Mendip Housing offers later opening hours to help residents

Somerset housing provider Mendip Housing is to open late on Thursdays in a bid to make it easier for its tenants to get in touch.

The housing association, which manages more than 4,000 properties in Glastonbury, Street, Wells, Shepton Mallet and Frome, has been looking at how it can improve its services to its residents over the last year.

It has come up with a number of ways to make it easier for its tenants to get in touch, including extending its working hours to 8pm on a Thursday.

"We know that not everyone can make calls during the day because they work. So we hope this late night helps residents to get in touch at a time that’s more convenient for them. It will also help us because it means we can get in touch with people who work during the day if we need to speak to them about any issue to do with their tenancy,” explained Director of Housing and Neighbourhood Services Amanda Meanwell.

Other ways that Mendip Housing, which is a member of the Aster Group, has improved its services include:

• Improving its website www.mendiphousing.co.uk so that residents can do more online, like paying their rent and reporting non-urgent repairs that are needed to their home
• Improving IT and telephone systems to use other ways of sending information – like texting mobile phones or using Type Talk for people with hearing problems
• Reviewing the special ‘surgeries’ that are open each week on housing estates in Shepton Mallet and Frome and opening more surgeries in other towns

The new later opening hours start on Thursday November 20. On other weekdays the office is open from 8.30am until 5pm.