A property maintenance company has announced two senior promotions. Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of one of the UK’s largest social landlords, Platform Housing Group – has appointed Adam Rudge as Head of Service for Voids and Duncan Palmer as Head of Service for Responsive Repairs; both roles are newly created ones. Previously
The City of Edinburgh Council’s affordable housebuilding programme continues apace with construction starting this week (Tuesday 25 May) on a further 49 new affordable and energy efficient homes for Dumbryden Gardens in Wester Hailes. Following completion of the Dumbryden Gardens phase one development in November 2019, phase two has commenced on the former Dumbryden primary school site. Led by construction partner Robertson Partnership Homes, procured through SCAPE Construction, the site combines 35 homes for social rent and 14 homes for mid-market rent and includes a
Property management and surveying firm Scanlans has been appointed to manage a listed apartment block in Bradford which is frequently used as a film set for a variety of popular TV programmes. Law Russell House, on Vicar Lane in the Little Germany area of the city, was built in 1873
Salford housing association Salix Homes is celebrating a double win in the prestigious Northern Housing Awards. Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, won the Best Resident Involvement Initiative and the Best Digital Transformation categories in the awards, which celebrate the achievements of the housing sector in the North.
Work has started on a £16 million affordable housing scheme in Doncaster. The development of 126 homes will be delivered by Esh Construction in partnership with Together Housing Group, which also owns and manages Lakeside Rise in the town, and Housing 21. Together Housing will take ownership of 56 two,
Commercial property management specialist, NSM, has been appointed to manage three North West industrial assets. The three developments were acquired by client, Network Space last month. They include: Newfield Industrial Estate in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, a 125,000 sq ft multi-let industrial estate which is occupied by 20 businesses including
Leading housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) has announced several major policy commitments to boost security and cut costs for its existing and future shared ownership customers surrounding leaseholds and ground rents. In new commitments recently unveiled, MTVH will offer all pipeline and new leasehold residential sales a 990-year
Countryside, the mixed-tenure developer, and emh group have entered into a development agreement to create a 100% affordable housing scheme in Radcliffe-on-Trent. The developments consists of 55 new homes, fulfilling a joint commitment by Countryside and emh group to provide affordable homes across the East Midlands. To date, this also
In order to provide best value and service for its clients and residents, residential managing agent Rendall & Rittner has been developing a range of innovative, market leading procurement practices. With energy being one of the biggest regular costs in property management, the company has created a dedicated in-house utilities
FirstPort has achieved a five-star grading in the British Safety Council’s Occupational Health and Safety Audit for the fifth year running. The organisation received a score of 95.88%, demonstrating its commitment towards the continual improvement of health and safety management systems and processes and recognising it as a best practice organisation.
A property maintenance company has announced two senior promotions. Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of one of the UK’s largest social landlords, Platform Housing Group – has appointed Adam Rudge as Head of Service for Voids and Duncan Palmer as Head of Service for Responsive Repairs; both roles are newly created ones. Previously Operations Manager for Voids and Grounds, Adam’s new role will see him responsible for the operational and financial delivery of all Platform Property Care’s group void servicing teams. Adam – who has worked in social housing maintenance for more than 18 years – started his career as an apprentice plumber and gas engineer before qualifying as a gas engineer. Over the course of his career, Adam has studied horticulture and gained accreditation from The Royal Horticultural Society. He has also successfully completed an advanced level management apprenticeship as well as a qualification from The Institute of Leadership and Management. Adam said : “I am thrilled with my new role, which will, I hope, allow me to influence a sector I am passionate about. Delivering a consistently excellent service to all our customers is at the very heart of what we do and I am excited about my part in this as we move forward.” The promotions are part of a wider restructure within the business which has created five new service areas; the objective being to offer a designated service function for each area of the maintenance business as well as providing a consistent approach to how services are delivered group wide. Previously Operations Manager for Responsive