Building on the spirit of Liverpool 08

Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Housing

Since April 1st, Liverpool Mutual Homes, has been delivering its promises to improve tenant homes throughout Liverpool. Chief Executive, Steve Coffey, explains how LMH is drawing on the energy generated by the city’s historic Capital of Culture celebrations.

Liverpool is enjoying a period of sustained inward investment and regeneration and LMH is currently one of the largest investors in the city. Other key investment has come from the Liverpool 08 Capital of Culture programme and the multi-million pound Liverpool 1 retail, business and residential development.

From our city centre office we can see the extra visitors and the buzz that 08 is creating and we recognise that it is a fantastic boost to the city. Homer, our superlambanana, was one of 125 unique sculptures placed around the city during the summer and he’s proven to be one of the most popular with visitors and journalists. Homer was bought at auction by local builder and TV celebrity, Craig Phillips, and he will no doubt be making public appearances in the coming year.

It is inevitable that the impact of the 08 celebrations and Liverpool 1 will mainly be felt in the city centre and we are very aware of our responsibility in channelling our investment into the surrounding residential areas. We are investing in the fabric of communities and neighbourhoods.

Making good progress

Overall, things have been progressing extremely well since the handover of over 15,000 tenants’ homes on April 1st. However, there’s no room for complacency and there is still plenty to do.

One of the issues is the number of long term void properties we inherited and we have a detailed strategy in place to reduce these numbers. Where feasible, our aim is to make these properties not only fit to live in, but make the homes and the areas they are in more desirable places to live. We are already seeing dramatic changes in demand for homes in neighbourhoods we are investing in and that is one vital indicator where our investment programme is having a positive effect.

Higher specifications

The specification LMH is achieving for home improvements goes way beyond the quality standards normally associated with social housing organisations.

We have a first class and highly experienced procurement team and we are choosing high end ranges that are normally seen in ‘executive style’ private housing developments.

Steve Collins, who is leading the procurement team, is working on his third transfer. It is also my third transfer and our collective experience and that of our colleagues has helped us seek out the best quality and the best value for money in all areas.

I’m very proud of the fact that we have involved tenants in the procurement process and we have succeeded in going beyond expectations in many areas. I believe we have benefited from going to market at the right time and this has helped us secure very competitive prices and achieve the best value for money for every pound we spend.

We are committed to investing more than £1million every week for the next five years. To do this we have used a number of weighting systems to ensure we have a balance between large and small businesses and between local and best in class suppliers.

And we were not afraid to seek out the best products in the EU. Sourcing Kaldewei baths from Germany and bathroom tiles from Spain are examples of where we have raised the specification to levels beyond those normally associated with social housing.

The credit crunch

Of course, there is no escaping the credit crunch for everyone in the housing sector. We are all hearing stories of how new build has ground to a halt. However, LMH has benefited from fortunate timing in this regard, and the difficult sector conditions are helping us to secure even better value for money for our tenants.

LMH secured its funding before the credit crunch really started to bite, but we have been procuring during the downturn, which has meant we can negotiate advantageous prices and make our budget go further to deliver our high end specification.

We are fully committed to investing in home improvements and, as an example of the economic effect we’re having, a Merseyside window manufacturer has created 50 new jobs to satisfy the demand generated by one of our contracts. LMH is also working in partnership with Fusion 21 to maximise the opportunities for job creation and training with the successful contractors and suppliers we appoint.

Daneville transformation

The Daneville area is one of LMH’s ongoing success stories. Before we began investing in the area and tackling the voids problem it was an area tenants were keen to move out of. Since our large scale investment programme has been underway, this trend has reversed and there is now a waiting list of tenants who want to move into the area.

The photographs tell a story of regeneration and it is very satisfying to see developments like Daneville which will have a lasting impact on the community.

Groundbreaking speed

What sets LMH apart from many new RSLs is the speed at which the improvement programme has been implemented. Due to our intensive preparations before the handover, we were able to start work on Day One, as promised. Since then, we have kept up the momentum and our contractor partners have been delivering exceptional results.

In fact, we’ve been installing new heating systems at such a fast pace that the energy companies from whom we are claiming grant funding rebates have sent in their auditors to check our figures. They find it hard to believe we have installed so many systems in such a short space of time.

Our success to date is down to preparation, commitment and teamwork and it reflects well on all LMH staff and tenants who have worked hard to set such high standards.