County Durham property firm stretches to repair over 4,000 local homes

County Durham Housing Group has brought repairs in the Bishop Auckland and Weardale area in-house with the transfer of more than 40 staff.

The group will be carrying out repairs and maintenance for around 4,200 homes stretching from Willington to Wearhead from this month.

Work has been brought in-house following the end of a 10-year-long contract with Gentoo. All of the 40 staff who worked on the contract have been transferred to County Durham Housing Group’s maintenance division, Group Property Services (GPS).

Operations manager, Gary Bolton, said: “This move secures years of experience in maintaining homes in the Wear Valley area. These are dedicated people who know our properties and our customers very well.

“Bringing all of those skills in-house will help us to ensure we can continue to provide the same high-quality service for all of our tenants in these parts of the county.”

Employees transferred include highly skilled joiners, plumbers and heating engineers, who provide emergency callout cover as well as regular repairs and maintenance services. The team also carry out work to properties before new tenants move in.

GPS already handle the repairs and maintenance for more than 5,000 properties in and around Durham city. The transfer brings the total number of homes maintained by the group itself to more than 9,000 for the first time.

County Durham Housing Group tenants are expected to notice ‘little difference’ to the service, with contacts for reporting and requesting repairs remaining unchanged.

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