bpha will save more than £1 million in the next three years after signing new contracts with repairs and maintenance suppliers.

The new contracts, which will be phased in during the next 12 months, have been awarded to seven different contractors, and will see residents receive higher levels of service for significantly reduced costs.

The suppliers, MEARS, Ian Williams, Hurleys, TSG, Armstrong & York, MJ Granger, and SJI, were all selected after engaging in a comprehensive OJEU process.  Overall, they will cover the services residents receive, including responsive repairs, planned works, gas and electrical servicing and repairs, grounds maintenance, cleaning, and disabled adaptations work*.

Head of Property Services at bpha, Julie Wittich, said that the new contracts were awarded based on the organisations’ proven background in providing quality and value for money in both work and customer services.

“We engaged in a rigorous search to find the best contractors – organisations that would want to partner with us to deliver these vital services.

“We spend a substantial amount of money every year maintaining the inside and outside of our properties for our residents, so we wanted to appoint contractors with a good track record that would help us to meet the aspirations of our customers and create places where people are proud to live."

Before the search for new contractors began, bpha worked closely with residents to review the existing arrangements and shape future service offer. Their contributions and ideas have all now been included in the new contracts.

Ms Wittich said that bpha’s commitment to delivering excellent customer services was the main reason for involving residents.

“We really wanted to design a service that our residents wanted and by working closely with them from the beginning, we now have a good understanding of what our customers expectations are.

“Following an initial large scale consultation event, we worked with a panel of 15 residents to select the contractors who will work with us in the future.  This same group of residents will work with us over the life of these contracts to monitor performance and ensure continuous improvement,” she said.

MEARS and Ian Williams will manage all repairs and planned maintenance requirements for bpha’s 16,000 properties.

One resident, Tracey Dennison said: “As one of the resident monitors, I was impressed with the new contractors that were ultimately selected.

“I think it’s great for residents to be involved this way – it makes sense considering we’re the ones actually receiving the service! I look forward to evaluating and giving feedback on how well the contractors have been carrying out the work, and making sure that residents like me are satisfied.”

* Hurleys will be responsible for electrical servicing and repairs to all bpha properties. For more information, see www.hurleyltd.co.uk

Armstrong & York will handle asbestos for all relevant bpha properties. For more information, see www.armstrong-york.com

Grounds maintenance will be looked after by MJ Granger www.mjgrangergrounds.co.uk

SJI will be responsible for all aids and adaptations for bpha properties. For more information, see www.sjibm.co.uk

TSG will be responsible for gas maintenance.  For more information, see www.tsgplc.com