Press release
South Northants Homes appoints first handyperson
On Monday 12 May 2008, South Northants Homes (SNH) were pleased to welcome Geoff Rooke as their first ‘handyperson’ within the housing association.
A familiar face to staff and locals, Geoff was previously employed by South Northamptonshire Council as the caretaker at the Springfield office but made the move to join newly-formed South Northants Homes following the transfer of 2,900 homes from the council in March.
Geoff’s role is to assist older, disabled and vulnerable people living within one of SNH’s properties by completing small jobs, including minor repairs and aids and adaptations such as grab rails. Priority will be given to urgent cases and the costs incurred will be to cover the supply of materials alone.
Under normal tenancy agreements tenants would be responsible for these tasks. This new service will therefore be valuable to individuals who would otherwise find it difficult to arrange for this work to be carried out and by someone they have confidence in and whom they trust.
Geoff will rotate around SNH’s nine sheltered schemes to begin with but SNH anticipate that the popularity of the service will lead to further appointments. The handyperson service could then be extended to tenants more widely at a nominal charge and a ‘menu of works’ could be introduced to help those who may not have the requisite skills to undertake certain jobs.
Paul Calland, the newly appointed Managing Director of South Northants Homes, said:
“Geoff’s appointment has been a positive move for South Northants Homes and aligned with our mission statement supports the diverse population and the varied needs of the tenants we accommodate. South Northants Homes has received much feedback which has complimented the handyperson service and we hope to be able to support further provision in the future”.
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