CHP

Annual Review 2010/11

About this report

Words or phrases you see in bold green text are included in a glossary at the back of this report.

There are six national standards we must meet. These are set out by our regulator, the Tenant Services Authority (TSA). You’ll find a section for each standard in this report.

The aim is to tell you how we performed in the last financial year against each of the standards. Where information is available, we’ll tell you how we compare with other housing associations (see the ‘rank’ column in the tables).

All information applies to activities carried out between April 2010 and March 2011. Performance ratings are the final figures reported to our Board and TSA as at March 31st 2011.

Many satisfaction figures contained within this report are from the most recent Status survey (December 2010). The one before that was carried out in 2007 – some comparisons between the results of the two surveys are included in this report. Other satisfaction figures have come from regular surveys we carry out.

Each section explains what we do, how we do it, how our residents have made a difference and how we will improve things in the future.

Our residents (tenants and leaseholders) have been heavily involved in the production of a summary annual report; from the layout and design to the words and information. A copy of this is posted to each and every one of our residents. So they’ve decided exactly what’s of most interest to our customers. For a copy, please contact us:

Tel: 0300 555 0500 Email: [email protected] Web: www.chp.org.uk

Contents

2 About this report

3 About us

4 About our residents

4 Chairman’s statement

5 Tenant involvement and empowerment

10 The Home

19 Tenancy

25 Neighbourhood and community

35 Governance and financial viability

39 Value for money

41 Financial highlights

44 Looking ahead to 2017

46 Glossary

Annual Review 2010/11 2

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.chp.org.uk

About us

We are a not-for-profit, affordable housing provider based in Chelmsford. We mainly provide homes for rent - with some shared ownership properties - throughout Essex.

At the end of March 2011, we owned 8,085 homes. Most of these homes are within Chelmsford. The rest are spread across Essex in both rural and town areas (see the map below for more details). We also have 1,379 garages and 77 retail units.

Uttlesford Braintree

Thurrock

Tendring

Colchester

Basildon

Brentwood

Maldon

Castle Point

Southend-on-Sea

Rochford

Epping Forest

Harlow

1-2 63 3-4 38 2 55

1-2 62 3-4 12 5 2 23

1-2 49

3-4 26

5 1 157

1-2 95

3-4 28 126

1-2 2 3-4 2 38

1-2 37 3-4 19 71

37

17

1-2 22

Key to map One or two-bed

house or flat

Three or four-bed house or flat

Five-bed house

Bungalow

Allocated for older people

Sheltered accommodation

Leasehold

New homes expected in the next two years

1-2

3-4

5

688

8

Chelmsford

1-2 2338

3-4 21055 1

160

1236 (387 one or two-bed flats, 849 bungalows)

954 (including 112 bungalows)

1-2 98 3-4 41

3 1

18

Our visionMaking positive contributions to communities.

Our purposeWorking in partnership to deliver a choice of homes and services that are affordable and of improving quality.

Our valuesIndividual contribution Excellent performance Diversity and equality Efficiency

3

About our residents

41.8% of our residents are aged over 60. 60% are female. Only 1% or our residents are aged 20 or under. We know the majority of our residents (88.6%) are white British. 5.1% are black, Asian or from minority ethnic groups (BAME). According to our research, the most widely used languages (other than English) among our residents are Bengali, Cantonese, Polish and Turkish.

Many of the homes we manage have someone with a disability living in them; of these households 53.2% have a physical or mobility impairment, 14.3% have a hearing impairment, 16.5% have a mental health issue, 7.5% have a visual impairment, 5.1% have a learning difficulty and 1.6% have a speech impairment.

1% (75) aged under 20 years;

11.8% (854) aged 21-30 years;

13.6% (982) aged 31-40 years;

16.3% (1,175) aged 41-50 years;

12.5% (903) aged 51-60 years;

13.8% (996) aged 61-70 years;

13.2% (955) aged 71 - 80 years;

11.9% (857) aged 81 - 90 years;

2.9 (209) aged over 91 years.

These figures do not include residents who prefer not to tell us their details or did not respond.

Chairman’s statement

The last year saw us continue to build and learn from our experience. The company continues to be focused on delivering excellent services and we have made some worthy improvements, which you can find out more about in this report.

In addition, we have increased the pace of successful developments and are developing new affordable homes in areas across Essex.

We value the contribution made by residents and there are many ways they can have a real influence over the way the company is run. These occur at all levels. Our resident scrutiny panel has now been established – including receiving training for the job - and the group is looking forward to taking on the inspection role.

During the year April 2010 – March 2011 there were a number of changes to board membership – page 33 explains all the details. I would like to thank all board members for their significant contributions throughout the year.

In acknowledging the progress made by the company I also wish to thank all staff for their commitment. Without their support and dedication the achievements the company made during the year would not have been possible.

We also recognise the contribution made by other organisations including local authorities, funders, the Tenant Services Authority, Homes and Communities Agency, Flagship Housing Group, Savills PLC and a great many others who have helped the company achieve its aims.

Martin H Dean, CHP Chairman

0 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 200 5 10 15 20


How we meet the standardWe want our residents to help shape our services and have a variety of ways they can get involved including 25 formal methods. Regular estate inspections as well as resident Street and Block Voices all help identify local issues. Other groups meet regularly to discuss specific topics or services such as the repairs user group, the editorial panel, the environmental committee and the leaseholders group. Many other opportunities also occur through individual feedback and personal contact. There’s also a number of ways residents can influence our actions at a strategic level – by becoming a member of the company, the scrutiny panel or board director for example.

During the year we worked hard at gathering views on what our promises should be. This included sending a postcard to all residents asking them to pick the five (out of 10) most important issues. The results have guided what staff are now working on – providing a wider range of repair appointment times for example.

Our Have your say leaflet and Resident involvement strategy leaflet explains all of the involvement opportunities. The Governance and financial viability section on page 33 gives more examples of how our residents influenced our strategic actions.

To address the issues we were facing of making sure residents all over Essex have equal opportunity to influence our services, we appointed a full time resident involvement coordinator. The post is joint funded with the Chelmer Residents Forum (CRF) and was set up specifically to make contact with residents outside of Chelmsford. Members of our executive management team have also met with residents in Chelmsford, Colchester and Thaxted at a series of Have your say meetings. The meetings were a useful forum for new residents to gain clarity on a number of issues such as repairs responsibilities.

How we don’t meet the standardWe are disappointed that we haven’t attracted more residents aged under 35 to become involved.

After wide consultation with customers, we know getting a quick response to telephone enquiries is important. We always have personal contact through our customer service centre and have stopped using voicemail in 2011 to maintain this individual contact.

The statistics25 regular types of involvement (service user groups, editorial panel, board and committee meetings for example);12 resident-led groups and forums;10 resident involvement opportunities per month (on average);200 street and block voices;156 groups, forums and meetings throughout the year;2,313 hours devoted by residents (approximately);89 resident company members;5 resident board directors;8 resident scrutiny panel members.71,905 calls received by our customer service centre;69,051 were answered; 19,165 of these calls were to our repairs free phone number;49,886 were other enquiries;7,308 visits to our area office;1,640 transactions made on our website (making a payment for example);

Tenant involvement and empowerment

5

Calls answered by the service centre within 30 seconds.

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

80% 72% 75% Target not met and performance not as good as last year.

Queries answered at first point of contact.

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

92% 95% 87% Target met and better performance than last year.

Voicemails responded to within one working day.

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

89% 94.62% 100% Target not met but better performance than last year.

Complaints, compliments and suggestions

2009/10 2010/11

Complaints 229 143

Compliments 836 740

Suggestions 25 5

Tenant involvement and empowerment continued

128 complaints resolved at stage one;

12 complaints resolved at stage two;

3 complaints resolved at stage three;

95.7% complaints acknowledged within target time (three working days)

98.57% of complaints were responded to within target time (10 working days);

3 of the above complaints were referred to Housing Ombudsman (none of these were upheld);


What our residents say...How many callers were satisfied with the way our customer service centre responded to their enquiry?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

99.49% 100% 98% Target met and better performance than last year.

Source: Our own survey

How many customers were satisfied with the way their complaint was handled?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

92% 70% 90% Target not met and performance not as good as last year.


We not sure if it’s a good or bad sign but our resident involvement and communications teams rarely get any feedback. We take it as a good sign that our resident involvement manager – Ray Canham – was highly commended in the Tenant Participation Advisory Service awards.

How our residents have made a differenceThe CRF agreed to cover 50% of the cost of a new resident involvement coordinator. As well as suggesting this post, residents were also part of the interview process.

The residents conference – run by residents for residents - saw a 33% increase in attendance. The first ever question time with executive management and board directors led to interesting insights with members of the panel following up enquiries personally by visiting residents.

All our resident publications are approved by a resident editorial panel to ensure plain, jargon-free language. A seal of approval (see image) is added to

all documents that have been passed by the panel.

Our new website – launched in January 2011 - involved residents from the outset; helping to select the contractors, influencing the content, design and structure (such as adding a section specifically for those with disabilities) as well as signing-off all stages.

Residents were consulted to find out what services they wanted to access outside of our office hours (between 5pm-8am and at weekends). Since 1st April 2010 we have been able to offer our residents an enhanced out-of-hours service allowing them the option to report antisocial behaviour and ask questions relating to their rent account.

