In consultation with our communities and colleagues, we're pleased to launch our new plan for the future.
where communities thrive
Our Five-Year Plan
2025→2030
2 | Our Five-Year Plan
Introduction
Hazel Makinson Chair of the Parent Board
John Bowker Chief Executive
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The next five years are the start of something new and exciting for Southway. We have a new Chief Executive and a new plan with refocused company values to guide our work and relationships with tenants, communities and partners. We want to do the basics brilliantly, and continuously improve in everything we do to help communities thrive and build strong foundations for growth. Our new five-year plan gives us the confidence to address the challenges and opportunities that come with a change in Government and new social housing regulation including revised Consumer Standards. We’ve strengthened our commitment to provide excellent customer services, warm, safe and dry homes, in well-maintained and secure neighbourhoods. We’re proud to be a community-based landlord and over the next five years, we will invest at least £5m to provide additional services and activities to improve the health and wellbeing of our customers.
We will continue strong partnerships with Manchester City Council, the police, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Greater Manchester Housing Providers and our development partner JV North to increase the supply of new homes, keep our communities safe and contribute to net zero targets. We respect and celebrate our diverse communities and workplaces. By improving how we listen and represent all views, we aim to provide homes, services and opportunities that are inclusive and equitable to help everyone reach their full potential. Being open, honest and compassionate is key to building trust in our communities. We will continue to improve our communication with customers and strive for greater accessibility across all our services. We’re delighted that this plan has been shaped in close collaboration with customers and colleagues who shared more than 1,000 responses to our surveys and workshops. This invaluable feedback has helped us to focus on the right priorities, and we look forward to working with our communities and partners to achieve our vision.
4 | Our Five-Year Plan
Southway in numbers
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Established in 2007 6,700 Homes 16,500 Residents 300 Colleagues £ 45m turnover 20,000 Annual Repairs 74% Repair Satisfaction 77% Overall Satisfaction
est.
Figures correct as of March 2025
6 | Our Five-Year Plan
Achievements 2020-2025
Image: Colleagues and
tenants, plus their friends and family at the Manchester Pride parade
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• Zero carbon energy- efficiency improvements to 1,500 homes • 200 people supported into work • Best for Inclusion at the Greater Manchester Good Employment Awards 2023 • Most Innovative Partnership at the 2025 Housing Innovation Awards for our work with South Manchester Credit Union • G1/V1 grading at our last regulatory inspection
• Over 700 new homes delivered since 2020, including our first two extra care schemes at Gorton Mill House and Dahlia House in Burnage, Manchester • 500 affordable homes currently under construction, including accessible and age-friendly homes • £70m new funding secured significantly below current interest rates to help build new homes • £5m invested in social and community services and activities, resulting in £18m financial and benefit gains for our customers • 500,000 tonnes of food saved and redistributed through our Quids In food clubs
8 | Our Five-Year Plan
Our vision
Provide excellent customer service and quality homes, where communities thrive.
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Southway’s customers, communities and neighbourhoods are at the heart of everything we do. Our vision is to Provide excellent customer service and quality homes, where communities thrive. This five-year plan supports this commitment, with a focus on doing the basics brilliantly. We’ll provide excellent customer service, listen and respond to our tenants, and improve our homes and communities. While wider social and economic uncertainties and challenges will always exist, we’re a strong and resilient organisation and are confident that our plan will bring lasting benefits to our communities.
We’ve listened carefully to our customers and colleagues and are clear on where we need to improve. We’ll provide our people with the skills and systems they need to help us achieve our vision. You’ll find more details on this in the toolkit at the end of this document. This plan outlines our ambitious strategy for sustainable growth, allowing us to continue to provide much-needed, high-quality homes and future investment in our communities.
10 | Our Five-Year Plan
Our values
REACH
Respect
Equity Ambition
AMBITION We set high standards and are committed to continuous improvement and growth.
EQUITY We’re fair and inclusive, ensuring everyone can be heard, with equal access and opportunities to succeed.
RESPECT We treat everyone with respect and dignity, valuing our differences.
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Our core values for the next five years reflect Southway’s culture, how we deliver our services, and our relationships with customers, colleagues and partners. These values come together to form the word REACH : We empower our people and communities to reach their full potential, we have ambitious plans and targets to reach, and we reach for continuous improvement.
