TMO scoops £36 million jackpot

14 July 2003

Royal Borough council housing is set to receive a massive £36 million investment boost over the next four years, thanks to the TMO's fine performance as a housing manager.

The money will mean new roofs, windows, heating systems, kitchens, bathrooms and refurbishment schemes for many TMO managed homes, ensuring that they are all fit for the 21st century.

The huge cash bonus for homes hinged entirely on the outcome of a root and branch inspection of the TMO's performance. A squad of inspectors from the Audit Commission's Housing Inspectorate put the TMO under the spotlight for two weeks in May and TMO members have been waiting anxiously for the outcome ever since.

Today (14 July) the wait is over: in their report the inspectors conclude that the TMO provides a Two Star service with excellent prospects for further improvement. Two Stars means a good service. According to the Audit Commission, the result is amongst the top 10 percent of all housing inspections carried out nationally.

"We are absolutely delighted," said TMO Chairman, Rashid Nasir, "delighted that the TMO is thriving and improving, and delighted of course about the cash.

"We aim to wring every penny of value from it so that our tenants and leaseholders will see and experience a real difference. I congratulate our hard-working staff for this superb achievement."

Adding his voice to the chorus of praise from across the Borough, Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr. Timothy Coleridge said, "The TMO has come a long way and I thank everyone involved for working so hard to achieve this outcome.

"This result demonstrates that tenant-led bodies can look any other kind of housing management body in the eye with confidence, and that is remarkable given they have only been in the game a few short years."

Singled out for special praise by the Housing Inspectorate are the high standards of ground maintenance and cleanliness on TMO estates, the level of tenant and leaseholder involvement high quality of services for tenants in sheltered schemes and the TMO's no-nonsense approach to the crack problem and other anti-social behaviour issues.

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