THURROCK’S temporary responsive repairs contract starts next week and the process of transferring to Mears has already started.
Discussions between the council and Mears have been fruitful, but include over a week’s backlog of 20-day priority outstanding appointments.
They will be reprioritised, but unfortunately the 20-day period will have to start again.
As part of the new agreement Mears have confirmed they will provide a realistic timeline when the backlog will be completed, including completing as many as 25 appointments a day.
The contract also confirms that repairs vehicles are fully stocked with a full set of tools – to prevent tradesmen having to leave appointments incomplete – and that any repairs appointments which pass the deadline date will be immediately re-allocated to another contractor.
Cllr Val Morris-Cook. portfolio holder for housing, said: “This is a good news story for everyone involved.
“Mears have a chance to show us what they are capable of providing, tenants should receive a long-overdue superior service, and members’ will have fewer complaints in their inbox.”
She added: “This is just one of many changes in Thurrock’s housing service that we’ll see over the coming months. We are taking a more planned approach to housing infrastructure for example.
“We will be introducing a ‘property MOT’ to target homes which need a number of repairs, provide a complete assessment so we make sure any underlying issues are properly dealt with.
“Common sense you might think, but it’s not what we do now!”
