Ashfield Homes was established on 1 April 2002 as an arms length management organisation by Ashfield District Council to undertake landlord functions of its housing service. By being a high performing organisation, Ashfield Homes has enabled Ashfield District Council to be granted additional Government funding of £55.3m to repair and modernise its housing stock to the Government's Decent Homes Standard.

Ashfield Homes was the first shire district housing organisation to achieve the maximum 3 star excellent rating from the Audit Commission for the provision of housing management and maintenance services. In June 2003, Ashfield Homes was given an award for excellence by the Audit Commission, and has gone from strength to strength.

Ashfield Homes is committed to the provision of excellent housing services, and has achieved a number of quality accreditations. For the year 2003/04, Ashfield Homes was the only ALMO to achieve top 25% performance against all 5 key housing performance indicators.

A key objective of the Company is to manage the investment in the Council's housing stock to ensure it meets the Government's Decent Homes target by 2010. By spending £78m in four years, Ashfield Homes will bring the Council's housing stock up to the Decent Homes Standard in 2005, five years ahead of the target.

Ashfield Homes also contributes to the wider regeneration of the communities of Ashfield. By entering into partnerships with other agencies, the following has been achieved:

• Creation of employment and training opportunities for local people.
• Use of local suppliers and contractors.
• Working with the local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership to design out crime both in tenants homes and on the estates we manage.
• Adoption of the Police Problem Solving Model to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots.
• Contributing to the health and general wellbeing of the community, by providing decent housing, which is thermally efficient.
• Contributing to environmental sustainability, through an Environmental Improvement Programme and accreditation to ISO 14001.
• Tackling social exclusion through work with the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) in the districts most deprived wards.
• Promoting sustainable communities by providing decent housing where people choose to live.
• Ashfield Homes has embraced opportunities to be involved in wider regeneration initiatives, and manages the local Neighbourhood Warden Service, on behalf of the Neighbourhood Renewal Teams, and LSP partners. It has been successful in mainstreaming 50% of the costs of providing this service with partner organisations.
• Ashfield Homes is committed to empowering local communities, and has placed service users at the heart of decision making about the housing service. Ashfield Homes is nationally recognised by many external organisations for being a leader in this field.
• Contribution to community cohesion through the Ashfield Homes Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy. All new policies and procedures comply with the Company's Policy and have an equality impact assessment.

Pat Simms, Chair of the Board of Ashfield Homes For more information Tel: 01623 729310 or visit our website www.ashfieldhomes.co.uk