Welcome

Blackpool Coastal Housing was set up by Blackpool Council to manage their housing stock of 5,500 homes. Our goal is to create an organisation that delivers quality services, first time, every time, within a culture that puts people at the heart of everything we do.

If you have a strong customer focus and want to join an ambitious organisation, we will help you to develop skills and experience to transform your career and achieve your own personal goals.

Benefits of Working for Us

We offer a rewarding career, competitive salary, flexible working hours and excellent training and development opportunities. Staff working with us also enjoy:

  • Discounted gym and swimming memberships
  • Minimum 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Occupational Health Scheme
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Staff Suggestion Scheme
  • Discounted bike scheme
  • Credit Union
  • Free annual Flu Jabs
  • Cash Plan Healthcare Scheme
  • Half a days leave on your birthday
  • Discounts for local attractions and businesses

Click here to see what our apprentice has to say about working for us.

About Us

Blackpool Coastal Housing Limited was created on 15 January 2007 by Blackpool Council to undertake the Landlord functions for its housing stock of 5,500 houses and flats. These functions include the following services:

  • Arrears Management and Debt Counselling
  • Tenant Participation, Information and Consultation
  • Enforcement of Tenancy Conditions
  • Similar functions for Leaseholders
  • Stock Investment and Planned Maintenance
  • Day-to-Day Responsive Repairs
  • Managing Lettings and Voids
  • Estate Management, including Caretaking
  • Anti-Social Behaviour Management

Blackpool Coastal Housing is managed by a Board who are responsible for overseeing the work of BCH by supporting staff and managers and ensuring its vision and values are achieved. It’s made up of 12 members – 4 customers, 4 independents and 4 local councillors. The Board monitors our performance and makes important strategic and financial decisions to help us provide the kind of service our customers expect to receive.

Blackpool Coastal Housing currently employs 185 staff, varying from joiners and housing officers to accountants and IT specialists.

Where We Are

The head office of Blackpool Coastal Housing is located at Coastal House, 17-19 Abingdon Street, Blackpool, FY1 1DG.

Our Vision and Values

Our Vision is: ‘Inspiring people to build better communities’

At Blackpool Coastal Housing, we will go about our work with:

  • Integrity and honesty
  • A clear accountability organisationally and individually
  • A focus on being a caring organisation
  • An aim of empowering staff and customers
  • An objective of building aspiration

Our priority Areas for the next five years;

  • To be an excellent provider of housing
  • To manage and maintain our stock to a decent standard
  • To be an efficient and effective business
  • To assist our tenants to enter work and training
  • To use out community development role to improve neighbourhoods
  • To improve our neighbourhood environments
  • To make sure we use our BCH expenditure to support other priorities
  • To create a new housing choice

Our Customers

Blackpool Coastal Housing prides itself on providing excellent services to customers. There is a corporate commitment to involving customers in developing and improving services to meet the needs of all customers and the communities we serve.

Our Services

Blackpool Coastal Housing delivers the following services to our customers:

  • Repairs and maintenance
  • Lettings
  • Dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour issues
  • Estate Management
  • Customer Involvement
  • Rents
  • Supported Housing
  • Services – Gas, CCTV, Environmental,
  • Neighbourhood improvements
  • Planned and Capital investment

Our Website

Visit the Blackpool Coastal Housing Website for more information about the organisation, our values and what we do - www.bch.co.uk

About our Services

Human Resources Team – are responsible for the effective delivery of a co-ordinated, high quality, customer focused and competitive HR service to support the organisation’s strategic objectives. The team support managers and staff in recruitment, employee relations, managing sickness absence, training and development, payroll, pensions, employee benefits, internal communications, equality and diversity and any other issues affecting staff.

Housing and Operations

Supported Housing – encompasses both Sheltered and Emergency Housing. Emergency Housing provides short term accommodation and support for statutorily homeless customers. This can mean families or individuals who have become homeless for a variety of reasons and who often have multiple and complex needs. The Sheltered Housing service supports over 800 Sheltered customers across twenty schemes. Sheltered customers are generally over 55 years old but can include younger customers who are vulnerable for other reasons. The overall aim of the service is to provide a support service that is tailored to the customers individual needs and which promotes their independence.

