925. Since then, we’re proud to have grown from around 200 homes in inner-city Birmingham to over 35,000 across the whole of the Midlands. Over the next week, we're going to take you on a journey through our history and tell the story of how we became Midland Heart.
Yesterday we held our annual Marketplace event, an afternoon of music, art, culture and of course great food, all in celebration of Black History Month! The Marketplace is always a highlight of our Black History Month celebrations and a great way of bringing our teams and tenants together. This year we were joined by tenant and talented painter, Eustace Storrod, who shared more of his phenomenal artwork with colleagues, after kindly gifting us one of his paintings last year. Part of the proceeds of any sales of his paintings will be donated to our corporate charity, Birmingham Mind, supporting those with mental health needs. Throughout the month of October we’ve also been making donations to local foodbanks, giving back to the local communities in which we serve.
Last Friday, we gathered to honour the extraordinary achievements of our colleagues at our annual STAR awards! The awards shine a spotlight on those who have made a real difference to our organisation and the lives of our tenants. This year’s winners have made outstanding contributions in their roles and have worked hard to create a positive and supportive work environment for their colleagues. The judging panel included members of our Directors Group and two of our involved tenants. It was really important to us that our tenants were a part of the judging process and had the opportunity to share their views on what it means to go above and beyond. Congratulations to all of our incredible nominees and winners!
Today we're sharing our latest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, an overview of our performance and pathway to low-carbon, showcasing how our sustainable actions are making a difference to our tenants and the homes they live in. Highlights of this year’s report include: - 99% of our homes now have a minimum EPC rating of D, with over 77% at EPC C - 670 new energy efficient, affordable homes handed over - SHIFT GOLD achieved, making us one of the top performing landlords in the sector for environmental sustainability. Visit our bespoke ESG webpage where you can read more about the significant and lasting improvements implemented across the communities we serve: https://lnkd.in/eKAvZr5c Our Executive Director of Finance and Growth, Joe Reeves, shares more about our latest ESG report in a short video on our LinkedIn page.
Today we’re sharing our first Annual Performance Report, a short and sharp overview of our performance, as requested by our tenants. We want to be as clear and transparent as possible with our tenants and show how we’re working to improve our services, in line with their feedback. In the report we take a look at our successes and show the impact they’ve had on our tenants and their homes. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/4hcQB3T
Five of our larger members met today at the LoCaL Homes Factory in Walsall and signed a groundbreaking new agreement with West Midlands Mayor, Richard Parker, that will see more affordable homes built across the West Midlands. The new Homes for the West Midlands Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) will see Bromford, Citizen, GreenSquareAccord, Midland Heart, and whg work with the West Midlands Combined Authority to increase the scale and pace of the delivery of affordable homes within the region.
Last week, we gathered to celebrate our long-serving colleagues at this year's Long Service Awards! This year’s cohort have collectively contributed over 1000 years of service to Midland Heart and we are so thankful for their hard work and dedication to making what matters brilliant for our tenants.
We recently completed the handover of our 3000th home since the launch of our corporate plan, to its new tenant Muhammad Zahir at our Abbey Lane development in Leicester. Hitting this milestone puts us firmly on track to develop 4000 homes by 2025, the ambitious target we set ourselves back in 2019 at the start of our current corporate plan. Muhammad’s home is part of a wider development project to transform Leicester’s iconic former bus depot on Abbey Lane into 117 well-connected, high-quality homes for affordable rent and shared ownership. A very warm welcome to Muhammad and his family and we hope they enjoy living in their new Midland Heart home! #affordablehousing #development
The past weekend almost 40 colleagues took part in a four-mile charity walk at Clent Hills in the West Midlands. As part of our special 100 year celebrations, we have set a goal for colleagues across Midland Heart to take part in 100 challenges. This was one of our biggest yet, with the walk helping to raise vital funds for our chosen charity Birmingham Mind. A huge thank you to everyone who donated and we'll continue to keep our Followers updated on more challenges in the weeks and months ahead.