Compassion Honesty
HONESTY We’re open, truthful, and sincere. We hold our hands up if we get something wrong and do the work to put it right.
COMPASSION We show empathy and concern for others, providing help and support where we can.
12 | Our Five-Year Plan
Themes
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Customers Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We’ll listen and respond positively to our customers, using their feedback to influence and continually improve services.
Colleagues We’ll be an inclusive employer of choice, where colleagues are skilled, engaged and motivated to provide excellent customer services within a culture that celebrates innovation, collaboration, challenge and support.
Homes We’ll provide good-quality, safe and affordable homes that customers are proud to live in.
Growth Our ambition is to grow responsibly and efficiently. We will build new homes to help solve the housing crisis and acquire properties from other social landlords to increase the number of homes we own.
Neighbourhoods & Communities
We’ll provide services that support good health and wellbeing, are home to good-quality and well-maintained green spaces, and promote neighbourliness and community safety.
Sustainability We’ll work with our partners to deliver new technologies and green solutions that will reduce customers’ energy bills and our carbon footprint.
14 | Our Five-Year Plan
Customers
What we’ll do… Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we’re committed to excellent and responsive services to help tenants manage their homes. We will create open and honest lines of communication with our customers and our services will be accessible to everyone through a strong local presence, a quality telephone service, and online services. We’ll provide many opportunities for customers to get involved and help shape our services and influence decision making. We will actively listen to our customers, using this invaluable feedback to continuously learn, improve, and deliver the high standard of service our customers deserve. We recognise that our customers have diverse needs and will tailor our support to meet individual needs, helping everyone to thrive in their homes and sustain their tenancies.
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How we’ll do it… • Employ skilled and trusted staff who treat all customers with respect • A nswer calls promptly and answer your questions effectively • R espond to and resolve enquiries as quickly as we can • C arry out an external review of our customer services • A ctively encourage and listen to feedback to improve our services • E xpand how customers can get involved through a new Customer Voice Strategy • W hen we make mistakes, we will say sorry, put things right, and learn from the experience.
How we’ll measure success… • A chieve a C1 grading from the Regulator
• A t least 80% of our customers will be satisfied with Southway as a landlord (Tenant Satisfaction Measures) • 9 5% of customers will be satisfied with the services we provide (As part of our regular customer satisfaction surveys) • A chievement of Customer Services Excellence accreditation • A t least 85% of tenants feel they’re treated fairly and with respect (Tenant Satisfaction Measures).
Image: The Employment & Skills team offering career opportunities to young people at a Fun and Feedback event in Chorlton
16 | Our Five-Year Plan
Neighbourhoods & Communities
What we’ll do… As a community-based landlord, we take pride in our place-based partnership work and services. We're committed to investing at least £1 million each year to support people to live well and independently, helping them thrive in our communities. This includes work we do through our community partnerships. We’ll collaborate with local communities and statutory partners to tackle antisocial behaviour, ensuring everyone feels, and is safe. We value the green spaces and neighbourhoods that we look after and will ensure they’re well-maintained and great places to live, work and play. We recognise the importance of making sure that access to our services is equitable, understanding that one size doesn’t fit all, and will tailor our services to give everyone fair access.
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How we’ll do it… • P rovide free and confidential advice services, including money management, benefits and debt advice • D evelop a new Neighbourhood Strategy and a clear approach to dealing with environmental issues, antisocial behaviour, and hate crime • D eliver a good-quality grounds maintenance service • P lan and deliver community services and activities that add value and promote wellbeing year round • W ork with community partners to plan and deliver work and skills training, digital skills training, and volunteering opportunities • P rovide opportunities for people to be actively involved in their neighbourhoods using community centres as hubs for activities.
How we’ll measure success… • £ 12 million of financial gains achieved for customers over five years • A t least 70% of tenants agree they’re satisfied with our approach to antisocial behaviour • A t least 80% of tenants will say we make a positive contribution to their neighbourhoods • A t least 75% of tenants will say that we keep them informed about things that matter to them.