Anti- Social Behaviour – consists of a single, centralised team of five ASB Officers, a team leader and an ASB Manager with overall strategic and service delivery responsibility. The team is currently based at Grange Park Estate Office. The ASB team use a range of appropriate tools to tackle ASB such as; mediation, good neighbour agreements, acceptable behaviour contracts, partnership working and injunctions.

Rents Team – are responsible for the collection of rent and the recovery of outstanding arrears and other charges from Blackpool Coastal Housing tenants. As a team of specialised staff, they deal with all enquiries relating to a customers rent account including payments made, outstanding arrears, court costs, re-chargeable debts and any legal action.

Lettings Team – Blackpool Coastal Housing is a partner of the My Home Choice Fylde Coast Sub Regional Choice Based Scheme which covers the Fylde coast. All our available properties are advertised on a weekly basis on our website www.myhomechoicefyldecoast.co.uk or in a newsletter. This allows applicants who are on the housing register to bid or express an interest in properties that meet their requirements. The team are also responsible for approving mutual exchange requests.

Estate Management Service – deals with a wide range of issues ranging from untidy gardens, dumped rubbish, abandoned properties, cleanliness of property, permissions for erecting structures, registered household pets through to other tenancy related matters. These include such things as dealing with a property after a death, amending tenancy details after marriage, divorce or a tenant wishing to transfer to another house.

Neighbourhoods – Blackpool Coastal Housing doesn’t just deal with housing related matters. It also has a role to play in developing communities where our residents live. We recognise that joint working with other agencies is integral to success in tackling community issues and making life better for our customers. We work with a wide range of different agencies including but not limited to the Police, Fire Service, youth clubs, resident groups, Blackpool Council, schools and many more.

Resettlement - BCH is working in collaboration with Blackpool Councils Children’s Social Care Team. The aim is to provide a bespoke housing service to Young People who are currently under the care of the local authority. The service works with Young people who are currently 17 years old and exploring the options open to them around their future housing aspirations post 18 years old. Planning in the early stages provides a more robust wrap around service to the young people to support them to identify and sustain any future social housing tenancy. The young person is fully supported by a Positive Transitions Officer to develop their skills around living independently and all that this entails, for example budgeting, cooking , cleaning , setting up priority bills and moving towards jobs market/educational opportunities. The Young person is involved at every stage of the housing process to ensure individual needs and aspirations are met in promoting confidence to take ownership of their new home. Intensive support continues during the transitional period.

Services for Care Leavers - BCH also support Blackpool’s care leavers by offering supported accommodation for high need 16 and 17 year olds. The supported accommodation provides young people with independent housing units whilst still offering an intensive support programme by officers who provide 24 hour care. The young people are encouraged to develop their independent social skills in all aspects including cooking, social interaction, education and job seeking.

More Positive Together - Funded by the European Social Fund, the More Positive Together initiative was set up in April 2017 to address the needs of our residents who are furthest from the labour market and help them improve their employment prospects by offering a one-to-one tailored support service. More Positive Together brings together Social Housing Organisations from across Lancashire to engage over 2,250 people aged 16+. As the main provider of the initiative, BCH are engaging with a minimum of 450 residents across Blackpool who will be provided with intense support to help them prepare for employment. The project aims to remove the barriers our residents face, improve their confidence and skills, thereby increasing their employability. The in-depth support package provided is not time-bound and support will continue, providing the individual is engaging and completing actions as agreed with their mentor. Mentors are available to support the customer with all aspects of their life, including: attending appointments such as visits to their doctor or hospital, de-cluttering homes, decorating, assistance with hoarding and any other areas that are considered a barrier to the customer moving closer to the labour market.

