Community Organisations
As Castle Vale Housing Action Trust was established to last a total of twelve years, the trust needed to find ways of maintaining their work after it was disestablished. A number of successor organisations were established throughout the HAT's life to deal with individual aspects that the HAT covered. The first of these was the Castle Vale Community Housing Association (CVCHA), established in 1997. The Housing Association manages the homes that were developed by the HAT's housing association partners. Now based at Reed Square, it manages around 2,500 homes and employs over 80 people, with a board of 14 members, the majority of which are Castle Vale residents. A landlord ballot in October 2003 found that 98% of residents wanted to be transferred to CVCHA following CVHAT's disestablishment, with the remaining 2% returning to Birmingham City Council's management.
Merlin Venture Ltd. was established in 1999 as a community development trust, focussing largely on employment and training. It is a not-for-profit company that owns numerous businesses that provides services for Castle Vale and beyond. It manages Tiggy Winkles Day Care Nursery, which was established in 1993 and is now based in two facilities on the estate. They also manage two transport businesses; Valley Travel and Buster Werkenbak. Valley Travel operates the 696 bus route, and Buster Werkenbak operates an on-demand transportation service for employees to travel to work in areas that are otherwise served with poor transportation services. Merlin Security originally operated CCTV cameras around the estate working with the Community Wardens employed by CVCHA to tackle problem areas this service was handed over the CVCHA to continue in 2011. Valescapes is a landscaping service for the estate that also offers employment opportunities for locals. To encourage job creation on the estate, Merlin Training provides training services in electrics, decorating and plumbing. Additionally, Merlin Recruitment offers residents services to assist them in getting jobs and liasing with businesses to publish vacancies. Merlin JETS is similar in that it offers advice to those looking for a new job. Merlin Venture is based at Venture House in Enterprise Park.
The Community Environmental Trust (CET) formally known as the Castle Vale Community Environmental Trust is an environmental organisation dedicated to protecting the environment, conserving urban green space, promoting sustainability and reducing Co2 emissions. The Trust was established in January 2000 and was originally designed as an umbrella organisation for several groups within Castle Vale. It was tasked with the common interest of the groups of protecting the urban green space and ensuring that the environment was not forgotten during the regeneration process. Today the Trust is a stand alone environmental body that delivers many projects across the estate of Castle Vale and beyond. Including projects like The Castle Vale Forest Schools project, Confidence through Conservation, Cycle-Vans and the Community Garden.
To ensure that the key partners in the regeneration of the estate remain in contact, the Castle Vale Neighbourhood Partnership was established in 2002. The Neighbourhood Partnership holds community meetings with representatives from the community organisations and trusts to assist in any concerns residents may have.
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