Annual update 2025 - 2026
Welcome to our annual update to tenants. This page builds on the printed summary document that was posted to all residents in September. If you’d like a printed copy of this page, please let us know by emailing info@tch.org.uk or calling us on 01892 501480, option 3.
As you’ll see below, it’s been a busy year with lots of positive developments as well as some challenges. Thank you for all the feedback you provide on our homes and services. We listen to everything you tell us and are committed to making positive changes.
The information we receive through the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) shows the impact of all we’re doing. You’ll see that while TSMs have generally stayed in line with the previous year’s figures, it’s disappointing that scores haven’t improved.
We’ve got plans in place to address this, including a complaints improvement plan that we’re implementing, in part with the help of our Resident Voice Panel, and a new Strategic Repairs Plan. This was developed with residents, and they will hold us to account through the Repairs Service Improvement Group and 1% Repairs Club.
As well as looking at areas to improve it’s important to celebrate our successes. For example, we invested £172,079 in community activities and projects and generated £2.2 million of social value (donations of time and materials) from our contractors; more than 1,400 residents received support from our Tenancy and Money Support Team; we delivered 1,040 Disabled Facility Grants; and our Handyperson service completed 6,363 jobs.
The redevelopment of our Showfields estate is making excellent progress with 83 new homes replacing 68 existing properties. In total we’ve added 117 homes to our portfolio, giving more families the opportunity to benefit from safe, affordable housing.
When I look back on the year what really stands out is the vital role residents continue to play in shaping our services. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who gives their time, insight and experience, including those residents who helped inform the design and delivery of this update – thank you.
Colin Lissenden
Managing Director
Town & Country Housing
By listening to residents and acting on their feedback, we’re making progress on our journey to providing better homes and services.
We’re working with residents and communities to create homes and neighbourhoods that are safe, affordable and resilient for residents today and in the future.
We continue to invest in residents’ homes to improve comfort, energy efficiency and sustainability. During the year, we increased spending on planned maintenance and improvement programmes by 18% (excluding our new Warm Homes programme), helping us respond to changing regulatory requirements while improving the quality and energy efficiency of our homes.
We’ve strengthened how we support colleagues and focused on improving performance, building skills and making it easier for everyone to do their jobs. Our new Staff Forum offers colleagues a structured way to share feedback, ideas and concerns.
It helps leaders understand what matters most to colleagues and improves employee engagement by strengthening two way communication and influencing decision making.
- 18 colleagues working towards an apprenticeship, and 20 expressing formal interest in starting an apprenticeship in the coming year
- Filled 130 vacancies last financial year with 25% of these being internal promotions for existing staff
- A third of staff used their Peabody Promise Days for voluntary work, supporting a range of community initiatives, including gardening in our Later Living Communities.
Emma’s apprenticeship experience
“As a Customer Service Team Leader I already had experience managing teams and supporting residents, but I wanted to gain a recognised qualification to complement the skills I’d developed on the job. That’s what led me to start an apprenticeship.
“The biggest benefit has been the opportunity to learn while continuing to do the role I enjoy. The apprenticeship is helping me build on my existing knowledge, develop new skills and support my personal development. Everything I’m learning is directly relevant to my role and helps me become a better leader for my team.”
Sustainability
Sustainability underpins our long-term approach, guiding how we invest in homes, support residents and collaborate with partners to generate lasting social, environmental and economic value.
Warm Homes
We improved the energy efficiency of 100 homes through our £30m Warm Homes Social Housing Fund (SHF) wave three programme, which is partly funded by the government. Over the next two years, a further 1,400 homes will benefit from improvements such as solar panels, air source heat pumps, better insulation, ventilation and new windows. These changes will help residents keep their homes warmer, reducing the need for as much heating and ultimately lowering residents’ energy bills. It will also cut emissions and support our target for all homes to achieve an Energy Certificate Performance rating of C or above by 2030.
Value for Money
We define Value for Money (VfM) as producing as much social, financial and environmental value as possible from the resources we use to deliver quality homes and services, in neighbourhoods people choose, with the goal of improving lives.
We continue to deliver VfM by balancing investment with quality, so we can invest more in the services we provide to you. You can find out more information on our approach in our Value for Money Strategy 2025-28.
We use our three-year delivery plan to manage and measure our VfM objectives. We also publish a range of VfM metrics in our financial statements.
