Over the last 12 months we’ve been tackling anti-social behaviour in Hillfields to combat issues including disturbances and fly tipping.
We worked with partners including West Midlands Police and Coventry City Council to improve the neighbourhood for customers.
Results include:
Obtaining five injunctions against individuals causing serious anti-social behaviour such as threatening behaviour and for trespassing into high-rise blocks. These were granted by the court and are a way of preventing further anti-social behaviour. Breaching them can lead to prison as well as people losing their homes.
We worked closely with West Midlands Police who served three anti-social behaviour related Closure Orders on addresses in Citizen high-rise blocks after receiving reports of drug dealing and residents causing disturbances. This makes it illegal for the individuals to enter the addresses.
Completed work with Coventry City Council to improve the local environment in the Brook Close and Vernon Close area following reports of anti-social behaviour. Trees and shrubs have been cut back to make it lighter and improve surveillance to deter crime making spaces feel more comfortable and safer for visitors. New colourful plants have been planted in shrub beds making the outdoor space more attractive, healthy and enjoyable.
Removing fly tipping from Brook Close and Vernon Close. It is an offence to fly-tip rubbish and if found guilty of this, the perpetrator could be fined up to £50k or face up to five years imprisonment.
Improved the security of our high-rise blocks by installing new steel communal front doors.
All of these initiatives are thanks to the launch of a neighbourhood plan for the area – a document which is written in conjunction with local residents to tackle the main issues in the area which include anti-social behaviour and this plan helps to shape future improvements and services for the neighbourhood.
Our director of housing care and support Peter Gill said: “We have been working hard with our partners including West Midlands Police and Coventry City Council to tackle the anti-social behaviour in the Hillfields area of Coventry.
“We have been meeting with residents so we can use their feedback to continue to improve our services. Following these meetings, we will be putting more resources into our neighbourhood services teams to reassure our residents and to be able to respond to issues quickly.
“We are committed to working with our customers to reduce anti-social behaviour and on a daily basis, our neighbourhood team and concierge teams based in Hillfields continue to work closely with police to prevent anti-social behaviour and crime being committed in the area.
“If any of our customers are experiencing anti-social behaviour, we encourage them to report it to us straight away.”
Chief Inspector Dave Amos, from the Coventry Local Policing Area, said: “These have been some excellent pieces of work in which neighbourhood concerns have been directly addressed.
“Thank you to everyone who has come forward with their concerns – if you are worried about anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood, get in touch with us and let us know.
“We are committed to tackling anti-social behaviour, neighbourhood crime and exploitation and will work with partners to secure civil interventions where possible.”
Councillor David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, added: “Without our partnership working approach to tackle anti-social behaviour, these outcomes would not have been achieved. It’s an example of how we can work together to resolve issues effectively.
“We’ve seen some really positive outcomes following this work and I’m pleased that residents living in Hillfields have noticed a difference. We will continue to engage with residents and listen to what they have to say to ensure our work has a lasting impact.”
In the next year neighbourhood plans will be rolled out to other areas to help combat anti-social behaviour in the same way.
Congratulations to our customer experience team for being accredited by the Customer Contact Association (CCA) for the eighth year!
The CCA is the leading global authority on customer contact strategies and operations. We are assessed against their criteria every year to see how we have improved on the previous 12 months and if we maintain the accreditation for a further year. This year the assessment focussed on the evolution of customer contact and the need for a more collaborative approach to customer experience.
Prior to the assessment, the CCA run a survey with 59 colleagues in the Customer Experience team working in different roles, and then analysed this data. During the assessment, colleagues from the customer experience directorate and our key business partners (ICT, HR, learning & development) attended sessions with the assessor to discuss and provide evidence how we meet the required criteria for each module.
We’ve received some outstanding results and following the assessment, the CCA commended us for our people culture. They said ‘in the assessor’s opinion the centre has one of the strongest people cultures, with a very supportive senior management team that genuinely care about their workforce, and a keenness to get the best from their people.’
Some of the areas which the assessor and CCA Board have recognised, based on the survey and the assessment include:
An extremely focused team ready to move into the year ahead.
100 percent of colleagues said they agreed or strongly agreed their co-workers are respectful to each other.
95 percent of colleagues said they either agreed or strongly agreed that they would refer people to work at Citizen.
93 percent of people either agree or strongly agree that their manager supports them with their personal goals.