Repairs, Duncan Palmer has been promoted to Head of Service for Responsive Repairs. This new role will see Duncan managing the delivery of the group’s responsive repairs service which aims to deliver more than 100,000 responsive repairs each year. Duncan – who has twenty years’ experience in social housing – originally started out as an electrician. Duncan explained : “This new role is an exciting step forward for my career. Platform Property Care is a great place to work and I feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity. By supporting my team and providing a clear purpose, I hope to make a positive impact on PPC’s aim to become a sector leading repairs organisations that puts our customers and colleagues first.” Since the merger of Fortis Living and Waterloo Homes at the end of 2019 to become Platform Housing Group, changes and development within the property maintenance arm have been ongoing. Establishing Platform Property Care has included bringing gas servicing and breakdown in house to ensure a seamless service to customers; these, and other initiatives, have resulted in the organisation winning the coveted status. Dennis Evans, Executive Director at Platform Property Care said : “We are delighted to announce these two new roles and the promotions of both Adam and Duncan. Their new responsibilities are testimony to the hard work and dedication that they have shown throughout their careers within social housing. We wish them all the best as we continue on our journey to become a truly modern housing association.” Platform Property Care – launched in October 2018 – employs more than 300 people, including 27 apprentices. Its growth plans include a turnover of £50million by 2023. Recent improvements include better diagnostics, intelligent scheduling, assertive supply chain management and investment in new technologies. Results include 100 per cent of homes being both gas and electrically compliant. For further information about Platform Property Care please visit www.platformhg.com.
The City of Edinburgh Council’s affordable housebuilding programme continues apace with construction starting this week (Tuesday 25 May) on a further 49 new affordable and energy efficient homes for Dumbryden Gardens in Wester Hailes. Following completion of the Dumbryden Gardens phase one development in November 2019, phase two has commenced on the former Dumbryden primary school site. Led by construction partner Robertson Partnership Homes, procured through SCAPE Construction, the site combines 35 homes for social rent and 14 homes for mid-market rent and includes a number of wheelchair accessible homes. This development, to be completed in Winter 2022, is part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s housing building programme which, along with housing association partners, will contribute to the delivery of 20,000 new homes across the city by 2027. Councillor Kate Campbell, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: It’s great to see construction starting on another council-led development with more new council houses getting built. Our house building programme has to meet the needs of our communities and so these homes will be accessible, highly energy efficient and some homes will be fully wheelchair adapted. There are so many families in need of permanent, affordable housing, so it’s good that next year these homes will be ready for families to move in and be part of this growing community. Councillor Mandy Watt, Vice Convener, said: I’m looking forward to seeing the development start to take shape over the course of next year, and bring a range of benefits for the local community through revitalising a disused site and through additional initiatives delivered by our contractor, Robertson Partnership Homes, as part of the project. Edinburgh has one of the most ambitious house-building plans of any local authority in the UK and these are great example of quality Council-led homes that will be affordable to rent and live in long term. Matt Collins, managing director, Robertson Partnership Homes, said: Last year we completed 263 new homes for the City of Edinburgh Council’s Small Sites Programme through Scape’s Major Works Scotland framework and are proud to be the delivery partner for the second phase at Dumbryden Gardens. The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to providing high-quality homes and equal housing opportunities for its residents. The inclusion of sustainable features which will further benefit the residents underlines the Council’s commitment to the natural environment and the wellbeing of the communities it is creating. Mark Robinson, group chief executive at SCAPE, said: We’re delighted that Robertson Partnership Homes and the City of Edinburgh Council will be delivering energy efficient homes for both social and mid-market rent. SCAPE is fully committed to helping clients achieve their net zero carbon target. Whilst the need for social and affordable housing is ever pressing, it’s important that new homes are delivered which help address the environmental challenges we face, and it’s encouraging to see the City of Edinburgh Council future proof their housing stock.
