news Summer Festival fun - Plymouth Community Homes

Change at the top
PCHʼs Director of Property
Services, Martin Snell, is retiring
after more than 40 years of
working for us and the council
before transfer.
Martin joined Plymouth City
Council as an apprentice joiner
and carpenter and worked his
way up over the years.
He was responsible for setting up
the Window Factory and went on
to become Manufacturing Services
Manager before becoming
Assistant Director of Housing at
Plymouth City Council and then
transferring to PCH.
Clive Turner, Chief Executive of
PCH, said: “In the eight years that
I have known him, Martin has
been fantastic to work with.
“Heʼs also made a massive
contribution to ensuring PCH gets
off to such a successful start,
especially with our Decent Homes
work and the improvements to
our repairs service.”
Martinʼs departure will mean a
change to the structure of our
executive management team.
Mike Knowles, who is currently
North Prospect Regeneration
Project Director, will become
Director of Regeneration and
Development.
Direct Debit payments make life easier
David Williams is the first winner of our Direct Debit prize draw. David,
of West Park, scooped £100 of Love2Shop vouchers simply by signing
up to pay his rent and service charges by Direct Debit.
David, who has been a PCH tenant for more than four years, said: “I
never win anything so I was really pleased to win this.
“Paying by Direct Debit is easy and convenient and means I donʼt
miss a payment. I would recommend it to anyone.”
Everyone who pays by Direct Debit for at least three months will be
entered into the quarterly prize draw. New Direct Debit customers
receive a £10 voucher now plus a £20 voucher next April if the Direct
Debit continues until March.
Existing Direct Debit customers get a £30 voucher next April if the
Direct Debit continues until March.
If you would like to pay by Direct Debit, pick up a form from your local
housing office or the service information centre in Frankfort Gate. You
can also obtain a form online at www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
Chair’s feedback:
June ‘Open’
Board meeting
In the last Newsletter we
advertised the June Board
meeting as an ʻOpenʼ Board
meeting where tenants and
leaseholders were invited to
come along and observe. Board
members would like to thank
those who came along. We
really enjoyed having people
observe our meeting, and hope
to repeat the experience again
in the future.
The people who attended the
meeting were asked to feed
back their thoughts, along with
any questions they might have.
Generally people seem to have
found the experience interesting,
and a good opportunity to see
part of our decision making
process in operation.
There were a number of
questions. One attendee wanted
to know how the Board
considered the value for money
of any proposal. The answer to
this is that the member of staff
who prepares the report will
include information about cost,
performance and impact on
services to help the Board make
a decision.
Another attendee wanted to
know if each Board member has
a specific area of work they are
responsible for. The answer to
this is that while Board
members are recruited for the
skills and experience that they
have, which they use when
discussing reports and making
decisions, they do not have
specific areas of the business
to cover. The Board members
are collectively responsible for
the decision that they make.
www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
Autumn 2012 | PCH Newsletter 5