‘We love having a garden and can’t wait to decorate our home for Christmas’ – customers move into our Churchfields development in Kidderminster

Posted on November 30th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

A mother and son are thrilled to have their own house for Christmas and can’t wait to decorate it.

Zara Wood and her 11-year-old son, Oliver, have moved into their new home at our Churchfields site in Kidderminster.

Zara said: “I was previously living in a flat up the road, but it wasn’t suitable for us as my son is autistic and needs space in a garden.

“I was quite shocked when I was offered this place. It’s amazing and it’s what I have been wanting for a very long time as I’ve been living in flats since my son was a baby.

“Not only is the garden good for my son, but I can spend time in it too and it’s lovely to have separate floors so I can relax while I am downstairs, and he is in his room.”

Zara said she loves that she is the first person to have lived in the house.

She added: “It’s fantastic that we have moved into our new home for Christmas. My son is so excited he keeps saying that we can decorate the front of the house – it will be great! I am looking forward to making the rest of the house Christmassy too.

“I love my home and I am so happy where we are – I will definitely not be moving again.”

We are working with Vistry Partnerships on the Churchfields site in Kidderminster which is made up of 246 homes – 100 for outright sale and 146 affordable homes. An 1802 warehouse on the site has also been converted into one- and two-bedroom flats.

Our Executive Director of Development Nick Byrne said: “We are thrilled to hear how much Zara loves her new home and are so pleased that she has plans to make it a special Christmas there.

“At Citizen we want to provide a home which is a foundation for life and it’s brilliant we have done this for Zara. We hope she has a lot of happy memories in her home.

“Work started on our Churchfields site in summer last year and we are pleased to see the homes being handed over to our customers.”

Churchfields is one of five sites that we are working on with Vistry Partnerships. The others include the 600-home development at Lea Castle, an 88-home development at York Road, an 82-home scheme at Ridge Hill in Dudley, and the recently completed 210 home Hall Green development in Birmingham.

Regional Managing Director at Vistry Partnerships Darren Beale said: “It’s great to see customers moving into the homes we have built, and we’re thrilled to hear they are happy.

“This site represents a significant contribution to the new-build affordable local housing market in the area and we hope that the local community will benefit from these new homes.

“We wish all the customers moving into the homes at Churchfields all the best and a Merry Christmas.”

The site is due to be completed in Spring 2024.

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New Customer Scrutiny Panel will oversee our services

Posted on November 18th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

A new Customer Scrutiny Panel will oversee the standard of our services and hold us to account.

 

Members will take part in a series of scrutiny reviews. They will work together with fellow panel members to assess our services and report back findings and recommendations to help us improve.

 

The panel will report into our Customer Assurance Committee, which is a part of our formal board structure. This means its work will feed directly into the highest levels of our organisation and exert real influence over our services.

 

Will Walker, our Director of Transformation, said: “Our Customer Assurance Committee has been a great influence on our work and the panel will take this a step further by conducting in-depth reviews which hold us to account on crucial aspects of our service.

 

“We want to continue to do more to involve our customers in our work and the Customer Scrutiny Panel will play an important part of this”.

 

“This is an integral part of our work to achieve our objective to improve our offer to our customers.”

 

Recruitment for the panel launches today with applications open until Sunday 12 December. Find out more and apply here.

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We’re digital mapping all our high-rise buildings to help keep our customers safe

Posted on November 15th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

A pioneering project will see us create 3D digital maps of all our high-rise buildings to help keep our customers safe.

We are working with Twinnedit to ensure our high-rise buildings are captured and re-created in a digital world, using the latest laser and scanning tools and drones operated by licenced pilots.

The digital twin of the building will feature the external walls and roof, along with the ground the building sits on, all the internal communal areas, service areas, stairwells and floor plans of each home.

The Twinnedit team then use the scan data to create 3D BIM models, drawings, virtual reality (VR) experiences and information animations. They also capture aerial drone footage.

All this data, and the huge amount of data we already have about the buildings, is then brought together into one secure platform.

Our Fire Safety Manager, Craig Evans, said: “This digital mapping enables both our team, the fire service and our customers to visualise and understand the building without even being there.

“We have 40 high-rise blocks to get through across Birmingham and Coventry and the survey period will take 10 weeks in total, weather permitting – so far it is going as planned.

“Twinnedit will also benefit our customers as they are able to access evacuation policies and routes.”