7

Meeting people’s needsOur resident involvement team continues to support a range of local resident groups and have helped create new resident area forums where requested to give people a chance to resolve local issues.

The Have Your Say meetings occurring across the county have proved a successful way of learning about local needs and for residents to get to know one another; helping to build welcoming communities.

With over a third of our households registered as someone having a disability we knew it was important to offer improved facilities on our website for users with additional support needs. Tools include read-aloud software, large text and high contrast options for the visually-impaired plus chapters from our sign-up DVD for those who prefer to view rather than read. Our residents Disability Action Group (DAG) worked with us to develop the site for disabled users. Our non-English speaking residents can also use the website by using the link to the Google-hosted translation service.

Where the money goes£50,000 provided to the CRF (saving £20,000 against the set budget). This was spent on:

Administration £2,360.59

Communication and transport £12,576.14

Public relations £3,824.46

Training £2,008.65

Area groups £2,229.83

Older persons £2,689.05

Younger persons £1,703.39

Disability group £1,914.40

Conferences £2,082.37

Sundries £2,767.66

Neighbourhoods £8,970.00

Resident support post £6,500.00

TOTAL £49,806.54

£8,970 provided to the CRF for grants to local organisations including the Christian Growth Centre, Essex Unite (a project to help older people learn how to use computers), Young Women’s Christian Association, and a BMX bike track for young people.

Tenant involvement and empowerment continued


Equal access for allWe want all of our residents to have equal access to our services regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, religious belief or sexuality. Our equality and diversity champions – consisting of Board Directors, staff and residents – regularly meet to discuss equality issues directly relating to housing. A number of practical improvements that affect people’s lives have been made as a result. For example, we used the information we hold about our residents to find all those aged 90 or over (not already living in one of our sheltered schemes) and visited them to make sure they are getting all the support we can offer.

Other achievements by the group include the creation of a pictorial tenancy agreement and a DVD which is handed out at the tenancy sign-up. Both explain the main points about living in a CHP home. The pictorial tenancy agreement was created with input from people with learning disabilities and is also useful for those with mental health issues as it explains tenancy rules using images instead of words. The DVD – which features our residents throughout – also has sign language and subtitle options which are useful for those with a hearing impairment.

All of our publications include a standard statement offering a range of formats (such as large print) which is translated in to the four most common non-English languages in the county.

By analysing the numbers that call in to our service centre, we know that many of our residents rely on mobile phones instead of landlines. This means it costs them more to ring us on our local rate (0845) or free-phone (0800) number as these are charged at various rates from mobiles. We asked all residents if they’d like a standard rate number so the tariff is the same regardless of what telephone you call from. The overwhelming response was ‘yes’. So, in January 2011, we introduced a 0300 number. Anybody ringing this number is charged a single rate. We are keeping our free-phone number (0800 953 1447) as it’s still free to call from a landline.

Customer careWe are happy to meet residents at a time and place convenient to them.

We produce many different leaflets covering all aspects of our work including customer services, feedback and complaints. All literature is in clear English and all material is available in alternative languages and formats, as well as offering large print and high contrast facilities online. We publish a resident’s magazine - Your Home – three times a year, which includes several sections written by residents.

Our website offers online services making it easier for residents to access their tenancy details at any time of the day or night. Residents who have followed the secure registration process can carry out a variety of tasks such as checking their account balance, reporting or checking the progress of a repair or changing their personal details. Selected staff are also able to access tenancy details on the website via mobile devices whilst on visits allowing them to answer residents queries on the spot.

The future prioritiesReviewing our priorities for resident involvement and how we explain what difference their contribution makes;

Reviewing our resident involvement strategy ■

and making sure younger residents views are included;

Carrying out a ‘value for money’ review of ■

services – the use of taxis for example;

To make sure we regularly let our ■ residents know what influence they’ve had;

Look at how we can contribute towards ■

increasing resident independence and opportunities.

9

How we meet the standardWe carried out 19,451 repairs to homes and communal areas during the last year. We classify work in to responsive and planned repairs depending on their urgency. Work that does not represent a health and safety hazard and will not lead to structural problems are planned and carried out with similar repairs in the same area. Other repairs are dealt with under emergency (24-hour) urgent (5 calendar days) and routine (21 calendar days) categories.

We use both our own in-house trade teams and selected contractors to carry out the work on our behalf.

Information from a stock condition survey is used to plan appropriate repairs and maintenance works and make sure our properties are well maintained and kept to the Decent Homes Standard. All of our new properties are built to Lifetime Home Standards.

Our in-house team are replacing kitchens and bathrooms as part of our Decent Homes Plus promise and are on target to deliver this over the next four years. We are well under way with the Affordable Warmth Strategy and are installing full central heating systems to replace inefficient storage heaters. We have also started to install air source heat pump systems in areas where there is no mains gas. This is a renewable form of heating.

A review of the entire allocations and lettings service saw several improvements to the way we handle repairs to vacant properties. Inspectors have moved away from paper-based systems to record repairs and are using handheld devices to electronically update and manage the work. This has dramatically improved how quickly we can turn vacant properties around ready for re-letting. Not only does this help those on housing waiting lists who can move in quicker but also reduces the amount of rental income we lose.

How we don’t meet the standardThough we assess we are fully compliant with this standard, we recognise that there’s always room for improvement. A review - due to begin in September 2011 and involving residents throughout – will hopefully lead to a more efficient repair and maintenance service and one that residents will be even more happy with.

In terms of meeting the Decent Homes Plus standard, we still have a lot of kitchens and bathrooms to replace as well as a lot of apartments with inefficient storage heaters that require full central heating. We have prioritised the list according to the energy efficiency of the property, so the colder properties will receive new heating systems first. We expect it to take us another four years to meet our Decent Homes Plus standard.

The Home


The statistics

RepairsIn total, we – or contractors working on our behalf carried out 19,451 responsive repairs to resident’s homes emergency, urgent and routine repairs). 2,648 emergency repairs carried out. How many completed within target of 24-hours?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend Rank

99.14% (1,951 out of 1,951 repairs)

99.51% (2,635 out of 2,648 repairs)

98.6% Target met and performance better

than last year.

We were 130 out of 375 organisations.

8,275 urgent repairs carried out. How many completed within target of five calendar days?


98.35% (7,052 out of 7,170 repairs)

99.15% (8,205 out of 8,275 repairs)

98.6% Target met and better performance

than last year.

We were 73 out of 376 organisations.

We took an average of 1.24 days to compete these urgent repairs. 8,528 routine repairs were carried out. How many completed within target of 21 calendar days?


98.15% (7,693 out of 7,838 repairs)

98.46% (8,397 out of 8,528 repairs)

98.6% Target just missed but better performance than

last year.

We were 111 out of 369

organisations.

We took an average of 7.75 days to compete these routine repairs. How many responsive repairs did our in-house teams carry out right first time?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

88.42% (9,987 out of 11,295)

89.73% (10,798 out of 12,034)

87.5% Target met and better performance than last year.

This means we had to return to 1,236 jobs to complete them. This was for a variety of reasons such as the job needed to be inspected first, we didn’t have the right materials with us (many new-build properties have non-standard fittings) or the fault was more serious than originally thought.

Rank: We were 73 out of 376

organisations.

Rank: We were 111 out of 369 organisations.

Rank: We were 130 out of 375 organisations.

11

Repairing vacant propertiesIn total, we carried out an additional 502 major and minor repairs (such as electrical checks, changing toilet seats, central heating, bathrooms and kitchens) to vacant properties after residents had moved out.

How long did it take us on average to complete minor repairs?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure. 8.24 days 10 days Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our figures.

How long did it take us on average to complete major repairs?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 24.41 days 30 days Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our figures.

Gas safetyHow many oil, gas or solid fuel appliances with current safety certificate?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

99.08% 100% 100% Target met.

Modernisations and adaptations

The Home continued

154 new kitchens fitted;

76 new bathrooms fitted;

201 inefficient boilers replaced;

85 inefficient full heating systems replaced;

4 air source heat pump central heating systems installed;

132 gas central heating systems installed to replace inefficient storage heaters.

52 graded floor showers fitted;

574 minor adaptations to properties completed - fitting grab rails, lever taps and key safes for example;

21 major adaptations to properties completed - fitting level access showers, stair lifts and ramped access for example;


How many of our properties meet the Decent Homes Standard?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

99.76% 100% 100% Target met and better performance than last year

What is the average energy efficiency of homes (based on the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating – scale of 1-100 with one being poor energy efficiency)?


75.09 68 68 We were 149th out of 249

organisations.

What our residents say…How many residents were satisfied with their home on moving in?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 95.71% 95% Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our figures.


How many residents are satisfied with the responsive repairs service (emergency, urgent and routine repairs)?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

97.38% 97.28% 95% Target met but performance not quite as good as last year.


How many residents were satisfied with planned repair works?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

95.95% 96.7% 98.3% Target not met but better performance than last year.


Rank: We were 149th out of 249

organisations.

Although this appears to be lower it is because we

moved to the new SAP standard, which is based

on a slightly different scale – 1-100 instead of 1-120. The energy efficiency of our homes is

still improving.

13

How many residents were satisfied with cleanliness of vacant property?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 88.37% 95% Target not met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our figures.


