Broadland Housing Group

Homes, community & support since 1963

News 2019

Greener transport deal with Norfolk Car Club

Our new transport partnership with Norfolk Car Club will save money for tenants and reduce our impact on the environment.

Norfolk Car Club offers pay-as-you-go use of a fleet of 50 new cars and vans in Norwich (parked in dedicated on-street bays) and 600 vehicles across the UK. Vehicles can be hired for as little as half an hour at a time or as long as needed.

Norfolk Car Club members have smaller carbon footprints because they travel fewer miles, in more efficient cars. Each new car club car is used by around 20 drivers, which is a much more efficient use of vehicles.

Broadland’s special deal means that tenants can join the Car Club free (saving a £25 joining fee), remain a member for free (saving £5 per month minimum spend), and receive a £25 free driving credit. National research shows that for members who drive fewer than 6-8,000 miles a year, a car club could save them up to £3,500 a year.

Andrew Savage, Executive Development Director and a Broadland environmental champion, said:

This great new deal with Norfolk Car Club will really benefit our tenants. It will save them the hassle and expense of owning and maintaining a car, such as tax, MOT, fuel, servicing, repairs and parking.

As an organisation, we are strongly committed to reducing our environmental footprint and this new partnership will reduce the amount of congestion on the roads, lower fuel emissions and improve air quality. 

For more information about the benefits of car clubs, see the latest national survey results.

Iain Grieve – new Executive Finance Director

We are delighted to welcome Iain Grieve as our new Executive Finance Director. Iain succeeds Julian Foster, who has retired.

Iain was previously Director of Financial Services at Catalyst Housing, one of the London’s largest housing associations. During his time in this role, Iain was part of the working party that helped Catalyst regain the regulator’s highest governance rating and significantly enhanced the customer-focus and reporting capability of the finance function. He also created and embedded a high-performing procurement function which delivered compliance with OJEU regulations and tangible value for money savings.  

Iain trained as an accountant with Grant Thornton in Norwich and joined Circle Housing as an Internal Auditor. He held several other posts at Circle Housing including Head of Internal Audit, Group Financial Controller and Director of Business Support, which was responsible for implementing and running a shared service division comprising of Finance, HR, IT and Facilities Management Teams and indirectly managing over 200 staff. 

Happy birthday, Ivy – 101!

Our tenant Ivy recently celebrated her 101st birthday surrounded by her friends at Woodcote sheltered housing scheme in Norwich. When asked what she would like for her birthday, Ivy replied: “Just your friendship”. Happy Birthday, Ivy, and thank you for the lovely hats and mittens you have knitted for our Toys & Tins appeal for the Salvation Army this Christmas!

Find out more about living in a Broadland sheltered housing scheme

Jack celebrates professional achievement

Jack Harvey, our Maintenance Team Leader, recently achieved the CIH (Chartered Institute of Housing) Level 3 Certificate in Housing Practice.

This qualification demonstrates that Jack has developed a broader knowledge and understanding of key areas in delivering housing services. It is equivalent to an A-level or NVQ Level 3.

Jack joined Broadland in 2009 as an apprentice carpenter and qualified as a carpenter May 2011. He was promoted to Senior Multi-Skilled Operative in 2017. Following a successful 3-month secondment, Jack was appointed Maintenance Team Leader in January 2019. He covers both the Norwich and King’s Lynn areas.

Kelly Harris, Head of Repairs Service, said:

Congratulations to Jack! We’ve been upskilling our Maintenance team to increase their job satisfaction and provide a better service to our tenants. After training and development, 90% of all our operatives (including electricians and gas engineers) are now skilled in two or more trades.

Jack said:

It’s been hard work, having known literally zero when I started studying. Not bad for someone with a tradesman’s background!

Tenants delighted with new sensory garden

Tenants at Oakes Court, Broadland’s Housing with Care scheme in Downham Market, can now enjoy a beautiful new sensory garden – all designed and created by our Estates Services team.

The garden was designed by Estate Services team members John Bream and Wayne Woolton, specifically for the dementia care ward. The garden design has four main themes that make the best use of the small space. John and Wayne chose the plants to provide plenty of colour, texture and smell – specially the herb garden, which features mint, thyme, rosemary, sage and strawberries. 

The garden also had a strong environmental theme. Many of the existing garden ornaments have been lovingly refurbished. Other elements of the design reuse or repurpose materials that would otherwise have been thrown away, such as the brick paving in the herb garden and the colourful homemade ornaments.

Gwen and Stella, who are tenants are Oakes Court, said:

We are really looking forward to being able to sit outside in the garden and feel and smell all the lovely new plants!

Stephani Davis, Head of Housing, said:

Many of our tenants at Oakes Court have sight issues or dementia. This new garden provides a beautiful, calming environment for tenants and staff to use. It’s a great project that has been completely initiated and designed by our Estate Services team. All the work has been done in-house.

NorseCare and Broadland Estates Team helped to get the garden finished in time for the opening day. The Oakes Court tenants enjoyed a guided tour by Estate Services team members, followed by afternoon tea.

Maxine Artiss, NorseCare scheme manager, said:

Thank you to all the Broadland team on behalf of the tenants and Norsecare.  It means so much that you have created this lovely new space for tenants. We’re looking forward to spending lots of time out there!

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