We are one of the first housing associations in the Midlands to embrace the Twinnedit building safety platform.

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Gary Booth has been appointed as our Chief Financial Officer

Posted on November 15th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

Gary Booth has been appointed our Chief Financial Officer after working in the role on an interim basis for the last 18 months.

Gary joins the Executive Leadership Team permanently and previously worked as our Director of Treasury, Assurance and Procurement.

He first joined our Finance and Corporate services team in 2003, and prior to this he worked for Deloitte.

Throughout his career so far at Citizen Gary had led on the legal amalgamation of the Group’s Registered Providers which became Citizen on 1 September 2019. He also led on the signing of an agreement to tap Citizen’s 2012 bond with a further £100m issued in October 2020.

Gary said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed as Citizen’s new Chief Financial Officer after working in the role on an interim basis.

“I have worked for Citizen for 18 years now and I am very proud to work for an organisation that has such a strong social purpose – providing homes that are a foundation for life.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to work for an organisation that is ambitious, sees the potential in everyone and is willing to try different things out.”

Chief Executive Kevin Rodgers adds: “I’m thrilled that Gary has accepted the permanent role as our Chief Financial Officer.

“Gary first joined Citizen 18 years ago as a finance manager. It’s fantastic that Gary has decided to progress his career with us.”

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Second round of Citizen Local Fund opens to support people in our communities

Posted on November 11th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

The second round of our Citizen Local Fund has opened – giving people in our communities access to grants of up to £5,000.

The fund is for projects and initiatives which promote and support wellbeing and our wider work. It is a central pillar of our Citizen to Citizen project, which is part of our strategic objective to improve our support services and tackle homelessness.

Customers and other people in our communities can apply for a slice of the £30,000 funding directly through our Citizen Local Fund web page.

We funded seven groups in our first round of funding – including an organisation that delivers care packages to single parents from BME backgrounds in the West Midlands and another which is transforming the environment in Stoke Aldermoor, in Coventry.

As we launch our second round of funding, we are looking to recruit colleagues to sponsor a project and help us to manage the relationship with the organisations we fund.

Will Walker, our Director of Transformation, said: “The Citizen Local Fund has been a great way for us to invest in our communities and we funded a number of important projects in our first round.

“The fund is there for a range of projects – big or small. We’re keen to support anyone or any group that needs some support to help others.

“We’d like staff to help us spread the word to customers and people in our communities who may be interested in applying. So please take some time to look through the web page.

“We want to continue to increase the impact we have through the fund and we’re looking to recruit sponsors to help us manage the relationships. You wouldn’t have to give up much of your time and this can be very rewarding and a great experience.”

Applications for the second round of funding close on Friday 3 December. Our Customer Assurance Committee will help us to shortlist the successful bids and we will share who was successful.

Find out more about the Citizen Local Fund on our Citizen Local Fund web page.

 

Watch our Citizen Local Fund animation below for further information:

 

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Martyn Hale is a new member of the CIH Professional Standards Committee

Posted on November 10th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

Our Director of Care and Support Martyn Hale is a new member of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Professional Standards Committee.

He is one of six new members across the housing sector who have recently been appointed.

As part of his role, Martyn will be one of the 12 independent members who ensure that the professional standards of the CIH are maintained.

The Professional Standards Committee meet four times a year to review the professional code, complaints about members and policies.

Martyn said: “I have been a member of the CIH since I was 18 and Fellow since 1997. They advertised for new members and I felt the time was right to get involved.

“There was an application and interview process to be on the committee and I’m delighted that I’ve been successful.

“The continued professionalisation of housing is important. My hope is that I can offer something back to a profession that has offered me so many opportunities. It also resonates with an inherent belief I have in fairness and the importance of integrity.

“As part of my role, I will also be looking at the CIH’s approach to equality and diversity – this is something that is very dear to me.”

Martyn will be a member of CIH’s Professional Standards Committee for the next three years.

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Councillor given tour of our Whitecross scheme in Hereford

Posted on November 9th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

Members of our Care and Supported Housing Team have given a councillor a tour of our White Cross accommodation in Hereford.

The scheme, made up of eight rooms and four self-contained flats, opened earlier this year and helps provide a home and support for people who have found themselves homeless in Hereford.

Our Director of Care and Support Martyn Hale and Head of Housing Support Liz Carroll gave Cabinet Member for Housing Councillor Ange Tyler a tour of the scheme.

