Sheffield Homes celebrates third year in business
Sheffield Homes marks its third birthday this month with another year of landmark achievements.
The Company was set up in April 2004 to run and manage council housing services at arms length from Sheffield City Council.
In its first two years it won the Audit Commission’s top three star rating twice, putting its housing services amongst the best in the country.
There was no Government inspection this year but the last 12 months have been no less successful in achieving targets and goals.
The biggest prize was not only winning Chartermark, the prestigious national quality standard for excellence in customer service, but being singled out as an example of best practice by the Cabinet Office.
Other key successes include:
- Opening a new First Point at Manor Library in partnership with Sheffield Libraries
- Launching a single contact number for customers accessing housing services, one for the north of the city and one for the south
- Winning the ‘Excellence in Delivering Safer Neighbourhoods’ category at the UK Housing Awards for its work to prevent anti-social behaviour
- Hosting one of its most successful consultation events ever - a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Tenants Forum, attended by 80 people
- Reducing current rent arrears by over £500,000 and overall former tenancy arrears by around £200,000
- Bringing the Minister for Housing and Planning, Yvette Cooper MP, to Sheffield to view Decent Homes progress. To date, we have improved over 14,000 properties
- Securing a major contract to deliver estates services, neighbourhood wardens and grounds maintenance to 3,500 housing association tenants in Sheffield
Professor Tony Crook, Chair of the Sheffield Homes’ Board of Directors, said: “We have achieved a huge amount over the last three years but there’s still more we can do to improve our services and expand the business further.
“Our priorities for 2007 include pursuing new powers to build new social housing, making neighbourhoods cleaner, safer and greener, reinvesting efficiency savings in services that customers want, and continuing to tackle and prevent anti-social behaviour.
“We also want to continue providing excellent customer care, value for money services, build stronger relationships with communities and deliver the Decent Homes programme to the highest standards.
“What we have achieved over the last three years is fantastic and a credit to our staff, Board members, partners and customers who have worked so hard to get us to where we are today.”
You can find more information about Sheffield Homes and its services online at: www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk