East Riding of Yorkshire Council - Kitchen Installations

East Riding of Yorkshire Council is a registered social landlord providing affordable housing for rent and part ownership across East Yorkshire.

Commencing in 2013, the council required a partner to deliver 500 kitchen installations per year within its occupied houses across a 39-mile district. As a unitary authority, it was important to the council that the chosen contractor place residents at the forefront of its activities, incorporating local communities and minimal disruption into its solution.

J Tomlinson was appointed to undertake the kitchen installation works on behalf of the council on a three-year contract. J Tomlinson built such a comprehensive understanding of the client and its residents and wider community throughout the contract that - in 2016 - they were able to re-secure the contract for a further 3 years.

The scope of works includes kitchen installations across occupied properties. This requires the removal of an existing kitchen facility, plastering, electrical and plumbing works, with the new kitchen facility then installed in resident housing. This process is completed across a four-day period, completing an average of ten kitchen installations per week.

J Tomlinson works closely with the client to understand ways to improve and tailor the service to the client’s exact requirements specifically in terms of resident experience, response times and quality. This collaborative approach helps to ensure J Tomlinson delivers the project as promised, incorporating resident feedback from conception through to completion. A customer feedback survey is now handed to residents, with J Tomlinson currently holding a high satisfaction rating.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council required a more communicable approach in order to re-secure the contract for a further three years. To facilitate this, J Tomlinson has provided a local office in Goole and a 24/7 customer contact centre. Any emergency defects are amended within two hours and all other resident concerns are resolved within 24 hours.

Proactive programming – Taking in to consideration the rural nature of the district, covering 620 square miles across Yorkshire, we have developed our working processes to reflect the time required to travel from property to property ensuring that the programme is sequenced in a cost effective and logical manner. Our programme ensures that we are able to complete a standard installation within 4 working days allowing us to increase the number of properties in possession to effectively deliver the programme across a wider geographical area.

Local presence – to further establish our local presence and as part of our commitment to East Riding, we have opened an office in Goole to support the delivery of the works. Further strengthening our local workforce and acting as a hub for all contract meetings, site administration and to facilitate training and development days the office provides a permanent base for our directly employed team who deliver the works across East Riding.