NPT Homes Looks Back at Its Achievements Five Years on from Transfer

On Friday 4th March we celebrated our fifth birthday and looked back on the difference we have made in the Neath Port Talbot Borough since transfer.

The planned six year improvement programme to bring properties up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) has invested £110m into tenant’s homes and the local community.

Improvements include over 6,300 new kitchens, 6,000 new bathrooms, 3,800 rewires and 4,900 new heating systems being fitted as part of the improvement programme. NPT Homes has also carried out over 1,500 roof replacements, 2,250 window and door installations and has completed over 1,720 external wall insulations and renders. Overall, 97% of tenants who have received WHQS improvements rated the quality of the work as good or very good.

To measure the local economic impact the work has had, the organisation has carried out a Local Multiplier 3 (LM3) analysis of the WHQS programme.

The analysis has shown that for every £1 spent in the Borough, £1.99 has been reinvested into the Welsh economy. It is noteworthy that the maximum multiplier figure that the tool produces is £2.

In addition, NPT Homes’ day-to-day repairs service has completed over 180,000 repairs since transfer and when surveyed, tenants rated the service an impressive 9 out of 10 with 97% being satisfied with the outcome of their initial enquiry.

In April 2015, NPT Homes completed its first new build development in Melin Neath. The £1.7m project has provided much needed one and two bedroom properties in the area. NPT Homes also worked in partnership with its tenants and the Neath Port Talbot County Borough council to develop a modern way of applying for and allocating housing to make the system fairer for applicants, eliminating ‘points’ and recognising waiting times.

Prior to transfer in 2011, NPT Homes made 118 promises to its tenants. To date 102 promises have been met with the remaining 16 promises due for completion in 2017 when NPT Homes’ WHQS Programme is complete. One of these promises was to create local employment opportunities and as a result NPT Homes now employs over 500 people with 76% living locally. In addition to this, the social landlord has also offered 92 work placements, apprenticeships or work experience opportunities.

With support from its contractors, NPT Homes has completed over 20 community regeneration projects which includes its Community Challenge and Community Develop Fund. Over £130,000 has been invested into the community through these projects.

NPT Homes continues to provide a range of services to support its tenants and since transfer has secured over £6.7m in unclaimed benefits and additional income for its tenants through its in-house Financial Inclusion Team. 775 households have been supported through its Tenancy Support Team and its new intensive housing management service has helped 24 households to sustain their tenancies.

NPT Homes’ Chief Executive, Linda Whittaker, said:
“Five years on and we are making fantastic progress. Our WHQS improvements programme is on track for completion in 2017 and the fact that we have completed our first new build social housing project is a great achievement.

86% of the promises we made to tenants pre transfer have been completed with the remaining 14% in progress.

We are committed to providing desirable homes and a great service to our tenants and I am pleased that we are providing very high levels of satisfaction with the WHQS improvements and our completed repairs.

We will face new challenges over the coming years but we will continue to develop a high performing workforce who feel empowered to deliver an outstanding service and deliver what matters to our tenants.”