Housing Property Services

Information about changes to the delivery of property services to our housing

The Council is now working in partnership with the Norse Group, who are a subsidiary of Norfolk County Council. The joint venture arrangement is called "Alliance Norse Limited".

As a result, you will see some changes in that our vans will undergo a re-brand, as will the uniforms of the repairs staff. Other staff that work on the properties have also transferred into the new company. The company will still be based in High Peak and will use local suppliers and contractors where possible.

Alliance Norse provides you with a "one stop shop"- taking your calls, web forms and comments and manages the job through to completion, where they will ask for your feedback on the service you have received.

The Core functions of the Alliance Norse is:

Capital Programme

Repairs Service

Housing Voids

Planned Maintenance

Cleaning and Caretaking

Delivery of the planned investment programme directly or through subcontractors across Housing and Corporate Estate
Management and delivery of major capital construction projects

Delivery of day to day responsive repairs service to HRA properties
Reactive repair across the corporate buildings
Provide a "One Stop Shop" for tenants and partners including helpdesk and out of hours emergency service

Delivery of empty properties to a pre-agreed lettable standard across HRA properties
Provision of EPCs

Delivery of cyclical and planned maintenance activities
Management of statutory compliance in line with Council policies
Management of Asbestos
Gas Safety
Electrical Safety
Fire Safety
Water Safety (Legionella Risk management)
Lifts
Radon management where applicable

Estate Caretaking across the HRA
Key holding function
Winter maintenance

Alliance Norse will still use many of the specialist contractors that the Council has use, such as Liberty Gas to undertake your regular gas service, but these contracts may change in the longer term as Alliance Norse and the Council look to improve the service.

Alliance Norse will be investing in new systems which will allow you, as the customer to engage digitally with us, including receiving text messages when you have repairs appointments. The new system will also allow us to keep better records and manage the performance of the company closely.

Alliance Norse is part owned by the Council and is NOT a private company. The Council remains at the heart of agreeing the way the services are delivered. The Council will continue to manage the lettings process and the Neighbourhoods Team remain employees of the Council. The Council will set the budgets and the strategy and make the major decisions, which Alliance Norse will then deliver to you. We are expecting that improvements will take some time to implement, but could include;

Quicker repair reaction times
Ensuring all homes are safe and compliance with legislation
Homes have a good standard of decency and energy efficiency
Homes are turned around quickly when they become vacant but are checked and re-let and a decent standard
Customers can access the services easily and quickly, utilising digital or traditional platforms and including the options of morning and afternoon appointments.
Feedback is received and reviewed fairly in line with Council complaints policy.
Tenants are involved and engaged in shaping the services provided.

Read more on the summary of the service in the Summary of Services (PDF) [144KB] document.

Last modified on 12 September 2024