How many residents satisfied with safety checking/servicing of gas, oil and solid fuel appliances?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

94.03% 96.1% 96% Target met and better performance than last year.


How many residents were satisfied with the Decent Homes work(s)?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 100% 95% Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our figures.


How many residents were satisfied with the overall adaptations service?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 97.5% 100% Target not met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our figures


Residents are delighted with their new heating, kitchens and bathrooms. We are currently implementing the Decent Homes Plus (DH+) standard and , because this will take us four years for kitchens and bathrooms and three years for central heating, some residents will have to wait a bit longer than they would like. As soon as all our homes meet DH+, rolling programmes will be put in place to make sure our properties continue to meet the standard.

LeaseholdersHow many home owners were satisfied with the size of their homes?

2007 2010 Trend

New measure 89% We did not ask this question in the 2007 survey so cannot compare our performance.

Source: Status survey

The Home continued


How many home owners were satisfied with the design of their homes?

2007 2010 Trend

New measure 85% We did not ask this question in the 2007 survey so cannot compare our performance.


How many home owners were satisfied with the construction and quality of their homes?

2007 2010 Trend

70% 79% Better performance since the last survey in 2007.

How many home owners were satisfied with the quality of repair works carried out?

2007 2010 Trend

47% 66% Much better performance since the last survey in 2007.


How many home owners were satisfied with speed of completing repair works?

2007 2010 Trend

43% 72% Much better performance since the last survey in 2007.


How many leaseholders were satisfied with major works carried out?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

100% 96.7% 95% Target met but performance not as good as last year.


Satisfaction with repairs compared to other local housing providers?

CHP Colne Housing Estuary Greenfields Swan William Sutton Trust National average

97.1% 79.5% 69.6% 78.6% 65.7% 73.1% 76%

Source: Tenant Services Authority

15

How our residents have made a differenceThe asset management and repairs user group is an open forum which has a membership of 15 residents. They usually meet every two months to discuss their experience and possible improvements. During the year they have helped us on the following projects:

Reviewing the repairs policy and helping to assess the impact on different types of users such as single, working parents. As a result new appointment times are offered;

Reviewing the compensation and recharge policy resulting in an increase to £15 compensation for missed appointments, residents being charged £15 if they miss the appointment, and compensation for loss of earnings;

Visiting vacant properties after works and cleaning were carried out resulting in air fresheners being left in the properties and a better understanding – amongst residents – of the poor condition some homes are left in;

Calling residents after a repair has been carried out to check their satisfaction.

Leaseholders are also involved in the specification of major works and in choosing contractors. For example, leaseholders chose a higher specification of communal door and accessories at one of our blocks.

We ask all residents and leaseholders to complete a questionnaire so that we can monitor our own trades’ performance and that of the contractors we work with. Any low scoring comments or criticism is passed to the appropriate manager and used at regular performance appraisals or raised with contractors at regular meetings.

Meeting people’s needsIn response to some of our resident’s suggestions and concerns we made the following improvements:

Offering an evening appointment for non-emergency repairs

Operating a password system to give those with visual impairments extra peace of mind;

Prioritising homes and bungalows designated for older people for heating upgrades as these are the groups most likely to be in fuel poverty;

Offering a gas safety check and service to leaseholders at competitive rates.

Over 1,000 residents were consulted on what our repairs and maintenance promises should be. The feedback resulted in the following promises:

To increase the range of appointment times for non-emergency repairs to include an ‘early-risers’ (8am-10am) option during week days;

To involve residents in reviewing the quality of homes we re-let.

We’re examining how popular the early-riser (8-10am) appointment slot is and how many times we make it to the appointment on time. After one year of offering this, we will discuss it with the asset management and repairs user group and decide whether to continue. As it’s proving to be popular already, the likelihood is that we’ll continue.

The Home continued


Where the money goes

£7.5 million on modernisations, planned and recurring (cyclical) repairs; £4,600 average cost of a kitchen; £2,900 average cost of a bathroom; £3,750 average cost of replacing a heating system; £66.92 average cost of an urgent repair; £78.42 average cost of an emergency repair; £97.63 average cost of a routine repair; £233 average cost of cleaning an empty property; £124,324 to lease our fleet of vehicles; £25,598 to repair and maintain vehicles; £108,935 spent on fuel for the year;

Adjusting doors is the most common repair and costs £10.32 on average. This year we completed 1,492 of these. A lot of jobs combine more than one repair. The average cost of a repair is £81.95.

We prioritise kitchen and bathroom replacements according to their age and condition. Our in-house team complete the installations, which ensures we obtain the best value for money as we are not making a profit or paying VAT on the labour costs. The heating upgrade contract was formally tendered and we were able to use an additional £1m in 2010-11 to complete the programme ahead of schedule.

Budgets allocated for empty properties are spent on making sure they are safe and clean for the incoming tenant. Some works are carried out after the resident moves in which means they can move into their new home quicker.

Repairs budgets are set by analysing the demand for specific services in the previous year and estimating the coming year’s demand plus inflation and any increase in the cost of materials.

Equal access for allWe have a free-phone (0800) and standard rate number (0300) available 24-hours a day, seven days a week. We hold details of our residents’ individual needs so that our own trades teams and contractors are able to provide an appropriate service – leaving a little extra time for those with mobility issues to answer the door for example.

We employ a dedicated adaptations officer who focusses on our residents’ individual needs. This means we will complete minor adaptations, such as grab rails and shower seats, on demand. For major adaptations - graded floor shows and stair lifts for example - we will either complete them or facilitate them if they have been recommended by an occupational therapist.

An assessment – with residents – of the repairs service found that there were no discriminatory effects on residents.

17

Customer careRepair requests are dealt with by our customer service team - who received an accreditation by the Customer Contact Association following an assessment of the service they provide. The team uses set scripts (diagnostic scripting) to make sure repairs requests are dealt with consistently and that all the necessary information is gathered to deliver the repair. This helps us complete repairs right first time.

Appointments for nearly all repairs are made at first point of contact and are confirmed through a variety of methods including text messaging. Reminders are sent by text where this is agreed with the resident.

Residents are advised well in advance of modernisation works. Where a new kitchen is planned, we will visit with the kitchen designer to ensure, as far as possible, that all the resident’s requirements are met and there is space for any appliances they may have. We offer residents a choice of kitchen colour, doors, worktop, tiling and flooring.

By reviewing the way service charges are calculated, we have significantly reduced the number of disputes from leaseholders about the cost for services provided to the building/estate.

The future prioritiesReviewing our repairs service to make sure it is focused on providing a high-quality service to residents in the simplest way possible (called a LEAN systems thinking review) ;

Appointing a resident as chair of the user group;

Continuing with the Decent Homes Plus modernisation works

The Home continued


How we meet the standardOur housing options team deals with all allocations and lettings of social rented properties. We offer the majority of vacant properties to local authorities that nominate applicants from their housing register. Remaining homes that become available are offered to our existing residents registered on our transfer list and are allocated under the Choice Based Lettings system.

Our housing options team deals with all allocations and lettings of social rented properties. The majority of our properties are advertised via Choice Based Lettings with our local authority partners. We offer most vacant properties to local authorities that nominate applicants from their housing register. Remaining homes that become available are offered to our existing residents registered on our transfer list and are allocated under our own Choice Based Lettings system.

We operate an assisted bidders list for our tenants who want to transfer to another of our homes who are unable to engage in Choice Based Lettings System themselves. The list is for the highest priority applicants only (bands one or two).

We place our transfer applicants in priority order according to their housing need - band one being the most urgent and band five being the least urgent. If tenants are unhappy with the banding they receive they can appeal against this decision to the housing options manager who will reconsider the assessment. Applicants can also appeal if we reject their need for housing.

With a shortage of family properties and a number of our residents living in homes too big for their needs, we have developed an under-occupation scheme - SpaceSaver – to incentivise people to move to smaller homes. The scheme offers financial reward for every bedroom that is given up.

The allocations and lettings policy determines how we meet the needs of prospective tenants. We ensure that - as part of the assessment process - vulnerable persons have support services in place so that they are able to maintain their tenancy.

To help meet housing need we have a development programme delivering affordable homes of a variety of tenures. We encourage home ownership through the Right to Buy, Right to Acquire and shared ownership schemes.

How we don’t meet the standardIn 2010/11 we only achieved 12 moves under the SpaceSaver scheme. Although this isn’t failing any standard, we would like to increase these moves and will be enhancing the scheme by offering £1,500 instead of £1,000 per bedroom given up. We will also pay removal expenses, post redirection, disconnect and reconnect cookers, up to £1,000 towards decorating the new home and provide a dedicated member of staff to support residents through the move.

We promised to carry out a property inspection within seven days of receiving notice from the occupants. The target for this was 85% and we only achieved 76.6%. The reasons for not meeting this target are due to not being able to get access to properties with relatives of tenants who have died.

Tenancy

19

The statistics

LettingsHow many residents living in family properties too large for their needs have we supported and encouraged to move to smaller homes?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

25 12 35 Target not met and performance not as good as last year. We have improved the

incentives to encourage more people to move to more suitable homes for their needs.

We let 653 homes during the year (an average of 12.5 homes every week). How long does it take us to repair and re-let a vacant property (on average)?


