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The Guardian - UK

Guardian Professional

The Brockley Consortium Case Study

Contract Overview

In 2007, the Brockley Private Finance Initiative (PFI) took over the management of 1838 homes in the Brockley area of Lewisham, south east London.

The PFI consortium consists of:

• Regenter (a joint venture between Pinnacle Regeneration Group and John Laing Social Infrastructure) providing funding and acting as the principle liaison with Lewisham Council;

• Pinnacle PSG providing the housing management and estate services;

• Equipe Regeneration undertaking day to day responsive repairs;

• Higgins Construction, responsible for the refurbishment.

The refurbishment was due to be undertaken in the first three years of the contract, but was completed six months ahead of schedule, which means the remainder of the contract focused on managing the homes and repairs.

Pinnacle PSG provide cleaning and grounds maintenance services to communal areas to 1,838 properties within Brockley PFI.

• Alwyn Lewis is Pinnacle PSG's contract manager and is supported by housing services manager, Suzanne Ste-Croix.

Contract performance

• Pinnacle PSG is committed to providing a high level of customer care and making the environment a better place for our residents to live.

• Quarterly estate inspections are undertaken with residents to identify issues around repairs, caretaking and grounds maintenance, allowing us to take their views and suggestions on board.

• Since the contract commenced, Pinnacle PSG has worked with Brockley residents to set up four active and accredited tenant and resident associations and has supported the growth of one other. The housing team has also formed a residents board which meets on a monthly basis to discuss issues that affect the whole area.

• In the beginning of 2012, rent and service charge collection for the Lewisham borough was at 99.9% but in Brockley it was at 102.3%

Community involvement

Pinnacle PSG places great importance on its relationship with its residents and the local community and enormous progress has been made since the contract commenced. Below are just a few examples of how Pinnacle PSG has worked with the community:

• Butterfly Garden: Pinnacle PSG teamed up with residents from Foxborough Gardens to create a butterfly garden on their estate during the summer holidays of 2011. Following a period of consultation with residents to establish a design, the Pinnacle PSG team, with help from the local community, got to work and created the beautiful butterfly garden in just one day. Together they transformed an unattractive corner of the estate into a haven for butterflies and other British wildlife, a relaxing spot for residents and a space to educate local children about the biodiversity on their estate.

• Clare estate playground: A new play area for children on the Clare Estate in Lewisham was completed in January 2011 thanks to £50,000 worth of funding from Lewisham Council and Pinnacle PSG designing, building and landscaping the playground. The original scheme was to be part-funded by the Government's Playbuilders funding programme in 2008, but was in danger of being shelved when the Government pulled the funding for the project.

Fortunately, the local council and Pinnacle PSG stepped in and provided the necessary funding, expertise, labour and support, which today means that the youngsters on the estate have a colourful, new playground, right on their doorstep to enjoy.

• Community orchard: Pinnacle PSG worked with local residents to create a community orchard in an usued area of the estate. We continued to work with the residents to develop the area further by installing a seating area and communal garden.