An organisation which provides housing management and maintenance to council homes in Garforth and Swillington has started as it means to go on and been praised for its service to tenants.
* Click here to sign up to free news and sport email alerts from Garforth Today.After its first inspection since it was set up in April 2007 Aire Valley Homes w
as awarded a "good" two-star rating by the Audit Commission. It also says it has "promising prospects for improvements" which will further improve services to tenants.
The Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) looks after almost 16,000 properties in outer areas of east Leeds, including Garforth, Kippax, Swillington, Swarcliffe and Barwick-in-Elmet, and south Leeds neighbourhoods including Holbeck, Beeston, Cottingley, Belle Isle, Middleton and Morley.
The inspection report recognises that Aire Valley Homes' estates are well managed with significant improvements having been made to thousands of homes to bring them up to modern standards.
In fact the organisation is currently on track to bring all its properties up to the Decent Home Standard by the end of 2008 - two years ahead of schedule. By this time it will have invested almost £100m on physical improvements.
The report outlines a number of the organisation's strengths:
* It is generally customer-focused and offers opportunities for tenants to get involved in decision-making;
* There are strong and effective partnerships in place to improve financial inclusion and manage anti-social behaviour on its estates;
* It is delivering home improvements in line with government targets;
* Its estates are well maintained and environmental improvements are underway.
The inspection team also claims that the organisation has a robust approach to managing equality and diversity issues, a strong value for money culture and has made some significant cost efficiencies.
Merran McRae, chief executive of Aire Valley Homes, said: "This inspection has taken place while our organisation is still in its infancy and at a time when we've been meeting all the challenges of integrating the services of two previous bodies while striving to improve and broaden our services to tenants.
"As such we're delighted with the result and are especially proud that our work to involve tenants in the decision-making process has been commended, along with some of the innovative partnerships we have forged to enhance service and cost efficiency.
"However, we won't be resting on our laurels and we've already started addressing areas to further develop our service to tenants."
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