24.65 days 21.5 days 23 Target met and better performance than last year.

We were 127th out of 315

How many of our garages are empty?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

26.5% 26.8% 22% Target not met and performance not as good as last year.

How many new homes have we built across Essex?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

216 218 300 Target not met (due to planning delays and construction difficulties due to weather) but more

homes handed over than last year.

550 new homes in development pipeline for 2011/12 and 2012/13; Each new home costs an average of £104,015;

How many people did we help get on the housing ladder with New Build HomeBuy sales?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 28 25 Target met. We did not collect this information last year so cannot compare our performance.

Tenancy continued

Rank: We were

127th out of 315 organisations.


RentsFrom the rent owed to us during the 2010/11 financial year, we collected 99.58p (99.58%) in every £1 owed. How much rent were we unable to collect from tenants (out of the total owed to us and including rent owed from previous years)?


1.6% (£460,000)

1.51% (£456,000)

1.97% Target met and better performance than last year

We were 15th out of 195 organisations.

How many tenants did we evict for rent arrears?


0.4% (18 households)

0.17% (12 households)

None set Fewer tenants were evicted for rent arrears which is

good news for everybody.

We were 49th out of 172 organisations.

How much rent did we lose from vacant properties?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

1.1% (£317,813)

0.83% (£191,672)

6.5% Target met and better performance than last year.

What our residents say…How many residents were satisfied with the quality and condition of their home (existing properties)?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 96% 95% Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our performance.


How many residents were satisfied with their home (new-build properties)?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

100% 100% 98% Target met and maximum performance maintained.


Rank: We were


Rank: We were


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How many new residents were satisfied with allocations service?


97.2% 96% 95% Target met but performance not as good

as last year.



How our residents have made a differenceThe medical assessment process and transfer forms have been changed as a result of a complaint we received. We now make sure we gather information about an applicant’s medical condition as part of the first assessment so they do not have to keep coming back to us with more information.

Meeting people’s needsWe work with local authorities to develop lettings plans for new developments. These aim to create sustainable communities by allocating homes to a mix of households achieving a range of ages, employment and support needs.

We target the use of starter tenancies to residents moving to apartments that have not held a social housing tenancy before, are under 25 or have ongoing support needs. Our experience shows that residents from these groups may be more likely to have difficulties maintaining their tenancy or cause antisocial behaviour.

Our sheltered schemes provide welcoming homes for the over-60’s or over-50’s and receiving disability living allowance and allow residents to maintain their independence, while providing security and peace of mind that help is at hand should they need it. Each scheme benefits from a regular visit from one of our scheme managers. All of the

individual homes within the scheme are fitted with an emergency alarm system, which is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

A number of our bungalows and flats available to the over-50’s (known as ‘elderly designated’) are also fitted with this emergency alarm system. Monthly visits by one of our scheme managers can be made to residents of these properties if required.

Tenancy continued

Rank: We were

27 out of 75 organisations.



£233 average cost of cleaning a vacant property;

£1,401 average cost of getting an empty property ready for re-letting;

Our most expensive property cost £20,000 to repair. This included a new kitchen, bathroom, gas central heating and major plastering works,

The cost of repairing empty properties went down considerably in 2010/11 with a total saving of £177,489.

£53,044 on decorating vouchers during the year;

£28,000 on SpaceSaver payments for 12 households;

£456,000 of income lost through people not paying their rent.

1,314 number of households in arrears;

£347 average rent arrears

£283,865 saved through LEAN review, which will be invested in services;

To help us save money so that we can invest in modernising and building new homes, we encourage applicants to clean the property themselves. We pay £75 in decorating vouchers to residents if they are willing to do this.

Not all residents want to give four weeks’ notice. Since October 2010, we have offered residents an incentive for residents to only pay rent for two weeks of the notice period if they return their keys to us within the first two weeks and leave the property clean and clear. 31 households took us up on this allowing us to make the necessary repairs to the property earlier than we would normally be able to access the property. This has resulted in a reduction in costs on cleaning and clearance of properties.

A thorough review of the allocations and lettings service during the year - using the LEAN procedure which focuses on the customer experience - saved £26,811 in rent loss. This has been achieved by analysing demand and altering the way we deliver the service; enabling us to cut out waste. For example, we make more use of key safes instead of asking the resident to return keys to our offices. Not only is this a more convenient for residents but also cheaper for us.

Equal access for allTo help anyone and everyone access our services regardless of their needs and circumstances, we offer a choice of appointment locations. We can either meet residents at our offices or in their property.

During the year we created an ‘assisted bidders’ list for those who need some help bidding and using the Choice Based Lettings system.

We make sure we identify individual support needs at the time of the first assessment and that we adapt our services according to need. For example, if an applicant has a mental health issue we make sure that appropriate support services are in place to make sure they will be able to maintain their tenancy. We also notify other teams so that we can all provide the required level of support.

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Customer careWe appreciate that the allocation of properties we have available for transfers via the Choice Based Lettings system can get quite complicated. When someone registers for a transfer to another of our homes we will explain how the system works and offer on-going assistance to those that that need it.

The LEAN review of the allocations and lettings process saw several improvements to customer care through its focus on the customer’s experience. This includes a reduction in the number of times applicants are asked to attend appointments to supply and verify various documents. By working with our main local authority partner, we now tackle a number of requirements in the same appointment, which reduces the inconvenience for the customer.

The LEAN review has also allowed us to reduce the number of steps involved in the allocations and lettings process from 271 to 32. This is an equivalent of an 88.2% reduction – a massive improvement for the customer.

We hold weekly advice surgeries for any resident who would like to know what their housing options are. These are held at our office in Chelmsford town centre on Wednesdays or we can visit residents in their homes. We also participate in HomeSwapper and HouseExchange schemes which help residents find willing households to swap homes with. Last year we saw mutual exchanges increase to 120 (from 84 in 2009/10).

The future prioritiesReview other services, such as mutual exchanges, using the LEAN process ;

Achieve more SpaceSaver moves;

Consider disposing of properties that are too expensive to repair and modernise;

Review the services we provide to residents at our Chelmsford town centre office.

Tenancy continued


How we meet the standardOur Quality of Life team deals with issues raised by residents with the aim of improving areas and building strong, friendly communities. The team is split in to two specialist areas:

The tenancy services team who deal with antisocial behaviour (ASB) and tenancy issues;

The estate services team consisting of estate rangers and grounds maintenance staff.

Working in partnership to improve communities is essential; our most important partner is our residents. Their co-operation allows us to achieve so much more than working in isolation. Residents can have a positive impact on the local community and we have seen this work at community meetings to resolve issues such as parking, noise, and waste disposal.

The Quality of Life team has built up excellent relationships with a large network of residents from across the county who act as our eyes and ears in the community – known as Street and Block Voices. By letting us know about concerns in their neighbourhood this is a good example of the ‘Big Society’ at work - local people taking an interest in their environment and improving it.

Staff members contact any resident we have not heard from for six months. This has proved to be a useful way of highlighting tenancy issues quickly. For example, we have raised several repairs to ensure homes are kept in good order, identified serious mental health issues and arranged appropriate support, and helped residents move to smaller homes that they are able to manage.

Our starter tenancy policy - reviewed with residents – was improved in the year.

Using three years’ worth of data we established that not every new tenant needed a starter tenancy. However, we could see trends in tenancy breaches amongst the first year according to property type, resident’s age, and personal history. This helps us make better use of Neighbourhood Co-ordinators time – they can welcome new tenants and help prevent breaches of tenancy by explaining rights and responsibilities whilst providing a greater level of support for more vulnerable residents.

Those who do not look after their homes - or their neighbours right to quiet enjoyment of their homes – are dealt with swiftly by the Quality of Life team and – if necessary - the courts.

Improving standards and response times to communal area repairs has been achieved by developing the way the team works with our repairs teams. Upgraded handheld devices record issues whilst out and about. All defects are sent back quickly and easily to the right person. Regular ‘Walkabouts’, resident Street and Block Voices, the team of estate rangers and other quality of life staff, ensure estate issues are picked up quickly.

External partnerships are also essential to maintaining harmonious neighbourhoods; the quality of life team works with other voluntary and statutory organisations such as the police, health and social care, DVLA as well as the local authority. We were particularly proud when our commitment to communities and residents was recognised by Essex Police who asked our quality of life manager – Terri Cochrane - to chair a meeting at which Theresa May, the Home Secretary, was the guest of honour. Our residents discussed their concerns with the Home Secretary in relation to policing cuts and tackling antisocial behaviour imaginatively and successfully.

Neighbourhood and community

25

The team was the first in Essex to achieve the Police Community Safety Accreditation, which means the team provides a professional extension to the police family. We continued to invest in the training and accreditation of new staff during the year, ensuring strict protocols of information sharing and high visibility patrols are maintained. Our continued funding of Police Community Support Officers posts - who always attend local meetings with residents and work with the team on a day-to-day basis - reinforces our commitment to communities, homes and people.

With many new homes across Essex, we extended our work and met with new community safety partners in the county. For example, we are part of the crime and disorder partnerships at Colchester, Tendring and Thurrock. We also started to meet ASB staff from all local authorities throughout Essex to share information and reduce repeat crimes.

