Housing Plus Group has announced that Jewson Partnership Solutions, who are a specialist division of Builders Merchant Jewson, has been awarded a contract for the supply and storage of building materials. The contract supports the Group’s work maintaining and improving 18,000 homes in Staffordshire and Shropshire.
Property director at Housing Plus Group, Stephen Collins, said that the five-year contract has been awarded following competitive tendering. “We set out to achieve not only value for money and consistent quality but to establish a new partnering arrangement with a provider who shares our commitment to make a positive difference to homes, lives and communities in this area.”
Housing Plus Group, whose members include South Staffordshire Housing Association, Severnside Housing and Stafford and Rural Homes, specifies the key products to be used in its kitchen and bathroom installations and demands exacting delivery schedules to minimise inconvenience to its customers.
“As a values-driven Group though, it was also important that Jewson Partnership Solutions recognised our drive to provide employment opportunities for local people,” said Stephen Collins. “Jewson Partnership Solutions will be creating three new apprenticeships as well as employing 11 members of staff dedicated to the Housing Plus Group contract in Cannock, Stafford and Shrewsbury. The company will also be partnering with us on a number of exciting community projects.”
Scott Cooper, Business Director at Jewson Partnership Solutions said “Although Stafford and Rural homes have been a highly valued customer of Jewson since 2009, we are delighted to now be working with the entire Housing Plus Group following the award of this five-year contract to our new brand; JPS. We have created an innovative solution aligned to Housing Plus Group’s objectives that I am confident will deliver ever increasing value and efficiency throughout the lifetime of the contract. Housing Plus Group are committed to making a positive difference to homes, lives and communities across their geography and we share that commitment. We are looking forward to partnering with them in a way that delivers real value not only to the group but also to the local communities in which they operate. Our philosophy at JPS revolves around creating long lasting relationships that deliver, and as a business we are grateful that this resonated with Housing Plus Group and led to the contract award.”
Housing Plus Group merged with Stafford and Rural Homes in October 2019. On merger it made a number of headline promises, including the creation of 100 apprenticeships within the Group and its supply chain. In its first year 36 new apprentices have been employed, with a further 16 members of staff using apprenticeship training to boost their skills and improve their career prospects.
The expanded Group also pledged to maintain and improve its existing housing stock and to begin building 2,000 new homes for rent, shared ownership and outright sale by 2023. Last year, for the first time, the Group was included in the annual Top 50 Biggest Builders report published by Inside Housing magazine.
Caption: Housing Plus Group’s Nathan Gregson working on one of the home improvement projects which will use products supplied by Jewson Partnership Solutions. Nathan is completing an apprenticeship with Housing Plus Group and has now gained a permanent position as a bathroom installer.