Miles of smiles for Peggy in her newly refurbished Decent Home
Peggy Baker, who has lived at Longley Hall Farm estate for 30 years, is over the moon with the improvements that have been made to her flat as part of the Decent Homes programme. She is one of just over 500 Sheffield Homes customers celebrating the end of a three year makeover on the Longley estate, which has transformed council homes with new windows, kitchens and bathrooms.
Peggy was just one of several customers who wrote to Sheffield Homes and its partner contractor Keepmoat, to say a huge thank you for her home improvements. Peggy, who will celebrate her 80th birthday next year, said she had really appreciated the personal touch and kindness of the Sheffield Homes and Keepmoat staff.
Peggy said: “Everything is absolutely first class and other neighbours agree. I am delighted with everything, especially my new kitchen. The workers were keen to make any changes to help me live in my home more easily. I have a bad leg and they fitted a special cooker for me at a height that was easy for me to use. They even took extra care to carefully refit all the doors that are very special to me as my late husband had made them.”
As the majority of tenants on the estate are elderly, Sheffield Homes and Keepmoat provided two respite properties where tenants could go to relax or do their washing whilst work was being carried out. They met monthly with a tenants’ project group to ensure everybody was happy with how the work was progressing. Bob Swain, from the local Tenants and Residents Association and Area Investment Working Group, said, “As a group we are dedicated to seeing that our tenants receive the very best in workmanship and management, and at the end of the day they all have a home to be proud of, and live in. With this in mind we thank most sincerely all the effort and support that Keepmoat have given over the past 3 years to our estate.”
John O’Neil, Site Manager for Keepmoat, said his team has always gone the extra mile for customers on the estate. He said, “I’ve had trainees carrying shopping up to third floor flats for tenants and my supervisor, Sean, has washed curtains for elderly tenants who don’t have family to help them. I’ve also had joiners carrying out tasks like putting new light bulbs in for tenants who can’t manage it themselves. We’ve even let tenants borrow a fridge and a washing machine out of the respite property when they really needed them – we genuinely care about the wellbeing of the people who live round here.”
Lindsey Hill, Decent Homes Assistant Project Manager for Sheffield Homes, added: “John has a fantastic team around him and has always made it clear that no problem was too small to be dealt with. It was no surprise to me to learn that he had been awarded 3 Gold and 1 bronze Considerate Constructor awards. This just one of many examples where Sheffield Homes staff and our partners have worked very closely with customers to make sure they receive excellent service, where we always try to deliver above and beyond their expectations.”
The Decent Homes programme, which is the largest in the country, is a £669million scheme of improvements to Council homes managed by Sheffield Homes, in partnership with Kier Sheffield LLP, Lovell Partnerships, Keepmoat, Wates Living Space and Henry Boot Construction. Thanks to the programme over two thirds of council homes in Sheffield now meet the Decent Homes standard, with work completed on over 27,000 properties.
For further information about Decent Homes work in your area, contact Sheffield Homes on 0114 293 0000 for the North of the city and 0114 205 3333 for the South, or visit www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk.