Take a look inside Annual Review for our customers 2013/14
Welcome
Graeme Stanley, Chair of the Board
Our vision is:
“Transforming lives, homes and communities”
It has been a privilege taking over as Chair of Bracknell Forest Homes from Dermot McRoberts, following the successful delivery of the five year promises to customers and now we have embarked on an ambitious development programme aimed at delivering homes for those in housing need. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Dermot and the Board that worked with him for their hard work and commitment. I have been impressed with all that the association has achieved since transfer. We continue to meet the highest standards in service delivery and the way in which we manage the company’s finances. I would like to commend the association’s staff, who are a talented team with the skills and experience to
enable us to deliver our vision of transforming lives, homes and communities. Likewise, I would like to acknowledge the commitment and passion of the Board who are committed to our success. I am delighted that customer satisfaction levels have improved as we are striving to be a provider of excellent services and quality housing. The achievements we have made in developing our communities has been inspiring, with a return in social value terms of £17 for every £1 we’ve invested in this area. This is explained in more detail later in this report. We have continued our ongoing programme of home improvements, making our homes more attractive, secure and energy efficient.
Our customers have played an important role in our success by helping to shape and improve services and policies. The scrutiny review carried out by our involved customers has provided valuable feedback, which has led to both better services and value for money efficiencies. We are aiming to be recognised as a key developing association, providing new homes for rent, shared ownership and private sale. Our £12 million extra care development, due for completion in the spring of 2015, will be a real landmark – the first of its kind in Bracknell Forest. Moving forward, one of our key challenges will be demonstrating that we are delivering value for money. We recognise we must provide efficient and cost effective
services which meet your needs, whilst at the same time ensuring the organisation maximises its resources for the benefit of the communities in which we work. As we continue to build muchneeded new homes, successful partnership working becomes crucial and I would like to thank our local authority partners for their support. In particular Bracknell Forest Council, whose
support and encouragement we value immensely. We have a new strategic plan in place which will ensure we continue to provide cost effective services, as well as new homes for those in housing need. I’m confident we have an excellent Board and executive team in place which will ensure Bracknell Forest Homes continues to thrive for the benefit of its current and future customers.
Our services We go beyond providing good quality, value for money housing. We put our customers at the heart of everything we do, with a re-modelled Neighbourhood Services team which has worked hard to look after a range of tenancy issues.
than 24 hours after the incident was first reported to us.
One of our roles is responding to reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) and, after listening to customers, our work here has included:
“We have introduced the role of Tenancy Sustainment, with a dedicated officer working to help customers most at risk of losing their tenancies for a variety of reasons, including debt.”
• Introducing a new case management system • Introducing an out of hours reporting service • Speeding up responses to serious ASB. Five injunctions have been obtained in 2013/14, two of which were granted by the court less
Working closely with the Police and the Local Authority, the team has obtained a Closure Order, which stopped the illegal drug activity in our properties.
We are working hard to improve the service we offer to leaseholders, and encourage them to attend the Bracknell Forest Homes Leaseholders’ Association to have their say.
Case study Within a week of taking over management of 348 properties from Guinness Hermitage in September 2013, we received evidence of threatening and abusive behaviour from one resident. We took them to court and obtained an injunction – a court order telling them how they must behave. The perpetrator was forbidden from doing anything that would cause harassment, alarm or distress to their neighbours. This was breached in early October, so we returned to court, where they were issued with a final warning.
When they committed a criminal act towards the end of 2013, they were imprisoned straight away. We prepared a case to take possession of the property and got the tenancy back in early 2014.
Our involved customers have made significant contributions to the policies which shape our services and the way we deliver services. They carry out regular mystery shopping, inspections and satisfaction surveys, to ensure that quality customer service is maintained.
Our Tenants & Leaseholders Panel has also completed comprehensive scrutiny reviews of our responsive repairs and voids and lettings services. This has resulted in 36 recommendations to improve both service and value for money efficiencies.
Our homes area has good cycle routes and parks so is perfect for our family. The move happened really quickly and we feel privileged and happy to be here as the new house ticks all our boxes.”
Providing homes We want to deliver more high quality new homes to meet local housing needs and aim to provide around 150 homes each year for the next five years.
ownership scheme, were sold well ahead of target. The development – a range of two, three and four bedroom homes and a twobed flat - included 35 homes for shared ownership as well as 37 for affordable rent.
