June2018
June Customer Bulletin
Summer's officially here and thanks to the current hot weather everything's out in full bloom around the gardens and estates.

There's been a lot happening at LYHA recently and we want to keep you informed and involved. These bulletins are a chance for us to keep you abreast of our latest news and developments. If you have any suggestions please contact: georgina.thompson@lyha.co.uk
Improving our customer service

We are listening to your feedback and are working very hard at the moment to improve our customer service. We hope you that you have started to see a difference.

We know that some of you have experienced problems getting through on our phones. We have taken this on board and have recently recruited additional customer service staff, increased training and are reviewing our phone system. More customers are now able to get through first time and one of our key goals is to try and resolve more enquiries at the first point of contact.

Our Customer Scrutiny Panel has also spent time shadowing our customer service team and fed back recommendations which have helped to shape our improvement plan. We always value feedback from customers so please email any comments to info@lyha.co.uk
Community drop-in events

We have recently held drop-in events at some of our estates to meet customers and find out how we can improve the service we offer. After all there’s no-one better placed to tell us about the services we provide than the real experts – you, our customers!

We will continue to hold these events at different locations as they are a great opportunity to engage and create better communication. As the saying goes - 'It's good to talk'.
How new developments benefit us all
Building new developments is good for us all as it not only creates much needed affordable housing, but it improves the performance of our business by generating extra money to re-invest in the repairs and maintenance of our existing homes. In 2017/18 we spent an average of £791 per home on day to day repairs and maintenance, and a further £503 per home on planned works, replacing items like boilers, doors or kitchens.

We recently celebrated the opening of our latest development: eleven 2-bedroom apartments for over 55s and two 3-bedroom family houses in Horsforth. All the residents have now moved in and are happy in their new homes.

There's an interesting back story to this development as the land was left by a local resident to be used for affordable housing and her trustees approached LYHA to carry out her wishes. We have named the new apartments ‘Rosemary Thompson House’ in her memory. The land also includes an area of woodland which we have developed into a community garden complete with an insect hotel, bird and bat boxes for local people to enjoy.
From one scheme finished to one just about to start
We have recently received planning permission to build 54 new homes in Barnsley. Once completed this will be the largest new-build development that LYHA has undertaken for a number of years and will provide much needed affordable homes for families and older people in an area of acute housing need.
Work will begin on site in the Summer and we are excited to see the homes begin to take shape.
Happy 100th birthday
It was wonderful to visit one of our customers who turned 100 recently and hear her fascinating life stories. She was born just before the end of World War One and has lived in the same LYHA property for 39 years. What a lot of changes she must have seen over the last century!
Appointment of Interim Chief Executive

Earlier this month Lisa Pickard left her role as Chief Executive of LYHA, after six and a half years. Mark Pearson (pictured) has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive.
He has worked at LYHA as Deputy Chief Executive for six months and was previously Assistant Director of Communities and Customer Service at Muir Group Housing Association, having worked in the social housing sector for 21 years.

In other staff news we have recently welcomed a new caretaker, Tracey Croarkin, who joins our busy Estates Team.
Water hygiene advice for customers
We are committed to ensuring the Health and Safety of customers at all times.
As part of this we have recently produced a water hygiene fact sheet on our website about how to minimise your risk of Legionnaires disease. Please click here to view it .
And finally......

We have a number of programmes that require us to arrange access to customers' homes, such as gas and electrical servicing and the installation of smoke detectors.
When our contractors get in touch, please can you agree a convenient time when you will be at home so that we can get this important work carried out; keeping your homes safe and well-maintained. If you need to change the appointment please contact our Customer Service team on 0113 2783335.

Leeds & Yorkshire Housing Association | 0113 2783335 | georgina.thompson@lyha.co.uk | www.lyha.co.uk