Press Release

Essex residents get 'up close and personal'

26/7/2005
Ref: pr 0069

Chelmer Housing Partnership will be providing more localised and accessible housing management services for residents of 548 Suffolk Heritage homes.

The agreement between Suffolk Heritage Housing Association, a key member of the Flagship Housing Group, and Chelmer Housing Partnership to pass over management of the Essex-based homes, has a great many benefits for both tenants and the housing associations.

At an event to celebrate the agreement which took place at the home of Sonia Merchant, Essex resident and Chair of a Suffolk Heritage residents' group, she said, "This new working arrangement makes so much sense geographically. I'm looking forward to having more visits and face-to-face contact from Jemma, CHP's dedicated Housing Management Coordinator. It's much better for those of us who prefer to talk to someone in person rather than using the telephone."

"We already enjoy a development partnering arrangement with Flagship. Extending this successful relationship proves the benefits of sharing good practice, experience and local knowledge," said Nigel Perks, Head of Residential Services at CHP. "We will be able to speed up service delivery and offer a greater level of customer care by providing more accessible maintenance services, including inspections and clarification of works. We will also be working alongside residents on antisocial behaviour issues, lettings, community development initiatives, as well as helping to empower residents through their involvement in making decisions about issues that affect them. This arrangement is a very positive step forward and fits in with the Government's drive for efficiency and the need for housing associations to look at the way we provide and procure services."

Stewart Young, Chairman of Suffolk Heritage said, "We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Chelmer beyond development. As an organisation totally committed to delivering outstanding customer service, we recognise that we are unable to offer a parity of customer service to our residents in Essex from our base in Suffolk. The delivery of housing management services has been identified as one of Chelmer's strengths and working alongside them for the benefit of our customers is the right solution."

He added, "Working together has brought out best practice across both organisations. In collaboration with Chelmer, Suffolk Heritage is now operating starter tenancies and has introduced 'street reps'. Flagship's excellent track record in partnering with local authorities, together with our experience in setting up and managing an efficient service centre and the use of electronic document management and ICT workflow, is something that Chelmer is keen to explore."

ENDS

Editor's Notes:

Jemma Farleigh, Housing Management Coordinator, is employed by CHP and will be providing housing management services to all Suffolk Heritage homes in Thurrock, Braintree, and Colchester.
CHP will also be taking ownership and managing any new homes in Thurrock delivered by the Flagship Development Team.
Flagship Housing Group passed management of the homes to CHP on 1st July 2005. An event to commemorate the agreement took place on 25th July. Photo attached to e-mail.
Contact: Victoria Norton: 01245 613111, 07709 334403, victoria.norton@chelmerhp.org.uk Paula Armenis: 01603 255411, 07879 602325, paula.armenis@flagship-housing.co.uk

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