MORRISON APPOINTED AS LEAD REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE PARTNER ON WOKING CONTRACT

Woking Borough Council has announced its intention to outsource its housing management to a joint venture between Pinnacle PSG and Mansell Construction Services Ltd, with Morrison as lead partner for responsive repairs and planned maintenance. The innovative move has been taken to improve service levels and value for money for its residents.

The contract will commence on the 1 April 2012, last up to ten years (five years plus a possible five year extension) and is worth circa £60 million in total. Pinnacle PSG will lead the joint venture with Mansell Construction Services Ltd to deliver services to Woking's 3800 homes.

Pinnacle PSG will deliver housing management services, income management, tenancy management, estate management and lettings, while Mansell will be responsible for full asset management including servicing, statutory inspections and assessment, cyclical works and planned investment works. Morrison will carryout all of the responsive and planned repairs and maintenance services on the contract.

The Pinnacle PSG/Mansell joint venture was determined the most suitable candidate for the job by Woking Borough Council after a period of open competition, market testing and an interview process, closely involving residents, which lasted around six months.

Woking Borough Council encouraged transparency, challenge and choice throughout the procurement process by inviting local council tenants and leaseholders to be directly involved in the tender process, helping the Council to appraise the plans and ensure the best quality and value for local residents.

Resident representative Anne Priestley, who lives in Woking and was one of the borough's resident representatives who viewed the proposals first-hand, said: "Residents know there has to be something done to improve our homes and the partnership deal between these three companies was clearly the best way of ensuring these improvements actually happen."

Councillor Richard Wilson, Portfolio Holder for Housing Services, said: "Residents will always remain our priority and the most important thing is to give them a top quality service as good as, or better than, they have at the moment."

On hearing the announcement by the Council, Pinnacle PSG's Managing Director, Neil Euesden and David Huxley, Mansell's Regional Managing Director, issued this statement on behalf of the joint venture: "We are delighted to be appointed as Woking Borough Council's preferred supplier and look forward to working closely with such a forward-thinking and modern local authority.

The Pinnacle PSG/Mansell joint venture prides itself on listening and responding to the needs of residents and was very supportive of the fact that residents were actively involved in the procurement process.

Neil added: "We strongly believe residents must be allowed the opportunity to challenge their existing services in order to ensure they receive quality and value for money. Woking's vision has allowed this to happen and our staff will continue to work closely with residents to guarantee they receive the service they asked for."

Gordon Brockington, Executive Director for Morrison said: "This contract will deliver a whole new and innovative approach to Woking Council and its residents and we are very excited to be a partner of the Pinnacle PSG/Mansell joint venture. We look forward delivering a high quality service to residents."

The contract also involves up to 48 staff being transferred from the Council with their existing employment conditions being guaranteed.