Posted on March 30th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
We are delighted to announce that we have retained our G1/V1 status following a recent IDA assessment undertaken by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
The purpose of the IDA is for the RSH to test whether registered providers are meeting the expectations of the RSH’s Economic Standards. These include the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, the Rent Standard, and the Value for Money Standard.
G1 is the highest rating a housing provider can achieve, showing that we meet the RSH’s governance requirements.
V1 is the highest rating for financial viability, indicating that we meet the RSH’s viability requirements and have the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.
Our Chief Executive Kevin Rodgers said: “Retaining the highest rating for both our governance and financial viability is a massive achievement.
“The IDA process is a key regulatory tool for the RSH which takes place every few years.
“It consists of extensive document submission followed by the RSH IDA team holding two roundtable interviews with our Executive Leadership Team, interviewing our Board Chair and the Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee. The RSH also observed our Board meeting in February as part of their assessment.
“The whole process takes several months, and lot of hard work has gone into us achieving this fantastic result.
“The IDA team’s closing remarks about Citizen were that our documents and engagement were very transparent, and we presented as a business that knows what it wants to achieve.”
You can read the announcement from the RSH about us retaining our G1/V1 status here.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 29th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
One of our customers who moved into our Whitecross supported housing accommodation in Hereford is moving into his own home.
Stephen Philips moved into our 12-bed scheme, which we run with Herefordshire Council, in July last year.
It provides a home and support for people who have found themselves homeless or sleeping rough in Hereford.
Stephen said he has been homeless on and off for 15 years when he came to Whitecross.
He said: “I spent a lot of time in foster care when I was younger, and I was later put into a young offender’s prison when I was 17.
“At first it was fun to behave badly, and I also liked the attention that it gave me. I have since been homeless on and off for 15 years due to relationship breakdowns. I stayed in a hostel in Birmingham for four years and then Hereford City Council housed me in temporary accommodation at Hedley Lodge Hotel. It was here that the council put in a referral for me for a room at Whitecross.”
Stephen said that when he moved into Whitecross and had been there for a little while, he started to feel better, and his self esteem increased.
He said: “Staff have encouraged me to realise that I deserve good things in my life. They have shared all my highs and lows and when my friend passed away at Whitecross they came to check on me at a weekend and I was able to cry about it.”
Stephen stayed at Whitecross for eight months and is now going to move into his own home. He will still be able to access support from colleagues working at Whitecross.
Stephen said: “I am excited and worried as I have never had a tenancy on my own and I don’t want to mess it up.
“I sometimes worry about who I will share the building with as I like to be left alone and I want peace and quiet. Sometimes I worry about the unknown and this affects my sleeping, but this is a step towards having my own tenancy.
“I am looking forward to having a place of my own at last. I have always wanted this for myself, and I never thought that this would ever happen.”
Stephen said he would like to thank everyone who has helped him at Whitecross and said he feels like it is his safe place. Since being homeless he doesn’t like going outside and often his heart will beat fast until he is at home again.
He added: “When I was living on the streets it meant so much to me when people would take the time to stop and talk to me. This meant a lot more than giving money or food. Sometimes hundreds of people would pass by me, and I would feel invisible.”
Homeless Hub Coordinator Kerry Darnell said: “We are all so proud of the achievements and changes that Steve has made to his life. He used to solve his problems with his fist and now he thinks about the consequences of his actions.
“He hasn’t received any warnings since moving into Whitecross on 30 July and has been our longest resident.
“It’s been a privilege to meet him, get to know him, and we all wish him the best for his move into his new home.”
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 29th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
Two years ago, on 26 March 2020 the Government launched the Everyone In campaign.
The campaign asked local authorities and housing associations to immediately house rough sleepers and those at risk of rough sleeping, to protect their health and prevent the transmission of covid 19.
A report by Inside Housing said, according to Government Statistics, within weeks roughly 37,000 people were provided with secure accommodation and immediate support thanks to Everyone In and this response saved lives.
We took part in the Everyone In campaign and opened our supported housing accommodation in Coventry to house people who were homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The scheme was initially meant for families, but cots and bunk beds were swiftly removed and single beds with protective mattresses and high-grade flame-resistant bedding sourced. Our suppliers rallied and supported us quickly and efficiently. The wider teams involved went above and beyond throughout this period, nothing was too much trouble.
