Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association (HARCA): 2007 Gold Award winner

About Poplar HARCA
Residents rule throughout the Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association (HARCA), which manages 8,000 former council homes in Tower Hamlets. The association is led by a resident chair, one of the first in the UK, and residents form a majority on the main board and sit on all decision-making committees. A Joint Estates Panel of residents signs off all the association’s policies.

Nine elected estate boards each manages a large slice of the annual maintenance budget, and residents’ groups tackle regeneration issues. One of these groups has evolved into an independent charity and raises extra funds for its work.

The award-winning project
During the past eight years the HARCA has spent a great deal of time and money bringing the housing up to the Decent Home Standard. But that isn’t even half the story. It has built six multi-use community centres with sports, social and training and nursery facilities, which have 90,000 visits a year and where 300 separate activities take place every week.

 A seven-strong HARCA team supports residents and their organisations, and ensures they are involved in the design and monitoring of housing services through service improvement days, mystery shoppers, continuous feedback, focus groups, an annual residents’ conference and neighbourhood outreach work. Regular housing surgeries are held at the neighbourhood centres.

No fewer than 57 external funders provide more than £1.5 million a year to support the  work, and the Home Office funds the Good Neighbours Service – a consultancy run by three residents to provide free services and training for other resident and community groups.

“Every aspect of community engagement and development appears to be offered,” said the judges.

Further information
Visit Poplar HARCA's website for further information about the organisation.