News from Bolton at Home
Here you'll find our most recent news articles, from important tenant updates and new housing developments, to new community initiatives and activities.
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Catching up on repairs
We know some of you have been waiting a while for a non-urgent repair. We really appreciate your patience and understanding.
We’ve made the following changes to reduce the number of outstanding repairs.
We’ve set up a new Repairs Backlog Team
We created a new team that’s dedicated to clearing the backlog. We’ve recruited planners, supervisors and operatives that cover a range of trades such as plumbing, joinery, glazing, plastering and brickwork.
In the first few months, between the start of May and the end of August, our team completed 2,391 repairs that had been delayed by Covid.
Our team’s prioritising the most urgent of backlog jobs first, working to minimise the number of times we need to visit a home to complete a repair, and clustering repairs by post code area where possible to carry out repairs efficiently in neighbourhoods.
We’re taking on more tradespeople
We recently held a recruitment open evening as we seek talented tradespeople to join us in technical roles and strengthen our repairs and maintenance service as a whole.
If you know someone who might be interested in joining us, please encourage them to check our website regularly. You can keep up to date with our latest job vacancies at www.boltonathome.org.uk/jobs.
We’ve also resumed our apprenticeship programme, which was paused during the pandemic. We’re taking on 12 new apprentices in trade and surveying positions to support our work to provide quality homes and give more people opportunities to develop their skills and experiences.
We’re prioritising customer communication
We’re contacting tenants by phone or letter about outstanding repairs and to make appointments that are convenient for you.
We’re focused on getting repairs completed right first time, and it’s important that we do what we can to reduce the potential of missed appointments.
We’re working with our suppliers
We're still dealing with supply chain issues and the rising cost of parts and materials, which can delay repairs. Fortunately, we have excellent relationships with our suppliers. They’re working hard on our behalf to get materials quicky and cost effectively.
We’re responding to new repairs and doing planned upgrades and safety checks as usual
New repairs are handled by our Day to Day Repairs Team, which is focused on completing jobs within our target times.
If a repair requires multiple trades, we have teams set up so that jobs can be completed in one visit.
We continue to prioritise emergency repairs - such as burst pipes or heating issues.
We’re also carrying out planned upgrades (e.g. heating and rewiring) and cyclical servicing and safety checks (e.g. gas and electrical) as usual.
If you want to report a repair or you’re worried about an existing repair that’s got worse, please phone us on 01204 328000.