During the year we appointed a dedicated member of staff to make contact with all residents on our new developments outside of Chelmsford and manage any issues they have. This has included arranging cleaning and grounds maintenance and working with local authorities to organise refuse collections.

The Parkside regeneration project, which included refurbishment of a tower block, new homes built on a run-down garage block as well as the provision of a well-being centre and community hub, has provided over £10m investment for North West Chelmsford. The Hub – set to be officially opened in 2012 - will provide local residents with access to advice, guidance and training. Literacy and numeracy classes - supported by a crèche – as well as cookery courses, IT lessons and Information, Advice and Guidance sessions started in 2009 and have continued to run throughout 2010/11. A pilot work placement scheme at our offices has

seen volunteers gain experience and improve employment skills. Activities for young people during school holidays have also provided volunteering opportunities for local people with several young people regularly taking part.

How we don’t meet the standardAlthough we met our estate management service standards we have deferred developing a policy on how we deal with communal areas until 2011/12. However, we provide leaflets on Tackling antisocial behaviour, Estate rangers and Improving neighbourhoods so residents know what to expect from us.

We have made good contacts with a range of other organisations in Essex to provide a range of services for communities in areas where we have new housing. Having a small number of homes in a wide range of areas can pose some challenges for our Chelmsford-based staff and we still have to work on how we provide an equal level of service in all areas where we have homes.

Until we take handover of larger numbers of properties across Essex, having a small number of properties in a wide range of areas can pose some operational challenges for our Chelmsford-based staff. We have focused on making sure all residents receive the same level of service. On some occasions – when it would not be good value for money for our own staff to attend - this means using a management company to carry out work on our behalf.

Neighbourhood and community continued


The statistics

Tenancy managementHome visits to residents made within six weeks of the tenancy starting.

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 92.7% 100% Target missed. This represents just one visit falling outside of the six week period. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our

performance.

Abandoned properties investigated within one working day.

2009/10 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 91.3% 100% Target missed. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our performance.

Antisocial behaviourHow many serious ASB cases did we start an investigation, agree an initial plan of action with the victim and arrange support needs within one working day?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 100% 98% Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our performance.

How many youth nuisance cases did we start an investigation, agree an initial plan of action with the victim and arrange support needs within three working days?

2009/10 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 96.7% 90% Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our performance.

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How many less serious ASB cases did we start an investigation, agree an initial plan of action with the victim and arrange support needs within five working days?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

New measure 96.4% 95% Target met. We did not collect this data last year so cannot compare our performance.

How many ASB cases did we resolve at first stage?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

94.73% 89.5% 85% Target met but performance not as good as last year.

The team dealt with the following ASB issues:

Type 2009/10 2010/11

Noise 253 205

Household pets 61 85

Harassment and verbal abuse

96 84

Domestic abuse 35 41

Youth nuisance 27 28

Other 38 26

Drugs 32 23

Alcohol 7 9

Vandalism 14 8

Racial/hate crimes 10 8

Physical violence 1 4

Total 574 521


The team used the following tools to deal with ASB:

Type 2009/10 2010/11

Referrals to mediation 17 88

Cautions 48 69

Notice of Seeking Possession served by us

59 61

Referrals to care and support agency

28 14

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts/Agreements

8 12

Tenancy demotions 6 12

Notice of Seeking Possession granted by the court

9 10

Evictions 5 9

Injunctions 9 8

Starter tenancies extended 2 4

Management moves agreed 6 1


Estate managementHow much was the weekly service charge for cleaning and caretaking service?

2009/10 2010/11 Trend Rank

£1.47 £2.30 Costs have increased from last year as we have changed our contract to a higher specification. Resident satisfaction has increased as a result.

We were 6th out of 28

The team dealt with the following estate management issues:

Type 2009/10 2010/11

Untidy gardens 44 49

Vehicle nuisance 46 46

Rubbish/fly-tipping 105 42

Communal area misuse 64 35

Communal area cleaning 39 28

Dumped/untaxed cars 21 20

Abandoned property 38 19

Untidy property 27 12

Sub-letting 13 12

Overgrown trees 9 10

Communal area gardening 6 7

Overgrown hedges/bushes 9 6

Graffiti 2 2

Garage miss-use 0 2

Total 423 375

ParksideOur Parkside Community Hub has led to:

47 people gaining recognised qualifications;

4 people in full-time employment;

62 people benefiting from additional skills such as cooking or IT;

16 child-care places provided;

57 people participating in community activities;

Over the year, we’ve made contact with an additional 453 people.

Rank: We were


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What our residents sayHow many residents were very or fairly satisfied with the way their antisocial behaviour complaint was dealt with?


89.89% 93.3% 89% Target met and better performance than last year



How many residents we satisfied with gardening service?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend



How many residents were satisfied with estate cleaning service?

2009/10 2010 2010/11 Target Trend



Tenant’s satisfaction with neighbourhood as a place to live

2007 2010 Trend

83% 86% Performance better than shown in the last survey.


Leaseholders were satisfied their neighbourhood as a place to live.

2007 2010 Trend

72% 71% Performance in balance with results of last survey.



Rank: We were

9 out of 125.


Satisfaction with our Quality of Life team is high and our dedicated staff receives a good deal of praise for their compassion and commitment. However, dealing with emotional and sensitive issues will always lead to some difficulties and we try to learn from our residents’ experience and feedback.

Many people who have taken part in training or attending events as part of the Parkside Community Hub project have taken the time to thank us for providing the new facility. Comments from our older residents have been used to make modifications such as making the events shorter and arranging different types of entertainment. This has helped increase the numbers who attend.

How our residents have made a differenceIn response to feedback from our residents following ASB complaints, we re-structured our team. Although happy with the handling of the issues, residents often commented that they would have liked to be contacted more often with progress updates whilst the complaint was on-going. Our ASB team now uses a ‘buddy’ system to manage open cases. One person provides support to the complainant whilst another member of staff supports and enforces the tenancy conditions with the person causing the alleged nuisance.

We’ve changed the way we manage ASB cases to make sure we report back to complainants and victims at regular intervals – even if there has been a delay in progress due to a lack of response from the person causing alleged nuisance.

Our environmental improvement committee has made decisions relating to local improvements

suggested by residents and staff together. These include new fencing and concrete bollards to stop vehicles driving over grass, providing disabled parking bays, creating a community allotment with a children’s play area, removing or trimming trees that were blocking light, and installing security fencing.

Our ASB and anti-harassment policy was reviewed with residents from the tenancy and estate management user group and area forums. We wanted to confirm that the policies were relevant to our residents - we’re pleased to say that only minor changes were requested.

Training courses available through the Parkside Community Hub have been set up to accommodate learners at times that suit them. Consultation with residents has guided course subjects. We also operate a text messaging service to remind learners of course dates and times after they told us this is how they’d prefer we communicate with them. Feedback from the work placement volunteers has helped develop a further programme and increase the number of placements we are able to offer.

Meeting people’s needsUntil we take handover of larger numbers of properties across Essex, having a small number of properties in a wide range of areas can pose some operational challenges for our Chelmsford-based staff. We have focused on making sure all residents receive the same level of service. On some occasions – when it would not be good value for money for our own staff to attend - this means using a management company to carry out work on our behalf.

31


We also modify services for residents with individual support needs; visiting them regularly and working closely with support workers. For example, we worked with residents in a block of flats designated for older people to provide raised flower beds so they could manage and enjoy maintaining the planting. Our grounds maintenance team has attended coffee mornings at our sheltered schemes during the year to talk about how we can work together on communal gardening projects.

Our residents aged over 55 and living alone were invited to attend local events throughout the year. Young volunteers cooked lunches and afternoon teas and helped break down intergenerational barriers.

We are committed to acting as a third party agency for anyone wanting to report hate crime; listening to complaints from community members and passing details on to relevant agencies (anonymously if required). This is similar to Crime Stoppers in principle.

How we provide services on a local level – and our performance - are the topic of regular conversation with our tenancy and estate management resident user group, our leaseholders group, area forums and the CRF. By setting our targets and standards and agreeing what services are most important, these groups truly decide how our services should be delivered.


£361,000 on maintaining communal grounds such as cutting grass and hedges;

£29,000 on rubbish removal;

£34,000 spent on court costs to defend tenancy breaches;

£30,000 on funding for PCSOs;

£185,000 on cleaning communal areas;

£600 per year on average to clean communal areas in blocks of flats;

£42,000 on vehicle hire/leasing for estate rangers and grounds maintenance;

£1,530 is the average cost of a literacy and numeracy course at Parkside Community Hub (two hours per week for 12 weeks);

£100,000 provided to the environmental committee for improvements such as new fencing, disabled parking bays, and a community allotment with a children’s play area;

£1,221 on average for an environmental improvement;


A more modern handheld system for logging and reporting jobs was a relatively large investment but they allow us to provide better service to residents overall. Our estate rangers are able to log communal repairs and check their progress on the spot. It also helps us manage insurance claims and monitor electricity supplies to ensure we accurately charge leaseholders.

Our grounds maintenance equipment has been upgraded after feedback from residents regarding the amount of grass cuttings left behind.

Residents were fully involved in re-tendering our cleaning contract during the year. They helped agree our specification as well as shortlisting and selecting the company. The successful contractor has saved us £88,439.

