Posted on November 23rd, 2020 by Elaine Davies
Earlier this year we told you that a £550,000 Safer Streets Fund grant was awarded to Hillfields in Coventry to help fight crime in the area.
The Safer Streets Fund is a £25million Government initiative which was secured by the Police and Crime Commission for the West Midlands to cut crime and improve safety.
The fund will see us working closely with Coventry City Council and the Local Neighbourhood Policing Team to improve community safety in Hillfields.
There are several improvements works taking place in Hillfields throughout November and December 2020 to help reduce crime in the area.
These include:
- Adding additional and upgrading the existing street lighting around Paul Stacey House, Douglas House and Pioneer House to increase visibility
- Upgrading existing and installing new CCTV in the Paul Stacey House car park and at the rear of Hillfields House
- Environmental work to reduce the height of the trees at the rear of Paul Stacey House and Hillfields House to make people feel safer and to allow for more natural light
- Work to Village Square which includes the removal of planters
- Crime prevention workshops for customers and security packs to improve the security of their homes.
Our Director of Housing Peter Gill said: “It’s great news for us and our customers that work is starting to happen with the Hillfields Safer Streets Fund.
“£550,000 is the maximum grant available. I’m really pleased that the Government is acknowledging and acting on the problems we have with crime in Hillfields and are committed to helping us improve community safety.
“I’m certain our customers will welcome the news when they receive an update from us on the project this week. I look forward to keeping you all informed as the project develops.”
This week we are distributing a leaflet to the 740 homes we own and manage in Hillfields to inform customers of the work happening as part of the Safer Streets Fund project.
Take a look at our leaflet here.
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Posted on November 19th, 2020 by Elaine Davies
Citizen has retained the highest possible rating in an annual assessment by the Regulator of Social Housing.
The Government body, which regulates social housing providers, confirmed our G1/V1 status in its stability check today.
The stability check measures every provider’s financial viability and governance arrangements giving a score for G (governance) and V (viability), with one being the highest.
We have now held G1/V1 status since 2018 and this confirms that we meet the governance requirements set out by the regulator and that we have the financial capacity to deal with ‘a wide range of adverse scenarios’.
The news follows the recent confirmation of our A2 rating by credit rating agency Moody’s and is another indication of our financial security.
Gary Booth, our Interim Chief Financial Officer, said: “We are pleased to retain our G1/V1 status and this demonstrates that in the eyes of the Regulator of Social Housing we are an organisation which is compliant from both a governance and viability point of view.
“In a challenging year this is really good news to receive and it is very encouraging to know that we will enter 2021 with a solid base.”
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Posted on November 12th, 2020 by Elaine Davies
We’ve launched a recruitment campaign for our new Customer Committee – giving customers the chance to shape our services and earn up to £2.5k a year.
We want the work that we do to match up to customer expectations and we’re launching a new Customer Committee to help us do this. Meetings for the new committee will be run online, meaning it can fit in around other commitments.
We are looking for passionate customers who want to make a difference and can help us to make sure the work we do matches the expectations of our customers.
Experience of working in a role like this isn’t necessary – we are looking for passion, determination and a willingness to help.
Our Director of Transformation Will Walker said: “It is fantastic to launch our recruitment campaign for the new customer committee.
“Our steering group has done brilliant work shaping what the new committee will look like and it is clear it will be a hugely important part of our work to improve our offer to our customers and make sure the voice of our customers is heard.
“Any customers who are interested in the role should take a look at our recruitment pack for more information and consider applying.”
Applications are open until 5pm on Monday 30 November.
Find out more and apply here.
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Posted on November 10th, 2020 by Elaine Davies
Citizen’s sound financial position has been confirmed in a high-profile rating.
Moody’s, a credit rating agency which currently rates 39 of the UK’s housing associations, confirmed our A2 rating – which we have held since being upgraded from an A3 rating in 2018.
The agency considers a range of factors in making its assessment including the stability of our income and status of our borrowing.
The A2 rating places us comfortably inside the top half of Moody’s rated housing associations in the UK and only a handful have a better rating than Citizen.
Moody’s said our rating reflected the fact most of our income comes from low-risk social housing lettings, our moderate levels of debt and our simplified governance and management structure.
Gary Booth, our Interim Chief Financial Officer, said: “We are pleased our A2 rating has been confirmed for the third successive year, which demonstrates our strong, long-term financial position.
“Against a challenging economic backdrop, it is reassuring to have a global credit rating agency confirm that our own financial position remains strong.
“This means that we can push forward with the ambitions set out in our 2020-23 business strategy and ultimately fulfil our purpose to provide homes that are a foundation for life for people across the West Midlands.”
You can read the full rating by Moody’s here.
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