Cheltenham’s housing team one of best in country

Comparisons for the last quarter show that the team, which recently transferred from the council to Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH), is joint first out of 326 homelessness services across the country. This is an improvement on the previous quarter, which had placed the service in the top 10.

The team works to prevent homelessness and provides information on the types of housing available in Cheltenham, including social housing, private rental, low cost ownership, supported and sheltered housing.

Martin Stacy, Cheltenham Borough Council’s housing and communities manager, says: “The comparison, which is based upon the number of households deemed to be statutory homeless per 1,000 households, is the most useful tool available for us to compare ourselves fairly across other local authority areas.”

In the period July to September 2013 there were no households found to be statutorily homeless and since April 2013 only one household was found to be statutorily homeless.

Martin adds: “The housing options service is a preventative service for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. We are proud of our achievements against the backdrop of welfare reforms and other austerity measures and rising homelessness nationally, but we know there is still much more that we need to do. The Service has recently transferred to Cheltenham Borough Homes, and we are very excited about the opportunities this will bring to improve the service further.”

Following a review of the service, at the end of last year the housing options team transferred from Cheltenham Borough Council to Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) who manage and maintain Cheltenham Borough Council’s housing stock.

Sara Bennett, Housing Services Manager at CBH, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming such a top performing team. They should be proud of what they have achieved and we’re looking forward to working with them to continue delivering and developing a service that meets the needs of the local community.”

The CBH Housing Options Team is based at Cheltenham First Stop, 301 -305 Cheltenham High Street, GL50 3HW . You can visit in person or contact them on 01242 775168 or [email protected]

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Notes for editors

Cheltenham Borough Homes:

• CBH is one of the top rated ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organisations) in the country. ALMOs are not for profit companies that run social housing services for their local council
• Currently CBH manage and maintain around 5,000 tenant and leasehold properties with high satisfaction and performance levels, when compared nationally with other housing providers
• CBH put their customers at the heart of what they do; working with them to shape services and ensure the company focuses on local need
• CBH deliver more than high quality core landlord services: they have an ongoing programme building new homes and regenerating communities; they support people to find work and employment; work to improve financial inclusion and develop stock to make it more energy efficient

For further information visit: http://www.cheltborohomes.org/

Press contact: Catherine Best e: [email protected] t: 01242 775317