Section 2 – Step by Step Guide
Tenant and Residents Associations (TRA’s) are usually started with a handful of interested people. The following steps should keep you on the straight and narrow, but remember, you can only do so much and your time is limited. Outlining clear aims at the beginning will give your association a definite purpose.
Step 1 – Is there initial local support for setting up a TRA? You probably have a clear idea of why a TRA might be needed in your area, but it is important to make sure that other local tenants and residents feel the same. Here are a few tips for finding out if there is any interest from the outset, without using up too much energy and time.
Speak to your neighbours and local friends to find out their views on local services and amenities and whether they think a TRA is a good idea Encourage them to speak to their neighbours and friends about the same Ask people to think about possible solutions to any issues they might have See if a few of you want to meet up to progress things - If at least three of you want to do this move on to Step 2 If no one else is interested you can always join LAST (Lewes Association of Scattered Tenants). This is a TRA that represents and works for all tenants who don’t belong to a local Lewes District TRA.
Step 2 – Setting up a steering group and doing some leg work! If a few of you have agreed to meet up and progress things, here’s how to build support to start a TRA:
Plan some small informal “steering group” meetings – you can meet in each other’s homes, or at a local café, pub, etc or you can use the Landport Community Centre, 2a Horsfield Road, Lewes, BN7 2TA Invite one of the Lewes District Council Tenant Participation team along to your meetings. They can help you with the leg work, such as photocopying, producing and delivering surveys, helping with constitutions etc. They can be contacted by phone, 01273 487249 or email tenant.participation@lewes.gov.uk Agree which streets or area that you would like your TRA to represent. Draft a survey to go to all households within your chosen area. The survey needs to identify: Whether the issues identified by your steering group match those of your local community Whether there is support for any of the solutions you may have identified. Whether there is support for community activities Whether they are in favour of starting a TRA. Whether they are willing to get involved in the TRA, and if they are, ask for contact details What is the best time for most people to attend meetings Space for any other issues or solutions, you may not have thought of The survey then needs to go out to all households in the area. It’s a good idea to hand deliver and collect these if you can. This will give you an opportunity to talk on the doorstep about the advantages of setting up a TRA.