Image: The Westcroft Community Centre is a vibrant space in the heart of Burnage, South Manchester
18 | Our Five-Year Plan
Homes
What we’ll do… We’re committed to providing high-quality homes where customers feel safe and that meet or exceed building safety requirements. To ensure our maintenance and improvement plans are effective over the next five years, we’ll carry out comprehensive Home Improvement & Energy surveys to better understand the condition of our homes. We’ll provide an excellent repairs service with high levels of satisfaction and maintain an annual improvement programme to keep homes in good condition, offering choice to customers where possible. Using data insights, we’ll ensure all homes meet customer needs and carry out necessary maintenance and improvements. We’ll provide a high-quality facilities management service at our flats and apartments and promote rightsizing to make best use of our homes, enabling families in housing need to access affordable homes.
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How we’ll do it… • H ave a high-quality and timely customer-focused repairs service • C omplete 100% Home Improvement & Energy surveys by March 2026 • Ensure all data on our homes and communal areas is up to date and used to inform priorities • Implement an annual building safety inspection and maintenance plan for communal spaces • O ffer house options advice to customers who want to move to a smaller home.
How we’ll measure success… • 100% of homes meet the decent homes standard • 100% compliance with building safety requirements • 9 5% customer satisfaction with our repairs service at point of repair • 9 5% of repairs will be completed on time • A t least 80% of customers satisfied that our homes are well maintained • A t least 80% of customers satisfied with the condition of communal areas.
Image: Our repairs service is a mix of trades that carry out emergency and routine repairs
20 | Our Five-Year Plan
Sustainability
What we’ll do… We’re committed to reducing our carbon emissions to support Greater Manchester’s target to be net zero by 2038. We’ll set targets to reduce our carbon footprint as a business and, over the next five years, we’ll invest in efficient technologies, finding low carbon solutions for heating and ventilating homes that are more environmentally friendly. Our efforts will also focus on helping customers stay warm in their homes and lowering their energy costs. We’ll promote biodiversity to support wildlife and natural habitats in our valued green spaces with water sustainability, usage and management playing an important role in how we plan and deliver our services.
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How we’ll do it… • C ollect and use data to identify projects that have the greatest sustainability benefit • S ecure grant funding to carry out retrofit work in customers’ homes • P ut together a planned programme of selective tree planting and biodiverse efficient technologies and carry out improvements at customers’ homes and across our operational sites • R educe waste and increase recycling • D evelop advice and information for customers to help them save money and reduce their carbon footprint. activities at our green spaces • W ork with partners to identify
How we’ll measure success…
• 100% of homes to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or above • 100% compliance with the Future Homes Standard at all new build homes • 2 5% carbon emission savings at social and affordable homes through retrofit activities.
Image: Local residents learning wood
crafts at a Fun and Feedback event in Chorlton
22 | Our Five-Year Plan
Colleagues
What we’ll do… We believe our people are our greatest asset, and that engaged, motivated and skilled colleagues are essential to a successful business and excellent customer service. Our goal is to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining the best talent, and providing our employees with an open, honest and collaborative work environment. We’re committed to creating an inclusive culture that respects and celebrates our differences, empowering colleagues to bring their best and whole selves to work. We support and invest in learning and development, encouraging positive challenge to overcome barriers, improve performance and efficiency, driving results and ensuring our services provide value for money. We’ll continue to promote opportunities for apprenticeships and under-represented groups, including our own customers, striving for an equitable workforce that reflects the communities we serve. Our workforce’s physical and mental wellbeing is key, and we’ll explore innovative ways to support this and help our people reach their full potential.
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How we’ll do it… • D evelop a new People Strategy to transform our approach to the management and development of our team • R eview our approach to colleague reward and recognition to ensure that our offer is attractive, and colleagues feel valued • D evelop a Leadership Development Programme for all managers to build skills and ensure a consistent approach to people management • Improve our approach to staff engagement and wellbeing to make sure our workforce is motivated and feel supported to bring their best and whole selves to work • Embed our new core values across the organisation, ensuring that all colleagues demonstrate them in their everyday work • E stablish a successful leadership programme for all colleagues to maximise their potential
How we’ll measure success… • 9 0% of colleagues say they are proud to work for Southway • R educe staff sickness absence to 3.5% • 9 0% of colleagues would recommend Southway as a great place to work • 2 0% of colleagues are social housing customers • 100% compliance with mandatory staff training.
• D evelop a new performance management framework to encourage continuous improvement.
