New social housing repairs and maintenance partner
South Derbyshire District Council is excited to announce a new repairs and maintenance contract partner. On Monday, 17 June 2024, Wates Property Services will take over from Novus Property Solutions.
This is an exciting time for the Council, as we have a new and ambitious Council Plan to shape our environment, drive our economy and support our communities. Wates are one of the UK’s leading family-owned development, building and property maintenance companies, servicing over 500,000 homes every year and their experience and expertise will be vital to help us meet these ambitions.
“I am delighted with the appointment of Wates Property Services as our repairs and maintenance contractor. Their extensive experience coupled with the improvement journey on which the Council’s Housing service has embarked will improve the quality and responsiveness of our housing repairs service,” said Dr Justin Ives, the Council’s Chief Executive.
Through this partnership, Wates will support the delivery of the Council Plan 2024 – 2028 through its expertise in delivering maintenance works at scale, innovative working practices and exceptional track record with resident engagement and social value. These are qualities that will help improve lives and communities in South Derbyshire and help the Council achieve their goal of modernising and transforming its services.
“South Derbyshire District Council have an ambitious plan to improve homes and services for years to come. We are excited to work in partnership with them to deliver quality and safe homes for residents across the district.
“This partnership is a fantastic opportunity to improve the homes and lives of residents, building on our capabilities and delivery expertise across the Midlands,” added Stewart Reid, Wates’ Regional Managing Director.
The Housing Service is currently undergoing a comprehensive review by Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise (iESE), a public sector transformation specialist to improve the service it provides to tenants. This initiative is fully supported by elected members and embraced by staff.
Some repair jobs will be transitioned from Novus to Wates. The Council have already started to inform tenants in writing if your repairs are affected by this change.
Tenants may experience slightly longer wait times for appointments than usual during the transition. We aim to minimize any disruption and thank people for their patience and understanding.
The Council’s contact numbers and ways to report a repair will remain the same, and tenants will not need to do anything different when reporting a repair to us.
For repairs, please contact the Council via the portal, the Council’s website, or phone.
Our contact centre can be contacted on 01283 595795 with telephone lines open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays between 8.45am and 5pm, Wednesdays between 9.30am and 5pm and Fridays between 8.45am and 4.30pm.
To report an out-of-hours emergency, tenants should call 01332 912642.
Pictured:
Left to right – Dr Justin Ives – SDDC Chief Executive, Dave Lansdowne – SDDC Interim Repairs Manager, Steph Hurdman – Wates Head of Business Improvement & Transformation, Jason Dhesi – SDDC Interim Head of Housing, Stewart Reid - Wates Regional Managing Director, Steve Williams Wates Divisional Director.
17 June 2024