On the latest leg of her regional tour, our new CEO, Alison Dean, visited colleagues and customers in Preston, Leyland and Blackburn, accompanied by Chief Financial Officer Mike Gerrard.
The tour was expertly hosted by colleagues Fee, Julie, Jeff, Nosh, Jake and Suzi, and took in a wide range of our homes and communities, shining a spotlight on our varied stock across the North Region.
Beginning at our Preston landing pad, the visit then continued on to Atkinson Close, and nearby Elizabeth Street and Lawson Street. Julie introduced Alison and Mike to a customer who had experienced damp and mould issues that we have worked together to resolve. Following that, they were given access to an empty (void) property where they discussed some of the challenges around getting new customers into homes as quickly as possible to meet the demand, and the cross-team working that needs to happen to make this process as efficient as it can be.
The next stop was Westcliff House/Toulmin Court, a listed building with a proud history dating back to 1830. As well as the apartments in the old building there is additional housing at the back, where Alison and Mike were welcomed into another home to hear about what life is like there and understand our customers’ experiences of Great Places as a landlord.
The tour went from old builds to new builds at the next stop, which was the impressive Centurian Village development in a rural location in Leyland. This vast new mixed-tenure site will eventually see around 900 new houses built to meet the local housing need, and is two years into development with several more to go. Fee and Jeff led the walk around to showcase the wide range of properties on offer and discuss some of the key things keeping them busy on this site, covering the challenges and opportunities around this work.
Following that it was on to Blackburn, where Neighbourhood Services Manager Nosh continued the tour to take in another empty property at Primrose Terrace, which was about to be re-let; the modular houses at Shorrock Lane; and another customer visit at Fred Pickering Place, which was officially opened in 2022 and named after the former Blackburn Rovers and England striker.
The final stop of the day was at the In Partnership Project, which provides support and accommodation for women aged 16 to 55 who are homeless and who also need help with drug or alcohol issues. Suzi and Jake led the tour of the building, which includes 17 fully furnished flats and excellent communal facilities including a lounge, training kitchen, gardens (which the customers enjoy tending to), a music room and, most recently, a Working Wardrobe offering items of clothing to those that need them.
Reflecting on the visit, Alison said:
It’s been a great day – we’ve seen so much and I really enjoyed chatting with customers about what’s important to them when it comes to the services we provide. We saw a great variety of homes, from older stock to brand new properties at Centurian Village, and it was so interesting to hear first-hand about people’s experiences and challenges. The dedication of our colleagues was clear to see, and we got a fantastic insight into their work. A big thanks from me to everyone involved!
Mike added:
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our visit and was really impressed by the wealth of knowledge our colleagues had about our customers and their homes and communities. It was great to see the result of the recent investment works at In Partnership Project and hear about all of the brilliant activities that take place to improve the wellbeing of the residents. Many thanks to our brilliant hosts!