A number of customers had quite complex support needs with a history of substance and alcohol misuse. There were also people who had no access to public funds, so we agreed a process with the council where they would meet these accommodation charges directly. The remaining customers were able to access Universal Credit, supported by our on-site team.
Simple things became quite complex, like access to meals and food, as the flats were originally equipped for families to cook and prepare meals themselves. We were able to make appropriate adjustments by working with the council. We accessed a supply of food and one meal a day was delivered to each customer. We quickly adapted the cooking facilities, switching from cookers to microwaves.
When the first lockdown was lifted, we helped those who had been living at the scheme move into follow on accommodation and then started to welcome families into our supported housing accommodation.
Over the last two years we have also worked hard to increase the number of homes for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
We have been successful in bids to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for £1.75m to build 25 units across the West Midlands for homeless single people and a further £514,320 to build an extra 16 flats at our other support housing accommodation in Coventry, the Gateway. Both of these schemes have now been completed.
It’s so important that homeless people provided with tenancies have the right support to sustain those tenancies. As part of our 2020-23 business strategy, we have agreed that we will launch 76 new homes which will provide temporary accommodation and it’s fantastic that we are on our way to achieving this target.
At Citizen we have a clear social purpose, which is to provide homes that are a foundation for life.
There are some fundamental challenges people in our community’s face, and we want to be an organisation which can help them deal with these. We often do the difficult things that many other organisations can’t or won’t do.
We strongly believe that often a good home is all people need to thrive. But when times get tough, we offer all the help we can, including money advice, coaching and practical support, enabling our customers to build on their own strengths and get back on their feet.
In the future we would like to expand our own services across the West Midlands as well as consolidate the services we have in Coventry and establish a more long-term relationship with the Coventry City Council to tackle homelessness.
One organisation alone can’t solve homelessness. We want to crack homelessness once and for all by really understanding how agencies, local authorities and housing association need to work together.
It’s not just about a house or a service, it’s about helping to shape someone’s life to live independently.
Martyn Hale, Director of Care and Support
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 28th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
The Fleet Management Team will be introducing SmartWater Technology to increase the security of our fleet of vans.
SmartWater Technology is at the cutting edge of crime prevention, and we are using it to protect our vans and the high value equipment we carry in them.
SmartWater is a traceable liquid and forensic asset marking system that is applied to items of value to identify thieves and deter theft. The liquid contains a code and leaves a long lasting and unique identifier, whose presence is invisible except under an ultraviolet black light.
Our Fleet Team deal with many issues relating to vandalism and break-ins. This is a real problem because not only does it take our vans off the road – costing us time and money – it also impacts revenue when it comes to our insurance premiums.
The rollout of the SmartWater Technology will be implemented during March and April, with the aim to have all vans covered by 1 May.
Scott Fincham Maintenance Operations Support Manager said: “I’m really excited about the potential of SmartWater Technology to protect all our vehicles. We are always looking for new and innovative ways to bolster the security of our fleet of vans and SmartWater Technology is the next phase to enable us to do this.
“SmartWater technology is at the cutting edge of crime prevention and will act as a deterrent to criminals breaking into our vans. It is a traceable liquid and forensic asset marking system. If something is marked with the technology, it is really hard to sell on. It can also stick for up to five years – even in wet conditions – and if you get any on your skin the code can also stick with you for up to five years.
“The clear liquid can be painted onto anything that’s valuable. It’s not visible unless you shine it under a dark UV light. Within the liquid there is a unique code. The coding within the SmartWater Technology we have bought includes a Citizen code – making the code unique to us. The liquid is being distributed to all our engineers so that we can paint valuable equipment in our vans.
“The Fleet Team have already taken measures to improve the security of our vans. Some of this recent work has included fitting stronger locks and protector plates which protect the vulnerable areas around the locking mechanism on commercial vehicles. We have already seen a slight decline since implementing these measures and the implementation of SmartWater Technology will go further to protect our vans and valuable assets.”
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 24th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
Last week we announced that we’d been successful in a £1.1million bid for funding in partnership with Coventry City Council from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
The funding will allow us to improve the energy efficiency of our homes in Coventry which have an energy performance certificate (ECP) rating below C.
Last week (Wednesday 16 March) we invited customers to join us at a consultation event at St George’s Church Lounge, which we arranged alongside Coventry City Council.
As part of the Wave 1 funding bid, we have identified 95 homes in Coventry that have an energy performance certificate (ECP) rating of D – it was these customers who were invited to the consultation event.
