Quarterly report January-March

Community renewal in Bishops Green was recently recognised at the High Sheriff of Hampshire Community Awards.

SNG’s Darryl McAndrew nominated Megan Winfield and Lucy Davies Barker from the Bishops Green Community Association for their exceptional contributions to the area. Their leadership has played a key role in revitalising the Village Hall and rebuilding vital youth services, both of which had previously faced significant decline.

This transformation’s been made possible through SNG’s ongoing commitment (with hands-on involvement from Locality and ASB Officers) and funding, as well as collaboration with partners including Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Greenham Trust. Together, these efforts have led to a notable drop in antisocial behaviour and a more inclusive, vibrant community.

We supported the launch of a new e-cargo bike at Stockwell Park, offering customers and the wider Lambeth community a sustainable, low-cost transport option for shopping, family outings, and more.

Delivered in partnership with Lambeth Council, OurBike Ltd, and SW9 Community Housing, the project is part of a borough-wide initiative to promote community transport. 

The Community Centre will maintain the bike’s battery and benefit from 20 hours of free monthly use, as well as a £10 monthly electricity contribution from the Council.

This initiative complements wider sustainable transport features across the Stockwell Park and Robsart Village Estates — including car club spaces, EV charging points, resident cycle stores, and parking-free streets — and aligns with SNG’s Sustainability Strategy to deliver positive environmental and social outcomes.

“This welcome initiative of Lambeth Council and OurBike immediately excited us, fitting in perfectly with our aspiration to encourage healthier sustainable transport options for all residents, as we transform the estate.”  - Tim Goodwin, SNG Regeneration Manager and Stockwell Community Centre Board Member.

Over the past year, we've enhanced the online experience for customers by introducing some simple, user-friendly web forms which have been very popular as they offer convenience and accessibility.

To date we've had:

• 1000+ responses for 53-week rent year  guidance 
• 200+ responses to Pension Credit advice 
• 80+ referrals to the FiDi team for financial and digital inclusion support

Each form offers a callback option, and our teams have been brilliant in following up with customers soon after they submit the request.

We recently received this fantastic feedback from one customer’s memorable experience with our Community Investment team:

"I wanted to share how pleased I am with the experience I had using your online enquiry form and the help I received. I was contacted soon after submitting my enquiry, and everything was explained clearly and professionally. I’d like to especially mention Tracey, who was incredibly kind and took the time to walk me through everything thoroughly. The level of support and the wonderful options offered were greatly appreciated. Thank you for making the process so smooth and pleasant!"

These forms don’t just make life easier for customers – they’ve also helped reduce calls to our contact centre by getting you straight to the right team fast.

In January, we joined with Westbury Town Councillors, local police and residents for a successful Community Clean-Up Day to improve the local environment at Phoenix Rise Estate. 

As part of ongoing support for our communities, we provided two large skips - giving residents a chance to safely dispose of unwanted items and bulky waste. An information stand also helped people learn more about engaging with SNG and taking part in future community initiatives.

The positive feedback shows how small acts of collaboration can make a big impact by bringing people together and creating cleaner, safer, and more connected spaces. One customer summed it up beautifully:

"It was great seeing residents of SNG using the community skips today. When the better weather comes, let's join together and do a community litter pick. It's more than just keeping the area tidy - it's about helping, meeting your neighbours, and engaging. I, for one, appreciate the effort that was put into today's event. Thank you!"

A wellbeing event in partnership with Abingdon and Witney College was part of our support to the local community through our scheme at Barrington Road, Faringdon. Customers were treated to free haircuts, shoulder massages, and manicures: services particularly appreciated by residents who may be too vulnerable to access salons independently.

The event was a hit, with customers praising it as a thoughtful and engaging use of the community hall. Due to its success, Abingdon and Witney College are scheduled to return later in the year!

Our Employment and Skills team hosted students from iCollege - a Newbury-based alternative education provider - for mock interviews at our Greenham base. The initiative aimed to give students, many of whom face behavioural challenges, their first experience of a professional interview setting. 6 of the 7 students we interviewed were also the children of SNG customers. 

Alongside the mock interviews, they had a tour of the Greenham office and Trades Hub and iCollege staff praised the SNG team’s supportive and engaging approach.

A standout observation came from our reception team who saw a transformation in students' confidence from arrival to departure, highlighting the impact of our support in helping young people prepare for future employment.

