HOUSING
We’ve been leading the way on building safety - raising safety standards within our own properties, advising government bodies on future recommendations, and piloting and implementing the reforms in the new Building Safety Bill.
In 2021-22 we have:
of tenancies sustained after six months
homes let to people who were previously homeless
homes improved
anti-social behaviour cases reported
legal actions avoided
environmental services rated as excellent
spent on investing in our homes
gas safety checks completed
electrical safety checks completed
smoke alarm checks completed and 2,355 replaced
Focus on... Poets
This year has seen our first ever new-build housing development – Poets in Swinton – finally finished and fully occupied.
It’s a mixed tenure development of high-quality homes, comprising 120 social housing properties, plus a further 40 homes for outright sale, available through the Government’s Help to Buy scheme.
For new homeowner Robin Capon it’s been a dream come true. Robin is now the proud owner of a three-bedroom style townhouse and moved in on Christmas Eve, a few weeks before his 30th birthday.
He said: “I’d been renting for a few years in Manchester city centre, but during the pandemic I really wanted to move somewhere with some outside space. I’d always said I’d like to get on the property ladder before I turned 30 and I just made it.
“I didn’t really think it would feel much different to renting, but it does. It’s the first house I’ve lived in that’s actually mine and I’ve become really house proud. I love it here.”
At a time when social and affordable housing is in such short supply, we’re incredibly proud that Poets has increased housing choice in the area, bringing new, modern homes to both people on the social housing register and aspiring homeowners.
Focus on... Building Safety
Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, we’ve been leading the way on building safety - raising safety standards within our own properties, advising government bodies on future recommendations and piloting and implementing the reforms in the new Building Safety Bill.
Our actions to drive forward these fundamental reforms will help ensure people’s safety is always put first in the planning, designing, building, refurbishment and maintenance of high-rise buildings on a national scale.
In Salford, we moved quickly to implement changes to ensure the safety of our residents and our buildings; and this year saw us complete the multi-million-pound cladding remediation and safety enhancement work across our tower blocks.
This has included replacement cladding systems at our eight blocks with defective cladding, as well as extensive safety enhancements across all 18 of our tower blocks, including state-of-the-art fire alarms and new sprinkler systems for some blocks.
We will continue to develop and raise our standards, working closely with residents, safety experts, and the Government to ensure our buildings continue to be safe places to live, both now and in the future.
Focus on... Anti-Social Behaviour
Salix Homes is committed to ensuring our neighbourhoods are safe and pleasant places to live and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those who are found to be causing anti-social behaviour (ASB) and committing crimes.
This year, we had 2,164 reports of ASB in our communities across Salford, including an ongoing issue caused by a small minority of people in the Kersal area, that was causing fear, distress and upset for residents.
In a bid to clamp-down on this bad behaviour, we teamed up with Greater Manchester Police to launch Operation Kinetic.
Patrols were increased across Kersal and we carried our door-to-door enquiries and estate walkabouts to help catch the culprits and restore community confidence.
As a result, six people were arrested, a number of stolen vehicles were recovered – including three cars and 18 motorbikes - and several tenancy warnings were issued.
The success of Operation Kinetic has seen a dramatic reduction of calls to the police and Salix Homes, and alongside the police, we’re continuing to maintain a high visibility presence in the area.