Our resident-led environmental improvement committee decides which improvements will be done. Over 1,000 residents (nearly 13%) benefited from the improvements they agreed.

To reduce costs whilst waiting for the Hub to open, we have used our sheltered scheme lounges as training venues.

Equal access for allAccess to our services is paramount and we use all the normal forms of communication such as telephone and letter. Our residents are using electronic communication methods more and more and are able to report ASB via our website, text and our out-of-hours service.

Our visit within six weeks of a tenancy starting proves to be a good way of assessing whether new residents are coping with their responsibilities. We’ve discovered several issues at these visits and are able to deal with them quickly – putting in place appropriate support and make necessary

adaptations to help the resident maintain their tenancy.

Working with residents we have assessed whether our new supporting vulnerable persons policy allows everybody from all walks of life to access our services in the same way. The impact of starter tenancies on different groups of people – such as age ranges, ethnicity, gender and disability – was also assessed with residents. Whether our changes have made a difference to the number of actions against residents will be closely monitored over the next year.

Customer careAll quality of life staff have been trained in customer care. The team has a number of service standards that apply to their work which helps residents understand the team’s capabilities. This is especially important when tackling ASB. For example, whilst we take nuisance behaviour very seriously and will take action on breaches of tenancy, tenants are responsible for their own behaviour. In all cases, we take a collaborative approach first and work with residents to change their behaviour. This includes referrals to mediation and other support agencies.

Courses offered at the Parkside Community Hub – such as improving numeracy and literacy skills - are provided in a welcoming environment. Attendees are often lacking in confidence and our staff make sure they personally greet each person on their first day to make them feel more at ease. Building trust with attendees is vital to their success and helps them progress to other projects and develop further interests.

33


The future prioritiesDelivering services that have a positive impact on our resident’s quality of life will remain the team’s priority. Tackling ASB and reducing the number of cases reported in the year by providing practical support to residents early in their tenancy will be our focus. This will involve looking at how the team is structured and making necessary changes to make sure support can be provided to people who experience or witness ASB and crime.

In tough economic times we need to evaluate whether we can continue offering certain services for those unable to carry out the work – such as gardening - on a discretionary basis.

Fewer residents have been involved in our estate inspections – called Walkabouts - over the last year so will be considering other ways of identifying and managing issues on estates. We will enlist the support of the tenancy and estate management user group and our environmental committee in planning the future methods to maintain areas to a high standard.

Training courses and services at the Parkside Community Hub will also be extended and available to a wider catchment area.


How we meet the standardFrom the company’s beginning, we set out to include residents in our governance arrangements. We are governed by a board consisting of twelve directors. Five members are residents elected via a ballot of all tenants and appointed at an Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The remaining Board Directors comprise five Independents – recruited through open advertisement and selection based on their experience and expertise - and two Councillors nominated by Chelmsford Borough Council.

We have 89 residents signed up as members of the company. We also have 13 independent members. Members of the company are able to put forward motions and questions at each AGM. They are also able to request Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM) to deal with specific or urgent matters.

We have adopted a new governance policy - published in full on our website – which enables us to be fully compliant with the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) Code of Excellence in Governance and sets out the roles and responsibilities of board directors (including the chairman and chairs of committees) and the chief executive.

The code – developed especially for housing providers by the NHF - was deemed by the Board to be the most appropriate code relating to our business.

Governance arrangements are regularly reviewed by internal auditors and annual self-assessments. The self-assessment and performance of the board were independently reviewed in 2010/11.

Every registered provider owning or managing properties has its performance assessed by regulators to ensure they are financially viable. We were awarded the highest possible classification from the TSA’s review in October 2010. This maintains our achievement from the previous year.

The long-term financial viability of the company is a key priority for the board and executive management team. A long-term financial plan is produced every year and reviewed every three months to ensure that we are able to continue to achieve the high standards in a fast changing economic and political environment.

We have a robust procedure for monitoring and identifying risks. This is drawn up with participation from staff at all levels in the organisation, residents and the board. All papers to board committees and the executive team have to identify the risks involved in any activity and the steps taken to mitigate them.

How we don’t meet the standardThe composition of our board does not reflect the gender profile of our residents. Sixty per cent of our households have a female lead tenant but there are currently only two women (16.6%) on the board. We have an action plan in place to deal with this issue and hope that we are successful in recruiting more women to the board in 2011/12 and beyond.

We are also keen to broaden the age range of the board directors to include younger people and hope to encourage residents from outside of Chelmsford to join.

Ensuring that the board membership reflects our tenant base will be one of our priorities for 2011/12.

Governance and financial viability

35

The statistics24 committee meetings 84.3% attendance at meetings 312 papers considered (for decision, monitoring or information)

Our proposed promises last year were:

To maintain five residents (out of twelve members) on the Board of Management; To introduce a Resident’s Scrutiny Panel by April 2011. We successfully achieved these and our board will be reviewing the promises for 2011/12.

What our residents say…How many residents were satisfied that their views are taken in to account compared to other local housing providers?

CHP Colne Housing Estuary Greenfields Swan William Sutton Trust

National average

62% 74.3% 52.8% 55.1% 54.8% 57.9% 62.8%Source: Tenant Services Authority

Governance and financial viability continued


How our residents have made a differenceWith five residents on the board of 12, residents are fully involved in all strategic decisions. The 89 tenant members of the company are also able to influence board decisions.

In 2010/11 our resident scrutiny panel – made up of seven residents - were recruited. The 2011/12 financial year will see them complete a full training programme and their first reviews.

Our new standards and promises were launched in the year and lots of work was put in to engaging with residents on what services they want us to deliver. Starting with a seminar for members of the company (held in October 2010), approximately 100 residents prioritised the characteristics of an excellent service. This feedback was used to form our promises, which were published in April 2011.

Meeting people’s needsWe are a locally based organisation, dedicated to operating only in Essex. All of our tenants and leaseholders are encouraged to become members of the company so they can influence our services.


Payment of board directors:

Chairman £10,000 per year Committee chairs £6,000 per year Board members £4,000 per year £7,318 on seminars and conferences £2,198 on refreshments for board and committee meetings

Payment is not made to council nominated board directors.

Equal access for allAll tenants and leaseholders are invited to vote, to become a member of the company, or to apply to become a board director via an advert in our free magazine - ‘Your Home’ - which is sent to all our homes.

We also advertise these opportunities on our website, posters around communal areas and in our Chelmsford town centre office. Our staff regularly discuss the opportunities with residents and suggests ways they may like to participate.

Board meetings are held in the evening to accommodate those who work.

Customer careWe have a range of leaflets available explaining resident involvement opportunities – including becoming a member of the company. Leaflets are widely available at our town centre office, online, at each of our sheltered schemes, or by telephoning to request a copy.

The future prioritiesThe board will continue to plan for the long term financial viability of the company as an independent organisation.

We will be focusing on recruiting more women on to the board.

The Director of Resources is responsible for the financial plan, which informs decisions on our future initiatives and easing the effects of adverse economic conditions.

37

Our Board of Management:1. Martin H Dean, Chairman 2. Brian Shedley, Vice Chairman 3. Keith Andrew (appointed 6 October 2010) 4. Helen Gregory 5. Ursula Heelis 6. Andrew Heywood 7. Mark Imray 8. Andrew Ives (appointed 6 October 2010) 9. Robin Jellicoe 10. Trevor Miller* 11. Tony Sach (appointed 12/05/10)* 12. David Wisbey

* Payment is not made to council nominated board directors.

Other directors who served during the year:13. Colleen Green (retired 31 May 2010) 14. Eva Oakes (retired 6 October 2010) 15. Richard Poulter (retired 12 May 2010)

Executive ManagementDuring 2010/11 our Executive Management Team consisted of six members who are responsible for the delivery of our business plan and are accountable to our board of directors.

16. Stuart Stackhouse, Chief Executive and Secretary 17. Kay Caldwell, Director of Housing 18. David Cotterill, Director of Development 19. Lynne Foster, Director of Support and Transformation 20. Carl Gosbee, Director of Resources 21. Denise Kent, Director of Commercial Services


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How we meet the standardWe aim to provide excellent value for money and strive to deliver the best services we can from the funds available to us. The ‘value for money’ ethos is well established throughout the company, ensuring that good value for residents is achieved at reasonable costs to the organisation.

All contracts due for renewal are subject to the rules set out in our procurement policy, which requires comparison of multiple quotations or full EU compliant tendering processes for larger contracts. Value for money is a key consideration when scoring alternative providers of the goods and services that we procure on behalf of residents.

The statisticsContractors that carry our work on our behalf are subject to a strict selection process that includes meeting our customer service standards, equality and diversity commitments, financial viability and liability insurance cover.

How much money did we save by retendering contracts, shopping around or changing our approach?

2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 Target Trend

£617,145 £564,222 £500k Target met. Of the total, £437,630 were ‘cashable’ savings that we can divert to

other initiatives.

Value for money

How our residents have made a differenceResidents have been involved in many of the tendering exercises carried out during the year. Some of these are explained in further detail in this report – the cleaning contract under the Neighbourhood and community section on page 24 for example.