Property management and surveying firm Scanlans has been appointed to manage a listed apartment block in Bradford which is frequently used as a film set for a variety of popular TV programmes. Law Russell House, on Vicar Lane in the Little Germany area of the city, was built in 1873 as a textile warehouse as Bradford’s woollen industry boomed. The seven-storey, grade II listed building later became offices and then lay empty for several years before being converted by Trajan Estates into 71 apartments following a £4.5m investment. Completed in 2019, the redevelopment has seen the creation of one and two-bedroom flats and studio apartments, with office space and meeting rooms on the ground floor. The apartments are popular with working professionals and students and are fully-tenanted. Law Russell House and other areas of Little Germany are regularly seen on TV in programmes such as Peaky Blinders, Gentleman Jack, Emmerdale and All Creatures Great and Small. Little Germany was given its name after the area was populated by Germans who came to trade in Bradford’s thriving woollen industry in the 19th century. Michael Willans, senior property manager at Scanlans’ Leeds office, said the Law Russell House contract was a coup for the firm. “It’s a brilliant new instruction in a sought-after area and is a superb addition to our growing portfolio of management contracts,” he said. “Law Russell House is an iconic building with bags of history. It’s great to see Little Germany buzzing as regeneration projects such as this take shape. “We’re very proud to be managing the development and partnering with Trajan, and look forward to growing our relationship with the company over the coming months and years.” The site adds to Scanlans’ portfolio of management contracts across Yorkshire, with several new agreements coming on-stream in the next few months. Trajan, which was founded in 2005 by director Owen Carter and is based in Saltaire, Shipley, near Bradford, has completed numerous residential and commercial projects in the north of England. Trajan specialises in preserving heritage buildings and urban redevelopment, focusing on derelict buildings to convert them into living space. Owen said: “Law Russell House was a great personal journey for our company and such a significant listed building deserves first-class management. “As this was our first development on this scale, Scanlans was invited to tender after being recommended by other developers in the area. We’re delighted to have Scanlans working with us, bringing a wealth of expertise. “We hope this has set the foundations for a strong working relationship for many years to come, as we will be partnering with Scanlans on our future developments too.” Alongside property management services, Scanlans’ Leeds office provides commercial and residential property valuations and surveys, building surveying and LPA Receivership services.
Salford housing association Salix Homes is celebrating a double win in the prestigious Northern Housing Awards. Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, won the Best Resident Involvement Initiative and the Best Digital Transformation categories in the awards, which celebrate the achievements of the housing sector in the North. The landlord scooped Best Resident Involvement Initiative in recognition of its pioneering Customer Committee, which was set up last year in a bid to give tenants a greater say in how its housing services are run. The Customer Committee has seen Salix Homes trailblazing a new approach to customer engagement, which was established ahead of national calls for greater transparency and for tenant’s voices to be better heard following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The Customer Committee is made up of 12 residents in a paid-for role, on a par with the organisation’s board members, who can commission a piece of scrutiny work into any area of the organisation. The judges commended Salix Homes for its commitment to putting tenants first. They said: “Salix Homes have reacted to the Grenfell disaster by putting tenants at the heart of what they do, ensuring they have a strong voice and are able to participate. A very well done to all of you.” Salix Homes was also recognised for its digital innovation, which has seen the landlord launch a ground-breaking digital repairs service incorporating innovative chatbot technology; and becoming the first housing provider in the UK to fully embrace the public cloud. Judges were also impressed with the MySalix customer portal – an online platform which enables residents to manage their tenancy at the touch of a button or tap of a phone. Jim Battle, Chair of the Board at Salix Homes, said: “We’re an organisation that prides itself on being progressive and forward-thinking, with a bold vision to rethink the way our housing services are provided in order to meet the demands of a modern and digital world. “Despite the challenges of the past year posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve pushed on with our plans to establish our Customer Committee and become a truly digital organisation, so to be recognised for our efforts for both these areas is a real honour and is testament to all the hard work of our colleagues and partners. “We’re particularly proud that our Customer Committee has been recognised for the impact it’s having on both our organisation and the wider social housing sector. Never has it been more important for social landlords to listen to the voices of tenants and we firmly believe our modern approach to customer engagement echoes the recommendations made in the Government’s Social Housing White Paper, calling for greater accountability, transparency and engagement with customers, so we’re very proud to be leading the way.” Salix Homes is no stranger to awards, having already been named Digital Landlord of the Year in the UK Housing Awards 2020, and coming in at number four in the recent Top 30 Digital Housing Providers roll of honour, organised by Housing Digital.