Image: Colleagues at a team building activity at the annual staff conference
24 | Our Five-Year Plan
Growth
What we’ll do… Our goal is to increase the number of our homes to 10,000 by building more and acquiring properties from other social landlords so we can help more people into quality housing. We’ll always grow responsibly, guided by a business plan that aligns with our Development Strategy. Investment decisions will be based on value for money, and we’ll innovate and embrace new technologies to make sure we meet evolving environmental standards. To address the diverse housing needs of our customers, we’ll offer a range of homes for rent, shared ownership and for sale, prioritising family-sized housing for social rent and affordable homes for sale to support first-time buyers and key workers. We’re looking to expand our core areas to new neighbourhoods in East Manchester, Trafford, Stockport and Tameside. We’re proud to be a partner of choice for developers and are committed to collaborating with contractors who share our values and prioritise social value, including apprenticeship opportunities. Additionally, we’ll make the most of our expertise to explore open market opportunities through Southway Plus and Gecko Homes, generating profit-for-purpose to support our affordable homes and community initiatives.
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How we’ll do it… • Identify land and development opportunities in target areas • D emand data will inform our decisions for future growth • C ustomer feedback will influence future property designs • N ew homes will be sustainable and affordable, as well as easy to maintain and service • S taff project boards will ensure collaborative decision making and continuous improvement • Forge new partnerships in procurement, including JV North membership • Effective treasury management, robust cash planning, and prudent use of internal subsidy • Maximise grant applications and investment income • P romote social value and inclusion.
How we’ll measure success… • Own and manage 10,000 homes by 2030 to help meet housing need • 100% of new home targets for starts and completions will be met annually • 100% of sales targets achieved • 100% safe and secure new homes that meet all new regulations • 95% of customers satisfied with their new homes.
Image: New Age Friendly homes for people aged 55 and over in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
26 | Our Five-Year Plan
Our toolkit 1. Systems & Processes What we’ll do…
3. Digital What we’ll do…
We’ll place digital transformation at the heart of what we do, enhancing how colleagues collaborate, how we develop and deliver services, and how we plan for the future. We’ll establish a multi- channel approach for customer access, using the latest technology without compromising the experience of those who prefer traditional communication routes. Digital technologies will help us generate efficiencies, improve productivity, and meet the evolving demands of our customers in the digital age. 4. Communication & Collaboration What we’ll do… We’ll be proactive, open and honest in our communication with customers, always demonstrating empathy and compassion. Our communication and engagement will be accessible, collaborative and transparent, and always mindful of any barriers customers may face. We’ll make the most of new technologies and channels to improve how we talk with our customers and promote ways for people to get involved, ensuring the customer voice is heard and acted on.
We’ll equip our colleagues with the necessary systems and hardware, and the skills to use them, to support efficient and effective working practices. We’ll promote a culture of continuous improvement, challenging the status quo, constantly reviewing how we work, and exploring technological and business process improvements. Our systems and processes will drive efficiency while ensuring excellence for both customers and colleagues. 2. Data What we’ll do… We’ll be a data-driven organisation; capturing, managing and using information about our customers and homes to challenge and improve how we deliver our services. We’ll demonstrate how data insights have led to meaningful changes in how we support our people and places. Our data will be accurate and easily accessible and will enable us to demonstrate regulatory excellence.
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5. Value for money What we’ll do… We’ll embed a value for money culture across the organisation, with service efficiency and effectiveness at the heart of our decision-making. Our Value for Money Strategy will support and align with our corporate objectives, with clear and measurable targets to monitor success. We’ll ensure we provide excellent value for money for customers, colleagues and stakeholders, and will be transparent in communicating how we measure our success. 6. Governance & Viability What we’ll do… We’ll adhere to all regulatory and sector standards through excellent organisational governance, supported by robust performance and risk management frameworks. We’ll provide Board members with the business insight needed for effective leadership and decision-making. Strong financial management will ensure the business remains viable, successful and capable of providing the best possible service to our customers.
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If you would like this document in a different language or format, please contact us using the details below.
Email: connect@southwayhousing.co.uk Call: 0161 448 4200 Get in touch
Southway Housing Trust is the business name for Southway Housing Trust (Manchester) Limited Registered office: Southern Gate, 729 Princess Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2LT. Southway is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 Registered in England. Registration number: 30348R. Southway is registered with the Regulator of Social Housing. Registration number: L4507. Southway is an exempt charity.
@southwayhousing
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