We were thrilled that the homes completed at Jennett’s Park in Bracknell in the summer of 2013, as part of our first shared
New residents, the Adams, said: “We’re delighted to have moved to a beautiful new home. It has a lovely finish and is secure, plus the
As part of our growth strategy we took on the ownership and management of 348 homes in four areas of Bracknell Forest from Guinness Hermitage, a division of The Guinness Partnership. Soon after becoming the landlord of the houses and flats in Bracknell’s Boyd Court, Iveagh Court and Hoffman Close and Sandhurst’s Weaver Moss, in September 2013, we completed a wide range of repairs and carried out door-to-door visits to meet our new customers.
We are also widening our area of operation beyond Bracknell Forest and have started building 116 properties in Fleet, Hampshire. Due for completion from autumn 2014 to mid-2017, we are constructing 71 homes for affordable rent and 45 for shared ownership. Our smaller development projects within Bracknell Forest are: • Five houses for affordable rent and four houses for shared ownership in Crowthorne, due for completion by the end of 2014 • Three shared ownership houses in Binfield, built in partnership with Linden Homes • A mix of four one-bedroom and two two-bedroom properties – in Calfridus Way, Bracknell, due to complete in early 2015.
Case study Our £12m flagship development is the Clement House extra care scheme near Garth Hill College in Sandy Lane, due for completion in the spring of 2015. This high quality development of 65 one and two-bedroom apartments for people aged over 55 is the first of its kind in the borough and will be a landmark scheme for retirement living. It will have a restaurant, hairdresser, hobby room, lounges, IT suite, library and landscaped gardens, designed around a modern and light atrium. It’s designed to meet the needs and aspirations of older people and
we will have 51 apartments for rent and 14 for sale. The innovative scheme is being delivered with the help of a number of development partners and has received £4.2 million in funding from Bracknell Forest Council and the Homes and Communities Agency.
Home improvements and saving energy We want to make all our homes as comfortable as possible for you, as well as reducing fuel bills, by improving the energy efficiency of our properties. Since the housing transfer from Bracknell Forest Council in 2008, we have invested £61 million to improve homes, including making them more energy efficient through new boilers, insulation, double glazed windows and draught free doors. We have also assessed the energy efficiency of all our properties
Case study We’re investing £2.5 million to improve the energy efficiency of 260 Wimpey ‘No Fines’ properties in Great Hollands and Wildridings by installing external wall insulation. These properties were built with a style of construction that doesn’t
using a standard rating method called SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure), which judges homes on a scale of one to 100. The average SAP rating for our properties is 71, which is good. But some properties have lower ratings than we would like and from 2014-2018, we will be carrying out works to improve their energy efficiency. We provide information to all our customers on how to reduce your energy use and minimise your bills. This includes information on smart have cavity wall insulation, but our work will make the homes cheaper to heat and improve their appearance. We will receive more than £500,000 in funding from the Government’s Green Deal towards the cost of the work.
meters, switching suppliers and efficient use of appliances.
Investing in your homes Work completed as part of our £8 million property investment budget for 2013/14 included:
We will also spend £8 million on property investment in 2014/15. This includes work on: • Around 500 replacement doors
123
REPLACEMENT DOORS
252
NEW KITCHENS
UPDATING COMMUNAL AREAS & LIGHTING IN SHELTERED SCHEMES
291
NEW BATHROOMS
HOME INSULATION
AN EXTERNAL REDECORATION PROGRAMME
ROOF WORK
• Upgrading the communal areas of two sheltered schemes, with more to be considered. Customers will be notified prior to works.
Our communities • Families and young people • Jobs and skills • Environmental • Social inclusion and older people • Financial inclusion.
We aim to enrich the community by bringing people together to share their skills and help each other. We want to encourage people from different generations and backgrounds to value and understand each other, so we have set up exciting opportunities for people of all ages. Our Community Investment Strategy has been created with customers and partners and we’re giving it £2m in funding over five years. The themes of our strategy for 20132018 are:
We started with a one-year action plan in 2013-2014, with set targets to measure our performance. We’re proud to report that all of these were far exceeded. The targets and results were:
91%
FAMILIES AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO REPORT A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR LIVES FROM OUR PROJECTS.
98%
OLDER PEOPLE WHO REPORT A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR LIVES FROM OUR PROJECTS.
