£37m homes boost wins praise from tenants

Thousands of South Norfolk tenants have benefitted from vital improvements to the homes they rent, thanks to a multi-million pound initiative by Saffron Housing Trust.

The improvements were a key part of the agreement struck between South Norfolk Council and Saffron Housing Trust in May 2004, when what is known as the "Large Scale Voluntary Transfer" of the council housing stock took place.

Under LSVT, 4,218 homes moved over to the Trust.

Saffron then launched a £37m improvement campaign installing 2,164 new kitchens, 1,724 new bathrooms, upgrading or installing 1,267 central heating systems, 1,216 new outside doors, and 2,231 installations of loft or cavity wall insulation.

The figures are in a special report to South Norfolk Council Planning, Housing and Built Environment Overview sub-committee which meets on 2 June. The report also underlines the "extremely positive" feedback from tenants.

There is particular praise from tenants for the way Saffron has communicated, consulted and made decisions, saying Saffron staff "went the extra mile" to help.

Councillor Beverley Spratt, vice-chairman of the sub-committee said:

"The real story behind these statistics are the ordinary people and families whose lives and homes have been changed for the better, thanks to this work. They are the people I care about and I have watched the way Saffron work and am happy with what they are doing to raise the standards of this housing."

Saffron Housing Trust Chief Executive Adam Ronaldson said:

"We could not have hoped for a better endorsement of our work since transfer than this report.

"It highlights the excellent progress on meeting commitments resulting from the transfer process as well as drawing attention to the high levels of satisfaction of our residents to the way we have delivered the changes and also consulted with them about these changes."

Councillor Derek Blake, Cabinet member for Planning Housing and the Built Environment said:

"I welcome very much the positive outcomes for tenants as a result of the council transferring its stock to Saffron in 2004. We have a close working relationship including a councillor who sits on the Saffron Housing Trust Board, and the benefits are demonstrated by these excellent results.

"In addition, we have appointed Saffron as our lead Registered Social Landlord (RSL), with a specific remit to work closely with us to deliver 'a handful' of Local Needs Affordable Houses in as many of the Parishes of South Norfolk as possible. To this end we are jointly in discussions with Parish Councils, local landowners and Planners to ensure a full understanding of the issues including identification of suitable land for this very important project."

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