Bradford Flower Fund Homes News

A very warm welcome to our Summer 2024 edition of the Newsletter.

What’s been happening around the sites

Flower Mount Storeroom - the roof was stripped back down to the timbers, new felt was installed and the existing slates were re-laid.

Michael completed the Garth & Hill Gas Inspections in December, and both Keighley sites were completed in April.

All tree works have now been completed around the sites following the recommendations from our tree surgeon. Tree inspections for this year are presently underway.

Flower Garth - Cladding works have been completed in porch areas to both ceilings and concrete footings.

Health and Safety Assessments and Fire Risk Assessments will be completed on all sites this summer.

Path Upgrades - We will continue to upgrade paths around the sites over the autumn.

Flower Croft- A new ridge system has been introduced to all roofs.

Flower Court pumping station - major repair works are due to take place.

Flower Garth - The Beech tree in the car park was reduced by 50% and new markings for parking spaces installed.

Flower Mount Main House - the bespoke fire doors have arrived and fitting is now underway.

Keighley Croft - All the doors have been replaced to a fire door. These will be painted over the coming weeks.

Flower Court Benches- The 2 benches will be given a sand and paint.

Annual Inspections have been carried out on all Fire Extinguishers and stairlifts.

Flower Hill - A new threshold has been added to the back door of the Main House.

Flower Bank - A new fence was re-built behind two properties.

DAC Cleaners have retired after 38 years of cleaning our landlord areas. We have found a temporary replacement and normal service will resume.

Our window cleaners HCS have also recently retired. We would like to give a warm welcome to I-Clean who have taken over the contract and have done the most recent clean at Mount, Hill, Garth & Court at the end of June.

Thank you to all tenants for your understanding with the recent rental increases in April. The board of trustees always look to keep these increases to a minimum.

Landlord Areas

Due to Health and Safety Regulations, we will no longer allow tenants to store belongings in the Landlord areas, this includes garages, cellars and attics.

The Flower Garth garage has recently been reviewed and we ask that no more items are added to this area. All other sites will be reviewed over the course of the summer and we will write to all tenants that this effects in due course.

Property Inspections

Property Inspections are carried out every 2 years, and this year we completed these for Flower Hill, Milner Court and both Keighley sites. This helps us understand where to prioritise upgrades across our properties.

We often receive requests direct from tenants for property upgrades and all these requests are noted and reviewed each quarter year. However, the Flower Fund will always prioritise the works we feel are required based on our own inspections.

Call outs (Michael / Contractors)

From Dec 2023 to June 2024, we have had 198 priority call outs and 151 maintenance call outs.

The maintenance team have achieved a service level of 98%.

Reminders

Contact Details - If you have changed your mobile or landline numbers recently then don’t forget to let the office know.

Emergency Contact Details - When your tenancy agreement was signed, you will have completed an emergency contact form, if these have changed please let us know by calling the office.

Pest Control - Household pests can be a nuisance whatever they are, however, please always try and eradicate before ringing the office.

Feeding the birds - Please don’t leave left over food out for the birds, as this will attract unwelcomed visitors to the garden.

Parking - A reminder that tenants and families do not have their own designated parking spots.  Please always try and be considerate when parking.

Gardens
Unfortunately, the wet summer has resulted in the lawns, bushes & weeds growing faster than usual. Please be patient, our garden maintenance team are working extra hard to get on top of things.

We also understand that some tenants have specific requests and the gardeners will accommodate these where possible. However, please understand they have specific instructions from the Flower Fund which allows them the time to get around all the sites. Therefore, any requests for additional works should be made through the office. Thank you for your understanding

Garden Areas - Please note all external areas including lawns, bushes, paths and flower beds are the property of the Flower Fund. Please refrain from altering, digging or changing these areas without permission from the Flower Fund.