Contract Overview
• In June 2005, Newham council awarded Regenter, the housing-led regeneration specialist and joint venture between John Laing and Pinnacle a 30 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract to provide the management and refurbishment of 1,237 homes in Canning Town, East London.
• Pinnacle PSG is responsible for housing management, estate services and customer services for the full 30 year contract duration. Rydon carries out initial refurbishment on properties and is also responsible for on-going lifecycle, planned and responsive maintenance.
• We have one tower block in the estate that consists of 42 one and two bedroom flats on 11 floors. This was refurbished in 2007 with each property having new bathrooms and kitchens and gas central heating fitted. Improvements have continued with the roof being renewed, the stone work jet-washed, communal areas painted, emergency lighting installed and new CCTV cameras put in.
• For the remainder of the contract, Pinnacle PSG is providing property repairs and refurbishment on the estate. Responsive repairs are completed in an average of less than four days and 99.4% completed at the first time of asking. Our surveys show that 100% of tenants are satisfied both by the time it takes to complete repairs and the quality of the work.
Decent Homes Programme — one of the aims of the Canning Town PFI was to bring the properties up to the decent homes standard – a target to raise the standard of 95% to all council and registered social landlord housing in England.
Enormous progress was made and Newham Council announced the completion of the decent homes programme for Canning Town three months ahead of schedule.
Contract performance
• Average tenant arrears at the end of 2011-12 £36.34 (Newham borough average of £47.18)
• 100% voids registered within 1 work day (March, 2012)
• 100% complaints dealt with within 10 working days (March 2012)
Community involvement
Pinnacle PSG places a high value on people. Our customers, residents in the local community and staff are important to us and we always like to hear what they have to say.
Involving residents is key to our success including working closely with the locally-elected Canning Town Residents Panel. They meet monthly to discuss issues affecting the estate and give us a regular briefing with which we design service improvements.
A number of the Panel have also received specialist training which enables them to carry out work inspections. This is important in engendering trust in what we do, since residents can check we are delivering what we promised. Their involvement has helped maintain the high standard of cleaning our customers rightly expect.
One member of the Residents Panel said, "The Canning Town staff have made an enormous effort to give us the service we want but they've also listened when we told them something wasn't working. More important, though, is the fact they made the changes. This really makes the whole area feel like our home."
Sensory Garden — A Pinnacle PSG management challenge
In 2008 we were awarded the Best Green Project/Initiative in the Community in the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS)
Connecting People London and the South East Region Awards. The award was for a sensory garden that Pinnacle PSG's middle management built in liaison with local resident representatives in Canning Town.
Staff were set a challenge to deliver a project in five working days while raising extra funds (Pinnacle PSG donated £2,500).
The project group raised £12,000 and transformed what was a piece of wasteland into a beautiful garden which is now regularly used by residents. In each case, residents were actively involved in the design.
Our services
Housing Management:
• Tenant management
• Rent Arrears recovery
• Service Charge
• Resident participation
• Community development
• Void property management
• ASB enforcement
• Responsive repairs
• Asset management
• Reception 24/7 helpdesk
• Concierge services are provided 7 days per week, from 8.00am to 11.30pm
Estate Services:
• Grounds maintenance
• Bulk refuse
• Graffiti removal
• Estate cleaning
• Communal area cleaning
• Window cleaning
• Void property clearance and cleaning
• Specialist and deal cleaning
Quotes
"It shows how far we have come when the topic of conversation is about planting flowers instead of dumped rubbish…"
Canning Town PFI resident, 2012
"This is to say a big and hearty thanks to you and your team regarding the leak on my leasehold flat.
You and the team that I spoke to on the phone at Pinnacle were very helpful and supportive....Thanks again to you and everyone in Pinnacle, you do a wonderful job."
Mrs Nanju Kellie, Canning Town PFI residents, 2012
The facts
• 1,237 homes (tenants, leaseholders and 19 shops)
• 1 tower block that consists of 42 one and two bedroom flats over 11 floors
• The Canning Town project is one of the original eight Government PFI 'Pathfinder'
initiatives
• Contract length June 2005 to June 2035
• Directly employ 29 members of staff
• Each housing manager works with around 350 households
• Annual Value: £1.2m
• Capital raised: £40m
Awards
In 2009 Regenter won Best Operational Project at the recent Public Private Finance Awards, for its Canning Town Housing PFI.
Jim Saunders, Regenter's managing director said: "We are delighted to have won this prestigious award. The Canning Town housing project is a flagship scheme for Regenter and for the housing PFI industry. The award is a great tribute to work of all the team on this project."