A modernised approach to supporting customers and colleagues.
A strategy that uses feedback from customers and colleagues that is communicated well.
Customer and colleague feedback demonstrably influences changes through the customer engagement platform.
Our director of customer experience Scott Worth said: “I am really proud of the customer experience team, they have worked incredibly hard over the last year and have done a sterling job in helping our customers.
“This is the eighth year in a row which we have been accredited so I am really pleased the team has achieved this for another year.
“In terms of our performance, we are doing a great job and we are focused on where we want to go in the future. We have shown we are brave by changing the way we do things to improve services for our customers, we give honest feedback to our teams, and we are ambitious by having brought in new systems relating to complaints.
“Well done to everyone in the customer experience team for all your hard work over the last year and congratulations on achieving the accreditation.”
More than 240 new homes will be built in western Coventry as part of our collaboration with Countryside Partnerships.
The development, called Pickford Gate, will deliver 247 new homes which will be made up of 140 affordable homes managed by us and 107 outright sale properties.
Final planning consents have now been secured for the 31-acre site which is three miles west of the city centre. The development is also the first phase of the wider Eastern Green scheme, a sustainable urban extension on the western side of Coventry that received outline planning permission in 2021.
The Eastern Green scheme is a 353-acre site which will see 2,400 homes built and 25 percent of these will be affordable. A new primary school, district and local community centres, a transport hub and extensive open spaces and play facilities will also be created as part of the scheme. Two new dedicated busways will also connect it to Coventry City Council’s wider bus network.
Our executive director of development Nick Byrne said: “We’re really pleased to be working with Countryside Partnerships on another development in the West Midlands which will bring more affordable homes to the western side of Coventry.
“At Citizen we are committed to working with our partners, including Countryside Partnerships, to make a positive difference to our customers by developing homes that are needed.
“We’re looking forward to work starting on Pickford Gate and bringing new homes to this area of Coventry.”
Divisional managing director at Countryside Partnerships Midlands, Adam Daniels, said: “We’re proud to be working with Citizen to provide much-needed, high-quality new homes for the Coventry area.
“This exceptional development will provide new amenities including community centres and a new school, making Pickford Gate a place in which people can thrive as part of a flourishing new community.”
Modular homes have been craned into place in Coventry as part of our extended modular pilot.
The scheme will see 24 homes built on eight garage sites across the city.
We’re working with Modpods International and Coventry City Council to deliver the development. Ten of the homes have been installed at Wedon Close and these are the last homes of the pilot to be craned into place.
The homes which are being built by ModPods International at their factory in Stoneleigh will be a mix of bungalows and family houses. The remaining 16 have been installed at: Bradney Green, Coleman Street, Fletchamstead Highway, Attoxhall Road, Capmartin Road, Shepherd Close and Thimbler Road.
Watch our video below:
Our director of development Richard Whittaker said: “Our modular homes have been craned into place at Wedon Close and it’s great to see them finished after watching them being built in the factory.
“We’re really pleased to have installed several homes on this single ex-garage site. There are so many benefits to modular homes. These will be A rated meaning higher energy efficiency and lower energy bills compared to a traditional home.
“At Citizen we have an ambitious development programme to meet the ever-increasing need for homes in the region, and we have a particular focus on building quality and affordable homes. We’re looking forward to welcoming our customers into the homes at Wedon Close when they have been completed.”
Once the homes have been craned into place they are then connected to the services.
The homes at the development are all affordable meaning they will help those who are currently waiting on the housing list.
Managing Director at ModPods International Andy Cornaby said: “It’s great to be working with Citizen on this scheme to provide homes for people across Coventry.
“ModPods International offers comfortable and affordable homes at two thirds of the cost of traditionally built homes. They are built with robust steel frame structures, are insulated and compliant to meet building and fire regulations.
“We’re looking forward to finishing the site at Wedon so the Citizen customers can move in.”
Councillor David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, added: “We are providing more homes that are much needed in Coventry and it’s good to see 24 homes across garage sites in Coventry.
“We need larger family homes and homes for older people to downsize into. There is a massive need in Coventry. These modular buildings are among the most energy efficient in the country and leave very little waste in their manufacture. It means that when tenants move in their energy bills will be lower too.
“Modular homes are one approach and is an efficient way of bringing brownfield sites back into use.”
The homes will be finished and ready for customers to move in during early autumn.
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