Member Spotlight

It’s our members that make Tpas such a great organisation to be part of and what better way to show this than with our member spotlight feature.

Each month we will invite one of our members to share their engagement achievements, tips and ambitions, allowing you to keep bang up to date with what others are up to across the sector.

---

Member Spotlight  - North Star Housing  

We asked Peter Locke, Head of Engagement and Insight at North Star Housing, to share some of the work they are currently doing.

If you’d like to contact Peter about any of the below, click here

---

Give us a little known fact about your organisation

Our organisation began as Endeavour Housing Association in 1974 (50 years old last year!) We still have original trustees visiting us to make sure we are holding true to the community focussed values the organisation was founded with.

Tell us about a time that engagement has made a difference to your services or communities?

I can think of lots of examples but, the one that really stands out is the development of our Customer Commitments. They were developed with feedback from over 200 tenants and 50 staff and based on the National Housing Federation’s Together with Tenants charter. They underpin how we deliver our services and are the basis for how tenants can hold us to account. They have re-shaped our conversation and engagement with tenants from a focus on assurance that services are being delivered well to a genuine curiosity around how they can be improved.

What are you currently working on when it comes to engagement?

We have recently revamped our entire structure and have redesigned our Scrutiny Panel to reflect the more dynamic nature of our engagement activities. We were lucky to have a great Scrutiny Panel for 13 years but we worked with tenants, board, staff and engagement experts to reimagine a model that shared decision making power, tracked tenant feedback from recommendation through implementation to evidencing the impact of change.

We are still on this journey and know there’s more to do but, being able to evidence these individual change journeys and work with tenants on what we do with this insight, is really rewarding.

Why did you decide to join Tpas?

We have been members for a long time! We really value the access to the expertise of the Tpas staff, to network with like-minded colleagues and also to hear how things can be done differently. We really appreciate the breadth of events and resources that are available and the opportunities it affords for both North Star and our tenants.

What is your top engagement tip?

Make sure you are talking to the right people at the right time. I know that is easy to say and harder to do but, since 2020 we have been working with dynamically formed groups based around issues. I know lots of colleagues are doing this too but, I think it’s important to point out that taking this approach has massively helped to improve the diversity and difference of opinions we hear. In our team we have called it ‘harnessing energy’.

We know people are more likely to talk to us about something they have recently experienced, has caused them problems or is likely to affect them. Finding ways to hear from people when they want to talk to you is key. Making it as easy possible is the real challenge!

What’s the one thing you are really proud of when it comes to engagement?

In the past two years we have implemented monitoring systems that can evidence that our engagement activities are representative of the communities we serve. We report on this every quarter and I’m really proud to say that we can give our senior staff and board assurance that we are hearing voices from Black and global majority communities, from people with disabilities, from all age groups and from across the organisation’s geography.

This isn’t the end of our journey, by any means. In fact, it’s just the start. But we can now work on more complex intersectional issues with confidence. We can work with partners knowing where our gaps may be and use our resources effectively to meet those needs.

---

Previous Member Spotlights

February 2025 - Wigan Council

January 2025 - Worthing Homes

December 2024 - Lumensol

October / November 2024 - Orbit

September 2024 - Gentoo

August 2024 - Watford Community Housing

July 2024 - BFT Mastclimbing

May / June 2024 - Stonewater

April 2024 - Hull City Council

March 2024 - Partners Foundation

February 2024 - Red Kite Community Housing

January 2024 - St Leger Homes of Doncaster

December 2023 - settle

November 2023 - Flagship Group

Sept / Oct 2023 - Hinckley and Bosworth Council

August 2023 - Tenants Hub CIC

June / July 2023 - Dovecotes TMO

May 2023 - Stockport Homes

April 2023 - TPTracker

March 2023 - Metropolitan Thames Valley

February 2023 - West Kent

January 2023 - Fairhive

December 2022 - Platform Housing Group

November 2022 - Integrated Solutions - City Plumbing

September / October 2022 - Homes Plus

August 2022 - Aspire

May 2022 - Arches

April 2022 -  Acis Group

March 2022 - wdh

February 2022 - Michael Dyson Associates Ltd

January 2022 - South Yorkshire HA

December 2021 - Gateshead Council

November 2021  - LiveWest

October 2021 - YMCA Thames Gateway

September 2021 - Bernicia

August 2021 - Anglian Building Products

July 2021 - Warrington HA

June 2021 - Futr

May 2021 - Vale of Aylesbury HT

April 2021 - Aaron Services

March 2021 - Soha

February 2021 - North West Leicestershire DC

January 2021 - Vinci Facllities

December 2020 - Ongo

November 2020 - Places for People

October 2020 - Community Gateway Association

September 2020 - Dacorum BC

August 2020 - Eastend Homes

July 2020 - Connexus

June 2020 - Gridizen

May 2020 - Grand Union Housing Group

March / April 2020 - Onward Homes

January / February 2020 - Estuary HA

December 2019 - Muir Group

November 2019 - Blackpool Coastal Homes

October 2019 - Texthelp

September 2019 - Greatwell Homes

August 2019 - Selby DC

July 2019 - North Star Housing Group

June 2019  - Rotherham MBC

May 2019  - Homes for Haringey

---

I'd like to be in the spotlight

If you'd like to be featured in our Member Spotlight and highlight the work you are doing, please get in touch by emailing lisa.holt@tpas.org.uk.