SNG marked a major milestone in partnership with Greystar, laying the ‘golden brick’ at a new six-storey development in Stratford. Located on Marshgate Lane, the project will deliver 42 affordable homes on a previously unused brownfield site - including 34 for London Affordable Rent and 8 for Shared Ownership.

This development forms part of Phase 1 of the wider Stratford Mill scheme, a larger 247-home project with integrated commercial space.

SNG’s homes will meet our Homes and Place Standard, offering high-quality living with outdoor space, excellent transport links via Stratford and Pudding Mill Lane stations, and proximity to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The first SNG customers are expected to move in by 2026, supporting our ongoing commitment to deliver well-designed, affordable homes in thriving urban communities.

This year we led a hugely successful Buckskin Spring Clean, with fantastic support from some volunteers from SNG’s IT and other teams. Together, they made a real impact on the Basingstoke estate: filling four skips, collecting six tonne bags of waste, and clearing over 30 black bin bags of litter.

The clean-up helped transform the area and demonstrated the power of partnership and social value in action. Generous contributions came from Wascle, PJA, Basingstoke Skip Hire and Jewson (who donated eight wheelbarrows - now passed on to local community projects like Inspero).

Support from Mencap Gardening Services and Logic Contractors helped boost the success of the day, and resident feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The event brought the community together and left the estate looking better than ever.

From January to March, we delivered a 6-week Confidence and Motivation course through our Employment Support service, with massive results for those who took part. The course empowered customers to overcome personal barriers, renew their sense of purpose, and take confident steps toward employment and improving their lives.

“I now have the right tools to help me be okay with whatever life could possibly throw at me next. I believe I will carry this experience and knowledge through my life, and it will guide me onto better things all around me.”

“The course reinforced my existing beliefs and has inspired me to make the changes I need to upgrade my mindset and life. It has reminded me that I am the person who is responsible for my life and only I can make the changes required to better my life circumstances.”

Debt advice

• Helped customers to save over £1,342,000
• 4,206 customers supported around fuel poverty
• 391 customers supported through our debt advice service
• The service also generated £140m in social value

Financial inclusion

• Supported 10,122 cases with financial inclusion (such as through fuel/heating vouchers, food pantry packs, welfare fund or white goods)

Employment and skills

• 382 jobs were secured
• 2,569 training courses or other outcomes achieved
• 117 people supported with business start-ups and self-employment

Community investment

• 424 community organisations supported
• 965 customers supported through digital inclusion activities
• 737 young people took part in youth social action through the SNG #iwill programme
• 31,171 engagements in Community Investment

Funding

• The team secured over £2,062k  of external funding to enable our services and support to help even more customers.

• We know this is an area we need to keep doing better on, so we’ve continued to improve the service and respond to more complaints in our target timescales: an increase to 88% at stage 1 and 76% at stage 2.
• Our Complaints Customer Promise tells you more about how we handle concerns, act on feedback - and what to expect if you make a complaint.

• Satisfaction with repairs improved to 80% and our ‘close the loop’ work is also helping to flag any issues quickly so they can be resolved. 
• Satisfaction with how easy it was to get a repair carried out was 7.2 out of 10 (where 1 is not at all easy and 10 is very easy).
• Our Repairs Customer Promise shows how we work to complete fixes promptly, including what we need from you so we can provide a smooth service. (A separate Promise is being developed for London & East customers as all repairs are done by contractors in these areas, rather than an SNG trades team.)

This is a customer compliment about one of our Oxfordshire trades team: “This is the second time he has been assigned to my property to carry out works and on both occasions has been brilliant, polite and finished the job to a high standard within a timely manner. He’s a fantastic worker who clearly takes great pride in what he does. His professionalism, attention to detail, and friendly attitude make him a credit to the housing association. It’s clear he enjoys his job, and this is reflected in the high standard of work he delivers. Thank you to him.”

Here are some other key performance figures for the quarter:

• How much customers trust SNG - 64.9% satisfaction
• How satisfied or dissatisfied customers are that SNG listens to their views and acts on them - 53.4% satisfaction 
• How satisfied or dissatisfied customers are that SNG keeps them informed about things that matter to them – 70.7% satisfaction 

Satisfaction with our customer contact services remained level, with digital contact the highest at 82%. This reflects a focus on Customer Service training, particularly for new staff.

“I am so grateful for the professionalism, competence & attitude of your staff. Thank you.”