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Our first annual report is available for you to see in public libraries, at North Lincolnshire Homes' head office or at any of our Customer Access Points, or you can download a copy of the Annual Report here (.PDF). |
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| Reviewing our first year, Chief Executive Jane Duncan said: |
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"It has been a tremendously busy first year for North Lincolnshire Homes but also one which brings us huge satisfaction. We have delivered on our promises and, as far as the improvement programme goes, exceeded our targets.
Each day we get messages of support from our tenants. The important thing is that we continue to deliver and we have a dedicated team which is determined to do this. |
"We aim to put our customers into the heart of our business and this year have seen increased involvement and consultation with tenants and residents in our work and service. We are proud to have established our partner resident involvement group, Community Voice, as well as growing the numbers of tenant and resident associations to 27.
"We are focused on playing an active role in our area. This involves working with our partners, such as North Lincolnshire Council, the Local Strategic Partnership and Safer Neighbourhoods, to look at ways to formulate positive action, whether it is through clean ups or tackling anti-social behaviour.
"There is a lot to look forward to in the coming months. We continue full steam ahead with our improvement programme and we have our very first new housing development schemes in the pipeline to increase our numbers of rural homes.
"I am excited about the future of North Lincolnshire Homes and I am proud of our achievements so far. Each day, bit by bit, neighbourhoods are improved, whether it be through improvements to homes, by environmental works on areas around our properties or improving the services we offer. I am very optimistic of a bright future for everyone."
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| Questions & answers from the 2008 AGM |
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| Each leaseholder receives a detailed breakdown of their bill each year which covers administration charges, a breakdown of repairs, major works, gas servicing and insurance charges where applicable. |
| Tenants are informed at the time decorating allowances are assessed that any rent owed will be deducted from the allowance. We will review our letters and leaflets to make sure that this message is made clearer where appropriate. |
| The Board of NLH has agreed to review the procedures prior to next year’s AGM. |
| All homes are checked when empty to make sure that they are clean, safe and secure before they are let to new tenants. We intend to introduce a satisfaction survey in the coming year to get feedback from new tenants regarding our lettings process and we will report these findings through our tenant involvement groups. |
| There are no interests registered currently but if anyone wishes to inspect the register, please make an appointment to see Andy Orrey. In addition, at each Board and Committee meeting, Board Members are asked to declare any interest. If there are any, these are minuted, and the approved minutes are on the website for anyone to view. |
| We are aware that many areas, including Manifold Rd, have parking problems as the number of people owning cars has increased many times since our properties were built. Providing additional car parking will be part of our environmental improvement program which we plan to commence in 2009/10. Tenants and residents will be involved in the decisions made about these environmental works including decisions about what works it will be possible to carry out in which areas. |
| Tenants were consulted before we started our improvement program and agreed how the program would be prioritised. Individual tenants are visited before works are carried out to their home and their views taken into account before alterations commence. |
| Our program is based around carrying out works to areas in the worst condition first. We have already improved homes in many rural areas including Keadby, Saxby All Saints, Barrow and New Holland. We intend to carry out works to properties in Crowle during 2010/11. |
| Improvement works are carried out through our major partners who are Anglian Windows, Bullock Construction and Mears Group. These are all nationally recognised companies who are experienced in carrying out modernisation work for social landlords. Any sub-contractors employed have to meet a number of requirements which includes different qualifications and certifications depending on the nature of the work they are carrying out. |
| Legal advice to NLH indicates there is no obligation to provide members with a copy of the Articles, however, there is no reason why one cannot be provided. A copy is planned to be included on the new website to be launched later this month, and if anyone would like a copy they can write in to the Company Secretary and we will send a copy out. See Useful Documents at the top of this page. |
| We consult tenants through a variety of methods depending on the issue that is being tackled. We have just published our Menu of Options which details all the different ways that people can be involved in our decision making processes. Those who want to be involved in regular meetings can be involved through Resident Associations and Community Voice and those who want to be involved in different ways have many other routes open to them. Copies of our Menu of Options are available for anyone who is interested. Please ask a member of our staff if you want any further information. Or click on Get Involved on our website. |
| Reference numbers are given to repairs at the point they are inputted and these are tracked to ensure that they are completed properly. However this is not possible for any other type of enquiry because our current computer systems do not include this function and the number and type of enquiries we receive makes it impractical to try to manage this using other methods. We are aware that being able to track all enquiries can bring about benefits to both customers and North Lincolnshire Homes is investigating the possible options as part of our new IT system requirements. Updating our computer systems is an extensive piece of work that we hope to complete in the next year. |
| We attend not just the LSP meetings, but also other events with partner organisations where our strategic aims are similar or supporting. NLH wishes to play a full time role as the largest housing association in the region providing affordable housing solutions which meet the council’s strategic aims. In addition, our supporting communication role means that we can and should engage with all members of the LSP, and any associated bodies which support the work of the LSP. Last year was our first year, but this year we hope to play a much larger role. |
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