Diamond Jubilee

In 2008 we celebrated our Diamond Jubilee; for 60 years Rockdale has been providing housing and care for the older people of Sevenoaks.

Our celebrations started with a Diamond Jubilee Ball at Wildernesse Golf Club in June. The black and white theme gave the occasion a fitting art deco atmosphere, and as well as dancing and a live band, strolling magicians enthralled guests at their tables. Antiques expert James Braxton conducted an auction of donated lots, including seven days in Rio during the Carnival, seven nights in the Quinta do Lago Country Club in Portugal, and a weekend break in a luxurious Hand Picked Hotel, and the evening raised a magnificent £17,400 towards our appeal.

In September, a celebration lunch was held in Beatrice Wilson Common Room for the residents of the apartments. Over 100 guests enjoyed a lunch cooked and served by our Housing Manager, Jane Vaughan and her team, which was followed by dancing to a Country and Western Band.

At Christmas, a party was given for the residents of Rockdale House, together with their families and friends. To tie in with the Diamond Jubilee, the staff were bejewelled with diamonds, and guests enjoyed a spectacular hot and cold buffet, while a harpist played.

It was fitting that in our Diamond Jubilee year we were visited by Phil Wynn Owen CB, Director General, Strategy and Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions, who volunteered to work at Rockdale for a day. He  met residents in the House and Sheltered Apartments, and it was a pleasure to give him the opportunity to see our work at grass roots level.

Rockdale Appeal

Our Appeal to raise funds to rebuild Rockdale House is progressing steadily, and by the end of the year we had raised £1,264,106. We are so grateful to our Appeal Board under the Chairmanship of Mr Sam Footitt for their dedicated work.

Events organized during the year included a special viewing of “The Other Boleyn Girl” (filmed in part at Knole), a History Quiz Walk in Knole Park, and an open day with tea at Riverhill House and Gardens. Our events were as ever well supported, but equally important were the touching donations we received from the families and friends of our residents.

Development

We have encountered more than our fair share of challenges during these initial stages of our development.  In January we appointed specialist housing association development consultants to help us to overcome these.

We had some planning setbacks, but have been working closely with the Sevenoaks District Council Planning Department to redesign a scheme which meets both their and our requirements, and we are hoping to be able to report a successful outcome soon.

The credit crunch has affected our project, as the fall in property prices has led to a reduction in the cross-subsidy we were hoping to achieve from the development of leasehold apartments for sale. This in turn has led to the net cost of the project rising above the threshold after which projects have to go to tender through the European Union procurement procedure, which is causing us further delays, expense and frustration.

However, we are as convinced as ever of the need for a new residential care home for Sevenoaks, and continue to put all our efforts into this project.

Rockdale House

Residents enjoyed a number of outings during the year, including trips to Eastbourne, Bexhill, the Kent and East Sussex railway, Broadview gardens in Hadlow, and Bradbourne School's production of “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. A private view of paintings by the Art Club was held at St Julians, and house residents who had contributed works were thrilled to see them sold.

Although the outings are enjoyable, they only form a small part of the residents’ year, and it is the day to day work in Rockdale House which makes it a real home for them. Of immense importance to this work is staff training, and I am pleased to report that Lesley Ship, our Deputy Home Manager, has now completed her Level 4 NVQ in Health and Social Care.

I would particularly like to mention the work of Janet Nalder and her helpers in running the weekly Rockdale House Shop for residents. The shop used to be run from the main dining room, but it has now been converted to a trolley service going room to room, which has been a great boon to residents.

Sheltered Apartments

We were sorry to learn that our funding from the Government’s “Supporting People” programme was being reduced, but we are committed to continuing our 24 hour support service, whilst other sheltered schemes are giving up theirs. We believe that it is this that enables many of our particularly frail residents to remain living in the sheltered apartments.

David Alger, our head gardener, gave a presentation to residents on his plans to create a wild flower meadow behind Beatrice Wilson Flats, and the work was begun during the year; we all look forward to the results.

After 10 years with Rockdale, Jane Vaughan gave up her post as Housing Manager in order to set up her own business and take on the catering concession, providing the lunch service for residents of the apartments. We will miss her in her old role, but wish her every success in her new one.

We replaced the 24 year old furniture and furnishings in the Beatrice Wilson Common Room this year, so the lunch service has a fresh, new look all round. A further improvement to facilities was that, in anticipation of  the digital switchover due in 2012, we upgraded the television aerials at Rockdale Road and Akehurst Lane to enable residents to receive Freeview.

 It was never going to be easy to replace Jane as Housing Manager, but after a rigorous recruitment procedure putting a good selection of candidates through their paces, we were delighted to appoint Val Riches to the post, who will be a worthy successor. Val was previously our Lettings Officer.

Finance

I am pleased to report that our financial position remains extremely sound. Our operating surplus dropped to £45,790, largely due to increased maintenance expenditure, and the refurbishment of the Beatrice Wilson Common Room. However, despite writing off £151,094, preliminary costs on our project to rebuild Rockdale House, we finished the year with a healthy overall surplus of £284,211. We are aware that reduced interest rates will have a severe impact on us in 2009, and the Board will, as always, keep the Association's financial position under tight control.

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I would like to finish my report by thanking all the volunteers who help Rockdale in so many ways, and particularly the hardworking members of our Board.

We especially value those members whose long service gives us continuity and the benefit of their experience. It is, however, important to gain a fresh perspective on our work from new members, and in April we were pleased to welcome Helen Kenny to the Board. Helen comes to us with a background in investment finance and human resources, and I know she will prove a tremendous asset to us.

In conclusion, I am so grateful to everyone for their hard work, and the support they give me.

John Bovington

Chairman

April 2009