Gloucestershire Masonic Housing Project
MEETING THE
HOUSING NEEDS
OF OLDER
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
FREEMASONS AND
THEIR DEPENDANTS
In 1992 the Provincial Grand Charity of Gloucestershire, the
Masonic charity organisation for the Province (County) of Gloucestershire, was
granted up to £700,000.00 by the national Grand Charity of the United Grand
Lodge of England from the proceeds of the Charity Festival in the
Province. A committee was formed and was
tasked to find a site on which to build a retired persons housing project. After many false starts and a huge amount of
effort it became apparent that this approach was not the best one and instead
the Trustees of the Charity decided to ‘buy into’ an existing development. After further considerable effort the
Trustees decided that the retired persons development
by McCarthy and Stone in
‘…The Trustees and Committee will use, as a guide when considering applications, the following criteria:-
1. The applicants should be elderly Freemasons and/or their dependants, of limited means, and in housing need.
2. They, or their spouse, shall have been members of a Lodge, Chapter, Preceptory etc that is a subscribing member of the Gloucestershire Masonic Charities Association.
3. They shall be capable of maintaining an independent and active lifestyle taking full advantage of the facilities available.
4. The applicants shall be of good character. The Committee reserves the right to request references.
5. They should not have made gifts of capital in the previous 3 years, the possession of which would otherwise disqualify them.
6. They shall not be in full time paid employment.
7. Applications will be dealt with in the order in which they are received.
The Trustees and Committee wish to stress that Almoners and individual applicants who wish to apply for tenancy of the flats should not be discouraged from applying because it appears that their circumstances do not exactly meet the published criteria, but permit the Trustees to consider every case submitted. Application forms for tenancies, as well as further information, are now available from the Clerk at the address below. ‘
By the end of 1999 all the 9 flats were occupied or ‘spoken
for’ and the Trustees decided that with such a need demonstrated, it would be
advantageous for the Province to extend their holdings in other parts of the
County. To this end they bought another
4 flats in a McCarthy and Stone development at
The Masonic Housing Management Team, which was formed from the original Committee, continues to operate the flats on behalf of the Trustees and provide an unobtrusive but caring service to their residents. Every assistance is given to the residents, over and above the normal ‘landlord’ services, including help in dealing with government departments and Social Service organisations. The Gloucestershire Masonic Charity Association has positioned electric buggies at both locations for the use of our residents and we have provided on long loan bath seats and wheelchairs as required.
The rent for the flats is set annually by the Trustees on the advice of the Team and is set to represent the government-set ‘fair rent’. The rent, which includes an element for the service charge of approximately £120.00, is currently (Jan 2003) £390.00 per calendar month which is payable on the first of each month in advance.
A small waiting list is operated by the Clerk for those who would wish to be considered for a tenancy as and when vacancies arise. Whilst the waiting list works on a ‘first come first served’ basis, the Team reserve the right to consider all potential applicants for a vacancy at the time, judging on a basis of ‘housing need’ (this phrase is deliberately kept loose so that the very best use of the flats can be assured for those who really need them).
Further enquiries about the flats are welcome to the Clerk to the Committee, R C Blakemore, Forest Gate, Huntley, Glos GL19 3EU, Telephone/Fax 01452-831192, or e-mail housing@huntley-glos.demon.co.uk
.
