1,390 DAYS – 3 YEARS + 9 MONTHS + 22 DAYS
since Thistle’s mismanaged Major Works Programme started on 7th January 2016
1,062 DAYS – 34 MONTHS + 29DAYS
since 30th November 2016 when “all of the works to all of the houses in Toryglen will be complete“. Today, 29th October 2019, still incomplete, work proven to be shoddy and more importantly, dangerous and now possibly hazardous to life and limb
Tuesday, 29th October 2019
Read today’s full article here
Once more, the media realise that the joke circus that is Thistle Housing has, once more, failed to meet the requirements of the Scottish Housing Regulator, unlike all other successful and properly managed housing associations in Scotland.
Just how long must this farce, a multimillion pound scandal, continue whilst Toryglen residents’ homes are potentially poisoned by asbestos contamination which Thistle Housing management conspired to hide from residents of ALL blocks in ALL of Toryglen for years and broke every rule in the book whilst so doing (and potentially liable to criminal charges as a consequence) with a bill possibly running in excess of £1 million to clear asbestos in what could be more than 1,000 homes?
What about the substandard Major Works Programme work to chimneys, the roofs (all of which require to be removed and replaced), the roughcast/insulation (much of which is cracking, stained and sodden with rain water), the gutters in the wrong positions, the so-called window overcills all at different angles which provide no protection as Thistle’s bottom dollar foreign labour mob mistakenly removed the original cills, these together with the multitude of other unrectified faults ignored by Thistle?
Three years residents in approximately 610 homes, the majority of which are not owned by Thistle Housing, have been afflicted by the failure of the Major Works Programme, and have been treated to a never ending catalogue of lies, stories, fiddles and secrecy by this thoroughly deficient association as their homes continue to deteriorate whilst living with the threat of roof tiles and heavy chimney coping stones plunging to the ground together with the resident discovered asbestos contamination, with no obvious action by Thistle who treat residents as a mere inconvenience and have done so for so many years.
Residents were promised action as a result of the placing of a new Scottish Housing Regulator Statutory Manager (whose placement in Thistle officially concludes this Thursday, 31 October 2019) and a temporary Director on an expensive hire from Savills, whose principal remit would appear to be the protection of Thistle Housing rather than the interests and safety of Toryglen residents, so ignored by Thistle for so many years. If all these promises were like leaves, Toryglen residents would be living in a forest.
They were promised an investigation into the unexplained, secretive and apparently corrupt, unarguably inept contract with E.ON (a situation in itself sodden with lies, failure and unanswered questions), the promise of an investigation into the quality of chimneys (now supposedly repaired), roofs, roughcasting, insulation, guttering, window cills is, after all this time, unfulfilled.
What happened to the residents’ opinion survey recently undertaken by Arneil Johnston? Who knows as Thistle management continues to refuse to answer residents’ questions even going back to October 2016 when residents shamed Thistle management into the only mass meeting that has ever been held, as Thistle always refused to have any form of open meeting. Wonder why that was?
Promises of action, after three years, after 1,062 days after the work was supposed to be completed to residents’ satisfaction, in its entirety, still incomplete, no change, little to no information. Just silence. The Thistle way.
The now ex-Director, Grace McColgan, has left behind her nothing more than ruin, debt and failure. A housing association with combined deficits of more than £2 million in only two years and with a desperate need for more than £6 million to rectify low grade building issues notified to them by residents but ignored due to their arrogant ignorance. So much for McColgan’s “communication strategy” whereby she uttered constantly, “fixed price contract“. It sure was ‘fixed’. Hopefully the truth will out to expose this grand mess or will it all be hidden in a tacky coverup?
What about the rest of the failed management? Brenda Wilson, the dizzyingly
placed chairperson then vice chairperson then chairperson, as the roundabout never stopped, has, as per reports, been ousted as chairperson again and now enjoys the position, once more, of vice chairperson, not that she’ll have any power as the rest of the compliant Management Committee have been booted out and all positions replaced by statutory appointees outwith Toryglen of whom shareholders know little to nothing as Thistle has declined to maintain an information flow to either shareholders or residents. Easy to do when a website has always been refused so as to maintain control. Note: Today, Thistle Housing published its long awaited website only after being cajoled by residents and constantly refused and denied by McColgan. She gets booted out and only then they publish the website – what an insult! This site welcomes Thistle to the internet. Too bad this wee blog site, with no resources, was online two and a half years before Thistle, a (failed) company with a multimillion pound annual turnover. In any case, too little, too late. They needn’t have bothered as their new site is amateurish, slow to load, riven with errors and provides little important information, much like Thistle itself. Have a look here.
