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Main switchboard: 01992 453 700 Rent Enquiries: 01992 453 714 Repairs Enquiries: 01992 453750 Out Of Hours Enquiries: 01992 639 561 Broxbourne Housing Association Scania House, 17 Amwell Street, Hoddesdon, EN11 8TS
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Value for money - can you help us to reduce our costs and to improve our services to you?Like all businesses, Broxbourne Housing Association (BHA) strives to run an efficient, effective and economic business. We want to drive down costs because the more we save, the more we can do for our residents. We are constantly reviewing our services and looking for areas where we can make improvements - in fact, many you have helped us do this. Here are just some of the improved services and benefits: Repairs: we have negotiated significant savings on our electrical rewiring contract, reviewed how we operate our emergency repair works and reduced the numbers of out of hours calls. Customer service: we have reviewed all of our service standards in consultation with our Residents Panel and established focus groups to review key areas of service. Residents suggested a reward payment of £100 for tenants who leave their homes in good condition, allowing us to make a saving on unnecessary repair costs. Residents also reviewed services for residents with special needs and suggested that retirement housing with its associated support and community facilities should be more widely promoted as an alternative to costly adaptations to family sized homes. Retirement services: the recent Value for Money exercise carried out by Supporting People has enabled us to reduce the cost of providing services through redistributing staff to provide a more efficient service. Neighbourhood issues: we have been working closely with the Borough of Broxbourne's legal team, meaning we are less reliant on private solicitors. During 2008/9 we will use solar powered security lighting which will dramatically reduce installation costs. Our Sustainable Communities team installed prikka-strip, an anti-climbing deterrent, which is rapid and has no installation costs. Our Sustainable Communities Officers are also mediation trained, a service which many other organisations contract out to external agencies, costing around £20,000 per year. Energy efficiency in your home: in 2007/8 we insulated 56 Lofts and 226 Cavities which was part-funded by British Gas. By working with others we can greatly reduce our own costs, in this case by up to 50% with match funding. We fitted 37 energy efficient heat recovery room ventilators which tackle the causes of condensation, which is cheaper than focusing on the problems it causes. All new communal lights those in new kitchens and bathrooms are fitted with low energy bulbs which are better for the environment and cost less to run. Home improvements: we have saved around £50,000 by combining the contracts for the new kitchens and bathrooms. By working closely with consultants we will continue to review our improvements processes and add further value for money for our residents and communities. We are always happy to hear your suggestions - if you have a value for money idea, call our Resident Involvement Manager, Peter Walkinshaw on: 01992 453776 |
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Broxbourne Housing Association Limited. Charitable Industrial & Provident Society (29876R). Registered with the Tenant Services Authority (L4455) |