The existing property shop in Kings Square, West Bromwich, will be closing on the 15th April 2011. The last day of service will be Thursday 14th April 2011.

General manager of housing services, Norman Fletcher, said: “We are constantly looking for more cost efficient ways of offering our services without compromising the standard of experience our customers receive. The property shop relocation will create genuine efficiency savings for the company whilst bringing our service areas closer together.”

Sandwell Homes expects to make savings of around £50k a year as a direct result of the relocation.

The standards which have been developed in partnership with tenants, set out performance targets for the delivery of housing services.

The information included in the Local Standards means that tenants can now compare the performance of one housing provider with another.

The three standards are:
1. Tenant involvement and empowerment (customer care, tenant involvement and equality)
2. Home (repairs and maintenance, and the Decent Homes programme)
3. Neighbourhood and community (managing local estates, anti-social behaviour and working with partner agencies)

Each standard outlines the services available and how they will be monitored by Sandwell Homes and tenants.

The performance information will be reported back to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) who will ensure that housing providers are delivering the level and quality of service, that tenants can expect to receive from their landlord.

If you wish to view or download a copy of the Local Standards, please click here

Contractors E Manton Ltd have now begun building the homes on land in Raglan Road.

The council won £780,000 of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to build the apartments, which will meet 'green' homebuilding standards by harvesting rainfall and using solar panels to supply electricity.

Sandwell Council is funding the £1.5 million balance of the project.

The homes, which will be rented out by Sandwell Homes, will be ready for occupation by the autumn.

They are being built on the former site of Victorian terraced houses on the junction with Durban Road.

Leader of Sandwell Council Councillor Darren Cooper said the new apartments were much-needed new housing for the town. "It's great to see new housing being built in Smethwick," he added.

Sandwell Council's cabinet member for housing Councillor Simon Hackett added: "These will be secure, affordable homes for Sandwell residents and will make a positive impact on the area."

Rob Kilby, investment and regeneration manager for the Homes and Communities Agency Midlands said: "The HCA is pleased to be supporting this important scheme for Sandwell.

"Our investment is helping to deliver high quality and energy-efficient homes, which is great for the borough and residents who will move into them."

The building will consist of 15 two-bedroom apartments designed as two wings of differing heights (two and three storeys), accessed by a covered internal street.

As part of the council's Think Local Construction scheme to provide training for young people, the contractors will source materials locally where possible and will take on three local apprentices and provide a work experience placement.

The design aims to achieve level four in the Code for Sustainable Homes and achieve Building for Life Silver Standard.

Locally, Sandwell Homes is leading a campaign against loan sharks after research revealed a staggering 310,000 UK households borrow from illegal money lenders each year.

The campaign, which aims to highlight the risks associated with using loan sharks such as high levels of debt, intimidation and even violence, will see posters on billboards and buses in Sandwell throughout March.

Sandwell Homes Chief Executive, Paul Field, helped to launch the campaign at an event in Queens Square, West Bromwich, earlier this month where officers shared case studies with members of the public.

He said: “Loan sharks prey on the poorest people, offering easy money at extortionate rates of interest to trap them into a cycle of debt. It’s important for people to recognise that loan sharking is a real problem in Sandwell, as it is nationally, and for organisations like ours and its partners to be making people aware of the risks.”

Sandwell is covered by the Central England Trading Standards Authorities illegal money lending team, part of the ‘Stop Loan Sharks Project’. There will soon be national teams that cover all of England, Scotland and Wales.

Nationally, the ‘Stop Loan Sharks’ project has written off more than £37 million of illegal debt, helped more than 16,000 victims and secured more than 107 years in prison sentences. Over £20 million of assets are currently being investigated with the intention of removing these from illegal lenders.

Sandwell Homes is encouraging residents to report loan shark activity to the illegal money lending team in confidence on 0300 555 2222.

The centre is managed by Future Skills Sandwell, part of Sandwell Council, with training and mentoring support provided by experienced employees and instructors.

Sandwell Homes offered work experience to trainees from The Hub, and in return they had to be punctual, enthusiastic to learn and hard working.

Over the last six months the trainees have shown a fantastic commitment, gaining real site work experience, which it is hoped will help them to secure full-time work.

Success story

Sandwell Homes recently provided two placements for plasterer trainees in the repairs teams, which were funded by the council through its Youth Employment Scheme. Eight candidates were interviewed with Jonathan Mellor and Jerome Wallace being successful.

Jerome had just completed his training at “The Hub”. He gave a very positive interview and said the experience he’d gained had given him confidence and the skills to apply for the post.

Sandwell Homes is keen to build on this successful partnership and will continue to support trainees to give them the best chance of gaining employment.

Sandwell Mayor Councillor Pauline Hinton will officially open the computer suite at Sandwell's largest women's refuge in Oldbury.

Sara Ward, executive director of Sandwell Women's Aid, is attending the event. She was recently named one of the '100 Most Inspirational Women in the Midlands' as part of the OXFAM celebration of the centenary of International Women's Day.

She said: "The computer suite will improve access to jobs, training, communications and social networks for some of the borough's most vulnerable and isolated women.

"The suite will play a vital role in helping these women and their families achieve happiness and independence in the future."

Sara said it was a fitting way to mark the centenary of International Women's Day in this way, especially as the theme for this year's international event is "Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women".

Sandwell Women's Aid received £8,000 funding from the Social Care Institute for Excellence's Get Connected Programme to buy and install an IT & Connectivity Suite in the refuge.

Funding will also be used to offer women in the refuge training in IT and connectivity in a safe and trustworthy site.

Sandwell Women's Aid provides a wide range of support services to vulnerable and abused women - and their children - including advice and counselling.

If you or someone you know needs support please call:

* 24-hour Refuge: 0121 552 6448
* Domestic Violence Support (9am-5pm Mon - Fri): 0121 553 0090
* Rape and Sexual Violence helpline: 0845 055 9597 (9-5 Mon-Fri)
* Asian Women's Support Line (Asian Language Spoken): 0808 2000 247

Sandwell Women's Aid is a key partner in Sandwell Organisations Against Domestic Abuse (SOADA), which brings together a wide range of organisations including Sandwell Council, Sandwell Police and Sandwell Homes. SOADA's helpline number is 0845 359 7525.

Employees were asked to contribute a pound in exchange for wearing their pyjamas after a member of the company’s gas services team heard about the appeal on the radio. Funds were also raised from the lunchtime sale of cakes, cookies and samosas, which were hand cooked by employees.

In addition, Leyletts Engineering, a subcontractor to Sandwell Homes, helped to boost the employee contribution with a cheque for £100.

Repairs and maintenance director, Chris Poulton, said: “I am really proud of everybody who got involved in this event. It was a bit of fun for employees but it has serious consequences as the money raised will be going to a very worthy cause.”

Cllr Hackett, cabinet member for housing, said: “Congratulations to Sandwell Homes. It’s nice to see so many generous employees taking part and making a difference to their community. This goes to show we are about more than just bricks and mortar.”

Heart FM presenter Julian Jones visited Sandwell Homes’ operations and development centre in Oldbury to meet with participants and have his photo taken.