Asset Manager Adam Denny said: “We think it’s important to host consultation events to make sure that our customers understand our plans and to give them the opportunity to ask questions and share any concerns they have about the energy efficiency upgrades to their homes.
“It’s important we ensure that our customers are prepared for the changes we are going to be making to their homes.
“We are one of 69 housing associations to receive funding to retrofit our homes under Wave 1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, which is a fantastic achievement.
“The funding will be used to fit external wall insulation to the homes as well as installing energy efficient doors and windows, increased loft insulation, and improving ventilation to reduce the potential for mould growth.
“The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave one funding improvement programme will be completed by March 2023 and demonstrates our continued commitment to the decarbonisation and continued improvement of our existing homes.”
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 23rd, 2022 by Elaine Davies
Homes at our Ridge Hill development in Wordsley have been handed over to customers.
We have worked with Vistry Partnerships on the 103-home development near Stourbridge, which is made up of 30 affordable rent, 13 social rent, nine shared ownership and 51 outright sale homes.
The homes have been built on the former Ridge Hill Hospital site which specialised in care for mental health from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.
The first homes at the development have been completed and Suzanne Preece is one of the first customers to move in.
She said she has moved to be closer to her father and loves her new home.
She said: “I was over the moon when I was told I’d been successful with this property. I had been waiting to move out of my previous home for two and a half years because we had outgrown it.
“I’ve moved in with my 11-year-old daughter and she loves our new home too – she’s happy to have a bigger bedroom.
“I love that no one else has lived here before me and before moving in I used to drive round and have a look at the houses because I was so excited. I’m five minutes down the road from my dad now and that’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to move.”
We first started working on the Ridge Hill development in 2021.
Our Development Project Manager Pete Simpson said: “We’re pleased to see our customers move into their new homes at Ridge Hill and it’s brilliant to hear that they love their new home and have settled in well.
“We are working with Vistry Partnerships on the site and are committed to providing more affordable homes across the West Midlands in our partnership with them.
“We are looking forward to seeing more of the homes at Ridge Hill handed over to our customers soon.”
Ridge Hill is one of several sites we are working on with Vistry Partnerships, the others include the 600-home development at Lea Castle in Kidderminster, the 246 home development at Churchfields in Kidderminster and 88 homes at York Road in Hall Green.
Managing Director at Vistry Partnerships Darren Beale added: “It’s great to see customers moving into the homes we have we have built , and we’re thrilled they’re 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 Ridge Hill a long and happy time in their new homes.”
The development at Ridge Hill is due to be completed during 2022.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 21st, 2022 by Elaine Davies
Homes at our Clifton Street development in Coventry have been handed to customers.
We worked with Seddon on the 11-home development in Hillfields and customers who used to live in Wyken and Spon End are now moving into the homes.
As part of a huge regeneration project, in Wyken we will be demolishing Vincent Wyles House and transforming William Malcolm House – both of which are tower blocks – and will be building 93 new homes.
In Spon End, we will be demolishing three blocks – Kerry House, Milestone and Trafalgar House – and these will be replaced with affordable homes.
Customer Badria Hussein used to live in Spon End and has moved to Clifton Street with her four children.
Badria said: “I’m so grateful to have moved into my new home and my family are so happy here.
“It’s a lovely house and unlike my old home, is very spacious – I like everything about it. My family love the garden as we didn’t have one in our previous home.
“I’m so relieved our house is close to where I work and my network of friends. Some of them are also moving into the same development which is brilliant!
“I’m so grateful for having moved over to Clifton Street.”
Work started on the development in the summer of 2020 following the disruption caused by the covid pandemic.
Our Executive Director of Development Nick Byrne said: “Our homes at Clifton Street are being handed over to customers and we are pleased to hear that Badria is enjoying her new home.
“We hope that her whole family will be very happy there.
“At Citizen we want to provide more than a home, we want to provide a foundation for life, and we are pleased that our customers who were living in Spon End and Wyken are moving into this development, which isn’t too far away from their previous home.”
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities David Welsh said: “It’s great for the area that these new homes have been built and in terms of regeneration, this development has improved the area.
“I am really pleased larger homes are being provided for families. I’ve previously requested for four bed homes to be built and Citizen have delivered this. I look forward to working with Citizen on other projects.”
Clifton Street is one of three sites we have been working on with Seddon.
The others, which have also been completed, include Almond Tree Avenue and Everdon Road.