Work has started on a £16 million affordable housing scheme in Doncaster. The development of 126 homes will be delivered by Esh Construction in partnership with Together Housing Group, which also owns and manages Lakeside Rise in the town, and Housing 21. Together Housing will take ownership of 56 two, three and four-bedroom homes and 10 two-bedroom bungalows for affordable rent, all of which will benefit from front and rear gardens and parking facilities. Housing 21 will take ownership of 58 apartments in a three-storey retirement living scheme, and two bungalows. Located off Highfield Road, Askern, the development meets an identified housing need in the district whilst the retirement living element will meet the requirements of an ageing population. The neighbourhood will be focused around extensive public open space, with the design including footpath links to the surrounding community. A Sustainable Urban Drainage scheme will also be implemented at the development. Steve Close, Chief Executive at Together Housing Group, said: “Building much needed new homes is one of our key aims at Together Housing and it’s great to see this development underway in Askern. “Working with our partners, we are helping to provide high quality affordable rented housing in the area. From the bungalows to the four-bedroom houses, these new homes combined with the retirement living scheme will meet the needs of all residents.” Paul Crosland, Construction Project Manager at Housing 21, said: “Housing 21 is a leading provider of Retirement Living and Extra Care for older people of modest means and we are excited to be working together with Esh Construction, Doncaster Council and Together Housing Group to offer further Retirement Living in Doncaster. “This latest development will provide people over the age of 65 with choice and control over their living arrangements as residents will benefit from having their own front door while having access to communal facilities, such as lounge and garden, offering a safe and secure place to call home.” Stuart Leslie, Divisional Director at Esh Construction, said: “The scheme at Highfield Road represents the largest land led development we have on site at present, and is testament to a huge combined effort from everyone who has been involved from the very early stages. “Esh has a strong portfolio of successfully delivering high quality affordable housing and extra care developments across the region, and we look forward to working in partnership with two of our valued clients, Together Housing Group and Housing 21, to bring much needed new homes to Doncaster.”
Commercial property management specialist, NSM, has been appointed to manage three North West industrial assets. The three developments were acquired by client, Network Space last month. They include: Newfield Industrial Estate in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, a 125,000 sq ft multi-let industrial estate which is occupied by 20 businesses including global corporate Air Liquide and a number of successful local companies. The 28-acre Sovereign Distillery which provides 446,151 sq ft of commercial space in Huyton, Liverpool A prime 11.4 acre site on Atlantic Street in South Manchester offering 220,000 sq ft of industrial warehouse space with redevelopment opportunities. NSM operates from offices in St Helen’s and Doncaster and will help the landlord maximise the value of the properties and their return on investment, as well as managing the day to day running of the estate and rent roll. Nicky Jones, Managing Director of NSM, said: “These are three significant sites across the North West and will ultimately bring almost a million sq ft of new property for the team to manage. As some of the sites offer refurbishment and redevelopment potential we will build strong relationships with the existing tenants to effectively manage that process.” NSM has continued to collect over 95% of all rents billed since lockdown commenced, working closely with tenants to provide support and advice about Government initiatives as well as managing staged payments. The company’s investment into its Spaceman platform has shown how vital proptech can be in ensuring every member of the team can deliver effectively regardless of the pandemic challenges, with all information about every project live at the touch of a button.
