As housing associations grow in importance as the chief providers of social housing for people in need, it is important to understand the origins and evolution of these diverse voluntary housing organisations. ‘Three Pillars’ is a timely contribution, and tells the story of the Birmingham-based Trident family of housing associations, incorporating Templefield, the Birmingham Diocesan, the Birmingham Catholic Women’s League and Greswolde Housing Associations, as well as the Trident ‘parent’.

The book traces their early history, beginning in the early 1960s when the Trident family was founded by local professionals with a concern for providing rented housing; initially for middle income groups, and later for people in more severe need, including those with special needs. It then describes how the Trident family grew throughout the remainder of the 1960s and the following decade, and came together formally in the late 1970s, with the merging associations retaining the Trident name.

Since then, as the book relates, Trident has developed urban villages, contributed to city centre living in Birmingham, and expanded into the Black Country and the West Midlands’ shires. The association has accumulated expertise in meeting the needs of people with mental health problems and those with physical disabilities, elderly Chinese people, and young adults through its extended network of Foyers. Today, Trident is one of the largest housing associations in the West Midlands, managing 3,000 homes directly, but also working in a range of innovative development, housing and needs partnerships that enable Trident to make an even greater impact upon the diverse communities of the region.

Yet despite being one of the region’s major social housing businesses, employing almost 400 staff and with housing assets of £100 million, Trident remains a people-centred organisation. Housing, caring and supporting people are the three pillars on which Trident has been built, and upon which its future is guaranteed.