Derby Homes has appointed three Neighbourhood Managers to work in local communities with the aim of creating safer, cleaner and stronger neighbourhoods by working closely with partners and other agencies.

Derby Homes appoints Neighbourhood Managers

Derby Homes has appointed three Neighbourhood Managers to work in local communities with the aim of creating safer, cleaner and stronger neighbourhoods by working closely with partners and other agencies.

The organisation that manages and maintains council housing in Derby has appointed Pete Matthews, Paula Solowij and Wendy Jessop to take on these roles, which began mid-May.  Pete has responsibility for the Mackworth ward, Paula for the Alvaston and Boulton ward and Wendy for the Chaddesden ward.  Derby Homes is working closely with Derby Community Safety Partnership to support Derby City Council's Neighbourhood Management initiative by establishing, managing and funding Neighbourhood Management in these areas.

Key to the managers' roles will be engaging with all local residents to build up a profile of their area by identifying local issues and any gaps in service provision.  They will also be developing partnerships with outside agencies and working more closely with local ward councillors, local services and the Police.

Maureen Davis, Housing Operations Manager said: "The aim for the managers this year is to establish partnerships with other agencies in the neighbourhoods. They will work closely with residents and with ward councillors to deal with neighbourhood issues effectively - our longer term objective is to build on that to create new ways of working that are designed by local residents for local residents in local neighbourhoods.  We are focused on dealing with the issues that matter to residents and that can only be done through effective partnership working."

Dennis Rees, Chair of Derby Homes said: "The new Neighbourhood Managers are bringing a wealth of experience to these newly-created roles as they are also well experienced Housing Managers.  They are now accountable to all local residents and will really be able to make a difference to the communities that they work in.  More emphasis will be on improving all the public services in the neighbourhoods for all residents, leading to greater satisfaction and improved estates."