About DAMHA

Mission & vision

Our Mission is “To be a caring organisation, putting residents first and assisting in the regeneration of our coalfield communities”. The vision for the future is: “To be the best social provider of retirement housing in the North East”.

Operation

Our core area of operation is the former County Durham Coalfield, comprising the Districts of Chester-le-Street, Durham, Derwentside, Easington, Gateshead, Sedgefield, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Wear Valley. Services are provided from a very central and accessible office in Chester-le-Street, where most properties are no more than 30 minutes drive away. The ‘Banner’ newsletter is issued to all key stakeholders, applicants and residents, three times a year.

Services are provided to over 125 separate sites in 87 locations for residents of 1,446 bungalows, 16 flats and 16 LSE bungalows, supported housing in three sheltered schemes comprising 73 flats, a purpose built Residential Home for 27 older people. 66 homes are also managed on behalf of 4 other Almshouse Charities and 20 homes for 3 linked charities.

65 staff are headed by the Chief Executive and 24 staff are located in the office, 32 at Langley House Residential Home and 9 in the Sheltered Schemes. Investor in People Status was first awarded in 1999 and has been continually maintained.

No direct labour force is employed. A range of mainly small contractors provides the day-to-day maintenance service and Local Authorities provide most of the out of hours emergency services, mainly via the warden call system.

Strategy

We have identified our key challenges and opportunities in our Corporate Plan, Housing Strategy and Annual Performance Report and Plan. A development partnership is currently in place with Isos Housing Group and the Association is keen to improve its ability to meet its objectives by greater collaborative and partnership working.

Waiting lists are open to the general public, and points are awarded for ability to cope in current housing conditions, colliery service, years on the list and age. Demand for our homes is strong.

Finance

The Association has a strong financial base on which to build, with a solid asset base and low levels of borrowing. Weekly charges are on track to meet the Government’s Rent Restructuring requirements by 2012.

Continuous improvement

An effective Performance Management framework is in place, and there have been a wide range of service and customer involvement improvements.

The Association has a culture of seeking continuous improvement and is underpinned by a “can do” approach which will drive it forward in the communities we serve.

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