How about the failed Operations Manager, Daniella Sprott, the real source of all the problems and her silent and cowering sidekick, Jim Naismith, the bookkeeper? How and why do they remain in position when their failures are oh so obvious? In any other commercial body, such ineptitude, the loss of millions of pounds and the waste of so many more, would be immediately met with instant suspension subject to investigation but they are still there, able to shred the evidence and influence staff. Why when the rot should have been immediately cut out?
Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOI)
and how that could affect Thistle Housing
Hitherto, the FOI did not apply to housing associations. As a result, complaints made against associations frequently failed if they were not willing to voluntarily disclose information to complainers or even to those simply interested in gathering information.
As from 11 November, only days away, housing associations in Scotland will have to fully comply with the FOI Act (as amended) and consequently will have to divulge more of their tawdry secrets. There are, of course, some reservations within the amendment to the Act but more information should become available assuming, of course, Thistle’s record keeping is up to snuff which, as it is understood by the Regulator’s announcements, it is far from that. Or have they had the opportunity to ‘lose’ some information?
More info on that here and here
If Thistle Housing is still around after that time, they will be receiving requests for information on that basis. Imagine seeing the details on the E.ON contract, how much they have squandered association funds on solicitors and public relations companies only to protect their failed management and a entire range of other juicy tidbits they may now be forced to reveal to residents. Thistle Housing, take note – we are coming for you! …if you’re still about.
The Scottish Housing Regulator’s Third Report on Thistle Housing Association
- Thistle management a failure for many years
“Our assessment is that there are serious historical weaknesses and failures in Thistle’s approach“ - Deliberately fiddled statistics to the Regulator
“In June 2019 we established that Thistle had provided inaccurate information about its management of asbestos to tenants and residents and to ourselves“ - Thistle management broke the law (click here for more)
“On 22 August 2019 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served a statutory Improvement Notice on Thistle for contravening statutory provisions: The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012“ - Thistle’s management didn’t give a toss about their staff
“The statutory manager identified Thistle had not carried out employer health and safety audits for six years“ - Lies!
“Thistle had previously provided incorrect information to tenants, residents and ourselves that there would be no additional cost as a result of remedial work on the contract” - Management Committee incapable
“...the governing body would lack the skills and knowledge that it needs to be effective“ - Failure to provide accurate information to the Regulator (AKA, more lies!)
“We have identified instances where inaccurate and poor quality information was provided to ourselves” …”Thistle does not have accurate information about its performance“ - Poor record keeping (More fiddles?)
“We have identified areas where we require additional information from Thistle about its recent stock condition survey (October 2018) and the accuracy of its reported compliance with the Scottish Quality Housing Standard. To date Thistle has been unable to provide us with all of the information we required“ - The Residents have had enough
“Thistle commissioned an independent survey of tenants and service users in March 2019. This showed a significant deterioration in satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service, the quality of homes, whether rent represents value for money, the management of the neighbourhood and the factoring service“ - The Regulator’s final conclusion to the report after Thistle being investigated since 23 August 2018
“Thistle has not yet demonstrated sufficient evidence of change and progress in addressing the underlying issues behind its failure to comply with Regulatory Standards“
How can such a derelict business be allowed to continue with so many proven allegations of failure, corruption and sheer mismanagement over so many years, years even before its failed Major Works Programme? The Scottish Housing Regulator’s most recent damning report on Thistle Housing, as can be read here, rips apart the incapable management who have ignored the expectations of Toryglen residents and drained the association dry for their own ends. They have failed to even abide by the Regulator’s requirements.
‘Lessons will be learned’? Not in Thistle’s case. They have had too many chances, so much opportunity to do the right thing over the years but their endemic, insular arrogance and secrecy forbade them that. Too many public funded taxpayers’ grants, millions and millions of pounds have been wasted, with so far, none of them accepting any responsibility, despite McColgan’s departure.
Is it not time that this dying, failed association met with its so deserved fate?
Here’s the article for you to read
ET Reader Response to the Article
Just a wee STOP PRESS thing
Thistle Housing, this afternoon, launched their long, long, long awaited website. Have a look here.
Much like Thistle Housing, full of errors, propaganda and obviously done on the cheap,
easily hosted on a minuscule processor over a really, really slow internet connection, so much so that it might even be running on Grace’s auld iPad left in the Asbestos Register cupboard. It’s not but that might be faster. Really rather basic and quite grim, amateurish me-too look the same graphics and layout, gives the impression of being hacked up on a do-it-yourself web creation site. Hope Thistle didn’t spend too much on this, ehm, creation.
Dreadful, third class and the product of desperation having been shamed into joining the world wide web like all other housing associations.
Toryglen residents have for years wondered how they were going to develop a better community. They still haven’t learnt more from Thistle.
This wee blog site welcomes Thistle online. Hopefully, if they last much longer, they will offer as much information as this residents’ blog site has done over the past two and a half years.
GrabTheThistle: The Toryglen Residents' Blog 