Operations manager at Seddon Lloyd Anderson said: “We’ve worked with forward-thinking organisation Citizen for over five years to help them achieve their goal to increase the supply of affordable homes in the Midlands.
“We’re passionate about helping communities thrive and supporting the much-needed requirement for affordable housing. It’s great to see the development at Clifton Street coming to fruition with the residents moving into their new homes.”
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 18th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
We have been successful in a bid to receive funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
We worked with Coventry City Council to submit the bid, and the £1m grant will allow us to improve the energy efficiency of our homes in the city which have an energy performance certificate (ECP) rating below C.
As a housing association we were not allowed to bid for funding in the first wave of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, but we could access the funding if we entered a joint bid with the local authority.
The money will be used for fitting external wall insulation to 95 homes as well as installing energy efficient doors and windows, increased loft insulation and improving ventilation to reduce the potential for mould growth.
We have tendered for the consultants and contractors and are in the process of appointing them.
We will start carrying out surveys and the design phase in April with the aim to start work in August this year. It is a condition of the bid that all works must be completed by 31 March 2023.
Our Head of Strategic Asset Management Chris Morris said: “It is really great news that the bid was successful with Coventry City Council. There was a lot of hard work by both Citizen and Coventry Council to prepare and submit the bid which showed great partnership working.
“The funding will help deliver warm, energy efficient homes and improve the comfort, health and wellbeing of our customers.
“A large proportion of our customers live in fuel poverty and these improvements will help tackle this. Improving the energy efficiency of our homes will help to reduce the amount of energy used during these times of high energy bills. Also, by making our homes more efficient it reduces the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, reducing the impact on the environment.
“It is a Government requirement that all rented properties by 2030 must be achieve minimum band C and we currently have around 1,600 un-insulated solid wall properties so we will be looking to bid for further funding that we can use towards improving the energy efficiency of our stock.”
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund supports the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution and makes further progress towards delivering the Government’s commitment to invest in the energy performance of homes.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 14th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
We are looking for a Director of Communications to lead our Communications function.
The post is part of our Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the role will help to shape our future at Citizen.
Our new director will inspire and motivate our 1,000 colleagues, ensure our customers receive high-quality tailored communication and keep our stakeholders engaged in our work.
Our Chief Executive Kevin Rodgers said: “This is a rare opportunity for a passionate individual to join our Senior Leadership Team.
“We’re looking for someone who will be a committed professional who can build strong relationships with peers, team members and people outside our organisation to produce communications results of the highest quality. The individual will be capable of leading a proactive communications strategy and responding to the many reactive communications needs of our diverse organisation.
“They will also be all about people and an authentic leader who cares about doing the right thing.
“We’re looking forward to seeing who applies.”
The deadline for applications is Friday 1 April and interviews take place on Monday 25 April.
Find out more in our recruitment pack here and visit our jobs page on our website here.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on March 10th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
Work has started on our Ebbw Vale Terrace scheme in Coventry which will provide 30 retirement living flats for people aged over 55.
The development in Cheylesmore – which will be called Swift Court when it is complete – will replace our existing retirement living accommodation at Eric Inott House as well as the previous building on the site which was a 16 flat development for the over 55s.
We are working with Harper Group on the three-storey complex which will be all electric and include photovoltaic panels on the roof which will contribute towards the running costs of communal lighting and reduce the service charges for our customers.
Our Executive Director of Development Nick Byrne said: “It’s brilliant that work is under way at our Swift Court development in Cheylesmore.
“The scheme will provide modern day homes for people who are over 55 and will replace some of our outdated accommodation.
“As part of looking to the future and our impact on the environment, these homes will be built without gas and the photovoltaic panels will help generate electricity for the building.
“It’s important we provide retirement living schemes for our customers and I look forward to seeing this development progress over the coming months.”
As well as individual flats, the block will include a communal area, kitchenette, lounge, and office.
Our Retirement Living Manager Tim Ansell said: “We’re pleased to see work starting on our new Swift Court retirement living scheme in Coventry and we’re looking forward to welcoming our first residents when it is finished.
“Our retirement living schemes are a great option for people over 55 as they provide a fantastic blend of community and independence with people having access to their own flats but also the communal rooms.”
Antony Rees, Group Managing Director of J Harper & Sons, added: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Citizen to bring much-needed affordable housing to the area of Coventry.
“We look forward to continuing our works with the team in the creation of 30 new, contemporary and high-quality apartments for retirement living.”
The development is set to be completed in December 2022.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