We also use a standard measure (the HACT social value bank and calculator) to demonstrate the return we are getting for our investment in this area. This shows our 2013/14 expenditure of £335,459 generated more than £13 million in terms of economic, health and social value for all the people taking part, as well as the wider community. It’s a return of £40 for each £1 invested. The projects we supported included: • Summer events programmes attended by around 18,000 young people
• Support for domestic abuse victims via the Freedom programme • A weekly drop-in for families at The Alders Children’s Centre • The Wayz Saturday Project for young people • Fusion – a Community Youth Rangers project for 9-13-year-olds • Energise Project – a mentoring project aimed at 14-15-year olds at risk of unemployment • Working With My Initiative programme – aimed at getting people into work • Training grants for customers to enable them to further their careers • Funding a children’s centre apprentice to work in local centres • A Credit Union through United Savings and Loans • An intergenerational ‘Age to Age’ project
• Bracknell in Bloom – 60 residents entered the 2013 gardening competition
Case study
• Jealott’s Hill Community Landshare gardening project.
for older people to find out what would best suit her. She now regularly attends seated Zumba and Intergenerational games. She says going out has made such a difference to her wellbeing – so much so that she is always smiling and looks forward to her weekly outings.
On the first day of our SWOOP (Sharing With Our Older People) initiative, we visited a customer in her 80s with physical disabilities. She lives alone and was quite isolated. She decided to take part in all of our community investment activities
“The best thing about Zumba is the music and the instructor. Zumba has helped me to co-ordinate my body movements.”
Our performance New homes Number of homes completed
0
2012/13
73
2013/14
Time between lettings Average re-let time (days)
17.3 2012/13
20.2 2013/14
Calls % of calls answered in target
87.7
Number of calls received
73,039
% of responsive repairs completed
95.1
73.9 2013/14
2012/13
2012/13
82,109 2013/14
Repairs
2012/13
98.3 2013/14
Jobs Number of customers in work as result of the employment project
N/A
2012/13
24
2013/14
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) % of closed ASB cases successfully resolved
86
2012/13
64.2 2013/14
Arrears Current tenant gross arrears as a % of the annual rent debt
3.18
2012/13
3.15 2013/14
Our performance Where our money comes from
ÂŁ69.96m
How we spend our money 46% Rents and service charges 5% Shared ownership sales 5% Grants 2% Asset sales through Right to Buy 42% Loan finance
ÂŁ73.12m
Note: extra spending relates to acquisition of Guinness Hermitage homes.
10% Housing management 3% Other services 5% Responsive maintenance 1% Planned maintenance 5% Interest paid 65% Development/ purchase of new properties 11% Major works existing properties
Get involved... join our services Ways to have your say • The Tenants and Leaseholders Panel • Become a customer inspector • The Customer Involvement Group • DSO Forum • Bracknell Forest Leaseholders Association
Take part in our activities • Answer surveys • Become a mystery shopper • Join our reading panel • Join our news team If you would like this newsletter in large print, Braille, on audio tape or CD, please contact 0800 692 3000 or visit our website www.bracknellforesthomes.org.uk
Important numbers Please contact Bracknell Forest Homes on freephone 0800 692 3000 or 01344 382800, or email bfh@bracknellforesthomes.org.uk if you have any enquiries about: • Adaptations • Anti-social behaviour • Garage lettings • Housing rent and arrears • Housing repairs or improvements • Landscaping on housing estates • Leaseholders • Leasehold services and service charges • Lettings and empty properties • Neighbourhood Estate Action Team • Repairs and maintenance • Sheltered housing • Tenancy matters • Welfare benefits advice for tenants and leaseholders.
Please feel free to write to us or visit our office at: Berkshire Court, Western Road, Bracknell RG12 1RE. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm. The office is closed on weekends and Bank Holidays. www.bracknellforesthomes.org.uk If you would like this report in large print, Braille, on audio tape or CD, please contact 0800 692 3000.
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For other enquiries, including information about Refuse Collection, Council Tax, Education and Social Services, please contact Bracknell Forest Council on 01344 352000.
0800 692 3000 www.bracknellforesthomes.org.uk Bracknell Forest Homes Berkshire Court Western Road Bracknell Berkshire RG12 1RE Bracknell Forest Homes Limited is a Charitable Community Benefit Society Registered No 30230R