Fruithill Fold Tenant Association awarded £7,320 Lottery Grant for sensory garden

Tenants in Fruithill Fold have had a busy year since they made the decision to become a constituted group and set up a Tenant Association, resulting in a recent lottery award of over £7,000.  

From organising monthly afternoon tea, music nights, growing their own produce to use at lunch clubs from potatoes, carrots, cabbage and radishes, going on bus trips and fundraising efforts the new TA has been hard at work. 

The successful application for a grant of £7,320 will go towards the creation of a sensory and tranquil garden which will enable everyone to enjoy the outdoor space along with an allotment to grow more produce and become even more self-sufficient.   

Earlier this month our Tenant Engagement Officer Lesa met with the Fruithill Fold Tenant Association to find out more. 

L: Why did the tenants at Fruithill Fold want to form a group? 

TA: We felt that by having a tenant led group we would have a bigger voice than as individuals when resolving any problems or challenges within our scheme. 

For example, since Covid, many tenants weren’t socialising together anymore so we wanted to bring events back to the Common Room and give people a reason to come out of their apartments  which would help reduce isolation and loneliness.  

There has also been lots of changes with new people moving into Fruithill Fold, so by having social events we knew this would be a good way to get to know everyone. 

How did you decide who was best suited for different roles within the Committee and had any of you have any previous experience in a similar role before?  

None of us had experience like this before but we didn’t let it stop us. 

All of us have different strengths individually and together, so we knew who would be best suited for the different roles of Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary and put our names forward as part of the voting process. 

Did you receive additional funding or support to get you up and running?   

We were encouraged by our Scheme Coordinator and the Tenant Engagement team to set up a Tenant Association. 

Radius provided us with a Tenant Association Guidebook, including a constitution which helped put in place the aims for Fruithill plus a £100 start up grant once we had a bank account opened. Our Scheme Coordinator, Cathy, has also been so supportive helping us get established.

Have you found any challenges setting up the group? 

We thought having a Tenant Association would be really simple, but there is more involved as you have legal responsibilities. 

Thankfully our Scheme Coordinator and Radius are there to answer our questions and help us if we require any support and keep us right when it comes to paperwork. 

What advice would you give to other tenants that are thinking about starting their own groups? 

We would say go for it! Tenants within your community will get behind the group as it benefits everyone and it is very rewarding as you see people spending time together. We are also starting to see improvements in communications with Radius as they are listening to us as one voice.

What has been the reaction like in receiving this lottery funding for the sensory and wellness garden?  

It is absolutely fantastic that we have received this funding and will be able to do so much in our gardens that will benefit everyone.  We couldn’t believe that we were successful, but it shows you have nothing to lose by applying in the first place, we couldn’t have filled the form out on our own and it really was a team effort with our Scheme Coordinator Cathy. We are so grateful for all her hard work putting the submission together. 

What are the future plans for Fruithill Fold Tenant Association? 

We have a busy month of December coming up in the scheme with lots of activities and fundraising for local charities. In the new year we are going to attend Good Governance training to help us in our roles. We also want to learn and put into practice what is working well in other schemes and of course in the Spring all the hard work will go into the garden project and entering the Best Kept Garden competitions.

We look forward to hearing more from Fruithill Fold and other Tenant Associations across Radius in 2025! 

If you would like to start your own Tenant Association, speak to your Scheme Cooodinator, the Tenant Engagement team.

Click below for more information.