Leading housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) has announced several major policy commitments to boost security and cut costs for its existing and future shared ownership customers surrounding leaseholds and ground rents. In new commitments recently unveiled, MTVH will offer all pipeline and new leasehold residential sales a 990-year lease, alongside ensuring that ground rents will not be charged on any pipeline or new sales on schemes where MTVH is the freeholder. This major policy commitment will be effective immediately. MTVH has also announced its plans to offer similar commitments to existing shared ownership customers at occupied schemes, with the option for customers to extend their lease to 990-years from June 2021 at a cost based on the share they own. Additionally, marriage value will no longer be considered when calculating the cost of a lease extension.[1] Geeta Nanda, Chief Executive of MTVH, comments: “We are pleased to announce our new policy commitments which are designed to boost security and cut costs for both our valued existing customers and future shared ownership customers at MTVH schemes. We are aware that these two issues are of importance to our customers and therefore are taking these steps to improve their shared ownership experience. “Throughout our policy review, we have been particularly mindful that upcoming changes to shared ownership policy do little to enhance the experience of existing shared ownership customers and we were keen to explore what could be possible and within our means. Given that new customers will be guaranteed the security of a longer lease term, it is only right that this is offered to our existing customers too.” Geeta adds: “We welcome the government’s wider proposals to implement 990-year leases across the shared ownership sector, but have taken the decision to act now to ensure our customers benefit from an extended lease length as quickly as possible.” In a step further, a raft of other measures that will benefit MTVH leaseholders more generally will be introduced from April 2022. This will include the phasing out of ground rents across MTVH’s portfolio where they own the land, and the option to extend their lease to 990-years, alongside the removal of marriage value. Geeta adds: “Whilst shared ownership has been impacted by some of the complexities of leasehold tenure, it is important that we address this across the board and ensure that any customers who have purchased through MTVH privately are offered a fair chance to extend their lease at an accessible cost too. We are pleased to be working on policy amendments that will allow all customers this option, as well as removing additional costs such as ground rents.” To find out more about Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing visit www.mtvh.co.uk. [1] Marriage value is the increase in the value of the property following the completion of the lease extension, reflecting the additional market value of the longer lease.
Countryside, the mixed-tenure developer, and emh group have entered into a development agreement to create a 100% affordable housing scheme in Radcliffe-on-Trent. The developments consists of 55 new homes, fulfilling a joint commitment by Countryside and emh group to provide affordable homes across the East Midlands. To date, this also includes 105 affordable homes in Grantham. “Working collaboratively is fundamental to the provision of affordable homes and this is at the heart of Countryside’s partnerships model. Working in partnership enables us to efficiently deliver well-designed, high-quality and sustainable homes and we are very proud to be building on our work with emh group to serve the needs of the community,” said Glyn Mabey, managing director of partnerships in the East Midlands at Countryside. “Shelford Road will bring much-needed affordable housing to Rushcliffe, enabling many local families to live in a new home in a high value area that may otherwise have been financially inaccessible. We look forward to seeing this new neighbourhood take shape and to continuing our work with emh group across the region.” Located at Shelford Road, the new development comprises a range of two, three and four-bedroom homes, 30 of which will be available for shared ownership with the remaining 25 available for affordable rent with emh group. The development is set to bring more than £500,000 of Section 106 local investment, including approximately £390,000 towards primary and secondary education, £58,000 towards off-site highway improvements, a £50,000 healthcare contribution and £65,000 towards sport and leisure facilities. “We are delighted that through our strong relationship with Countryside we have been able to contribute towards meeting the housing aspirations of people in Rushcliffe. We are particularly proud of the range of property types we have been able to deliver, going some way to addressing the range of demands of local people,” concluded Chris Jones, executive director of development at emh group.