Operations

Operations Team – employ around 50 staff to carry out responsive and planned repairs to our 5,500 properties, including works to prepare 600 to 700 void properties to our empty homes standard ready for re-let each year. The Operations Team also carry out adaptations to Blackpool Council properties to assist customers with individual requirements.

Customer Support Team – provide easy access to the Repairs and Maintenance Service for all our customers. They are responsible for receiving all repair requests and subsequently plan and schedule the work to our contractors and in-house operations team. They are also responsible for organising and scheduling work undertaken on empty homes. They are committed to delivering a quality service which will meet and exceed customer expectation and they continually gather customer feedback to shape and improve the services BCH provide.

Resources

Business Support Team – provide administrative support across BCH including; a creditor and debtor service, monitoring and ordering printing, stationary, furniture and other supplies as well as minute taking. Provide a rent service charge transaction service and a Homeownership function (including Leasehold Management services and the processing of Right to Buy applications). In addition, business support log and monitor Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests.

Finance Team – are responsible for the provision and development of a robust financial and management accounting service within BCH. This includes the setting of budgets, budget monitoring and the preparation of final accounts for BCH as well as for the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The team also provide advice and guidance on all financial related matters.

Involvement and Communication – Blackpool Coastal Housing is committed to both giving its customers a real say in their housing service and to placing them at the heart of everything it does. The Customer Involvement team work to actively encourage tenants and residents in getting involved in shaping the decisions that affect them, their homes and their community. There are many methods of involvement including; Service Improvement Panels (SIPs), Mystery Shopping exercises, Green Wardens and Customer Suggestion Schemes. They provide the customers with the skills, confidence and opportunity to both influence and scrutinise our services at a level that suits them.

Health and Safety – The Health and Safety Officer is responsible for developing, reviewing and updating the health and safety framework including the health and safety policy and arrangements. The health and safety officer provides advice and guidance to directors, managers and staff in health and safety matters. Additionally they produce monthly health and safety reports, annual health and safety reports and safety briefings. They attend the health and safety committee meetings and support health and safety representatives in their role.

Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Team – maintain the existing hardware infrastructure and software systems and support departments in developing new solutions to meet their developing needs. The ICT remit includes telephony and portable electronic devices. The team provide capacity and resources to enable current and future business challenges to be met and also have a key role in ensuring security of data and compliance with ICT management standards.

Policy and Performance – deals with; research, information and customer intelligence, respond to new legislation and initiatives, policy and strategy development, information governance, data protection, business planning and Equality and Diversity Strategy. There is also support provided into Risk Management arrangements, Access and Customer Care strategy and Operational Planning.

Governance and Board – deals with organising Board Meetings, agendas and minutes, training and appraisal, statutory returns, Director elections and recruitment, Constitutional issues and compliance with Company law.

Assets

Stock Investment Team – are responsible for ensuring that a strategic approach is taken to the management of stock investment, and that a complete and accurate database of stock information is maintained. The team ensure that effective Decent Homes programmes of work are drawn up, delivered, monitored and supervised inclusive of health and safety legislation. The team carry out site survey’s and provide relevant reports to Business Support for Right to Buy and provide Energy Performance Certificates to comply with legislation.

Services Team – are responsible for ensuring a strategic approach is taken to the management of Gas, Mechanical and Electrical services. The team ensure the health and safety requirements of customers and protect the integrity of BCH by ensuring compliance of mandatory and statutory requirements. It provides repairs and maintenance of gas and Mechanical and Electrical services in our properties, as well as overseeing quality control on Decent Homes / Planned Gas Central Heating upgrades. Additionally the team manage Grounds Maintenance, Cleaning and Security Contracts to improve the environment customers live in by maintaining grass and landscaped areas, maintaining high levels of cleanliness in communal areas.

Contact Us

Recruitment Team
Human Resources Department
Blackpool Coastal Housing Ltd
Coastal House
Abingdon Street
Blackpool FY1 1DG

T: 01253 477690
E: jobs@bch.co.uk