A new contractor engaged by Barnet Homes has completed the first of nearly half a million repair jobs it expects to carry out over the next decade at Barnet’s council homes.

Mears took over the day-to-day repairs for council-owned housing at the beginning of April 2012 in a ten-year arrangement worth almost £70million. It is one of ten new contracts covering repairs and maintenance services, such as gas servicing, major works, electrical work and lift maintenance.

Mears’ first repair was a visit to a tenant at the Dollis Valley Estate, EN5. Plumber, Charlie Maher, who trained through a Barnet Homes local apprenticeship scheme in 2008 and is now employed by Mears, called to do the job.

The tenant, Anacleta Nobrega, said: “I was impressed with the new service. It was very helpful to receive a text on my mobile letting me know the plumber was just on his way and would be with me within half an hour.”

The text service is part of several changes brought in to provide a more customer-friendly repairs service from Mears and Barnet Homes. Others include:

  • text and email confirmation and reminders 24 hours beforehand and when the operative is en route
  • a new appointment for any additional work to be arranged before the operative leaves
  • upcoming, shorter two hour appointment slots between 8am – 6pm on week days and 8am to 12pm on Saturdays.

Barnet Homes Chief Executive, Tracey Lees, said: “We’re excited about the new contracts. We’re confident that our contractors will go on to deliver high quality services at good value for money.

“We believe that residents will benefit greatly from improved customer service, and we’ll continue to involve tenants in checking that the contractors meet the high standards expected of them.

The new repairs and maintenance contracts are worth an overall total of £200million over the ten year period. They cover repairs and maintenance services for the 15,000 properties managed by Barnet Homes, along with blocks and wider estates.

Mears will be offering apprenticeships and recruiting new employees from the Barnet area for their contract.