Looking after your homes for the longer-term

Back in 2022, we began a stock condition survey across all of our homes, including those owned and managed by Central and Cecil (C&C), East Boro Housing Trust (EBHT) and Enham Trust.

The survey gave us the opportunity to look at how we can further improve the quality of our homes and services, by enabling us to plan what improvements are needed now and in the future. Our skilled team has been working through a full range of inspections to provide a complete picture of each and every one of our homes.

We spent a total of £3.1m on this survey, and by February 2023 we had surveyed 80% of all our homes. Our surveying colleagues are surveying the vast majority of the remaining 20%.

The survey has allowed us to launch a new asset management database.  The comprehensive data that we gained during the survey has been inputted into this database, allowing us to begin to plan more effectively for the future and recognise what we need to do to improve our homes and meet your individual needs.

This year, we’ll be using the accurate data we now have to make both short and longer term improvements in our goal to ensure that our homes are safe and well-maintained. We are still profiling the millions of pieces of data we collected, so it doesn’t mean that we will necessarily be sorting replacement parts (for example) immediately, but we are looking to prioritise the information and act accordingly.

We’re intending to invest £34m in our existing housing stock this year.

Keeping our sewage treatment plants well-maintained

We currently own and operate 34 sewage treatment plants (STPs) for the benefit of around 500 customers. In most cases, management of the plants transferred to us when we bought existing land, mainly from local councils. All of the plants are in Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, or Devon & Cornwall.

In recent months, the cost some customers have had to pay for the plants to be maintained has significantly risen.

In some cases, this is because the STPs are nearing the end of their lives and deteriorating. We also recognised the need to introduce a specialist contractor to ensure the plants met high standards set by the Environment Agency. Their introduction in 2021, coupled with cost-of-living pressures in recent years has contributed to them increasing their costs.

To support homeowners and social housing tenants who are paying the maintenance charges, we introduced a cap for the 2022/23 financial year, and contributed over £700,000 to subsidise their costs. We’ve also set up repayment plans with a number of customers, provide targeted financial support where appropriate, and our financial wellbeing and accounts team are on hand to discuss any concerns they may have.

We are wholly committed to supporting our customers whose homes are attached to STPs. Any customers with any concerns about this can get in contact with us.