In order to provide best value and service for its clients and residents, residential managing agent Rendall & Rittner has been developing a range of innovative, market leading procurement practices. With energy being one of the biggest regular costs in property management, the company has created a dedicated in-house utilities management team to work within the existing procurement division. Leading the new team, Chris Massingham has recently been appointed Utilities Procurement Manager. With ten years’ experience in the energy sector, Chris is an industry specialist who has previously worked for Anglian Water as well as in consultancies managing procurement for leading property management companies including Rendall & Rittner. In his new role, Chris will oversee the implementation of the latest energy management system, which will incorporate a billing platform, as well as managing the tariff procurement process. Both the electricity and gas bulk procurement contracts are currently with Ecotricity. Chris Massingham commented: “The principle of leveraging bulk spending for best value is of course one of the key reasons it makes sense for Rendall & Rittner to bring utilities management in house, but it also allows us to maintain the highest levels of service and respond more quickly to any issues that may arise. I’m looking forward to the exciting personal challenge of running a new function for the business and ushering in what is quite an innovative new approach from an industry perspective.” Richard Daver, Managing Director at Rendall & Rittner said: “As Rendall & Rittner has continued to grow, so too has the volume of energy we purchase as a group. This presents some challenges but also a great opportunity to leverage our buying power in order to obtain better value for our clients and residents in what is a fast moving and complex marketplace. We are pleased to welcome Chris Massingham to lead the new in-house team in line with our wider strategy of investing in talent and technical capabilities to ensure not only better value, but also more transparency, accountability and more efficient processes.” For more information on Rendall & Rittner please visit www.rendallandrittner.co.uk.
FirstPort has achieved a five-star grading in the British Safety Council’s Occupational Health and Safety Audit for the fifth year running. The organisation received a score of 95.88%, demonstrating its commitment towards the continual improvement of health and safety management systems and processes and recognising it as a best practice organisation. The audit recognised FirstPort’s continued efforts to implement the highest standards of health and safety management, a clear commitment from senior management, and an enthusiastic health and safety team. It also highlighted that FirstPort has an extensive occupational health and safety management system, with good processes for stakeholder engagement, compliance monitoring and building management. Mark Varley, Director of Health and Safety at FirstPort, said: “To have achieved five stars in all five years that we have been audited is a tremendous achievement. We have developed a robust health and safety culture at FirstPort amongst our colleagues and contractors – one that we are very proud of. We work hard to make sure our customers see the benefits too, so that they feel safe in their homes.” Roni Kotecha, Managing Director of Audits, British Safety Council, said: “The award of a five-star grading following our occupational best practice Health and Safety Audit is an outstanding achievement and is reflective of a proactive organisation which is committed to continual improvement in its health and safety arrangements and managing risks to workers’ health, safety and welfare. FirstPort should be very proud of this achievement.” To achieve the grading, FirstPort underwent a comprehensive, quantified and robust evaluation of its occupational health and safety policies, processes and practices. The audit process included documentation review, interviews with senior management, employees and other key stakeholders, together with sampling of operational activities. The audit measured performance against key health and safety management best practice indicators and a detailed review of over sixty component elements. About the Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit The Five Star Audit is a comprehensive, contemporary and quantified process which benchmarks health and safety management performance against the latest best practice techniques. The audit process is carried out through documentation review, management and other stakeholder interviews, as well as operational sampling. Those organisations who achieve a five-star grading following the audit become eligible to enter the British Safety Council Sword of Honour Awards which recognise excellence in the management of health and safety. The award scheme is an independently adjudicated process which requires five star achievers to build upon the audit findings and provide a written submission on their continual improvement planning. About the British Safety Council The British Safety Council believes that no-one should be injured or made ill at work. Since its foundation in 1957, the British Safety Council has campaigned tirelessly to protect workers from accidents, hazards and unsafe conditions, and played a decisive role in the political process that has led to the adoption of landmark safety legislation in the UK. Its members in more than 60 countries are committed to protecting and improving the wellbeing of workers, believing that a healthy and safe work environment is also good for business.
