Pathways - a brief history
Housing Pathways is a charity and company limited by guarantee based in West Ealing in London, and is the Corporate Trustee, providing a full management service, of three unincorporated almshouse charities: Housing Pathways Trust, The Pathways Jubilee Charity and King George V Memorial Houses, each of which is a Registered Provider. Housing Pathways’ area of benefit is formally England, but we focus on Greater London. Housing Pathways also manages 52 commercially let housing units for a local Ealing charity, and provides the financial administration for Cultivate London Ltd. Total income for all the charities in the year ended March 2014 was £1.9m.
Housing Pathways Trust is the amalgamation of a number of smaller charities dating back to the seventeenth century. A Scheme of 1904 created Ealing Charities for the Poor which consolidated a number of small charities bringing together almshouse and distributive charities with Ealing Dean Common Allotment land. After further consolidation, by a Scheme dated 18 May 2000, the name was changed from Ealing Consolidated Charities to The Ealing and Brentford Consolidated Charity, and in May 2011, to Housing Pathways Trust.
In May 2011, the individual Trustees of Housing Pathways Trustbecame directors of the newly registered Housing Pathways, which itself became the corporate trustee of Housing Pathways Trust.This restructuring enabled Pathways to extend its reach into new geographic areas to meet both existing and emerging needs. It also eased future trustee recruitment by giving trustees limited liability as directors of the charitable company.
Almshouse activities
Our housing stock consists mostlyof one bedroom flats and is available for people in need generally aged over 55 or 60 based on the various criteria for each particular scheme.
Housing Pathways Trust (no 211053) has an area of benefit restricted to the London Borough of Ealing and the old town of Brentford. It owns 130housing units in 5schemes in Ealing, and also more than 200 allotment sites in Ealing, providing a valuable civic amenity.
The Pathways Jubilee Charity (no 247553) owns 111 housing units in 9 schemes in Greater London, and was until 1stOctober 2013known as Dovedale Almshouses. On that date 8 almshouse charities were merged into the charity. Of these 6 had been formerly run by Anchor Trust and 2 by Genesis Housing, the corporate trusteeship having been transferred from each on 1st December 2011and 1stAugust 2012 respectively. This merger formed a financially viablebusiness able to afford its long term planned maintenance responsibilities.
King George V Memorial Houses owns 12 housing units in Gillingham, Kent.
Grant giving activities
Pathways main grant giving programme is funded by rents from 8 retail units in a property in The Green, Ealing, dating from a 1715 bequest.The property was refurbished and let in 2004, when the grants programme was initiated. It was badly damaged in the riots of August 2011 and was fully rebuilt by December 2012, during which period our insurance cover ensured the grants stream was not disrupted. Grants are given to local voluntary groups in Ealing and Brentford. In June 2014 to celebrate a decade of independent grant-making we created a one–year youth funding programme called “Hopes and Dreams”, and have allocated a fund of £25,000. Pathways has two other grant giving funds; one for Grassroots grants aimed at individuals and an ecclesiastical fund which is applied to the outreach and community work of Anglican churches in Ealing, and administered by the Ealing Deanery Synod.
Social enterprise
In 2011 Pathways set up a social enterprise called Cultivate London Ltd which provides work and training opportunities in practical horticulture for young people aged 16-24 not in employment, education and training, (“neets”), by converting derelict and vacant land across London into food growing space producing herbs, vegetables and flowers in polytunnels and raised beds. Cultivate London is a separate company limited by guarantee and a registered charity (no 1147015), the majority of whose directors are directors of or persons nominated by Housing Pathways. To date it has been funded almost entirely by Pathways, and is making good progress in building its turnover and external grant funding.
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Version: August 2014