Inspectors find Maidstone Housing Trust provides a fair and improving service to customers
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Maidstone Housing Trust delivers a fair service and customers can expect good improvements in the future according to a report by the Audit Commission’s Housing Inspectors.
In just three years the Trust has made strong progress to improve the homes of tenants, with thousands benefiting from refurbished kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems, new windows and doors. The major regeneration projects at Park Wood and Coombe Farm were also highlighted.
The report praises how the Trust works with other organisations, including the Borough Council to reduce the time customers wait for adaptations to their homes, and the Police to combat anti-social behaviour.
Good financial management, strong leadership from the Board of Directors and Senior Managers, and an excellent track record of delivering large projects on time and on budget contribute to the Inspectors rating of ‘Promising prospects for improvement’.
Commenting on the results, John Barned, the Trust’s Chairman, said “For such a young organisation, the result is encouraging news. The inspection result and positive comments about the strength of the Board and staff customer focus gives me confidence that we have strong foundations upon which to build service improvement in the future”.
Peter Stringer, the Trust’s Chief Executive, commented “This is a good result, which will provide us with a springboard for continuous improvement in the services we provide. Everyone at Maidstone Housing Trust has pulled together and worked extremely hard over the last three years to deliver on the promises made before transfer. They can all be very proud of the result. We know we still have a long way to go but the Commission has acknowledged our positive strengths and capacity that will keep us improving”.
A team of inspectors spent a week speaking to Trust staff, customers, Board members, and partner organisations, assessing every aspect of the Trust’s work. The Trust will now develop an action plan to adopt the recommendations, including improving estate management and how customer information is used to shape services.
Read the full report (this is a PDF file and will open in a new window)
date published: 21/06/2007