Martyn said: “We showed Councillor Tyler from Herefordshire Council around Whitecross which supports the 12 customers at the scheme, all of which have a background of rough sleeping.

“We wanted to show Councillor Tyler the building so she can see the benefit of the investment that the council have put in. The visit means that she has been left with a clear, positive overview of the joint service we are providing with the council and how important this is in the context of supporting those who are homeless and rough sleeping.”

There are currently 10 rooms let in the scheme. Referrals for the remaining two are being assessed.

Martyn added: “One of our key business drivers is helping to support the ending homelessness. Our Whitecross scheme is further evidence that we are serious about this.

“So far, the scheme has been doing very well, particularly the joint working between our team and the council’s. We have received some really positive early messages from customers about the benefit the scheme has had so far on their lives and general wellbeing.

“The great work by Kerry, Anne, Darren and Liz has really showed that we can and do make a difference!”

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Find out what is happening with our Citizen Local Fund and who benefitted from the first lot of funding

Posted on November 8th, 2021 by Elaine Davies

Earlier this year we launched the Citizen Local Fund – a pot of £50,000 for customers and people in our communities.

Through the Citizen Local Fund, we offer grants of up to £5,000 to fund groups, projects, and initiatives to support the wellbeing of people in our communities.

The aim of the fund is to support our customers and communities to thrive. We support ideas and projects that promote mental and physical wellbeing, reduce social isolation, bring communities together and enhance local areas.

Seven groups were successful with funding earlier this year and the money has helped them work towards their goals.

Here’s an update on some of the groups’ progress:

Details of the next round of the Citizen Local Fund will be revealed soon and you can find out more here.

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Customer Service Team donate £600 to women’s refuge Gilgal

Posted on November 3rd, 2021 by Elaine Davies

Our Customer Service Team have donated £600 to Birmingham women’s refuge charity Gilgal after they won the Best Team category in our West Midlands to West Indies Challenge for Wellbeing Month.

Gilgal is a safe house, a refuge at a confidential address in Birmingham, providing short-term emergency accommodation and support to women and their children fleeing domestic abuse.

Twenty members of our Customer Service Team helped to clock up an impressive 829 kilometres for our West Midlands to West Indies Challenge this summer. The challenge encouraged colleagues to take some time out throughout our Wellbeing Month to get active.

The team was awarded £30 per person to spend on an activity of their choice, and they all decided to donate the money to Gilgal.

Our Customer Services Team Leader Indy Phull said: “It was such a pleasure to visit Gilgal last week with some of my colleagues to see the great work they do first-hand.

“Donating our winnings to them was a team decision. We all wanted to donate the money go to a good cause, to someone who could really benefit from it.

“The coronavirus pandemic has had a massive impact on charities, and we all know from reports and statistics that domestic violence has increased during this period too. This is why we chose Gilgal as our charity, we felt it was appropriate to donate to a local source of support and refuge for women.”

Lorraine Hawker, Operations Manager at Gilgal in Birmingham, said: “Thank you so much to Indy and the team at Citizen for this very generous donation.

“After suffering a significant cut to our funding in December 2019, we have been on a mission to bridge the gap and keep the refuge open.

“Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has kept people inside their homes a lot more than usual and we’re desperate to make sure we remain open to support the women and children who may have to flee their homes to escape domestic abuse.

“No one should be locked in with their abuser. We’re doing all we can to raise funds and drive efficiencies and when companies like Citizen call us up with a donation it really does make our day!

“Thank you so much from me and all the families lives you are helping to save.”

Anne, who currently lives at Gilgal with her children, added: “I can’t thank Citizen and Gilgal enough for their support.

“When I didn’t know what to do, or how to get out of the horrible life that I lived, Gilgal welcomed me and my family with open arms and showed us that we deserved to live a normal life.

“Without Gilgal I would not have succeeded. Thanks to generous donations like the one Gilgal has received from Citizen they continue to help as many women and children as possible.”

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Solid financial position of Citizen confirmed by new rating

Posted on November 2nd, 2021 by Elaine Davies

Moody’s, a credit rating agency which rates UK 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, status of our borrowing and projected increase in income from market sale homes.

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 and that we have moderate debt levels and improving operating margins.

Gary Booth, our Chief Financial Officer, said: “We are pleased our A2 rating has been confirmed for the fourth 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 our ambitions 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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