Roofing improvement works completed in Peasedown St John
1st May 2009
An official opening ceremony to celebrate the
completion of nearly 100 roofing replacements to Somer Community
Housing Trust homes has taken place.
Over the past eight months, local builder Rok has replaced the
roofs of 97 properties in Albert Avenue, Frederick Avenue and St
John’s Close.
To thank residents for their patience during the disruption, Rok
has also given the much-used community room in St John’s close a
makeover in a ‘Challenge Anneka’ style community challenge.
Together with ward councillor Nathan Hartley and staff from Rok
and the Trust, local residents officially opened the newly
redecorated community room with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Afterwards a celebration buffet was laid on by Rok for everyone to
celebrate this important achievement.
Rose Tucker, a resident who was invited to cut the ribbon on the
day, said:
‘The old roofs had cracked tiles and the moss
on them was terrible; it made such a mess. Now it’s lovely – the
house feels warmer and the roofs look so nice and clean. Tiling the
roof only took about a week and we barely noticed them, it was over
so soon. Everyone around here is really pleased they’ve been
done.’
Rok’s team experienced all four weather seasons during the
replacement work, from blazing hot sun to a foot of snow. Shear
determination meant that the contract was still completed on time.
The overall resident satisfaction score of 95% highlights the
positive way in which the team completed this project.
Adrian Marshman, Rok’s Planned Maintenance Team Leader said:
‘Our team thoroughly enjoyed working together
with Somer Community Housing Trust on this project. Local residents
made us feel very welcome and we are extremely proud of the
standard of the work. There is such a strong community spirit here
in Peasedown St John, so Rok is delighted to have made such a
positive impact on local people.’
Neil Bolton, Director of Customer Services (Property) said:
‘We take our commitment to involve residents
in what we do very seriously, and after some initial criticism
about our approach to the roofing project, the end result has
received some fantastic feedback from residents. We are delighted
at the support that Rok has given, and the time that their staff
and others volunteered to redecorate the community room. This
really is something to celebrate.’