Hello from Alison…
Welcome to the latest edition of My Great Place magazine! As usual, it's packed with stories and information, and I hope you find it to be a good read.
It's great to see the weather getting warmer and gardens in full bloom. If you receive a grounds maintenance service from us, make sure you check out the timetable on the website so you know when you can expect a visit.
We are now almost a year into the delivery of our Corporate Plan, called Here For Our Customers. The plan outlines our ambitions to make sure we are delivering the best possible services to everyone living in a Great Places home. We’re focusing on the things that you told us are important, such as improving our repairs offer, making it easier for you to get in touch with us and how we can learn from experience when things go wrong. Find out how this work has been going.
It's also more than 12 months since we launched our Customer Committee, which holds us to account and makes sure customers' voices are central to everything we do. There have been some brilliant successes in the first year; check out the update. Reflecting on their role, one of our committee members, Siobhan Prince, told us: ‘I’m most proud of the way our committee has created a space where all voices are heard and valued. We’ve built a strong sense of collaboration and trust, and it’s been rewarding to see the tangible impact our work has had. My main priority is to ensure transparency in decision making, strengthen engagement with customers early on, and make lasting improvements.’
We want all customers to live in warm, safe and efficient homes and the rise in the temperature outside means a welcome break from switching the heating on. This helps when it comes to managing finances, but other pressures remain around the cost of living. Our Money Matters service can advise you how to make the most of your money, and our Employability Coaches have a great track record of helping people into work and training. Perhaps they could benefit you or your neighbours? Find out more here.
Speaking of money, you'll find an article here explaining how we have donated £100,000 to fantastic community organisations via our Greater Together Resilience Fund in the past few months. We’re proud to be more than just a landlord and to see the difference our partnerships can make. Visit our website and socials for more.
Great Places invests in homes as well as communities, and this year we are spending £16 million on home improvements including new kitchens, bathrooms, roofs and windows. Read about our home safety checks here, and if you have any queries, please contact our Customer Hub.
We’re always pleased to hear from you and receive your input. Recently, around 1,000 customers contributed to our brand-new customer experience strategy – find out more about this work.
If you have any feedback on this magazine, please let us know!
Take care,
Alison Dean
Chief Executive Officer
Get in touch with us
Please direct all general needs enquiries through to our Customer Hub in the first instance rather than your Neighbourhood Services Manager.
You can visit our website www.greatplaces.org.uk and register for our MyPlace customer portal.
The quickest way to get in touch with us is via Chatabot, our digital assistant.
You can also email us at customerhub@greatplaces.org.uk or for any repairs and maintenance enquiries email repairs@greatplaces.org.uk
If you do need to call us, contact 0300 123 1966.
