by BITMO Chief Executive, Deborah Kelly
We were delighted to be able to announce at the BITMO Annual General Meeting last week that tenants have voted in favour of BITMO continuing to manage the Belle Isle estate for a further five years. As you know tenants are asked every five years whether they support Tenant Management, and this is the fourth time that Belle Isle tenants have overwhelmingly supported continuation. Being tenant- led means that BITMO tenants continue to benefit from everything that BITMO provides that is unique in Leeds. There is no other estate in Leeds that has a housing office that is open five days a week, a tenant-run community centre open five days a week and one Saturday a month, which provides free activities for children in the school holidays, a community café and a whole range of support for people who need it, not to mention our caretaker service. No other estate in Leeds has a dedicated team of caretakers to look after the estate, do minor repairs, and help people out when they need it.
BITMO’s Board is made up of some people who have been involved with BITMO from the beginning, and there are some new members who want to make a difference in the community they live in. We believe that tenant control leads to better decisions for the people who live here, better services, and a more vibrant community that benefits everyone.
We have lots of challenges ahead but with our tenant-led board, the tenant volunteers and our dedicated staff team, we will continue to deliver our plan built around a safer, stronger, greener Belle Isle. Tenant management is going from strength to strength in meeting the needs of the people who live in Belle Isle. We are all very proud of what we are achieving and delivering on your behalf, and grateful to you for putting your faith in us for a further five years.
We know we have still got a lot of work to do to and over the next three months our staff will be working with the Board and tenant shareholders to develop a renewed vision and plan for the work we do. We want to do more to improve the appearance of the estate, and to help people who are in hardship. We want to continue to help the people who live here to thrive and achieve their goals. We want to increase the voice of Belle Isle tenants in everything that we do.
Tenant management only works because tenants like you get involved. If you would like to be more involved and make a difference the community, we would love to hear from you. There are so many opportunities to be involved, from volunteering in the GATE or our community garden, or our community orchard, to joining a service improvement workshop, or becoming a board member yourself. If you want to talk about how you can play more of a part in the success story of BITMO we would love to hear from you. Please contact Peter, Jo and Tracey in the BITMO Community Development Team on 07891 270094 or 0113 378 2190 or gate@belleisletmo.co.uk
