More than decent performance

Newark and Sherwood Homes will meet its Decent Homes target this month, not only on time and within budget but with a range of extras to boot

The programme to bring 100 per cent of the 5,433 properties managed by N ewark and Sherwood homes up to standard has been a success but there were challenges along the way – not least the sheer scale of the project.

Newark and Sherwood Homes operates across a large and mainly rural district, compared to the size of its stock, comprising estates in urban areas and small numbers of properties in rural villages.

“Almost £50 million has been invested over four and a half years, and keeping the programme on track and within budget has been a complex and diverse project,” says Andrew Dewberry, asset management and investment manager. “The resource we have had each year over the last five years in terms of funding is probably four times greater than a typical year without decent homes funding, so to gear up, plan the project effectively and deliver it every year has been a massive challenge.

“We feel we have delivered what we set out to achieve and more while maintaining a very high level of customer satisfaction and without jeopardising quality. Sometimes if you are not careful there is a trade off and in getting things done on time quality and customer care can fall by the wayside. Our biggest challenge has been to keep that balance which we have done very successfully.”

The arrangements of an ALMO allows contractual focus on the delivery of the programme by the strategic leadership of the company.

Newark and Sherwood Homes has worked with partnership contractors Connaught and Bullock throughout the programme and despite the invasive nature of the works, customer satisfaction has remained high.

As Dewberry explains: “It is quite an invasive and challenging type of project as sometimes we are in people’s homes for up to six weeks but customer satisfaction was around 95 per cent and that compares very favourably with anyone in the country delivering a project of this nature.

“From the start we have extensively consulted with tenants, set local standards in terms of Decent Homes, constantly reviewed and adjusted things and most importantly listened to our customer feedback. We have not been perfect, we have made mistakes but we have taken on board the feedback and modified the programme over time and this has led to satisfaction ratings continuously improving during the duration of the project.”

Dewberry also praised the positive working relationship that the ALMO has enjoyed with Newark and Sherwood District Council throughout the course of the decent homes programme which has contributed to the overall success story.

The contract partners were procured jointly with A1 Housing Bassetlaw, an example of collaborative working which may not seem unusual now but in 2005 was a relatively new concept

“Around that time other ALMOs were setting up programmes, but they were doing it in isolation, so it was quite innovative to be working together for the benefit of tenants,” explains Dewberry.

This joint approach not only saved Newark and Sherwood Homes almost £20,000 in procurement fees it also allowed it to procure against the joint stock totals, allowing it to deliver cost savings and get extra value for money for tenants.

When consulting with tenants about the Decent Homes programme the ALMO discovered that they wanted more than what the basic standard could deliver, so throughout the scheme it has carried out additional environmental improvements as well as measures to make homes more energy efficient.

“We tried to tailor what we delivered towards what our customers wanted rather than just a plain Decent Homes Standard that fits all,” explains Dewberry. “We negotiated a local standard in terms of choices and specification. We delivered a Decent Homes Plus Standard including double glazing and loft insulation as one of the key things to come out of the consultation was that tenants wanted reduced energy bills.

“The culture within Newark and Sherwood Homes is very much about tenant participation and moving forward we will continue to engage, negotiate and listen to what our tenants want and deliver as close to that as we can.”

The ALMO has used its available resources to deliver environmental projects including improving the security and design of estates with anti-social behaviour and tenancy issues, improving parking facilities and providing stores for mobile scooters at sheltered accommodation.

“From a Decent Homes perspective we have delivered a number of environmental improvements tackling lots of social issues but if there is a criticism of the decent homes criteria it has been very much property focused and perhaps not estate-focused enough,” says Dewberry. “We are very glad to have the funding and it is great to have delivered decent homes but they have got to be in places that are desirable and sustainable for people to live in.”

In terms of energy efficiency measures as well as installed double glazing, roof and cavity wall insulation, external doors and A -rated boilers the ALMO has been piloting ground and air source heat pumps. It has also recently teamed up with ecological housing development, Hockerton Housing Project, to put together a successful bid through the Technology Strategy Board, for £150,000. The cash will be used to turn two properties, which have a solid concrete wall construction with low SAP ratings, into zero carbon homes.

Once the homes have been completed they will be monitored for two years and D ewberry hopes that the findings will help inform the Government’s future thinking on investing in housing stock.

Newark and S herwood H omes has also been successful in obtaining funding for 52 new properties which will be built to Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

While the ALMO is keen to explore renewable technologies and sees retrofitting properties as the way forward, it is also aware of the financial implications of such schemes.

“Beyond Decent Homes the challenge is going to be maintaining decency,” explains D ewberry. “We are trying to do our bit within available resources and would love to explore all areas of renewable technology, as we see retrofitting as being the next Decent Homes-type challenge.

“The Government has set strict targets to deliver significant carbon reductions in housing by 2020 and the only way we are going to be able to do that is by upgrading the existing housing stock. We are looking at how we can deliver that through our asset management strategy but while we have got a small amount of investment set aside for pilot schemes and to deliver improvements from an energy efficiency perspective, it is down to available resources.

“A lot of the current G overnment grants fund only part of the cost rather than 100 per cent, so the problem is having the available resources to make schemes viable but we are always on the lookout for opportunities for inward investment and we have got a good track record of doing that.”

An external stock condition survey has been recently carried out and a new asset management system put in place, which will help to forecast and plan for the ALMO ’s future investment needs. As Dewberry explains: “We aren’t just thinking ‘that is it we have completed decent homes and putting our feet up’ instead we have done a reality check on where we are now and are actively planning for the future ready to take on the next challenge.”