New housing board elected

From the archive, first published Thursday 12th Apr 2007.

Thousands of council tenants have voted for who they would like to represent them on the board and Community Gateway Group of their new housing association.

Greenfields Community Housing will take over Braintree Council's homes and housing service in November.

It will be a Community Gateway Association, meaning residents will have a say in how their service is run and make decisions that affect their homes and communities.

In the election, there were four tenant places available on the board and 19 places free on the Community Gateway Group - one was for a leaseholder and the remaining 18 places were divided between residents from the Braintree, Witham and Halstead areas.

John Flack, chairman of the shadow board of Greenfields, said: "Over 30 per cent of our tenants and leaseholders used their vote in these elections. That is over 3,000 tenants and nearly 200 leaseholders. We are delighted that so many people have chosen to be a part of this exciting venture."

Maureen Davies, a tenant in White Notley and newly-elected member of the Community Gateway Group, said: "I am on the group because I want to ensure that older people get a fair deal. I feel that they sometimes get left out, as can all tenants who live in the villages."

Once the board is finalised in May, it will include seven tenants, three councillors and five independent members of the community.

Tenant board: Carole Hine (1,513 votes); Neil Coughlan (1,440); Tom Hathaway (1,410); and Melanie McClements (1,245).

Witham area Community Gateway Group: Steve Jones (833 votes); Leigh Jones (731); Maureen Davies (595); Sheila Vincent (588); Miriam Clarke (582); and Ian Marshall (574).

Leaseholder Community Gateway Group: Sheridan Chumbley (167).

Braintree area Community Gateway Group (not contested): Michael Baker, Bernard Drain, Ann Woods, Akiko Barnes and Richard Essex.

Halstead area Community Gateway Group (not contested): Danny Smith, Helen Ralph, Susan Sharpe, Maureen Dean, John Steward and Joan Mobley.