The examples below show some of the savings achieved:

Water testing – savings of £26,050

Gas auditing - savings of £6,949 | (based on 300 properties) over two years;

Using sheltered scheme cleaners to light clean vacant properties;

Skip supplier changed - average weekly saving of £292 x 50 weeks = £14,600;

TV aerial upgrades – savings of £3,885;

Fire risk assessments – saving of £13,056;

Graded floor showers – saving of £2,000;

Energy supplier – saving of £85,680 for first year.

39


Where the money goesOverall budgets for each department are prepared every year by the executive management team. These are then approved by our board before final allocation to teams.

Spend is monitored closely against the agreed budget and reported to the board regularly. Each section in this report gives you information about where our income is spent.

The future prioritiesRefreshing our approach to value for money to ensure it remains well-established across the whole organisation;

Working with operational managers and teams to further improve their understanding and how to achieve value for money;


For the year ended 31 March 2011

Cash received % of total income £’000

Rent from residents 40.2% 29,821

Service charges from residents 2.8% 2,083

Income from property sales 3.0% 2,244

Shops, market rent and other income 1.6% 1,185

Grant for new build properties 14.4% 10,713

Loans 37.7% 28,000

Increase in cash and other assets 0.3% 192

Total 74,238

Financial highlights

Rent from residents 40%

Service charges from residents 2.8%

Income from property sales 3.0%

Shops, market rent and other income 1.6%

Grant for new build properties 14.4%

Loans 37.7%

Increase in cash and other assets 0.3%

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For the year ended 31 March 2011

Cash paid % of total expenditure £’000

Interest on loans 9.0% 6,715

Housing management costs 10.9% 8,074

Service costs 2.6% 1,962

Responsive maintenance 5.4% 4,011

Improvement work(s) to homes 9.0% 6,696

New build properties 62.5% 46,428

Purchase of other assets 0.5% 352

Total 74,238

Financial highlights continued

Interest on loans 9.0%

Housing management costs 10.9%

Service costs 2.6%

Responsive maintenance 5.4%

Improvement work(s) to homes 9.0%

New build properties 62.5%

Purchase of other assets 0.5%


Income and Expenditure account (£’000)

2011 2010 2009 (Restated)*

Total turnover 34,418 32,978 29,798

Income from lettings 31,538 30,108 27,288

Operating Surplus 10,264 9,313 5,680

Surplus/(deficit) for the year transferred to reserves 3,285 1,265 (1,162)

Balance sheet (£’000)

Tangible fixed assets 345,173 248,011 194,998

Net current (liabilities)/assets (2,918) (367) 2,336

Loans (due over one year) 213,513 185,513 168,013

Pensions liability 6,758 8,276 5,200

Reserves 121,925 53,837 24,279

Accommodation figures

2011 2010 2009 (Restated)*

Total housing stock owned at year end (number of dwellings) 7,345 7,159 6,947

Loan covenants Targets

Interest cover >0.90 2.25 1.50 1.37

Debt per unit<£35,000 (indexed) 28,767 25,913 19,785

Asset cover >1.1 1.27 1.32 1.35

Statistics

Rent losses 0.7 1.0 1.1

(voids and bad debts as a % of rent and service charges receivable)

Rent arrears (gross arrears as % of rent and service charges receivable) 1.5 1.6 1.7

Total reserves per home owned (£) 16,600 7,520 3,495

*Having adopted a new accounting standard in 2010, we were required (by accounting regulations) to reproduce the figures for the year ending March 2009 to allow a like-for-like comparison.

43

It is now nine years since the company was created. Together, the board, residents and staff have achieved:

Improvements in the condition of our existing ■

homes;

High quality services for ■ residents;

More affordable homes built to meet housing ■

needs across Essex.

We have been through a variety of changes over the years and - with residents help - we are planning for the next five.

We can be sure that the world will be different in 2017 and we want to build on our achievements. We know residents will continue to want their neighbourhoods to be clean, green and safe.

The main priorities over the next five years will include:

Continuing to be a good landlord.We believe providing high quality housing and housing services are the best way for us to contribute to the well-being of our residents and the neighbourhoods they live in. Good housing is really important to educational achievement, physical and mental health, and work opportunities. At the present time we do not expect to provide other services that may detract from our main purpose.

Improving how we involve residents.Whilst we have more than 20 ways for residents to be involved in the governance and management of the company we would like to increase the number of residents we have regular engagement with by improving the way they can become involved. We also recognise that many residents expect us to get on with the job so they can live their own lives without any need for them to be directly involved with how the company is run.

Having a Board that reflect the communities we serve.Our board needs to reflect the composition of our residents. At least half the board should be women and we will encourage more involvement from younger residents.

Using new technology to help us to work smarter and improve communications with residents.Although we use telephones and computers as much as possible we need to better understand how to use on-line services to the benefit of residents. How we can improve our use of new technology to communicate with residents is a key question on which we would like to hear from residents.

How to improve access to new build homes for existing tenants.For many years the system of funding for new homes has given local authorities 100% nomination rights to new homes. Re-lets of these properties were then 75% for local authority nominations and 25% for our own transfer applications. We want to see whether we can give our existing tenants a chance to move in to new homes we build.

Looking ahead to 2017


Whether we should be involved in helping residents get back into work. If yes, how best can we do this?In comparison to privately renting tenants and home owners a higher percentage of tenants living in affordable housing (of working age) are unemployed (according to national figures). We want to know if all residents support the idea of us helping tenants of working age to gain employment and would welcome suggestions on the best methods of doing this.

Giving more choice of housing and tenancy types.We will be selling our existing high cost or unpopular homes. We will use the proceeds from sales to invest in better quality affordable housing and offer these on different tenancy types (shared ownership for example). We will concentrate on obtaining houses rather than apartments and we really want to increase the number of bungalows.

Rents for most new properties we build will be let at less than those charged in the private sector. We would like to give people the opportunity to buy a home on a shared ownership basis or even to purchase the property outright.

For further information on any of the topics covered in this report, or a copy of the summary report, please contact us.

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Absentee landlord

When the leaseholder of a property rents room(s) and does not live there.

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts/Agreements

Acceptable Behaviour Contract or Agreement (ABC/A) is a tool to help deal with individuals engaging in antisocial behaviour. The contract, drawn up and agreed upon by the agencies concerned in consultation with the individual, contains both negative and positive conditions, detailing what behaviour the individual will stop to and what activities the individual will pursue to change their behaviour.

Affordable housing provider

An organisation that provides homes for rent at affordable rates that are cheaper than open market rates. The type of tenancies offered will vary between organisations. Many affordable homes – often known as social housing – are owned by councils or not-for-profit organisations. Affordable (or social) housing is intended to help those on lower incomes.

Affordable Warmth

Ensuring our residents can afford to heat their homes in the face of ever increasing energy costs. The involves insulating homes - making sure minimal heat is lost through windows, roofs and doors – and using energy efficient heating systems.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

A meeting of official bodies, shareholders, board directors and executive or senior management. AGM’s are not required by law but we continue to hold them to maintain accountability and every year to elect board directors and inform members and shareholders of the previous year’s activity including the company’s financial accounts.

Antisocial behaviour (ASB)

A wide range if unacceptable behaviour such as domestic violence, noise nuisance from dogs, music or shouting, overgrown garden and graffiti.

Area forums

A group of residents who deal with issues relating to a particular neighbourhood or area.

Assisted bidders

People who need additional help in using the Choice Based Lettings system to bid – or express an interest – for properties we have available. This is available to those in bands one and two only.

Bands

A system of prioritising housing need. People are categorised according to their circumstances such as whether they have any dependants. Residents in band one will have the highest housing need, those in band five the lowest.

Big society

The ‘big society’ was the flagship policy idea of the 2010 UK Conservative Party general election manifesto. It now forms part of the legislative programme of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement. The aim is “to create a climate that empowers local people and communities, building a big society that will ‘take power away from politicians and give it to people’.

Cashable savings

Cashable savings are those that can be converted into ready money or the equivalent.

Glossary


Chelmer Residents Forum (CRF)

A group of residents elected from area forums and other groups who work with us on specific projects. They also review our performance and grant funds to local groups and charities.

Choice Based Lettings

A system of bidding for properties which we have available that are advertised online and in a magazine.

Code of Excellence in Governance

Sets out standards of good practice in relation to board leadership and effectiveness.

Customer Contact Association (CCA)

The CCA are an independent authority on customer contact strategies and operations.

Decent Homes Plus

Aims to ensure our homes are maintained and improved to our own enhanced standard, higher than that set out by the government. This includes replacing inefficient heating with energy efficient systems.

Decent Homes Standard

Aims to provide a minimum standard of housing conditions for all of social housing residents. The standard was set by the government.

Diagnostic scripting

Step-by-step directions for gathering classifying and categorising information to ensure residents enquiries are dealt with consistently.

Elderly designated

Properties available to those aged 50 or over. Homes are usually fitted with emergency alarm equipment.

Emergency repairs

Emergency repairs are those that could not be foreseen and could cause serious structural damage to the home or be a danger to health or safety. They include dangerous electrics, severe leaks or blocked toilets. In these instances we aim to attend within four hours. Other emergency repairs, where a major inconvenience is being caused, such as no electricity, we aim to attend within 24-hours of being notified.

Estate rangers

A team of staff who provide a uniformed presence in the community and respond to certain cases of antisocial behaviour and crime.

Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

A meeting of official bodies, shareholders, board directors and executive or senior management that occur at irregular times to discuss serious or urgent issues that cannot wait until the following Annual General Meeting.

Homeswapper

HomeSwapper is a web based service helping people swap homes.

HouseExchange

Another web based service helping council and housing association tenants to find a home to swap.

Housing register

The housing register is a list of people who want to move into or are between homes owned by the local authority.

47

LEAN systems thinking review

At the heart of LEAN is the concept of value-add and non-value-add activities. LEAN processes only contain value-add activities. A LEAN process contains the minimum number of steps and minimises delays and opportunities for error. The aim is to improve the customer experience. LEAN reviews often result in lower costs in delivering the service.

Lettings plan

The aim of a letting plan is to assist housing associations to think about the year ahead and take account of trends in housing demand. They should also take account of specific housing needs and particular letting problems (e.g. low demand for some houses).

Lifetime Home Standard

The Lifetime Home Standard incorporates 16 design criteria that can be universally applied to new homes. Each design feature adds to the comfort and convenience of the home and supports the changing needs of individuals and families at different stages of life.

Major repairs

Work(s) that are not considered urgent and will not lead to structural or health or safety problems will be classified into major and minor categories based on the extent and cost of the work. Major work(s) include jobs such as replacing water mains that are due for renewal. We will inspect major work that is reported to us, cost and plan for it to be completed in the following financial year. Priority is based on the likelihood of it becoming a health and safety hazard and the condition of the item.

Management moves

A management move is by special arrangement with senior staff. The aim of management moves is to eliminate serious problems experiences by one of more households. Reasons for management moves include domestic abuse and antisocial behaviour.

Minor repairs

Work(s) that are not considered urgent and will not lead to structural or health or safety problems will be classified into major and minor categories based on the extent and cost of the work. Minor work(s) include jobs such as fitting window restrictors or replacing gutters. We assess and prioritise minor work(s) every three months. Those with the highest priority will be completed within nine months.

National Housing Federation (NHF)

The National Housing Federation represents 1,200 independent, not-for-profit housing associations in England. The Federation’s mission is to support and promote the work that housing associations do and campaign for better housing and neighbourhoods.

National standards

There are six standards that social housing providers must meet. They are designed to help improve the services provided by social housing landlords for residents.

Glossary continued


Neighbourhood Co-ordinators

Neighbourhood Co-ordinators keep residents informed about the conditions of their tenancy or lease and explain what happens if the terms are broken.

Not-for-profit

A not-for-profit organisation is not intended to provide a profit to the owners or members. Any surplus income is reinvested in to the business.

Notice of Seeking Possession

A Notice of Seeking of Possession (NOSP) is notification to we intend to seek possession of the property. We will serve this notice before making an application to the court.

Online services

Online services give residents the option to access a selection of information relating to their tenancy via our website following a simple and secure registration process. Online services include account balance, repairs progress and history, and personal contact details.

Our promises

Our promises, service standards and targets set out the level of service our residents can expect from us. They are reviewed with residents every year.

PCSO (Police Community Support Officer)

A Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) or Community Support Officer (CSO) is a uniformed non-warranted officer employed by the police. They have limited police powers.

Plain English

Plain English (sometimes referred to more broadly as plain language) is a generic term for communication styles that emphasise clarity and avoid technical language. The intention is to write in a manner that is easily understood by the audience; clear and direct, free of cliché and unnecessary jargon.

Planned repairs

Planned repairs are repairs that are grouped together by area and type. Planned repairs do not pose a health and safety risk or structural danger.

Residents

When we refer to residents, we mean all of our tenants and leaseholders.

Responsive repairs

Responsive repairs are all types of emergency, urgent and routine repairs. These are dealt with in specific response times, opposed to planned repairs that are packaged together to be carried out with similar repairs in the same area.

Right to Acquire

If you are a tenant and have held an Assured Tenancy for two or more years, you can apply to buy your current home through Right to Acquire. If your tenancy started after 18 January 2005, you will have to wait five years before you can apply. You will receive a discount off the market value of £13,500. Some properties such as sheltered housing, bungalows and homes designated for older people, and properties in rural areas, are not available to purchase.

Right to Buy

If you have a Protected Assured Tenancy, you may be eligible under the Right to Buy scheme to purchase your current home. You will receive a discount off the market value, based on your length of tenancy, up to a maximum of £34,000. Some properties, such as sheltered housing, bungalows and homes designated for older people, are not available to buy.

49

Routine repairs

Routine repairs are those that do not cause an immediate inconvenience or health and safety risk - joinery repairs for example. Routine repairs should be completed within 20 calendar days.

Satisfaction figures

Satisfaction figures tell us how satisfied our residents are with the services they receive from us. We carry out a Status survey every three years to gather this information. We also carry out more regular surveys regarding specific services such as repairs.

Scheme managers

Scheme managers provide on-site support for sheltered scheme residents. They can provide advice on a range of issues, such as rent, housing benefits and housing transfers.

Shared ownership

Shared ownership offers a low cost way to get on the home ownership ladder by offering people the option to buy part of the value of the home while paying rent on the remaining part. Shared owners can increase the amount they own as and when they can afford it.

Sheltered schemes

Sheltered schemes offer accommodation for anyone over 50 (if receiving disability allowance) or over 60 who want to live independently but may need some support by an on-site scheme manager.

Social rent

Social rent is a type of tenure offered by affordable housing providers. Rents are charged at affordable rates that are cheaper than open market rates.

SpaceSaver

The SpaceSaver scheme aims to increase the number of family homes available. It offers financial incentives and additional help for those living in family properties which are too large for their needs to move to smaller homes.

Standard Assessment Procedure rating (SAP)

The Standard Assessment Procedure is the government’s recommended method for measuring the energy rating of residential dwellings. The first version was published in 1995, to be replaced by newer versions in 1998, 2001 and 2005. It calculates the typical annual energy costs for space and water heating, and, from 2005, lighting. The CO2 emissions are also calculated.

Starter tenancy

A starter tenancy is a type of tenancy and covers the first 12-months of your tenancy. Residents on starter tenancies have fewer rights than holders of Assured tenancies. We use Starter tenancies to encourage new residents to manage their tenancies responsibly. As they have fewer rights they allow us to deal quickly with tenancy breaches such as antisocial behaviour.

Status

A survey of our residents to establish how satisfied they are with our services. These surveys are carried out every three years by an independent company and are sent to a random sample of residents.

Stock condition survey

Surveys to establish the condition of all our homes – or ‘stock’ as we often call it.

Street and Block Voices

Residents who have volunteered to be the eyes and ears of a particular area and keep us informed of any issues that may arise such as graffiti, vandalism or abandoned cars.

Sub-letting

Letting all or part of a property to another person.

Glossary continued


Tenancy

This states all you rights and responsibilities and is the full contract between us as landlord and you as the tenant.

Tenancy breaches

Failure to keep to the terms detailed in the tenancy agreement. Depending on the nature of the breach legal action may be taken to take back the property.

Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS)

TPAS is the leading national tenant participation organisation providing support and training for tenants.

Tenant Services Authority (TSA)

The TSA is the national regulator for social housing. As part of the government’s austerity measures the TSA is to be wound up in April 2012 when its’ regulatory responsibilities will pass to the Homes and Communities Agency.

Tenures

A range of tenancy types such as leasehold, rental and shared ownership.

Transfer list

A list of applicants looking to move to another of our homes.

Transfers

Moving to another of our homes.

Urgent repairs

Urgent repairs are those that present an inconvenience but there is no immediate health or security risk. They include most electrical repairs and leaking pipework.

Value for money (VfM)

Value for money is about combining efficiency, effectiveness, and economy to obtain the maximum value from the financial resources available.

Vulnerable persons

A vulnerable person is - or may be - in need of care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness. They may be unable to take care for or protect themselves. A vulnerable person may be a person who:

Has a physical or sensory ■

disability

Is physically frail or has a ■

chronic illness

Has a mental illness or ■

dementia

Has a learning disability ■

Is old and frail ■

Misuses drugs and/or alcohol ■

Has social or emotional ■

problems

Exhibits challenging behaviour ■

Walkabouts

Walkabouts are estate inspections that provide an opportunity for our staff, residents, councillors, and Police Community Support Officers to identify and report any issues and suggest environmental improvements.

51

Registered office

Myriad House 23 Springfield Lyons Approach Chelmsford Essex CM2 5LB

Statutory registrations

Registered Company No: 4105878 Registered by the Tenants Services Authority, No: L4331

Auditors Nexia Smith & Williamson 25 Moorgate London EC2R 6AY

RSM Tenon Cedar House Woodlands Business Park Breckland Milton Keynes MK14 6EX

Solicitors Trowers & Hamlin Sceptre Court 40 Tower Hill London EC3N 4DX

Devonshires Salisbury House London Wall London EC2M 5QY

Bankers The Royal Bank of Scotland 2nd Floor, St Peter’s Street St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3LY

Funders Bank of Scotland Housing Finance PO Box 39900 Bishopsgate Exchange 155 Bishopsgate London EC2M 3YB

Barclays Bank plc 1 Churchill Place London E14 5HP

Tel: 0300 555 0500 Email: [email protected] Web: chp.org.uk

VAT Number: GB791 4293 08

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