believe housing Chief Executive Alan Smith to retire at end of year
The Chief Executive of one of the largest housing associations in north-east England has announced his planned retirement at the end of this year.
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At believe housing, we’re always looking for ways to improve the services we offer.
Each quarter, we share the positive actions and results that have come from the feedback we’ve received from our customers, along with the steps we’ve taken — and plan to take — to keep making things even better.
Customers often refuse access for major home improvements, causing delays and extra costs. The Major Works team has asked Customer Engagement to investigate the reasons and find ways to support customers better.
The Engagement and Major Works team conducted consultations to understand refusals and offer tailored services like packing, cleaning, and childcare. They showcased planned improvements, resulting in 3 out of 15 refusals re-joining the program for 2024/25, potentially saving 15% in costs. The team is now exploring ways to expand this successful approach.
We invited customers to let us know what they valued from our services, how we could improve our current offer and how they felt we could enhance our communities. We held a focus group and sent out a survey to all customers with an email address inviting them to take part.
A new customer strategy is being developed based on feedback from 998 survey responses. This input will be included in the updated Corporate Plan, set to launch later this year. A session with customers is scheduled this month to gather their thoughts on the final version.
Customers let us know it’s frustrating when a repair can’t be completed on the first visit due to lack of parts or wrong trade attending the repair.
We’ve carried out training and now our trades staff create follow on appointments wherever possible with the customer before leaving their homes. Staff in the Customer Hub also received more training on repairs calls to ensure we get the right trades attend.
The Chief Executive of one of the largest housing associations in north-east England has announced his planned retirement at the end of this year.
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Community groups across County Durham are being encouraged to apply for funding to help bring local people together, tackle inequalities and create opportunities for residents.
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Planning approval has paved the way for believe housing to deliver 90 affordable homes, bringing forward the next phase of a long-term regeneration scheme in County Durham.
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Planning permission has been granted for a £5.5m affordable housing development in Durham, marking a major step forward in the regeneration of the site and helping to meet housing need.
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