TENANTS had their say at the first residents’ conference run by Magna Housing Association.

The Dorchester-based group held the event at Huish Park in Yeovil for tenants from West Dorset and West Somerset.

It included a talk from guest speaker Michelle Reid, chief executive of the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS), who discussed how staff and residents could work together to make a difference to the future of housing services.

Chief executive of Magna Graham Colls gave a presentation and spoke about the group’s proposed new strategy going forward and there was an update on the latest welfare reform news from Rhoda Cooke of Taunton’s Citizens Advice Bureau.

In the afternoon there was the chance for residents to have their say through a series of workshops.

They were asked to let Magna representatives know how services could be improved, how to increase opportunities for resident involvement and how Magna staff can get the message out about changes in the housing sector and to benefits. Magna chairman Donald Rushton said the conference was successful and offered an important opportunity to both update residents and hear their views.

He said: “Conferences are an important part of our resident involvement programme, they allow residents from both associations to come together to share their views and experience, whilst hearing the latest developments from the Magna group.

“It also gives Magna feedback on our services and how we can make a real difference to our residents.’