Wates Living Space has extended its contract to deliver housing repairs and maintenance across Birmingham on behalf of the city's council.
As part of the contract extension, Wates has pledged to build on its investment in education, training and employment in Birmingham. To date, this has included 1,788 weeks of training and employment for local people and an investment of over £27,000 in supporting education, including career workshops at Erdington Skills Centre.
Wates Living Space's work on behalf of the council has also included a flagship project to refurbish the 20-storey Barry Jackson Tower in Aston, which opened this year as a pioneering initiative to offer temporary accommodation to the city's homeless people.
Since starting the major programme of housing repairs in 2016, Wates Living Space has spent £84.6 million with local small businesses, a further £2.9 million with Social Enterprises and has invested over £870,000 in training for local people.
To date, this work has seen Wates achieve an average customer satisfaction score of 99.8 per cent, and it has also won the UK Housing Awards 2018 for 'Outstanding Approach to Repairs and Housing Maintenance'.
Wates Living Space currently delivers repairs and maintenance for approximately 12,664 properties in west central Birmingham, including Perry Barr and Ladywood districts, and 18,363 properties in east Birmingham, including Hodge Hill, Yardley, and Hall Green districts (31, 027 properties in total).