Tenant engagement experts TPAS have handed out two awards to a Preston housing firm.

Community Gateway Association (CGA) is now celebrating after winning two Tenant Participatory Advisory Services (TPAS) Awards, which recognise outstanding engagement with customers and best practices in the housing sector.

CGA is Preston’s largest social housing landlord and was up for an award in two categories – Excellence in Employment and Skills and Outstanding Tenant Engagement (under 10,000 homes) for their Gateway2Employment and Gateway2Engagement programmes.

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Community Engagement Manager Sian Coulton said: “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded both of the TPAS awards.

“We have worked with customers and colleagues to co-create a new engagement framework, delivering a range of activities at various levels to encourage as many people as possible to get involved.

“We have seen a large increase in the number of customers getting involved with us and have successfully managed to increase the diversity of those taking part in our activities and receiving support.

“As an organisation based on the community gateway model, it is so important to have an effective engagement framework that allows as many people as possible to get involved and help shape our services to ensure that we are tenant-led.

“We are excited for the next twelve months and will continue to evolve our engagement whilst supporting individuals, customers and communities.”

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TPAS promotes, supports and champions tenant involvement and empowerment in social housing across England.

Dave Yates, Chair of the Board and himself a tenant, said: “A massive congratulations to the Community Engagement team on winning two fantastic awards. It is not very often the same organisation wins more than one TPAS award, so to win two is even more rewarding.

“The win is the result of the hard work and dedication by the team and Gateway and a true testament of the strong relationship between staff and tenants.

“Whether it is helping tenants find their way in life, employment support, or improving their confidence, this is what Community Gateway is all about.

“A massive thank you to all our involved tenants and the Community Engagement team for their hard work.”

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