PASS HOUSING ASSOCIATION ltd.
Registered Charity No. 970913
The Pass Housing Association was set up and is run to provide affordable rented housing for the people of Wootton Fitzpaine.
The Pass Housing Association was founded by Mrs Olive Pass on the death of her husband who owned the Wootton Fitzpaine Estate. The first two Housing Association houses, East Burton Cottages were built in his memory to provide affordable housing and security for elderly people who had worked on the estate; so the original tenants of the Association were mainly elderly people who had spent all their lives working in Wootton Fitzpaine. The Estate was split up at this time and another tenanted cottage was purchased. Under the terms of the Charity, those eligible to apply for houses must have been born in the Parish of Wootton Fitzpaine or to have lived here for at least five years.
The availability of affordable rented property in the countryside has steadily changed in the fifty years since the Association was formed: now, fewer people are employed on the land and many tied farm cottages have been sold or converted to holiday accommodation to support farm incomes. The number of rented properties has fallen dramatically and it looked as though no youngsters would be able to afford to live in the village where they were born and brought up. The Pass Housing Association decided to expand by buying tenanted property when it came up for sale and then, in 1991, to build two new family houses for youngsters who wished to remain and work in the village. We now have a village with a much better balance of different ages and it is much nicer for everyone to have such a lively, thriving community.
The tenants work hard for their community, belonging, between them, to most of the organisations such as WI & Village Hall Committees. Two of the tenants run the Ist Charmouth Girl Guides in the Village Hall, and others the Parent and Toddlers’ Group. Most are also helping with the Best Kept Village and Parish Meeting events. The younger ones lend a hand to retired people on many occasions and help to maintain the Village Hall with mowing and cleaning etc.
As well as building two new houses in 1991, the Association has put in hand a programme of renovation and improvement for all the older houses. This has involved a great deal of re-wiring and plumbing, central heating, new bathrooms and kitchens, new roofs and insulation, double glazing, and provision of car parking spaces.
The Trustees have plans for more improvements in the future including further modernisations to those properties which do not already have them and facilities for older or disabled tenants as they need them. The advantage of having Trustees who also live in the village is that they are always available to the tenants and can move swiftly if any problems arise.
Hastoe Housing Association was given land to build six new houses in Wootton in 1992. Some are tenanted, some shared equity, all with young people from the immediate local area. With these new houses, there are now seventeen affordable homes out of a total of fifty-one properties in the centre of the village.
Directors/Trustees:
Chair
Mr Andrew Stevens, Morcombelake
Mrs Judith Legg, Wootton Fitzpaine
Mr Colin Kennedy, Bristol
Mr Jon Snook, Wootton Fitzpaine
Ms Elizabeth Daros, Blackpool Corner
Mr Daniel Savage, Wootton Fitzpaine
Secretary
Mrs Marion Brooks
Agent
Michael Harris, Seaton. Tel. 01297 24022