New contract sees over 3,000 repairs completed within six months

The Pioneer Group’s new repairs partner, the Wrekin Housing Group, has completed more 3,000 jobs since lockdown began.

As part of its continuing efforts to deliver a high-standard and efficient repairs service, the Pioneer Group partnered with new contractor to deliver the repairs service from 1 April.

Over the last seven months, the repairs team have been visible around the Castle Vale estate in branded vans, and is made up of seven experienced tradespeople and an apprentice.

The start of the partnership coincided with the first national lockdown and restrictions meant that only emergency call outs could be permitted.

Teams at the Pioneer Group and the Wrekin Housing Group worked hard to ensure the partnership got off to a flying start even in the tough circumstances which still saw the completion of 350 jobs on the same day they were reported. These consisted of repairs that needed to be carried out immediately, including electricity failures, burst pipes and roof leaks.

In an effort to support the community during the lockdown, the team carried out vital support activities such as arranging medicine pickups and drop offs for residents and delivering food across the estate for those in need, whether elderly, suddenly unemployed, self-isolating or otherwise vulnerable members of the community

Working closely with the charitable arm of the Pioneer Group, Compass Support, the contractors used their vans to deliver food parcels over 16 weeks, and dropped off five tonnes of essentials to food banks, ensuring that no one in Castle Vale or Stockland Green went hungry during the pandemic.

As the lockdown eased in June, the Pioneer Group’s repair team moved to a full service and from 1 April to the end of October completed 3,062 jobs, with another 215 already booked in for follow up work.

‘We have increased our investment into the vital repairs services we provide and we are seeing the true impact of our new partnership with the Wrekin Housing Group has on the lives of local people,’ said the Pioneer Group’s head of asset management, Keith Lanchbury.

‘The repairs team have worked hard to find ways they can make a real difference for our residents, above and beyond their day to day service. We are delighted with what has been achieved and look forward to seeing this great work continue in the coming year.’

The Wrekin Housing Group’s executive director of operational services, David Wells added: ‘It is great to be delivering our same day repairs service to the people of Castle Vale in collaboration with the Pioneer Group. At Wrekin we make a difference to people’s lives and the work the team do at Castle Vale optimises this perfectly, from getting involved supporting the community with deliveries during lockdown, to carrying out repairs.

‘I am really proud of how the teams adapted to the new working arrangements in April and got on with delivering a great service for customers throughout this challenging period. We are looking forward to carrying on this fantastic work as we move in to 2021.’