An Integrated Team and Close Client Engagement Brings Better Community Outcomes and Best Value

South Tyneside Homes is a recently established Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), responsible for almost 18,000 properties situated around South Tyneside in the North East.

The organisation initially appointed EC Harris to identify works that were required to upgrade the properties and integral services. This included: structure and fabric assessment; statutory compliance; thermal performance; and cost-plus procurement advice.

The remit also included affordability validation and consideration of design and procurement solutions to provide 25-30 year extended life cycles and a vastly improved asset base. The survey programme was designed to establish the best possible way to spend the identified £24 million legacy enhancement budget beyond the Decent Homes programme and to reconcile the survey findings with the Enhancement and Decent Homes budgets in order that the best overall solution could be delivered.

The programme embraced three asset streams including over 1800 non traditional house types, 30 sheltered housing blocks consisting of nearly 1,000 units and 5 tower blocks.

Creating solutions

Locating the EC Harris team within the client’s office during the project ensured effective collaborative working and skills transfer, enabling a culture of ownership and engagement to be developed with key South Tyneside Homes staff from day one.

Using our in-depth knowledge and expertise of the local supply chains we were able to rapidly assemble a high performing sub consultant team. Harnessing the expertise of the team enabled a rapid response to the initial client requirements. We also played a central role in working up a detailed and comprehensive survey and delivery solution for the client.

We drew upon our in depth knowledge and expertise to deliver a complex programme of work. We identified key actions and deliverables quickly, focusing on client specific needs across the non traditional, sheltered and high rise portfolios. This included a specific focus to statutory compliance assessments around DDA and fire compartmentation and expanding the brief across the sheltered portfolio to consider 30 year fabric, structure and services life cycles to determine fitness for purpose and future viability.

In working up the brief, we recognised the desired outputs and how they related to value and achieving a positive business outcome to South Tyneside Homes. This was in the context of reconciling Decent Homes and Legacy Enhancement budgets and how Executive Summary reports for each work stream were to be positioned within the ALMO and Council in order that the right message could be articulated. EC Harris completed all works within 12 weeks of instruction.

During the course of the instruction, the team suggested validating the Decent Homes budget and how this and the Enhancement Legacy works budget could best be blended to achieve optimum value for money.

In the process, the team also identified investment requirements for the non-traditional and sheltered assets over 30 years. This enabled option appraisals to be identified for priority sites and helped to achieve best value for money.

Adding value

Following the successful completion of the initial project, EC Harris worked with South Tyneside Homes, looking at ways to maximise the potential funding available to ‘green’ the 1800 homes in its portfolio.

The client team was ambitious for the ALMO, proactively negotiating with stakeholders and structuring applications in a way to optimise funding from the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) schemes available.

Initial predictions for CERT funding (for 40% of the stock) was in the region of £300,000. The revised funding - following the work EC Harris has performed - is in the region of £720,000, representing an uplift of approximately 140% for the client.

Initial predictions for CESP funding (for the remaining 60% of the stock) was £3 million. Following negotiations by EC Harris, it is likely that funding will be secured of approximately £5 million. Including other funding streams, the total additional funding secured for STH will be in the region of £6 - £7 million.

By working closely with the client and having a detailed understanding of its business and the sector, EC Harris has been able to add significant value for South Tyneside Homes and soon its residents. The extra funding secured should also ultimately have a positive impact on the environment, by reducing carbon emissions across the portfolio.

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